''The Back Door Wolf'' is the final studio album by blues musician

Howlin' Wolf Chester Arthur Burnett (June 10, 1910January 10, 1976), better known by his stage name Howlin' Wolf, was an American blues singer and guitarist. He is regarded as one of the most influential blues musicians of all time. Over a four-decade care ...

, released by

Chess Records Chess Records was an American record company established in 1950 in Chicago, specializing in blues and rhythm and blues. It was the successor to Aristocrat Records, founded in 1947. It expanded into soul music, gospel music, early rock and roll ...

in 1973.

Reception

In a retrospective

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

review, critic

Cub Koda Michael "Cub" Koda (born October 1, 1948 – July 1, 2000) was an American rock and roll singer, guitarist, songwriter, disc jockey, music critic, and record compiler. ''Rolling Stone'' magazine considered him best known for writing the song " S ...

wrote: "This, Wolf's last hurrah, is his final studio album. Cut with his regular working band, the Wolf Gang, everything here works well ... Not the place to start a Wolf collection by any means, but a great place to end up".

Track listing

All compositions credited to Chester Burnett except where noted # "Moving" – 2:44 # "Coon on the Moon" (Eddie Shaw) – 3:44 # "Speak Now Woman" ( James Oden) – 4:50 # "Trying to Forget You" (Shaw) – 3:33 # "Stop Using Me" – 2:52 # "Leave Here Walking" (Shaw) – 2:30 # "The Back Door Wolf" (Shaw, Ralph Bass) – 4:02 # "You Turn Slick on Me" ( Emery Williams Jr.) – 4:50 # "The Watergate Blues" (Shaw) – 3:10 # "Can't Stay Here" (Andrew McMahon) – 2:31 Additional track on CD reissue #

"Speak Now Woman" lternate take(Oden) – 4:20

Personnel

– vocals, harmonica *

Eddie Shaw Eddie Shaw (March 20, 1937 – January 29, 2018) was an American Chicago blues tenor saxophonist, arranger and bandleader. He led Howlin' Wolf's band, the Wolf Gang, from 1972, both before Wolf's death in 1976 and subsequently. Biography ...

– tenor saxophone (track 7) *

Detroit Junior Emery "Detroit Junior" Williams, Jr. (October 26, 1931 – August 9, 2005) was an American Chicago blues pianist, vocalist and songwriter. He is known for songs such as "So Unhappy", "Call My Job", "If I Hadn't Been High", "Ella" and "Money T ...

– piano, harpsichord *

Hubert Sumlin Hubert Charles Sumlin (November 16, 1931 – December 4, 2011) was a Chicago blues guitarist and singer, best known for his "wrenched, shattering bursts of notes, sudden cliff-hanger silences and daring rhythmic suspensions" as a member of Howlin ...

, Willie Williams – guitar *

Andrew "Blueblood" McMahon Andrew "Blueblood" McMahon (April 12, 1926 – February 17, 1984) was an American Chicago blues bass guitarist, singer and songwriter. McMahon played bass guitar in Howlin' Wolf's backing ensemble for over a decade. He also backed a number of ...

, James Green – bass *S. P. Leary – drums

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Back Door Wolf, The 1973 albums Howlin' Wolf albums Chess Records albums Albums produced by Ralph Bass