2010Released
3:11

Did You Know?

Interesting facts and trivia about Howlin' for You. By Songfacts®.

This song is all about being besotted with a girl and "howlin'" for her: "I must admit, I can't explain any of these thoughts racing through my brain, it's true, baby I'm howlin' for you." Known for its infectious chorus of "Da da da da da, Da da da da da da," the song has a modern Blues sound. The Black Keys were heavily influenced by the Blues legend Howlin' Wolf, which explains the title.

This track gained popularity after The Black Keys unveiled its star-studded official video, directed by Chris Marrs Piliero. Presented in the style of a spaghetti-western movie trailer, the video stars Tricia Helfer (who played Number Six in sci-fi series, Battlestar Galactica) as Alexa Wolff, a femme fatale who seduces then kills (or "bangs then hangs," to quote the video) the men who murdered her father when she was a little girl. The video also stars Sean Patrick Flanery, Diora Baird, snowboarder Shaun White, and Diff'rent Strokes actor Todd Bridges, who plays a rather lecherous priest! Also appearing in the clip is Frank, a puppet dinosaur who stars in the Black Keys video for "Next Girl."

"Howlin' For You" features on The Black Keys' sixth album, Brothers. Ten tracks on the album, including this one, were recorded in just 10 days at Muscle Shoals Sound Studio in Alabama, where the likes of The Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan and Elton John have previously recorded. The studio's owner, Noel Webster, spoke to us about the recording process of Brothers: "We did roughs for them [The Black Keys]...They took some stuff and added some additional parts when they left here, percussion stuff and things like that."

Webster said the sessions took a vintage approach: "Mark Neill did the production, and he and I discussed what pieces of equipment were going to be used, how they were going to be wired, mic placement, all that kind of stuff. And it's effortless to record in this building. We just used the same techniques that they used in the '50s and '60s and '70s. And that's what seems to work."

According to Neill, who provided much of the equipment used at the sessions, the band tracked drums and bass first, with no guide vocal. This was a different approach for the band, and resulted in a more bass-heavy sound on this this track and also on "Next Girl," "Sinister Kid" and "Everlasting Light." Here's more about the Black Keys trip to Muscle Shoals.

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Song Analysis

Key, BPM (tempo) and time signature of Howlin' for You.
BKey
MajorMode
4/4Time Signature
133BPM

Album

The album Howlin' for You is released on.

Released By

The record label that has released Howlin' for You.
Nonesuch
© 2010 Nonesuch Records, Inc.
℗ 2010 Nonesuch Records, Inc.

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