153) Moanin’ in the Moonlight

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Wolf was a big man -- six feet three and 300 pounds of heavenly joy, as he put it in one song. His huge, eerie sound centered around his commanding growl and the explosive playing of two blues-guitar geniuses: Willie Johnson and Hubert Sumlin. This enormously influential collection of singles for Chess instructed the Rolling Stones, Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck and the rest of England in the ways of the blues. It includes Wolf compositions that became standards, such as "Smokestack Lightnin' " and "I Asked for Water (She Gave Me Gasoline)," and it starts with "Moanin' at Midnight," from his first recording session ever -- at age forty-one.

Total album sales: Under 500,000

Peak chart position: N/A

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