Photo Devon Meyers

Hi, thanks for dropping by. I'm the Howard Berkman who wrote the tunes, sang and played lead with the Knaves in Chicago, in the mid to late '60's. Our aggressively arrogant anthem, "Leave Me Alone", is considered by some rock scholars to be one of the first punk tunes ever. I composed, arranged, played guitars and, with my long time friend and partner Alan Goldberg, produced the early '70's indie protestcult classic "Euphoria Blimpworks presents: Yama and the Karma Dusters Up From the Sewers". I played with Blind Jim Brewer and Howling Wolf. I Played in the same shows with Muddy Waters, Buddy Guy, Country Joe, Lucille Spann to name a few. I taught Steve Goodman to play the guitar, and later Johnny O. At Decca, Paris, I recorded under the name HT Woolfe. Been in Colorado since '77 playing everything from honky-tonks, to music festivals to jazz gigs at Aspen openings. I've been recording since 1959 and for the first time I'm able to make a bunch of my work available on CD. The purpose of this site is to make my music, which is my gift from the great spirit, and my memories accessible to all my friends and fans, old and new, as well as to those folks who are interested in what actually happened when and where; to shed some light on the times and places that are as much a part of my music as I am; to honor and give thanks to all those who helped me learn the honorable trade of musician, entertainer, composer, songwriter and record producer: Marvin, Anatol, and Ralph Berkman, Jim Brewer, Ed Eckliff, Jack McGann, Hubie Sumlin, Joe Pass who all either showed me or told me about the guitar. And to my uncle Anatol, Perry Johnson, Terry Sachen, George Budonski and Bill Traut, Paulie Gallis, Ron Malo, Barry Mraz, and perhaps most important, Gil Slavin who taught me the fine art of studio production. I've been playing real music for real people all my life, trying to honestly depict the world I've been living in. Hopefully, in my work you can find some pleasure and happiness or at least some form of illumination. Music is sharing and if a musician can share something with someone the circle is closed. Check through the buttons below for what most interests you and email me if you want more info..or want to touch base across cyberspace.

I am musically yours..HWB