Howlin' Wolf/Muddy Waters/Bo Diddley: The Super Super Blues Band [JACKPOT]

Why you'll love it

This stereo reissue brings back a 1968 Checker jam with three Chess giants in one room, produced by Willie Dixon. Otis Spann plays piano, Hubert Sumlin adds guitar and Buddy Guy holds down the bass.

This edition

• Stereo

About the album

Chess Records liked to put its stars in a room together and press record, and this is the most crowded room of the lot. Howlin' Wolf, Muddy Waters and Bo Diddley each brought their own repertoire, their own swagger and, by the sound of the studio chatter, their own opinions about who was in charge. Willie Dixon, who wrote half the Chess catalogue, sat in the producer's chair and kept the tapes rolling.

Muddy takes his own "Long Distance Call" for over nine minutes, Bo leads the "Ooh Baby" medley and "Diddley Daddy," and Wolf growls through Willie Dixon's "Spoonful" and "The Red Rooster." Otis Spann's piano rolls under everything, Hubert Sumlin slips in guitar lines, Buddy Guy plays bass, Frank Kirkland drums and Cookie Vee adds vocals, before the whole crew winds down with "Goin' Down Slow," a slow-burning finale.

It's loose, loud and full of laughter, a rare chance to hear three legends trading lines in real time. Three frontmen and one microphone is a recipe most managers would avoid, and Chess went ahead and did it anyway.

Also at Kops: more Howlin' Wolf on vinyl · browse Blues

Tracklist

Listen

On Jackpot / Checker (cat# JPR-033), a reissue of the 1968 album.