J. T. Smith (musician)

John T. Smith (between 1885 and 1890 – possibly 1940,^[1] or c. 1910 – 1979),^[2] variously known as the Howling Wolf, "Funny Papa" Smith, "Funny Paper" Smith, and Howling Smith, was an American blues guitarist, singer and songwriter.^[1][2][3] Little is known about Smith, and some reported details of his life may be apocryphal. He was a busking street musician in Texas, Louisiana, and Oklahoma; Smith played at parties, juke joints, and fish fries. He released around ten singles in his own name, or variants thereof. He also recorded with Bernice Edwards, Black Boy Shine, Magnolia Harris, and Dessa Foster. His best-known song was "Howling Wolf Blues", of which several variants were recorded. Many of his original recordings were unreleased at the time; he had a brief recording career with Vocalion Records. All are now available on compilation albums.

Smith's music has been compared to that of Blind Lemon Jefferson,^[4][5] and his guitar playing was similar in style to that of other Texas guitarists around in his lifetime.^[6] One factor that set him apart from his contemporaries was his lyrical compositions, which were highly original. On more than one occasion, his verses were so full that he had to split the song between both sides of the three-minute limitation imposed by the standard 10" 78-rpm disc.^[7]

On occasion the recording company would call him "The Howlin Wolf". Chester Burnett, who became more widely known as Howlin' Wolf, claimed he had heard of Smith, but he did not get his nickname from him.^[8]