The twelve-bar blues is not the only blues form. There is also a whole world of one-chord blues grooves over drones, pedal tones and static riffs. Howlin’ Wolf has several classic songs that follow this model, including “Spoonful“, “Wang Dang Doodle“, and “Smokestack Lightning.”
Guitarist Hubert Sumlin came up with the iconic riff. The track also features pianist Hosea Lee Kennard, guitarist Willie Johnson, bassist Willie Dixon, and drummer Earl Phillips.
Here’s my transcription of the first verse and first harmonica solo:
You have to love the odd and unpredictable phrasing. First of all, each phrase starts on beat two. And then they all have different lengths.
- “Woah, smokestack lightning” – three bars
- “Shining just like gold, why don’t you hear me cryin'” – four bars
- “A-wooo” – two bars, repeated three times
That’s thirteen bars. Wild! The harmonica solo is three two-bar phrases, like the “a-woooo” refrain.
Here’s a live version of the song from 1964. The lyrics are completely different. It was common for Delta blues singers to just improvise lyrics from a body of tropes. In the live version, Howlin’ Wolf’s vocal melody is also more free, and he plays longer harmonica solos. Imagine being in the room for this.
Wikipedia lists three predecessors and possible inspirations for “Smokestack Lighting.” First is Tommy Johnson’s “Big Road Blues.” I don’t hear much similarity beyond sharing the phrase “Don’t you hear me talking.” It’s a great tune though.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VU6eLg3GWuA
Next, Wikipedia lists “The New Stop and Listen Blues” by the Mississippi Sheiks. It’s a blues group with a fiddle player, which I always love. Once again, I’m not hearing much similarity here with “Smokestack Lightning” aside from the phrase “Hear me talking.” Howlin’ Wolf did learn “Sitting On Top of the World” from these guys though.
Finally, Wikipedia cites “Moon Going Down” by Charley Patton. I’m not hearing the connection between the two songs at all. It is pretty clear that Patton was an influence on Howlin’ Wolf’s singing style generally, though.
I won’t link to any white covers of “Smokestack Lightning”, because I have yet to hear a good one. The first version I heard was the one by the Grateful Dead. Pig Pen isn’t quite up to the challenge of the vocal and the Dead are sloppy as always, but at least they don’t rush. I do appreciate Creedence Clearwater Revival quoting the riff in “Suzie Q”.
The main mistake that white people make when they play this song (aside from playing it too fast, too loud and too dense) is thinking of the key as E minor. It’s not! I know that main riff is all E minor pentatonic, but if you play everything as minor, it sounds wrong. Notice that Howlin’ Wolf’s harmonica solos are full of E7 chords. It’s not an accident. I know the cliche take on blues is minor melodies over major tonality, but the reverse works too. It’s blues tonality!