Howlin' Wolf - "Shake For Me"

Happy 4th of July to everyone! Today's record is "Shake For Me", a great, rockin' blues number by Howlin' Wolf. Legendary songwriter Willie Dixon wrote it. It was released both as a single and on Wolf's famous "Rockin' Chair" album in early 1962. As you can tell from the scan, my copy is a little, er, beat up. But it still plays just fine.

The record opens with up-tempo guitar and percussion. Howlin' Wolf's voice comes in and is at a near shout. You might guess the subject matter from the song's title. The lyrics include the line "Shake like jello on a plate". There's also a great guitar break. Voila!, It's Great Shakes nirvana.

July 6th update: Those who happened by the blog within the past few days might have seen the video clip of Howlin' Wolf performing "Shake For Me". I've taken it down, since I don't wish to step on anyone's copyright. If you'd like to see the video, it's probably still available over at youtube.com. In addition, Jim Colegrove left the following comment:

"This Wolf video is available on DVD: American Folk Blues Festival 1962-1966 - Vol. 2."

Thanks Jim, if the rest of the DVD is as good as the Wolf clip, then its gotta be a winner.