James Pobiega

Chicago street musician, bluesman, and actor, Little Howlin' Wolf, was born James R. Pobiega, Aug. 23, 1950. Of Polish decent, the grandson of a gravedigger and "moonshiner", and son of a milkman, Pobiega grew up in the working class neighborhood of Justice, Illinois, a town located on the southwest outskirts of Chicago. Due to his large 6' 6" stature, and tenacity on the football field at Argo High, he quickly earned the nickname, 'Beowulf', which was later shortened to 'Wolf'. After high school, Pobiega won a spot with 'The Goodman Theatre' in 1968, and in 1969 helped Goodman director Patrick Henry start a guerrilla troupe called 'Free Street Theater'. He earned a few roles, including one in "Red Roses for Me" by Sean O'Casey, and although quite successful he would soon realize that music was his calling. A self-taught musician, Wolf would gather up his guitar, harmonica, and saxophone, and hit the streets of Chicago, performing his original blues and jazz compositions, wherever and anywhere he could. Given his voice was filled with a natural booming, yet gravelly, soulful, and bluesy sound, he was given the moniker, Little Howlin' Wolf, in respect to fellow bluesman and predecessor, Howlin' Wolf, aka Howlin' Wolf. A name he was honored to receive, and still embraces to this day. As early as 1968 he was a fixture at the Maxwell Street market, playing sax alongside bluesmen like Blind Arvella Gray and Junior Wells. During the 1970s, Wolf started his own record label 'Solidarity Solidarnosc Records', with subsidiaries 'Alcatraz', 'Beacon', and 'Justice'. Since then, he has recorded and released over two volumes of singles and three full length albums; 'The Guardian' (1982), 'The Cool Truth' (1985), and his latest, 'Brave Nu World' (2005). A cultural student and teacher, and advocate for the people, Wolf has brought his music and messages for peace and understanding all over North America and Europe, and has been featured in many blues and jazz magazines, as well as People Magazine. He has also performed a wide variety of other types of original music under the names; Deacon Blue, Papa Doc (spiritual and tribal), Bo Tom Ed (his comedic country character), The Shadow Drifter (folk), and Buccaneer Bob (a pirate character he uses to entertain children shows). In recent years, Pobiega has returned to acting. He has been a part of Chicago's theatre scene, and been in a handful of independent short and feature films, working alongside Willy Laszlo, Tim Kazurinsky, John Borowski, Edward Asner, and Judge Reinhold. He has also earned his Captain's license for boating, became a SCUBA instructor, and found the time to return to the football field in an independent-hobbyist football league outside Joliet, Illinois.