Little Red Rooster

Little Red Rooster is a blues song written by Willie Dixon and released by Howlin' Wolf as a single ("The Red Rooster" b/w "Shake For Me" (Chess Records 1804) in 1962. It was also included on his second album, Howlin' Wolf. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame listed it as one of the 500 songs that shaped rock and roll.

The single was recorded in June 1961 in Chicago with: Howlin' Wolf (vocals, harmonica), Johnny Jones (piano), Hubert Sumlin (guitar), Willie Dixon (bass), and Sam Lay (drums).

It was covered by The Rolling Stones and reached number one in the UK singles chart on 3 December 1964 where it stayed for one week. Brian Jones contributes a distinctive slide guitar to the track. It was the band's last blues cover to be released as a single. In the USA, "Little Red Rooster" was heavily boycotted/banned by radio stations for its sexual implications, forcing the release of "Heart of Stone" as a single instead. The song was first released Stateside on the album The Rolling Stones, Now!. It also appeared on their 1989 compilation, Singles Collection: The London Years.

The song has also been covered by many other artists including Canned Heat, The Persuasions, Sam Cooke, The Yardbirds, The Grateful Dead and The Doors.

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