(1951) Chess 1479-B ''How Many More Years'' Howlin' Wolf

STUDIO SESSION FOR THE HOWLIN' WOLF
AT THE MEMPHIS RECORDING SERVICE FOR CHESS RECORDS 1951

MEMPHIS RECORDING SERVICE
706 UNION AVENUE, MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE
STUDIO SESSION: PROBABLY TWO SESSIONS JULY/AUGUST 1951
PRODUCER AND RECORDING ENGINEER - SAM C. PHILLIPS
AND/OR MARION KEISKER

"HOW MANY MORE YEARS"
Composer: - Carl Germany-Chester Burnett
Publisher: - B.M.I. - Burton Limited
Matrix number: - None - Master (2:41)
Recorded: - July/August 1951
Released: - August 31, 1951
First appearance: - Chess Records (S) 78rpm standard single Chess 1479-B mono
HOW MANY MORE YEARS / MOANIN' AT MIDNIGHT
Reissued: - 1990 Bear Family Records (CD) 500/200rpm BCD 15500-2 mono
MEMPHIS DAYS - THE DEFINITIVE EDITION - VOLUME 2

''I was totally blinded by the sound of his voice'', Sam Phillips told Peter Guralnick many years later. ''I'm not sure I heard anything in the way of instrumentation''. Those are the words of someone attuned to every aspect of recording, and that alone speaks to Howlin' Wolf's authority. Even a list of all Wolf's obvious and not-so-obvious influences, like Tommy Johnson, Charley Patton, and Jimmie Rodgers, doesn't half-way explain the ageless wonder of his debut. He was so much more than the sum of those parts. This is one of those records that could have come from nowhere but Mississippi. There's a piano on ''How Many More Years'', suggesting that it might have been recorded at a different time from ''Moanin' At Midnight''. And there were earlier versions of ''How Many More Years'' suggesting that it was the presumed A-side until Wolf suddenly cut loose with ''Moanin' At Midnight''. One possibility is that the pianist thought ''Moanin''' was a run-through and sat it out. The identity of the pianist has never nailed beyond doubt, but there seems to be common assent that it's Ike Turner, even though Phillips didn't recall Turner ever working with Wolf. Guitarist Willie Johnson later insisted that he had a hand in writing the song on the way to the studio. ''I'm the one (who)... printed it and put the words in his mouth'', he said. Wolf disputed that claim, but it was a moot point at first because the putative composer of both sides was Carl Germany, who was also credited with writing several other songs on Chess, including some of Sax Mallard's records and one of Jackie Brenston's song, ''Hi Ho Baby''. It wasn't unknown for Chess to use composer credits to repay favors. Alan Freed was often thus rewarded, and Russ Fratto, who ran a Chicago stationery company, received one third of Chuck Berry's ''Maybellene'' in return for who knows what. Rufus Thomas's first single, ''Night Walkin' Blues'', was credited to Marty Witzel, who'd introduced Leonard Chess to his wife. Carl Germany, a mid-western dance promoter and Chicago disc jockey, was similarly blessed. These days, though, the composer credit reads as it always should: Chester Burnett. (CE)

"How Many More Years"

How many more years, have I got to let you dog me around
How many more years, have I got to let you dog me around
I'd soon rather be dead, sleeping six feet in the ground

I'm gonna fall on my knees, I'm gonna raise up my right hand
I'm gonna fall on my knees, I'm gonna raise up my right hand
Say I'd feel much better darling, if you'd just only understand

I'm going upstairs, I'm gonna bring back down my clothes
I'm going upstairs, I'm gonna bring back down my clothes, do them all
If anybody ask about me, just tell'em I walked out on

Name (Or. No. Of Instruments)
Howlin' Wolf - Vocal and Harmonica
Willie Johnson - Guitar
Willie Steele - Drums
James Cotton - Harmonica
Possibly Ike Turner - Piano or
Billy ''Red'' Love - Piano

© - 706 UNION AVENUE SESSIONS - ©