Howlin' Wolf : The Holwin' Wolf Sessions

 

WHEN MY RIGHT EYES ITCHES

I GETS MONEY FOR SURE

WHEN MY LEFT EYE JUMPS

SOMEBODY'S GOT TO GO

 The London Howlin' Wolf Sessions

 is an album by

 blues musician

 Howlin' Wolf

 released in 1971

 on Chess Records,

 and on 

Rolling Stones Records

 in Britain.

 It was one 

of the first 

super session

 blues albums, 

setting a 

blues master 

among famous musicians 

from the 

second generation

 of rock and roll, 

in this case

 Eric Clapton, 

Steve Winwood, 

Charlie Watts,

 and

 Bill Wyman.

 It peaked at #79

 on the 

Billboard 200.

History

Backstage at the

 Fillmore Auditorium, 

after a concert 

by

 the Paul Butterfield Blues Band,

 Electric Flag, 

and Cream, 

Chess Records 

staff producer

 Norman Dayron 

spotted the guitar players

 of the latter

 two bands, 

Mike Bloomfield 

and

 Eric Clapton, 

talking and joking around. 

Dayron approached

 Clapton and, 

on impulse, 

asked 

"how would you like to do

 an album with

 Howlin' Wolf?" 

After confirming that

 the offer was legitimate,

 Clapton agreed, 

and Dayron

 set up sessions

 in London through the 

Chess organization

 to coordinate with

 Clapton's schedule.

Clapton secured the

 participation of 

the Rolling Stones 

rhythm section 

(pianist Ian Stewart, 

bassist Bill Wyman

 and drummer 

Charlie Watts), 

while Dayron assembled

further musicians

, including 19-year-old

 harmonica prodigy

 Jeffrey Carp, 

who died

 in 1973

 at age 24 Initially, 

Marshall Chess

 did not want to pay

 the expense for flights

 and accommodations

 to send Wolf's 

long-serving guitarist 

Hubert Sumlin

 to England,

 but an ultimatum by 

Clapton mandated

 his presence. 

Sessions took place

 between

 May 2 and May 7, 

1970, 

at Olympic Studios.

On the first day, 

May 2, 

Watts and Wyman 

were unavailable, 

and a call went out for

 immediate replacements. 

Many showed up, 

but only recordings 

featuring 

Klaus Voormann 

and Ringo Starr 

were released

 from that day. 

In the initial

 album credits, 

Starr is listed as

 "Richie,"

as Dayron

 was under the 

impression that, 

being a Beatle, 

his name could not

 be used directly.

Further overdubbing

 took place at the

 Chess studios in Chicago 

with Chess regulars

 Lafayette Leake 

on piano 

and 

Phil Upchurch 

on bass, 

and horn players 

Jordan Sandke,

 Dennis Lansing, 

and 

Joe Miller 

of the 

43rd Street Snipers,

 Carp's band. 

Ex-Blind Faith

 keyboardist

 Steve Winwood, 

on tour in

 the United States, 

contributed to the

 overdubbing sessions

 as well. 

Although he actually plays 

on only five tracks

 for the original album, 

his name is featured 

on the cover below 

the Wolf's,

 along with Clapton, 

Wyman, and Watts.

On March 4, 2003,

The current owner 

of the Chess catalogue 

Universal Music Group

 released a

 two-disc Deluxe Edition

 of the 

London Sessions. 

Included as bonus tracks

 on the first disc 

were three performances 

initially released on 

Chess CH 60026 

in February 1974,

 London Revisited. 

The second disc featured

 outtakes and different 

mixes.

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