Howlin' Wolf - Love Me Darlin' (Stevie Ray Vaughan)

These are both live performances of the classic Howlin' Wolf song "Love Me Darlin'". The top video is a performance by Wolf who also wrote the song. The performance is from 1964 and next to Howlin' Wolf performing we have Hubert Sumlin, Sunnyland Slim on piano, Willie Dixon on bass and Clifton James on drums.
Stevie Ray Vaughan covered the song in the studio on his 1989 release "In Step". I love his take on the song. This was Stevie's last album with Double Trouble. It sticks to the original, but brings something to it at the same time. And that was Stevie's expertise: interoperating classic blues songs and adding his own thing to them.
I love both versions of this song, but I'm such a big SRV fan that I might like Vaughan's version a little better. But both versions are definitely worth listening to.

Enjoy ; )

Howlin' Wolf - Smokestack Lightning

This is a live performance by blues legend Howlin' Wolf playing his classic song "Smokestack Lightning". The performance is from 1964 in England, and the backing band consists of Hubert Sumlin and Willie Dixon among others.
The song was first released in 1956 and has appeared on two of Wolf's albums throughout his career: "Moanin' in the Moonlight" and "The Howlin' Wolf Album". The song was written by Howlin' Wolf and was inspired by the song "Stop and Listen Blues" by The Mississippi Sheiks. Wolf has stated that it is about sitting at the side of a railway watching as sparks come from between the tracks and the train. That's what "Smokestack Lightning" means.
Over time it has become a blues standard and has received many honours and awards. The song has also been covered by a huge list of people, including: Muddy Waters, The Rolling Stones, John Mayer, Led Zeppelin, Bob Dylan, The Who, Soundgarden and Aerosmith. Quite a list, and it's even longer. Read the full list by clicking here.
It's a great song and a great performance. Wolf's voice is so unique and full of feeling in it's own right. Gotta love Howlin' Wolf.

Enjoy ; )