"Howlin' at the Moon" is a song written and recorded by

Hank Williams Hiram "Hank" Williams (September 17, 1923 – January 1, 1953) was an American singer, songwriter, and musician. An early pioneer of country music, he is regarded as one of the most significant and influential musicians of the 20th century. W ...

. It rose to number 3 on the Hot Country Singles chart in 1951. The song also appeared on the soundtrack of alternate history TV series, '' For All Mankind''.

Song history

The up-tempo "Howlin' at the Moon" celebrates the giddiness of true love. Lyrically, the song reflects Williams' sense of humor and love of hunting. The title is punctuated by the hound dog yodels of fiddler

Jerry Rivers Jerry Rivers (August 25, 1928 – October 4, 1996) was an American fiddle player. Biography Jerry Rivers was born in Miami, Florida. He played fiddle with the Drifting Cowboys, a band who will be forever associated with their "frontman", the le ...

. In his book ''Hank Williams: The Biography'', writer

Colin Escott Colin Escott (born 31 August 1949) is a British music historian and author specializing in early U.S. rock and roll and country music. His works include a biography of Hank Williams, histories of Sun Records and The Grand Ole Opry, liner notes ...

observes, "The performance tears along...It was but a short step from there to rockabilly." Williams recorded the song at Castle Studio in

Nashville Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

on March 16, 1951. Williams was backed on the session by members of his

Drifting Cowboys The Drifting Cowboys were the backing group for American country legend and singer-songwriter Hank Williams. The band went through several lineups during Williams' career. The original lineup was formed in 1937, changing musicians from show to sh ...

band, including: Jerry Rivers (fiddle),

Don Helms Donald Hugh Helms (February 28, 1927 – August 11, 2008) was an American musician who was the steel guitar player of Hank Williams's Drifting Cowboys group. He was a member of the Steel Guitar Hall of Fame (1984). Biography Helms was a featu ...

(steel guitar), Sammy Pruett (electric guitar),

Jack Shook Jack Shook (born Loren Shook; September 11, 1910 – September 23, 1986) was an American guitarist and a Grand Ole Opry star. He was a native of Decatur, Illinois. He was raised in Kansas and Missouri. He started at WSM, Nashville as a staff musi ...

(rhythm guitar), Ernie Newton (or "Cedric Rainwater") aka Howard Watts (bass), and either

Owen Bradley William Owen Bradley (October 21, 1915 – January 7, 1998) was an American musician, bandleader and record producer who, along with Chet Atkins, Bob Ferguson, Bill Porter, and Don Law, was a chief architect of the 1950s and 60s Nashville sou ...

or producer Fred Rose on piano. The

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph record, vinyl records and Compact cassette, cassettes, and the terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side of a Single (music), single usually ...

of "Howlin' at the Moon", the ballad "

I Can't Help It (If I'm Still in Love with You) I Can't Help It may refer to: *I Can't Help It (film), ''I Can’t Help It'' (film), an upcoming film based on the novel ''The Ax'' by Donald E. Westlake, Donald Westlake (English title: ''No Other Choice'') *I Can't Help It (album), ''I Can't Help ...

", outperformed the

A-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of vinyl records and cassettes, and the terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side of a single usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or ...

on the charts (peaking at number 2). Williams disciple

George Jones George Glenn Jones (September 12, 1931 – April 26, 2013) was an American Country music, country musician, singer, and songwriter. He achieved international fame for a long list of hit records, and is well known for his distinctive voice an ...

recorded this song for his 1960 album '' George Jones Salutes Hank Williams''.

Chart performance

References

Bibliography

* {{authority control 1951 songs Songs written by Hank Williams Hank Williams songs MGM Records singles Song recordings produced by Fred Rose (songwriter)