Moanin' in the Moonlight is a compilation album and the first album by American blues artist Howlin' Wolf, released by Chess Records in 1959. It contains songs recorded between 1951 and 1959 previously issued as singles, including one of his best-known, "Smokestack Lightning". Rolling Stone ranked it number 477 on its 2020 list of "the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time".

Recording and production

The two earliest songs on the album were "Moanin' at Midnight" and "How Many More Years". These two songs and 'All Night Boogie', were recorded in Memphis, the first two at Sam Phillips' Memphis Recording Service in Memphis, Tennessee in July 1951, and, 'All Night Boogie', the last track on side one, in Memphis in 1953. These songs were sold to the Chess brothers, Leonard and Phil, who released them on two singles (Chess 1479 and Chess 1557), the first two titles being released on August 15, 1951. The rest of the songs on the album were recorded in Chicago, Illinois and were produced by the Chess brothers and/or Willie Dixon.

Artwork, packaging, and promotion

The original version of Moanin' in the Moonlight featured cover artwork by Don S. Bronstein and sleeve notes by Billboard editor Paul Ackerman. Label pressings from the original series have different colors because several pressing plants were used. The album was featured on an advertisement in Billboard magazine on August 10, 1959, which misprinted the album's title as Howlin' at Midnite.

Accolades

In 1987, Moanin' in the Moonlight was given a W.C. Handy Award in the "Vintage/Reissue Album (US)" category. Rolling Stone magazine ranked the album number 477 on its 2020 list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. Robert Palmer has cited "How Many More Years" (recorded May 1951) as the first record to feature a distorted power chord, played by Willie Johnson on the electric guitar.

Track listing

All songs written by Chester Burnett, except where noted. (Although the original 1959 LP, and the UK Chess 1965 issue credited all compositions to 'C. Burnett' [Howlin' Wolf].)

Personnel

The following people contributed to Moanin' in the Moonlight: