The wolf still howls for Eddie Shaw

June 22, 2005

“Eddie Shaw and the Wolfgang was the last band for the legendary Howlin’ Wolf, one of the most unforgettable voices and performers in all of American music, who recorded such classic Chicago blues as ‘Smokestack Lightnin’,’ ‘Spoonful,’ and ‘Killing Floor’ that continue to inspire, delight and enlighten musicians and fans decades after Wolf’s untimely death in 1976.”
That’s the word from Kathy Nobles, chair of the Mid-North Michigan Blues Society, who is bringing Eddie Shaw to the BigEazy in Traverse City this Friday and Saturday, June 24-25 for a Chicago Blues Weekend. The weekend will also include a Sunday night show and open jam with Chicago blues guitarist Joanna Connor.
“Apart from his connections with the legendary Howlin’ Wolf Burnett, which include being Howlin’ Wolf’s personal manager for over five years, Eddie Shaw on tenor and alto saxes and harmonica is a very talented singer/songwriter, musician, arranger and band leader,” Nobles says. “He is one of the most respected blues musicians alive today.”
And no wonder, considering that Shaw’s music has been recorded by blues giants such as John Hammond, Otis Rush, Howlin’ Wolf, Willie Dixon, Magic Sam and others.
In the late ’50s, Shaw walked out of Muddy Waters’ band and walked down the street to accompany Muddy’s rival, Chester “Howlin’ Wolf” Burnett.
Shaw remembers that at the time many of the people revered as legends today were not regarded as part of the blues pantheon, but as entertainers. “At that time, you were just on the stage with a regular guy,” Shaw says of Howlin’ Wolf.
He played gigs with Hound Dog Taylor, Freddie King, Otis Rush, Earl Hooker, and Magic Sam. Shaw was also responsible for the arrangements on the legendary “Howlin’ Wolf London Sessions” on Chess Records featuring Eric Clapton, and on Muddy Waters’ “Unk and Funk” album, among others in the ‘60s and ‘70s.
The Wolf Gang was the original back-up band for Howlin’ Wolf and in 1972 Shaw became Wolf’s personal manager until his death. Together with the Wolf Gang, Shaw has continued to tour, performing in every state in the U.S. and in over a dozen foreign countries.
Shaw represents the modern-day counterpart to Wolf’s raucous, unrelenting style of blues.
“He rose from the cotton fields of Mississippi to be the greatest blues singer in the world. He played all over the world for kings and queens,” Shaw said of his mentor. “[Howlin’ Wolf] didn’t have too much education but he was very wise, street-wise, and I learned my band finesse mostly from him.”

Eddie Shaw and the Wolf Gang perform Friday and Saturday, June 24-25 at 9:30 p.m. at the BigEazy. Cover is $5.