Interviews

My interview with The Who’s Pete Townsend (Townshend) from 2005

Pete Townshend: The Jeff Clark

Courtesy Photo

Interview
By: JEFF CLARK

Clay County native Howlin’ Wolf has influenced the greats in rock ‘n’roll: Eric Clapton, Keith Richards and John Lennon are just a small few of the lives touched by Wolf. The Who guitarist and accomplished solo artist Pete Townshend is among those that consider Wolf’s influence to have made a major impact on their lives.

In an exclusive interview with the Daily Times Leader, Townshend discusses the impact that a bluesman from Clay County and pop culture-icon had on his life and career.
Jeff Clark (JC): As a young man in England, how were youexposed to the blues music of America?
Pete Townshend (PT): At first it was a gentle thing, skiffle startedhere as a craze around 1959. That led to the music of Country Blues artistslike Big Bill Broonzy, Leadbelly, Sonny Terry and Brownie McGee getting someof their records in the shops. I bought those first, thinking of the musicas a kind of exotic ‘world’ music, enjoying it, but feeling it was a verylong way away from my own world. I learned quite a few of their pieces. Itwas hearing Leadbelly that made me decide my first good acoustic guitar – aHarmony–would be a 12 string.

JC: How did you obtain your first Howlin’ Wolf record and what was it?
PT: This came later. I was at Ealing Art school in 1961 and some time inthe following year I met a young American photography student Tom Wright. Hehad a big collection of R&B, including Howling Wolf. I’m afraid IU can’tremember the album, but “Smokestack Lightnin’” was one of the tracks. I haveto say that I loved the guitar sound on these records, and the drummerplayed in a New Orleans style I was unfamiliar with until then.

JC: How did hearing Howlin’ Wolf for the first time make you feel?
PT: Chilled. His voice sounded like it travelled across the universe. A
and appealing.

JC: How did Wolf influence your early career? Were you,in thebeginning, attempting to mimic American blues?
PT: Yes. Roger (Daltrey) adored Howling Wolf and did a very, very goodimpression.

JC: Did you ever meet Wolf on Shindig or some other venue?
PT: Sadly not. We did “Shindig” here in the Uk where it was filmed.

JC: Do you feel that it is important for Americans to preserve this partof their musical heritage?
PT: Of course. It feels quite recent to us, but so is the work of AndyWarhol and Diane Arbus. Howling Wolf is an American artist, a part of theinternationally recognized cavalcade of authentic American genius. He is notjust some guy with a band, he helped to change our view of the world and toharden up this new way we have found to express our deepest feelings. I am60 years old as I write this: as a musician I still feel like an agelessartist. When I listen to Howling Wolf I hear music that will always speakfor the late fifties, the sixties and the years that followed, music thatwas not designed to sell cokes and popcorn at drive-ins, but was equallyuplifting, joyful and accessible. Unlike the radio pop of that periodHowling Wold had real teeth; he showed us we could let our music beunapologetically masculine (as much of British rock turned out to be) without being chauvinistic.

JC: Why do you feel people like Wolf, and even Hendrix, were more accepted in the UK than, initially, in the U.S.?
PT: America is huge. It has so much to offer. It is a rich, cosmopolitan country with people gathered from all over the world. It\’s hard to live there and distill everything there is to see and hear. From the UK we couldsee your musical heritage a little more objectively