Sumlin was born in Greenwood, Mississippi, and raised in Hughes, Arkansas. He got his first guitar when he was eight years old. As a boy, he met Howlin' Wolf by sneaking into a performance.
Wolf relocated from Memphis to Chicago in 1953, but his longtime guitarist Willie Johnson chose not to join him. In Chicago, Wolf hired the guitarist Jody Williams, but in 1954 he invited Sumlin to move to Chicago to play second guitar in his band. Williams left the band in 1955, leaving Sumlin as the primary guitarist, a position he held almost continuously (except for a brief spell playing with Muddy Waters around 1956) for the remainder of Wolf's career. According to Sumlin, Howlin' Wolf sent him to a classical guitar instructor at the Chicago Conservatory of Music to learn keyboards and scales. Sumlin played on the album Howlin' Wolf (called the "rocking chair album", with reference to its cover illustration), which was named the third greatest guitar album of all time by Mojo magazine in 2004.
Upon Wolf's death in 1976, Sumlin continued playing with several other members of Wolf's band, as the Wolf Pack, until about 1980. He also recorded under his own name, beginning with a session from a tour of Europe with Wolf in 1964. His last solo album was About Them Shoes, released in 2004 by Tone-Cool Records. He underwent lung removal surgery the same year, but he continued performing until just before his death. His final recording, just days before his death, was tracks for an album by Stephen Dale Petit, "Cracking the Code" (333 Records).
Sumlin was inducted into the Blues Foundation Hall of Fame in 2008. He was nominated for four Grammy Awards: in 1999 for the album Tribute to Howlin' Wolf, with Henry Gray, Calvin Jones, Sam Lay, and Colin Linden; in 2000 for Legends, with Pinetop Perkins; in 2006, for his solo project About Them Shoes (which features performances by Keith Richards, Eric Clapton, Levon Helm, David Johansen and James Cotton) and in 2010 for his contribution to Kenny Wayne Shepherd's Live! in Chicago. He won multiple Blues Music Awards. He was a judge for the fifth annual Independent Music Awards, given to support the careers of independent artists.
Sumlin lived in Totowa, New Jersey, for 10 years before his death, He died of heart failure on December 4, 2011, at the age of 80, in a hospital in Wayne, New Jersey. Mick Jagger and Keith Richards paid Sumlin's funeral expenses.
Killing Floor
Hubert Sumlin Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I should'a quit you, long time ago
I should'a quit you, baby, long time ago
I should'a quit you, and went on to Mexico
If I ha'da followed, my first mind
If I ha'da followed, my first mind
I'd'a been gone, since my second time
I should'a went on, when my friend come from Mexico at me
I was foolin' with ya baby, I let ya put me on the
killin' floor
Lord knows, I should'a been gone
Lord knows, I should'a been gone
And I wouldn't've been here, down on the killin' floor
This song is about a man who regrets not leaving a toxic relationship earlier. The singer acknowledges that he should have followed his instincts and ended the relationship "a long time ago" and moved on to Mexico. He acknowledges that he knew from the very beginning that this relationship would not end well, but he still kept fooling around with his lover anyways. The title of the song "Killing Floor" is a reference to a place that is filled with danger and where people are taken advantage of. The singer believes that his lover has put him on the killing floor, and he should have left before it got worse.
In addition to the obvious theme of regret, there's an underlying message about being true to yourself and following your instincts. The singer knew deep down that he should leave this relationship, but he chose to ignore this feeling and continue with the relationship. The singer also seems to be warning others about falling into the same trap he did. He's saying that he should have left after the first time his friend told him to, but he didn't, and because of that, he's ended up on the killing floor.
Line by Line Meaning
Howlin' Wolf
Introduction to the song and the artist who made it popular
I should'a quit you, long time ago
I should have ended our relationship a long time ago
I should'a quit you, baby, long time ago
I should have left you, my baby, a long time ago
I should'a quit you, and went on to Mexico
I should have abandoned you and gone to Mexico to continue my life
If I ha'da followed, my first mind
If I had listened to my instincts
If I ha'da followed, my first mind
If I had listened to my gut feeling or intuition
I'd'a been gone, since my second time
I would have left long ago, after the second chance or encounter
I should'a went on, when my friend come from Mexico at me
I should have gone with my friend when he came to get me from Mexico
I was foolin' with ya baby, I let ya put me on the killing floor
I played with you and let you manipulate me and push me to a dangerous situation that could kill me
Lord knows, I should'a been gone
God knows that I should have left a long time ago
Lord knows, I should'a been gone
I should have taken the opportunity to leave
And I wouldn't've been here, down on the killing floor
If I had left earlier, I wouldn't be in this life-threatening situation
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: Howlin Wolf
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
dave phillips
david is an amazing singer, hubert is awesome on guitar
Bart Lybaert
And Levon on drums RIP 😉
Sandi Bachom
I was there. One of the greatest live performances I've ever seen. Got a chance to meet Johnson tonight and got to tell him. That's Levon on the drums.
jerome henen
David can really move well, and Hubert is awesome.
Marcelo Alvarez
Mr. Sumlim , I think the greatest Rhythm guitar ever!!!!
Martin Winkler
Hubert is one of the best , missing him
charlotte946
only johanson could belt out the song this way to the great guitar playing of sumlin
gasaholic47
Johansen's voice an excellent choice to cover Wolf.
Jorvandes Marçal
Ninguém toca Killing Floor igual a Hubert Sumlin
Leslie Malfas
Can't get enough of this!!