Moanin' at Midnight: The Life and Times of Howlin' Wolf

Howlin’ Wolf was a musical giant in every way. He stood six foot three, weighed almost three hundred pounds, wore size sixteen shoes, and poured out his darkest sorrows onstage in a voice like a raging chainsaw. Half a century after his first hits, his sound still terrifies and inspires.

Born Chester Burnett in 1910, the Wolf survived a grim childhood and hardscrabble youth as a sharecropper in Mississippi. He began his career playing and singing with the first Delta blues stars for two decades in perilous juke joints. He was present at the birth of rock ’n’ roll in Memphis, where Sam Phillips–who also discovered Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, and Jerry Lee Lewis–called Wolf his “greatest discovery.” He helped develop the sound of electric blues and vied with rival Muddy Waters for the title of king of Chicago blues. He ended his career performing and recording with the world’s most famous rock stars. His passion for music kept him performing–despite devastating physical problems–right up to his death in 1976.

There’s never been a comprehensive biography of the Wolf until now. Moanin’ at Midnight is full of startling information about his mysterious early years, surprising and entertaining stories about his decades at the top, and never-before-seen photographs. It strips away all the myths to reveal–at long last–the real-life triumphs and tragedies of this blues titan.

"[B]y debriefing nearly 150 musicians who knew him and drawing on secondary sources as well, and by the subtle imposition of a few overriding themes, [ have done important work in bringing Wolf down a little closer to life size." Ben Ratliff, The New York Times

"This fluid, fascinating and thoroughly researched biography is a long overdue tribute to one of the two giants of post-WWII Chicago-style electric blues music." Publishers Weekly

"[T]his engrossing study is a must-have for blues-concerned collections and, indeed, a worthy acquisition for any pop music collection." Booklist

"This readable, high-quality work is made all the more valuable by the continuing popularity of blues music and the Wolf's lasting influence." Library Journal

James Segrest (left) has written for Blues Access magazine and cowrote the liner notes for the Grammy-nominated album A Tribute to Howlin’ Wolf. He lives in Notasulga, Alabama.

Mark Hoffman has written for Blues Access, Living Blues, and Blues to Do magazines and narrated the prizewinning film The Howlin’ Wolf Story. He lives on an island near Seattle.