"Spoonful" (Howlin' Wolf)

Like a lot of Chester Burnett's (a.k.a. Howlin' Wolf's) output for Chess Records in the 1960s, "Spoonful" (1960) is a composition by writer/arranger/bassist Willie Dixon.  As the liner notes for Howlin' Wolf: The Definitive Collection (2007) state, Burnett himself had penned a number of hits in the 50s and wanted to keep writing and controlling his own output.  However, the owners of Chess Records (brothers Leonard and Phil Chess) saw to it that Dixon, who had a finger on pop tastes and a knack for crafting catchy riffs, was the only one writing new music for Wolf and labelmates like Muddy Waters to keep Chess competitive.  The liner notes from the album include a 60s-era quote from Burnett to music journalist Peter Guralnick: "I can do my own songs better, but, you see, they won't let me."

Even though he wasn't too thrilled about having to sing Dixon's songs (they got in shouting matches quite frequently), Burnett couldn't have asked for a song better suited to his gritty style than "Spoonful," which is loosely based on the recording "A Spoonful Blues" (1929) by Delta bluesman Charlie Patton.

The entire song rides atop a single chord and a shuffling groove as Burnett moans about lustful pursuits and the ends mankind will go to for a mere "spoonful*," his larger-than-life sandpaper baritone duetting perfectly with session guitarist Hubert Sumlin's confident, piercing lead. 
   

(*He ain't singing about a teaspoon, kids.)