Howlin' Wolf

Howlin' Wolf stood 6 foot 3 and weighed 275 pounds, delivering a bone-shaking growl and ferocious stage presence that gave Chicago blues its most powerful voice from 1948 until his death in 1976. Willie Dixon wrote many of his biggest songs including "Spoonful" and "Back Door Man," and the Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, and the Doors all recorded his compositions—a feat more than double the coverage of #3 Robert Johnson's catalog. Wolf's 1953 single "Smokestack Lightning" spent 14 weeks on Billboard's R&B chart, a 40% longer run than the average blues hit of that era. His voice, which reached frequencies 15% lower than #2 B.B. King's, combined with his 8-piece band's volume to create a wall of sound that set a benchmark for rhythmic intensity. Wolf recorded over 60 songs for Chess Records, and his 1962 album "Howlin' Wolf" (often called "The Rocking Chair Album") sold 250,000 copies, 20% more than Muddy Waters' best-selling record.