Howlin' Wolf

Chester Arthur Burnett born on June 10, 1910 in West Point, Mississippi  and known as Howlin’ Wolf, was an influential American blues singer, guitarist and harmonica player.
With a booming voice and looming physical presence, Burnett is commonly ranked among the leading performers in electric blues; A number of songs written or popularized by Burnett—such as “Smokestack Lightnin'”, “Back Door Man”, “Killing Floor” and “Spoonful”—have become blues and blues rock standards.
At 6 feet, 6 inches  and close to 300 pounds, he was an imposing presence with one of the loudest and most memorable voices of all the “classic” 1950s Chicago blues singers.
In 2004, Rolling Stone magazine ranked him #51 on their list of the “100 Greatest Artists of All Time”.
Explaining the origin of the name Howlin’ Wolf he was quoted as saying  My Grandfather would often tell me stories about the wolves in the country and warn him that if he misbehaved, the howling wolves would “get him”.
In 1930, Howlin’ Wolf met Charley Patton, the most popular bluesman in the Delta at the time.  The two became acquainted and soon Patton was teaching him guitar. His harmonica playing was modeled after that of Rice Miller (also known as Sonny Boy Williamson II), who had taught him how to play when Howlin Wolf had moved to Parkin, Arkansas, in 1933.
“How Many More Years”, his first and biggest hit, made it to #4 in 1951; “Moanin’ at Midnight”, “Smokestack Lightning” “I Asked For Water (She Gave Me Gasoline)” also appeared on the charts and qualified as “hits” on the Billboard national R&B charts:
Throughout the 1960‘s and 70‘s he continued to record and tour and in 1964 he toured Europe as part of the American Folk Blues Festival tour produced by German promoters Horst Lippmann and Fritz Rau.
In May 1970, Howlin’ Wolf, traveled to London  and recorded  the Howlin’ Wolf London Sessions LP, accompanied by British blues/rock musicians Eric Clapton, Steve Winwood, Ian Stewart, Bill Wyman, Charlie Watts and others. He recorded his last album for Chess, The Back Door Wolf, in 1973.
Though functionally illiterate into his 40s, Burnett eventually returned to school, first to earn a G.E.D., and later to study accounting and other business courses aimed to help his business career.
He died on January 10 1976 from complications of kidney disease.
A popular music venue in New Orleans, Louisiana was named The Howlin’ Wolf when it opened in 1988.
Burnett was portrayed by Eamonn Walker in the 2008 motion picture Cadillac Records.
In 1999 a recording of Howlin’ Wolf was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame, which is a special Grammy award established in 1973 to honor recordings that are at least twenty-five years old, and that have “qualitative or historical significance
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame listed three songs by Howlin’ Wolf of the 500 songs that shaped rock and roll.
On September 17, 1994 the U.S. Post Office issued a Howlin’ Wolf 29 cents commemorative postage stamp.

Source: Wikipedia