Little Brother Montgomery, who is usually credited with early performances of the song, described it as a "barrelhouse, honky-tonk blues" without any lyrics.

[2] Many versions of "Forty-Four" appeared over the following years, including some that bore little resemblance to the original except for the title.

[2] In October 1954, Howlin' Wolf recorded his version, titled simply "Forty Four", as an electric Chicago blues ensemble piece.

[7] Wolf retained Sykes' handgun reference and added "Well I'm so mad this morning, I don't know where in the world to go".

[7] Backing Wolf, who sang and played harmonica, were Hubert Sumlin and Jody Williams on electric guitars, Otis Spann on piano, Willie Dixon on bass, and Earl Phillips on drums.