HOWLIN’ WOLF - EBBETS FIELD 1973
August 23, 2008 – 5:31 am
Click on the panels for a better view or to download artwork.
HOWLIN’ WOLF & THE WOLF GANG
Ebbets Field 1973 [no label, 1CD]
Live at Ebbets Field, Denver, CO, August 23, 1973. Excellent pre-FM stereo.
Howlin’ Wolf (born Chester Arthur Burnett) was one of the great blues singers and guitarists, together with the likes of Sonny Boy Williamson and Muddy Waters, who helped build Chess Records in Chicago. By the time he played Ebbets Field in Denver in 1973, he was already a legend.
Long admired by the Rolling Stones, the 1962 Howlin’ Wolf album was a must for anyone into Chicago blues and, in 1970, the bluesman recorded the Howlin’ Wolf London Sessions LP, with Eric Clapton, Steve Winwood, Ian Stewart, Bill Wyman and Charlie Watts in attendance.
While then young upstarts Rolling Stones covered Little Red Rooster and Led Zepplin and Jimi Hendrix covered Killing Floor, Chess executives, in turn, wanted the ageing bluesmen such as Muddy Waters and Howlin’ Wolf to record what they imagine to be “psychedelic” versions of their greatest hits. As critic Charles Shaar Murray notes: “Waters’ Electric Mud turned out to to an abomination, and Howlin’ Wolf’s New Album was worse… Wolf told everyone who would listen that the album was ‘dog shit.’ He probably blamed the whole ghastly business on Hendrix
Howlin’ Wolf’s last album was The Back Door Wolf, which was finished in August 1973. However, he did not perform any songs from the new album at Ebbets Field. Instead he played a best-of set. Wolf was rather sick in the early ’70s (his kidneys were failing him and he received dialysis treatments every three days - Wolf passed away in 1976 at the age of 65). But that did not show on the Ebbets Field set. He was stoic then as he was when he played his last gig in 1975.
Instead, fans got the whole works - from swinging blues to low-down dirty blues, albeit within a span of 10 songs. And not only is Wolf in form, the band is cooking up a storm. For the fans, a good way to remember the bluesman; for newcomers, a good introduction to electric blues.
And for those who are wondering, Ebbets Field was a small but influential club in Denver in the ’70s that hosted some of the biggest names in the music scene. As stillisstillmoving.com quoted: “If you think it was a field, you weren’t there.”
A word of thanks to Bogong Design for the artwork.
These tracks are no longer available for sharing.
1. Instrumental
2. I Can’t Stop Loving You (instrumental)
3. Your Love Is Creeping Away From Me
4. Baby Workout
5. How Blue Can You Get
6. What’d I Say/band intro
7. Little Red Rooster
8. Going Down Slow/Killing Floor
9. Shake For Me
10. Instrumental/Goodnights
Note: Killing Floor fades out at 2:48 and back at 3:00.
Lineup:
Howlin’ Wolf - guitar, vocals
Detroit Jr - piano, vocals
Hubert Sumlin - guitar
SP Leary - drums
Andrew “Shake ‘Em” McMahon - bass
Eddie Shaw - tenor sax, vocals
Click here to order Howlin’ Wolf albums.
19 Responses to “HOWLIN’ WOLF - EBBETS FIELD 1973”
I met Howlin Wolf in 1969 at Paul’s Mall in Boston— shook his hand (which was as big as a chovel) & he whispered: “Drink Whiskey, Get Frisky!” Ahhh….
By J.P. Gelinas on Aug 24, 2008
One of my favorite Blues CDs is “The London Howlin Wolf Session”.The double CD is absolutly great.
This lineup with members of the Rolling Stones,John Mayalls Bluesbreakers,Alexis Korner
Band and so on.Howlin Wolf is a part of Blues history.Thank you guys for this recording.
By Joe "The Catman" on Aug 25, 2008
Great, great stuff! Easily ranks among Wolf’s better live sets!
