10 points to the person who explains what 'single version' means on the end of a Howlin Wolf track?

hi there,

a possible explanation is that the compilation (album) of Howlin' Wolf you are talking about is compiled of versions of his songs that were released as "singles" (also known as 45T, 7" and in his case possibly also the old form of 78T ; that's about the same system as the current CD singles with 2 or 3 tracks). But these recording were mostly edited (shortened) versions for use at radio stations.

The same system is still in use nowadays : most music you hear on "pop stations" are edited versions of the normal tracks that appear on the full-lenght CD version

Another popular term for this is "remix" (almost all succesful songs have a remix : normal single version, album version, radio edit version, dance version and every possible DJ brand version)

But to answer the question -- for an initiation to Howlin' Wolf, these tracks are the right ones.

Collectors will probably go for the more -rather rare to find album versions, mostly made at a later point in the year (sometimes with musicians diffrent from those on the single version), once the single tracks were succesful

In an ancient time, the single was the real deal, full albums were a plus.

In these modern times they make an album and then they decide, which track to release as a single.(For use as a promotion tool on radio stations)

That's one reason why those old albums from the fifties, sixties and even seventies were and are still so succesful -- most tracks were already wellknown before landing on a full album.

Mike Dennis.