How To Play Smokestack Lightning By Howlin' Wolf - Hubert Sumlin 

It's amazing to me as a lifelong blues fan since the '60s, how the classic original Howlin' Wolf recording is still just as powerful and great as ever. It's almost 100 years since Wolf started singing and playing this with Charley Patton back in the 1930s down in the Delta, and 2026 will be the 70th anniversary of the classic Chess version recorded in January, 1956. We're all of us just feeble imitators of Howlin' Wolf, no matter if your name is Eric Clapton or anyone else. Wolf was on another level above everybody else,, except for Muddy and a few others.

Like many here, I first heard this song by the Yardbirds. Never did I forsee meeting Hubert Sumlin many years later which was SO GREAT A MOMENT! It wasn't easy learning Blues or ANY music history in the time before RU-vid, Google etc. Had to network older people, libraries,record nerds, develop sources like an investigator. 2:19 "4th fret second string" huh? did you perhaps mean 4th string second fret? or did I miss something?

the music we grow up on was and is the best this electronic stuf sucks ..iv tryed to learn this several times it is trickey but i just keep comming back to it picking up a little more each time thank you for shairing your time with us it realy dose help keep me going guitar is not easy

Love this one. I’ve been working on it from another YT lesson but your explanation of timing is excellent. Thanks!

You’re correct, Griff…Hubert Sumlin was the blues master guitarist on that tune!👍🏿

Not only that, it sounds like the eight notes have a slight swing feel.

Great job for not being kind to your low E string!