Editing Howlin' Wolf (section)

===First recordings and initial success, 1950s===
In 1951, 19-year-old [[Ike Turner]], who was a freelance talent scout, heard Howlin' Wolf in West Memphis.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Selvin|first=Joel|date=September 14, 1997|title=POP QUIZ -- Q & A With Ike Turner|work=SFGATE|url=https://www.sfgate.com/music/popquiz/article/POP-QUIZ-Q-A-With-Ike-Turner-2807610.php|access-date=May 28, 2020}}</ref> Turner brought him to record several songs for [[Sam Phillips]] at Memphis Recording Service (later renamed [[Sun Studio]]) and the [[Bihari brothers]] at [[Modern Records]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Howlin' Wolf Interview|url=https://arhoolie.org/howlin-wolf-interview-2/|date=April 20, 1967|website=The Arhoolie Foundation|access-date=May 27, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{Cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/artists/howlin-wolf/biography|title=Howlin' Wolf Bio|magazine=Rolling Stone|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150109044148/http://www.rollingstone.com/music/artists/howlin-wolf/biography|archive-date=January 9, 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref>{{sfn|Humphrey|2007|p=}} Phillips praised his singing, saying, "God, what it would be worth on film to see the fervour in that man's face when he sang. His eyes would light up, you'd see the veins come out on his neck and, buddy, there was nothing on his mind but that song.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Szatmary|first=David P.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QTjaAAAAMAAJ&q=God,+what+it+would+be+worth+on+film+to+see+the+fervour+in+that+man's+face+when+he+sang.+His+eyes+would+light+up,+you'd+see+the+veins+come+out+on+his+neck+and,+buddy,+there+was+nothing+on+his+mind+but+that+song.|title=A Time to Rock: A Social History of Rock and Roll|date=1996|publisher=Schirmer Books|isbn=978-0-02-864670-1|pages=1645|language=en}}</ref> He sang with his damn soul." Howlin' Wolf quickly became a local celebrity and began working with a band that included the guitarists Willie Johnson and [[Pat Hare]]. [[Sun Records]] had not yet been formed, so Phillips licensed his recording to [[Chess Records]].{{sfn|Collis|1998|p=54}} Howlin' Wolf's first singles were issued by two different record companies in 1951: "[[Moanin' at Midnight]]"/"[[How Many More Years]]" was released on Chess, while "Riding in the Moonlight"/"Morning at Midnight" and "Passing By Blues"/"Crying at Daybreak" were released on Modern's subsidiary [[RPM Records (USA)|RPM Records]].{{sfn|Collis|1998|p=54}} In December 1951, [[Leonard Chess]] was able to secure Howlin' Wolf's contract,<ref>{{Cite magazine|date=December 22, 1951|title=Chess, Biharis Skirmish; This Time Over Wolf|magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]|page=17}}</ref> and at the urging of Chess, he relocated to Chicago in late 1952.{{sfn|Humphrey|2007|p=}}{{sfn|Sawyers|2012|p=161}}

In Chicago, Howlin' Wolf assembled a new band and recruited the Chicagoan [[Jody Williams (blues musician)|Jody Williams]] from Memphis Slim's band as his first guitarist. Within a year he had persuaded the guitarist [[Hubert Sumlin]] to leave Memphis and join him in Chicago; Sumlin's understated solos and surprisingly subtle phrasing perfectly complemented Burnett's huge voice. The lineup of the band changed often over the years. Wolf employed many different guitarists, both on recordings and in live performance, including Willie Johnson, Jody Williams, [[Lee Cooper (guitarist)|Lee Cooper]], L.D. McGhee, [[Otis "Big Smokey" Smothers]], his brother [[Little Smokey Smothers]], [[Jimmy Rogers]], [[Abu Talib (musician)|Freddie Robinson]], [[Buddy Guy]] and others. He was able to attract some of the best musicians available because of his policy, unusual among bandleaders, of paying his musicians well and on time, even including their [[unemployment insurance]] and [[Social Security (United States)|Social Security contributions]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.howlinwolf.com/articles/bio_2.htm |title=Howlin' Wolf Biography, Part 2 |last=Hoffman |first=Mark |date=July 18, 2012 |website=Howlinwolf.com |access-date=April 17, 2014}}</ref> With the exception of a couple of brief absences in the late 1950s, Sumlin remained a member of the band for the rest of Wolf's career and is the guitarist most often associated with the Howlin' Wolf sound.

Howlin' Wolf had a series of hits with songs written by [[Willie Dixon]], who had been hired by the Chess brothers in 1950 as a songwriter.  During that period, the competition between [[Muddy Waters]] and Howlin' Wolf was intense. Dixon reported "Every once in a while Wolf would mention the fact that, 'Hey man, you wrote that song for Muddy. How come you won't write me one like that?' But when you'd write for him he wouldn't like it." So, Dixon decided to use reverse psychology on him, by introducing the songs to Wolf as written for Muddy, thus getting Wolf to accept them.

In the 1950s, Howlin' Wolf had five songs on the ''[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]'' national R&B charts: "Moanin' at Midnight", "How Many More Years", "Who Will Be Next", "[[Smokestack Lightning]]", and "I Asked for Water (She Gave Me Gasoline)".{{sfn|Whitburn|1988|pp=197–198}} His first LP, ''[[Moanin' in the Moonlight]]'', was released in 1959. As was standard practice during that time, it was a collection of previously released singles.