“Howlin’ Wolf”—Record Store Day Giveaway

Howlin’ Wolf – The album is often called The Rockin’ Chair Album, a nickname even added to the cover on some reissue pressings of the LP.
Recorded: 1959-1962
Released:  January 11th, 1962

“In 1966, fellow Chess artist Koko Taylor recorded a cover version of “Wang Dang Doodle” which reached No. 4 on the Billboard’s R&B Charts and became a minor crossover hit by making No. 58 on the Billboard Hot 100. Earlier in 1963, Sam Cooke released a single of “Little Red Rooster” making No. 7 on the R&B Singles chart and No. 11 on the Hot 100. In 1964 “Little Red Rooster” was released by the Rolling Stones, and became the first and only time that a blues record reached No. 1 in the UK Singles Chart (see Little Red Rooster#Rolling Stones version). In 1966 Cream recorded “Spoonful” on their debut album Fresh Cream, and included a live, 17-minute version on their 1968 album Wheels of Fire. In 1969 the songs “Shake for Me” and “Back Door Man” were used in the lyrics to the Led Zeppelin song “Whole Lotta Love”.

“In 1985 the album won a Blues Music Award by The Blues Foundation for ‘Classics of Blues Recordings—Album’.In 2012, the album was ranked No. 238 on Rolling Stone magazine’s list of the 500 greatest albums of all time and described as “an outrageous set of sex songs written by Willie Dixon.”It was named the third greatest guitar album of all time by Mojo magazine in 2004.”

Tune in to KUVO JAZZ for a celebration of the “LP,” June 1 through 15. KUVO hosts will be sharing their record stories and favorite album art, plus random reflections on decades of record-related encounters.

We invite you to enter our Record Store Day drawing today and tell us your record story!

The winner will receive the following:

• A Pro-Ject Debut Carbon EVO turntable courtesy of Listen Up.
• A “starter-pack” of 10 LPs hand-picked by KUVO JAZZ Music Director Arturo Gómez from the bins at Twist & Shout
  • “Giant Steps” – John Coltrane
  • “Just Coolin'” – Art Blakey & the Jazz Messengers with Lee Morgan and Hank Mobley
  • “Everybody Digs Bill Evans” – Bill Evans Trio
  • “Saxophone Colossus” – Sonny Rollins
  • “The Cape Verdean Blues” plus J.J. Johnson – Horace Silver Quintet
  • “Rainbow Sign” – Ron Miles w/ Bill Frisell
  • “The Hits” – Sinatra
  • “Howlin’ Wolf” (Blues)
  • “The Astrud Gilberto Album” w/Antonio Carlos Jobim (Brazilian)
  • “Orquesta Akokán” (Latin Jazz/Salsa)
• A 1-year subscription to the mail record club Vinyl Me, Please

ENTER HERE!

You have until midnight on June 15, 2021! Good luck.

 

In the before times, the music went out to the masses via the disc – black lacquer, pressed with grooves that transmitted sound through a needle to hungry ears, stamped with a colorful label, pierced precisely with a hole measuring 9/32 of an inch (1.5 inches for 45 rpm singles).

Of course, the music was the main attraction, but it didn’t take long for marketers of the LP to create a package that was a sound-and-sight experience: album covers with original, commissioned artwork and photography, literary and entertaining liner notes, printed sleeves, colored vinyl, punch-out mobiles, stickers, posters, and LYRICS!

Fully enjoying the LP was an experience: unwrapping the album and inhaling the fresh ink and vinyl, dropping the needle on the edge of the platter, turning the stereo up LOUD, sitting down for Side A, getting up to turn the disc over for Side B, and taking it all in while you pore over every word and image on the jacket.  My favorite artists always included graphic treats and word puzzles along the way.  A whole vocabulary arose around the medium of the record.  Hipsters wanted to be “in the groove,” and “groovy” was a most positive accolade.  DJs promised “more platter,” “stacks o’ wax,” and “mounds of sounds.”  Later, with hip-hop, the sound of the needle forced back-and-forth on the record wasn’t a gag or a mistake; scratching was part of the rhythmic texture of the song.

Radio stations have had to keep up with all the technological developments of musical conveyance, the CD, and now digital storage and playback, plus a few formats you may not even have heard of – DAT and MiniDisk.  But the affection for the jazz LP has never waned.  Every public radio station I know of has a few record mavens on the airstaff.  KUVO Jazz has Mike Wulfsohn’s “Wulfy’s Wax Museum” (Mondays at 8:30 p.m.), Geoff Anderson’s “Vinyl Vault” (Tuesdays at 8:30 p.m.), Rodney Franks, JJ, Adam Morgan, Djamila Ricciardi, myself and a few others.

It’s probably not on your calendar, but if you’re a music lover, it should be: Record Store Day.  There are two Record Store Days this year, the first of which is Saturday, June 12.  For a few of us around KUVO Jazz, it’s in our planners, we’ve saved up, and we’re ready to do some serious crate-diving.  But why wait?

Record Store Day is celebrated nationally, with 29 record stores in Colorado listed.
The KUVO JAZZ “Record Stories” campaign is co-sponsored by ListenUp, Twist & Shout, and Vinyl Me, Please.
Drawing Rules Here.

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