Moanin' at Midnight

Before moving to Chicago, Howlin' Wolf recorded his debut sides in Memphis with producer Sam Phillips. "Moanin' at Midnight" was his introduction to the world, and it was terrifying. Stripping away conventional lyrics, Wolf opened the track with a deep, wordless, intensely rhythmic hum that sounded like a physical manifestation of dread. Backed by the heavily distorted, aggressive guitar work of Willie Johnson and a minimalist, thumping drumbeat, the song was raw, primitive, and overwhelmingly powerful. Phillips later famously remarked that when he first heard Wolf sing, he knew he had finally found the place where the soul of man never dies.