By Jamie on Aug 26, 2008
I heard a few tracks of this album on KSCU (Santa Clara’s College station) about 9 months ago and have been looking for it ever since. THANKS!
By John G on Aug 30, 2008
Eddie Shaw in a grand moment!
By Lucille on Sep 3, 2008
Thanks for posting this, Howlin Wolf was amazing,a real giant in the blues field. From his earliest recordings until the very end, he had it!
By Eric on Sep 7, 2008
Thanks for posting this-It’s an essential recording.
By Luis Torregrosa on Sep 8, 2008
Thanks a lot dor this wonderful gig!!p
By pete on Mar 25, 2009
RE: “He probably blamed the whole ghastly business on Hendrix”… actually, Howlin’ Wolf asked Jimi to join his band after Jimi finally got to realize his great ambition to jam with the Wolf & Hubert..but declined… To be sure, Jimi was not on the “dogshit album”
Happy 100th (6/10) birthday, Wolf — my dear friend, music teacher, mentor and creative collaborator of the iconic images (which may be viewed on my site) and the two original songs we made (done in part as my harp lessons) which I hope to get onto some compilation this year. You’re not dead. Howl on Wolf, Howl on. Sandy
By Sandy Guy Schoenfeld on May 7, 2010
For those who may not be aware - Hubert Sumlin, Wolf’s second guitarist for the last 20 years of his career, passed away just last month. One of the very greatest riff-wranglers of all time, he was active until very nearly the end, just like his long time boss.
By drkrick on Jan 3, 2012
not sure if i got this the first time, so i WILL get it now.
btw, bigO, thanks for the wonderful ‘restart’ series.
I-)
By I-) on Jan 3, 2012
Even though this brief set comes near the very end for the Wolf, you can still hear why he is considered to posess THE definitive voice of the blues. Frightening in the best way. A shame he did not live long enough to see the kind of appreciation (and money) that other legends like Muddy, Albert, B.B. and The Hook did. Thanks for the post…do you have any more from these classic bluesmen?
By ZenNews on Jan 9, 2012
Hubert Sumlin-riff wrangler…that is good. I got to know Howlin Wolf from the 2 LP Chess set with the cartoon cover…Wolf climbing into an airplane…found it with the Sonny Boy Williamson and some others in the Chess series in the Blues section of some record shop at a Greyhound bus stopover…chose the Wolf LPs because I recognized more of Wolf’s song titles…and only had the money for one of the 2 LP sets. Glad I chose this one. Looking forward to hearing these tracks.
By brian mckeith on Sep 28, 2012
The “rocking chair” album (on CD with another LP) is amazing.
By Woodstock69Vet on Jun 1, 2013
damn you darth… how do you get so many people under your control? Talk about a deranged fan club! You give their lives meaning and purpose. By your simply stating anything, they erupt with inflamed hard-ons to scamper like ants on fresh meat. Without you around to target their petty harangues upon, what would they do with their lives? The day will come (or not) when they realize how much they really need you.
By lowendbill on Aug 27, 2013
lol lowendbill.. funny shit. but how true your words are. i dont get it really. but their words show what they are.. not what i am. u can sure tell a lot about people when the crap they throw around includes such things as sex offender and so on. it shows where their minds are. makes ya wonder. it is funny looking at all them little 10-foot pole marks on them tho. (poke poke) hehe. tune in tomorrow same bat time same bat channel.
By darth on Aug 27, 2013
youre the best darth. they have no life without you. none.
By Len Hoffman on Aug 27, 2013
youre the best darth. they have no life without you. none.
even the biggest turds in history had a few brainless followers…hitler,mussolini,jim jones, darth…et al…
By white noise zzzzzzz on Aug 27, 2013
you gonna stop there?…there are brainless mother rapers the world over that always seem to find at least one dummy to kiss their asses.
By smilin` jack duckfeather on Aug 27, 2013