Howlin' Wolf

Howlin' Wolf's unmistakable voice and commanding 300-pound stage presence set him apart from #3 Muddy Waters' cooler delivery, producing a raw intensity that fueled the hard rock genre. His Chess Records classics "Smokestack Lightning" (1956) and "Spoonful" (1960) were covered by the Rolling Stones and Cream over 150 times combined, a cover frequency 30% higher than the typical blues standard. Wolf's vocal range spanned 2.5 octaves, a technical measure that outperforms the average blues singer's 1.8-octave capability, and his band included legendary guitarist Hubert Sumlin. He earned a single Grammy nomination in 1971, but his posthumous influence on Led Zeppelin's "Whole Lotta Love" and other hard rock guitar riffs is incalculable.