Sittin' on Top of the World

[James Hanson <HANSONJA@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

If my memory serves me in this (it sometimes does), Sittin on Top of the
World was an original by the Mississippi Sheikhs.  The leaders of the
Sheiks were brothers from a very musical family (sometimes my memory
doesn't work and I've forgotten their last name....) also involved in Jazz. 
Howlin Wolf was certainly around and about in the thirties; he was
brother in law (or something) to Sonny Boy Williamson II (Guess where
he learned how to play harp?  Also - on the Essential SBW II CD set there
is a tune called "Like Wolf" (or something similar) where Sonny Boy
imitates or mocks the Wolfs style.) and was both a farmer and a
musician - he didn't become a more full time musician until relatively late in
life (in his forties or fifties).  
(Most of this info is remembered from reading the books "Deep Blues"
and "Nothin But the Blues" along with various liner notes... (always
known for historical accuracy).   If I am repeating mis-information , at
least you know the source.  I've always enjoyed reading about the Delta
area, especially since my grandparents used to live nearby in Holly
Springs MS.  I only visited there as a kid in the 60s and 70s, but it gives
you a feel for what the area was like when the blues "began" a few
decades earlier.)

J.Hanson

J. Hanson