Tuxedo Stage Jacket Formerly Owned by Howlin' Wolf

Blues musician Chester Burnett, the Howlin’ Wolf, wore this white tuxedo jacket for stage performances, possibly in the late 1950s and early 1960s. The legendary blues musician was a formidable showman throughout his career. His unearthly howls and huge frame shook Mississippi juke joints in the 1930s. By the late 1940s, Wolf and his band were tearing up Memphis area clubs, and following a move to Chicago in 1953, he established himself as a leader of the city’s Blues scene.   

Wolf (1910-1976) was a towering pioneer of Electric Blues. He acquired his first guitar from his father at the age of 18. He learned from the best: Charlie Patton taught him guitar, Son House showed him how to use a slide, and Sonny Boy Williamson II introduced him to harmonica. While working on his father’s farm throughout the late 1920’s and 1930s, Wolf built his reputation as a powerful performer by accompanying himself on guitar and harmonica for weekend gigs. 

Following four years of Army service while stationed in Seattle, he moved to West Memphis, Arkansas, in 1948 and formed his own band. The addition of guitarist Willie Johnson highlighted the ferociousness of Wolf’s music, as heard on “Moanin’ at Midnight” and “How Many More Years” from his first recording session in 1951.    

Wolf’s songs, including “Spoonful,” “Smokestack Lightning,” “Back Door Man,” and “Killing Floor,” were an influence on artists such as the Rolling Stones, the Doors, Eric Clapton, and Jimi Hendrix. He was a large, imposing presence and drew raucous crowds wherever he performed, with his powerful unique voice, tight band, and wild stage act featuring suggestive hip thrusting, crawling on the floor, and dancing on tables and bars.