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"Evil Is Goin' On"
Single by Howlin' Wolf
from the album Moanin' in the Moonlight
B-side	"Baby How Long"
Released	1954 (1954)
Recorded	1954
Studio	Chess, Chicago
Genre	Chicago blues
Length	2:55
Label	Chess
Songwriter(s)	Willie Dixon
Producer(s)	Leonard Chess, Phil Chess, Willie Dixon
Howlin' Wolf singles chronology
"Baby How Long" (1954) "Evil Is Goin' On" (1954) "Forty Four" (1954)

"Evil", sometimes listed as "Evil (Is Going On)", is a Chicago blues song written by Willie Dixon. Howlin' Wolf recorded the song in Chicago for Chess Records in 1954. It was included on the 1959 compilation album Moanin' in the Moonlight. When he re-recorded it for The Howlin' Wolf Album in 1969, "Evil" became Wolf's last charting single, reaching number 43 Billboard R&B chart.

Howlin' Wolf first recorded the song at Chess' studio in Chicago on May 25, 1954, with sidemen Hubert Sumlin and Jody Williams on guitars, Otis Spann on piano, Willie Dixon on double-bass, and Earl Phillips on drums. Wolf achieves a coarse, emotional performance with his strained singing, lapsing into falsetto. The song, a twelve-bar blues, is punctuated with a syncopated backbeat, brief instrumental improvisations, upper-end piano figures, and intermittent blues harp provided by Wolf. The lyrics caution about the "evil" that takes place in a man's home when he is away, concluding with "you better watch your happy home".

References

1. Muddy Waters' "Evil" is a different song, credited to Morganfield aka Waters (1957 Chess 1680)
2. Herzhaft, Gerard (1992). "Evil". Encyclopedia of the Blues. Fayetteville, Arkansas: University of Arkansas Press. p. 447. ISBN 1-55728-252-8.
3. Whitburn, Joel (1988). "Howlin' Wolf". Top R&B Singles 1942–1988. Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin: Record Research. p. 198. ISBN 0-89820-068-7.
4. Segrest, James; Hoffman, Mark (2004). Moanin' at Midnight: The Life and Times of Howlin' Wolf. New York City: Pantheon Books. p. eBook. ISBN 0-375-42246-3.
5. Fancourt, Les; Morris, Chris; Shurman, Dick (1991). Howlin' Wolf: The Chess Box (Box set booklet). Howlin' Wolf. Universal City, California: MCA Records/Chess Records. p. 28. CHD3-9332.
6. ^ Floyd, Samuel A. (1995). The Power of Black Music. Oxford University Press. pp. 176-177. ISBN 0-19-508235-4.

• 1954 songs
• Songs written by Willie Dixon
• Blues songs
• 1954 singles
• Howlin' Wolf songs
• Monster Magnet songs
• Chess Records singles
• 1969 singles