Ear Candy: I love music no matter what genre. However, I am particularly proud of the indigenous music that my dad, Van Jones, (who was born in N MS but claimed the MS Delta as his favorite stomping ground) loved: B.B. King, Lightnin Slim, Little Walter, Sonny Boy Williamson, Muddy Waters, Sonny Boy Nelson, John Lee Hooker, and of course, Howlin Wolf. Howlin Wolf, born Chester Arthur Burnett (June 10, 1910 – January 10, 1976) in White Station, MS (Near West Point), had several nicknames growing up before the present one stuck. The clip below gives the nickname Howlin Wolf mythical origins but by Burrnetts own accounts it derived from his fathers playful threats that if he wasnt better behaved wild wolves would catch him and turn him into a howling wolf. While publicly he took pride in the notion of being an unrepentant bad boy - contorting his face and making his voice sound wolfish -- privately he was deeply wounded by his mothers rejection of playing the devils music as a professional musician. Smokestack Lightning is an all-time favorite Wolf song. When he was young passing trains emitted smoke and sparks as they moved along. This was called smoke stake lightning. This is a song about train rides, heartache and mercy pleading. It has been covered by many artists over the years. Also, it s the background music in one of the scenes of All the Kings Men a fictionalized account of Huey P. Long, featured on Crackle this month. Enjoy Smokestack Lightning, FB Connections who are also music lovers in general and blues aficionados in particular. Happy Thursday!
Posted on: Thu, 23 Oct 2014 14:37:48 +0000
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