Editing Howlin' Wolf (section)

=== Musical style ===
Wolf is among the most influential blues musicians of the postwar years. He was at the forefront of transforming the rural acoustic blues of the South, to the electric, more urban blues of Chicago. When Wolf first formed his band in West Memphis, Arkansas, his sound was much more aggressive, with guitarist Willie Johnson's raucous, distorted guitar playing being the signature sound of his early recordings.<ref name="Willie Johnson was born 98 years ago">{{cite web |last1=Beacham |first1=Frank |title=Willie Johnson was born 98 years ago today |url=https://www.beachamjournal.com/journal/2021/03/willie-johnson-was-born-98-years-ago-today.html |website=Frank Beacham's Journal |access-date=September 13, 2022}}</ref> When Wolf switched guitarists and added Hubert Sumlin to his lineup, his sound became less aggressive with Sumlin adding "angular riffing" and "wild soloing". He also adopted the backbeat that Chicago blues was mainly known for.<ref>{{cite web |title=Howlin' Wolf |url=https://teachrock.org/people/howlin-wolf/ |website=TeachRock |access-date=September 13, 2022}}</ref>

The musician and critic [[Cub Koda]] noted, "no one could match Howlin' Wolf for the singular ability to rock the house down to the foundation while simultaneously scaring its patrons out of its wits."<ref>{{cite web |last=Koda |first=Cub |author-link=Cub Koda |title=Howlin' Wolf – Artist Biography |url={{AllMusic|class=artist| id=p60993/biography| pure_url=yes}} |access-date=April 17, 2014 |website=AllMusic.com}}</ref> Producer [[Sam Phillips]] recalled, "When I heard Howlin' Wolf, I said, 'This is for me. This is where the soul of man never dies.{{'"}}<ref>''[[The Howlin' Wolf Story – The Secret History of Rock & Roll]]''.</ref>