Howlin’ At The Moon

So I finally watched Cadillac Records over the weekend. To be honest, I wasn’t sure I wanted to. I guess I had mixed feelings, mostly because of the casting of Beyonce Knowles as the legendary Miss Etta James. It just seemed wrong for a woman who I generally don’t like and have little respect for to play a woman I love, who’s music I have listened to basically my entire life. But I got over my disdain for the choice and rented it anyway.

It was a good movie, as long as you’re not a stickler for facts. I think I liked it more than the wife, probably because Willie and I were raised on much of this music. The story was good. Nobody was put on a pedestal or portrayed as a mystic figure roaming around in the shadows (I’m looking at you, Elvis in Walk The Line! By far the silliest part of that movie was how the king was presented). But nobody was hung out to dry either. The acting was excellent. Even Beyonce didn’t do a bad job. She wasn’t nearly as distracting as I thought she was going to be.

I really thought that once I watched it I would have an overwhelming desire to listen to my old Etta James music. But I was wrong. More than anything, it made me want to listen to Howlin’ Wolf! He’s only a minor player in the story, but a very interesting and very well-played one. Add that to the fact that I am battling yet another round with the common cold, chest congestion, cough, etc. which makes me feel like I sound like the Wolf myself, and I just can’t help it…