2016-06-17 Fri

The Kings of Blues, the voice behind legendary songs like "Smokestack Lightnin'", "Back Door Man", "Killing Floor" and "Spoonful", Chester Arthur Burnett, was born on 10th June 1910 in Mississippi. Popularly known as Howlin’ Wolf, this veteran artist was honoured on a 29¢ stamp postage stamp issued by The U.S. in 1994. The stamp belongs to the Jazz and Blues Musicians set in the Legends, falling under the American Music commemorative series.

He changed his name to Wolf after developing his unique singing style, from the noted Country blues singer Charley Patton and learnt to play the harmonica from Sonny Boy Williamson. Other stories reveal that the name was given to him by his grandfather.

Delta blues was not known to the world until Wolf stole the limelight and introduced this uniquely heart-warming genre of music to Chicago and London. After playing in clubs in 1940s for 10 years, the started recording and moved to Chicago in 1952. He had the power to enthral the audience by playing harmonica along with the acoustic guitar, rendering songs in his soulful voice. Many believe that the golden age of rock and roll was inspired by his style of singing.

This showman kept performing till 1976, after which he succumbed to kidney complications.

Every letter sent with this beautiful stamp would be a tribute to a man whose voice lives on!