Smokestack Lightning
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| “Smoke Stack Lightning” | ||
|---|---|---|
| Single by Howlin' Wolf | ||
| B-side | "You Can't Be Beat" | |
| Released | March 1956 | |
| Format | 7" 45 rpm | |
| Recorded | 1956 | |
| Genre | Blues | |
| Label | Chess Records | |
| Producer | Leonard Chess, Phil Chess, Willie Dixon | |
"Smoke Stack Lightning" (as listed on the original single, more commonly referred to as "Smokestack Lightning") is a 1956 blues song by Howlin' Wolf.
The song, written by Chester Burnett, better known as Howlin' Wolf, is based on one riff and no chord changes. It has been called "a distillation of the essence of the blues". "Smoke Stack Lightning" was based on "Crying at Daybreak", another earlier recorded song by Wolf which was based on "Moon Going Down" by Charley Patton. Wolf said the song was inspired by watching trains in the night: "We used to sit out in the country and see the trains go by, watch the sparks come out of the smokestack. That was smokestack lightning." In 1999, the single "Smokestack Lightning" was given a Grammy Hall of Fame Award honoring its lasting historical significance.
In 1998, Hubert Sumlin, who played guitar on Wolf's original version of the song, released the album I Know You which featured a song called "Smokestack". It features the same riff as "Smokestack Lightning", but with different lyrics. The lyrics on "Smokestack" were done in the style of John Lee Hooker, which is more of a spoken word than singing with a rhyme scheme.[citation needed]
The song has been covered numerous times by various artists including The Rolling Stones, The Yardbirds, The Animals, The Grateful Dead,Bob Dylan, The Who, The Electric Prunes, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Soundgarden, Quicksilver Messenger Service and George Thorogood. Creedence Clearwater Revival's "Susie Q" uses the riff from this song. Because the original lyrics did not feature much of a rhyme scheme and included a howl by the Wolf, it was often reworked.[citation needed] The Yardbirds first covered it on their debut, Five Live Yardbirds with slightly rewritten lyrics, not including the howl. On The Yardbirds' BBC Sessions, the lyrics were rewritten completely.
[edit] References
- "GRAMMY Hall Of Fame Awards". Grammy.com. Retrieved on August 26, 2007.
- Janovitz, Bill. "Smokestack Lightning". All Music Guide. Retrieved on August 23, 2007.
- "Smoke Stack Lightning". December 9, 2004. Rolling Stone. Retrieved on August 23, 2007.
