Sold Date: December 10, 2018
Start Date: December 3, 2018
Final Price: $24.00 (USD)
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1969 Chess Blue to Light Blue Label "Vintage Series" Mono Release of Bandleader/Composer/Guitarist/Pioneering Blues Vocalist Chester Burnett AKA Howlin' Wolf Entitled Evil, Originally Produced by Leonard & Phil Chess, Engineered by Dave Purple, Vintage Series Compiled, Edited and Produced by T.T. Swan, Album Supervision by Marshall Chess, Recordings Span the Years From August of 1951 to March of 1959, All Compositions Written by Chester Burnett - "In the history of the blues, there has never been anyone quite like the . Six foot three and close to 300 pounds in his salad days, the  was the primal force of the music spun out to its ultimate conclusion. A  may have possessed more lyrical insight, a  more dignity, and a  certainly more technical expertise, but no one could match him for the singular ability to rock the house down to the foundation while simultaneously scaring its patrons out of its wits. He was born in West Point, MS, and named after the 21st President of the United States (Chester Arthur). His father was a farmer and  took to it as well until his 18th birthday, when a chance meeting with Delta blues legend  changed his life forever. Though he never came close to learning the subtleties of 's complex guitar technique, two of the major components of 's style ('s inimitable growl of a voice and his propensity for entertaining) were learned first hand from the Delta blues master. The main source of 's hard-driving, rhythmic style on harmonica came when  () married his half-sister Mary and taught him the rudiments of the instrument. He first started playing in the early '30s as a strict  imitator, while others recall him at decade's end rocking the juke joints with a neck-rack harmonica and one of the first electric guitars anyone had ever seen. After a four-year stretch in the Army, he settled down as a farmer and weekend player in West Memphis, AR, and it was here that 's career in music began in earnest. By 1948, he had established himself within the community as a radio personality. As a means of advertising his own local appearances,  had a 15-minute radio show on KWEM in West Memphis, interspersing his down-home blues with farm reports and like-minded advertising that he sold himself. But a change in 's sound that would alter everything that came after was soon in coming because when listeners tuned in for 's show, the sound was up-to-the-minute electric.  had put his first band together, featuring the explosive guitar work of , whose aggressive style not only perfectly suited 's sound but aurally extended and amplified the violence and nastiness of it as well. In any discussion of 's early success both live, over the airwaves, and on record, the importance of  cannot be overestimated.  finally started recording in 1951, when he caught the ear of , who first heard him on his morning radio show. The music  made in the Memphis Recording Service studio was full of passion and zest and  simultaneously leased the results to  in Los Angeles and  in Chicago. Suddenly,  had two hits at the same time on the R&B charts with two record companies claiming to have him exclusively under contract. Chess finally won him over and as  would proudly relate years later, "I had a 4,000 dollar car and 3,900 dollars in my pocket. I'm the onliest one drove out of the South like a gentleman." It was the winter of 1953 and Chicago would be his new home. When  entered the Chess studios the next year, the violent aggression of the Memphis sides was being replaced with a Chicago backbeat and, with very little fanfare, a new member in the band.  proved himself to be the 's longest-running musical associate. He first appears as a rhythm guitarist on a 1954 session, and within a few years' time his style had fully matured to take over the role of lead guitarist in the band by early 1958. In what can only be described as an "angular attack," played almost no chords behind , sometimes soloing right through his vocals, featuring wild skitterings up and down the fingerboard and biting single notes. If  was 's second voice in his early recording career, then  would pick up the gauntlet and run with it right to the end of the howler's life. By 1956,  was in the R&B charts again, racking up hits with "Evil" and "Smokestack Lightnin'." He remained a top attraction both on the Chicago circuit and on the road. His records, while seldom showing up on the national charts, were still selling in decent numbers down South. But by 1960,  was teamed up with Chess staff writer , and for the next five years he would record almost nothing but songs written by . The magic combination of 's voice, 's guitar, and 's tunes sold a lot of records and brought the 50-year-old bluesman roaring into the next decade with a considerable flourish. The mid-'60s saw him touring Europe regularly with "Smokestack Lightnin'" becoming a hit in England some eight years after its American release. Certainly any list of 's greatest sides would have to include "I Ain't Superstitious," "The Red Rooster," "Shake for Me," "Back Door Man," "Spoonful," and "Wang Dang Doodle,"  compositions all. While almost all of them would eventually become Chicago blues standards, their greatest cache occurred when rock bands the world over started mining the Chess catalog for all it was worth. One of these bands was , whose cover of "The Red Rooster" became a number-one record in England. At the height of the British Invasion,  came to America in 1965 for an appearance on ABC-TV's rock music show, Shindig. Their main stipulation for appearing on the program was that  would be their special guest. With  sitting worshipfully at his feet,  performed a storming version of "How Many More Years," being seen on his network-TV debut by an audience of a few million.  never forgot the respect  paid him, and he spoke of them highly right up to his final days.  and  parted company by 1964 and  was back in the studio doing his own songs. One of the classics to emerge from this period was "Killing Floor," featuring a modern backbeat and a incredibly catchy guitar riff from . Catchy enough for  to appropriate it for one of their early albums, cheerfully crediting it to themselves in much the same manner as they had done with numerous other blues standards. By the end of the decade, 's material was being recorded by artists including , , , , and . The result of all these covers brought  the belated acclaim of a young, white audience. Chess' response to this was to bring him into the studio for a "psychedelic" album, truly the most dreadful of his career. His last big payday came when Chess sent him over to England in 1970 to capitalize on the then-current trend of albums, recording with  on lead guitar and other British superstars. 's health was not the best, but the session was miles above the earlier, ill-advised attempt to update 's sound for a younger audience. As the '70s moved on, the end of the trail started coming closer. By now  was a very sick man; he had survived numerous heart attacks and was suffering kidney damage from an automobile accident that sent him flying through the car's windshield. His bandleader  firmly rationed  to a meager half-dozen songs per set. Occasionally some of the old fire would come blazing forth from some untapped wellspring, and his final live and studio recordings show that he could still tear the house apart when the spirit moved him. He entered the Veterans Administration Hospital in 1976 to be operated on, but never survived it, finally passing away on January 10th of that year. But his passing did not go unrecognized. A life-size statue of him was erected shortly after in a Chicago park.  kept his memory and music alive by keeping his band, , together for several years afterward. A child-education center in Chicago was named in his honor and in 1980 he was elected to the Blues Foundation Hall of Fame. In 1991, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. A couple of years later, his face was on a United States postage stamp.  is now a permanent part of American history." - "Evil is a terrific vinyl collection of 's quintessential Sun and Chess recordings. It remains an excellent summary of his best work." - Selections on Side 1 Are Forty Four, Evil, Smokestack Lightning, Somebody in My Home, How Many More Years & I'm Leavin' You - Tracks for Side 2 Are All Night Long, Moanin' for My Baby, Baby How Long, No Place to Go, I Asked for Water(She Gave Me Gasoline)and Moanin' at Midnight! - Used Copy, Cover Is Slightly Faded & Splotchy with a Medium Surface Ring and a Slightly Bent Upper Right Corner, Front Cover Has some Discolorization from a Label in Upper Left Corner, Record Very Good++ - Mono Recording, Product Code LP 1540 - California Residents Add 9.75% Sales Tax - International S & H Extra -