Howlin' Wolf

Born Chester Arthur Bennett in the heart of the Mississippi Delta, Howlin' Wolf deserves to have his likeness on the Mount Rushmore of Rock 'n' Roll, alongside those of Robert Johnson, Muddy Waters, Chuck Berry, and Little Richard. When he plugged in his guitar — an instrument taught to him by the legendary Charlie Patton — he flat-out invented the electric blues. Meantime, the Rolling Stones had a hit with his "The Red Rooster," Cream covered "Spoonful," Led Zeppelin "Killing Floor," the Yardbirds "Smokestack Lightnin'," and the Doors "Back Door Man." If you're wondering where your favorite music would be without Howlin' Wolf, trust us, you're not alone.

That gruff, growly voice. The plaintive, animal cry. The music of Howlin' Wolf is instantly recognizable, as are its precedents — a mixture of folk, country, gospel, R&B, and down South blues. A nice-sized portion of our Next Steps, including the ravenous "The Wolf Is at Your Door" and "I Have a Little Girl," comes from his Chess sessions. These cuts featured the fretwork of his longtime collaborator, guitarist Hubert Sumlin, as he laid down the template for Chicago blues, which was embraced by virtually every U.K. rock band worth mentioning, and then deflected right back at us across the pond.

Songs like "The Back Door Wolf," boasting a squawking Eddie Shaw tenor sax solo, and "My Mind Is Ramblin'," with its Jimmy Reed skiffle carved out by guitarist Hubert Sumlin, show that Howlin' Wolf could call on some of the finest musicians around. On "Highway 49," from his famed London Sessions album, he's joined by the likes of Eric Clapton, Steve Winwood, and Bill Wyman, who all idolized him. A true multi-instrumental whiz, Wolf boasted a Sonny Boy Williamson-inspired harmonica style that can be heard to full effect on "I've Been Abused."

Howlin' Wolf's path, from the Mississippi to Memphis to Chicago to London, virtually shadows rock 'n' roll's own geographic journey from the '40s and '50s through the '60s and '70s. It went something like this: He established the music's template, and everyone who came after merely added volume and technique. See, Wolf was the original American bluesman, refracting slave hollers and gospel spirituals through a modern, urban mirror that upped the stakes and captured the fancy of a generation feeling its own way through the jungle. The throaty vocals cut like a knife, soothed by a mournful harp, a plucked guitar, and a solitary foot tapping the ground. "I'm a long way from home, and I can't sleep at all," he moans in "Evil." Truth is, Howlin' Wolf's music still keeps us up at night.