Editing Howlin' Wolf (section)

== Artistry and legacy ==

=== Musical style ===
Wolf is among the most influential blues musicians of the postwar years. He was at the forefront of transforming the rural acoustic blues of the South, to the electric, more urban blues of Chicago. When Wolf first formed his band in West Memphis, Arkansas, his sound was much more aggressive, with guitarist Willie Johnson's raucous, distorted guitar playing being the signature sound of his early recordings.<ref name="Willie Johnson was born 98 years ago">{{cite web |last1=Beacham |first1=Frank |title=Willie Johnson was born 98 years ago today |url=https://www.beachamjournal.com/journal/2021/03/willie-johnson-was-born-98-years-ago-today.html |website=Frank Beacham's Journal |access-date=September 13, 2022}}</ref> When Wolf switched guitarists and added Hubert Sumlin to his lineup, his sound became less aggressive with Sumlin adding "angular riffing" and "wild soloing". He also adopted the backbeat that Chicago blues was mainly known for.<ref>{{cite web |title=Howlin' Wolf |url=https://teachrock.org/people/howlin-wolf/ |website=TeachRock |access-date=September 13, 2022}}</ref>

The musician and critic [[Cub Koda]] noted, "no one could match Howlin' Wolf for the singular ability to rock the house down to the foundation while simultaneously scaring its patrons out of its wits."<ref>{{cite web |last=Koda |first=Cub |author-link=Cub Koda |title=Howlin' Wolf – Artist Biography |url={{AllMusic|class=artist| id=p60993/biography| pure_url=yes}} |access-date=April 17, 2014 |website=AllMusic.com}}</ref> Producer [[Sam Phillips]] recalled, "When I heard Howlin' Wolf, I said, 'This is for me. This is where the soul of man never dies.{{'"}}<ref>''[[The Howlin' Wolf Story – The Secret History of Rock & Roll]]''.</ref> 

=== Equipment ===
Although Sumlin was the main guitar player in Wolf's band, Wolf played a number of guitars himself throughout the years. He played a 1965 [[Epiphone Casino]] on his musical tour in Europe, a [[Fender Coronado]], a [[Gibson Firebird]] V in the "Down in the Bottom" video recorded in 1966, a white [[Fender Stratocaster]], a Teisco Tre-100, and he also played a [[Kay K-161 ThinTwin]] in his earlier years. The Kay K-161 ThinTwin is currently residing in the [[Rock & Roll Hall of Fame]] in [[Cleveland, Ohio]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Howlin' Wolf |url=https://equipboard.com/pros/howlin-wolf |website=Equipboard |access-date=September 8, 2022}}</ref>

=== Accolades ===
In 1980, Burnett was posthumously inducted into the Blues Foundation's [[Blues Hall of Fame]].<ref name="Life and Times of Howlin' Wolf" /> He was also inducted into the [[Rock & Roll Hall of Fame]] as an early influence, and the Hall of Fame located in his hometown of [[West Point, Mississippi]], in 1995.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Guralnick |first1=Peter |title=Howlin' Wolf |url=https://www.rockhall.com/inductees/howlin-wolf |access-date=September 8, 2022 |website=Rock & Roll Hall of Fame}}</ref>

On September 17, 1994, the [[List of people on the postage stamps of the United States|U.S. Postal Service]] issued a 29 cent commemorative postage stamp depicting Howlin' Wolf.

On September 1, 2005, the Howlin' Wolf Blues Museum opened at 57 E. Westbrook Street in West Point, Mississippi. An annual festival is held there.<ref name="West Point, Mississippi">{{cite web |author=<!--Not stated--> |title=West Point, Mississippi |url=http://www.wpnet.org/index.php/attractions/howlin_wolf/blues_festival |access-date=September 8, 2022 |website=West Point}}</ref>

The Howlin' Wolf Foundation, a nonprofit corporation organized under the US tax code, section [[501(c)(3)#501|501(c)(3)]], was established by Bettye Kelly to preserve and extend his legacy. The foundation's mission and goals include preserving blues music, providing scholarships for students to participate in music programs, and support for blues musicians and blues programs.<ref>{{cite web |title=Mission & Goal |url=http://www.howlinwolffoundation.org/index.php/the-foundation/mission-goal |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140220105140/http://www.howlinwolffoundation.org/index.php/the-foundation/mission-goal |archive-date=February 20, 2014 |access-date=April 17, 2014 |website=Howlinwolffoundation.org |publisher=Howlin' Wolf Foundation |df=mdy-all}}</ref>

The experimental rock band [[Swans (band)|Swans]] performs a song titled "Just A Little Boy (for Chester Burnett)" on their 2014 album ''[[To Be Kind]]''. The song takes heavy blues inspiration and features lead singer [[Michael Gira]] vocalizing in a manner similar to Burnett's howling style.<ref name="This Is My Sermon: M Gira Of Swans Speaks To John Doran"> {{cite web |author=<!--Not stated--> |title=This Is My Sermon: M Gira Of Swans Speaks To John Doran |url=https://thequietus.com/articles/15163-michael-gira-swans-to-be-kind-interview |access-date=February 14, 2023 |website=The Quietus|date=May 6, 2014 }}</ref>

In 2023, ''[[Rolling Stone]]'' ranked Howlin' Wolf at number 59 on its list of the 200 Greatest Singers of All Time.<ref name="SIZE" />