Hoodoo Man Blues

Record producer Bob Koester, the founder of Delmark Records who is credited with discovering Wells along with producer Sam Charters, recalls that at the time he was considering releasing an album by Wells, he was anxious about both the audience for Wells' music and the expense of studio time and sidemen, but that he liked the music too much to resist. He had recorded "Hoodoo Man Blues" on a 78 rpm record years before, but when the song was presented to radio personnel for possible rotation they had rejected it violently, throwing it on the floor and stomping on it. Wells, too disappointed to want to try again, credits Koester's encouragement with the song's presence on the album. ==Reception==

The album, characterized by Little Labels—Big Sound as "blatantly non-commercial", demonstrated to audiences that Chicago Blues could be effectively captured on album. "[O]ne of the first to fully document the smoky ambience of a night at a West side nightspot in the superior acoustics of a recording studio", according to Bill Dahl of AllMusic, In 1998, The New York Times described it as among the artist's best-recorded works. In 2008, The Times declared it to be Wells' "most celebrated album". In their 2005 biography of Howlin' Wolf, James Segrest and Mark Hoffman make note that it is one of the albums usually cited by critics as "one of the greatest blues albums ever released." ==Track listing==

Titles, songwriting credits, and running times are taken from the original Delmark LP record album liner notes and record label. Other sources may show different listings. Original album ==Personnel==

Musicians • Junior Wells – harmonica, vocals • Buddy Guy (originally billed as Friendly Chap) – guitar, vocals • Jack Myers – bass • Bill Warren – drums Technical personnel • Bob Koester – producer, liner notes, supervisor • Stu Black – engineer • Roger Seibel – digital mastering • Zbigniew Jastrzebski – cover design • Greg Roberts ( Bob Koester) – photography ==Footnotes==