How Many More Years formed his own band in West Memphis, Arkansas, in 1948, billing himself as "The Howlin' Wolf". He began broadcasting on radio station KWEM in West Memphis, and was heard by Sam Phillips who signed him for Memphis Recording Service. He recorded "How Many More Years" at the MRS studio at 706 Union Avenue, Memphis, Tennessee, in or about July 1951, singing and playing harmonica with a band comprising (probably) Ike Turner (piano), Willie Johnson (guitar), and Willie Steele (drums). The repetitious bass-string boogie line resembles the one played in the traditional blues standard "Forty-Four". The record's original A-side, "Moanin' at
How Are You At The Factory" as though it was the second single. It reached #16 on Billboard's Album Rock Tracks chart. On his review of "Think Visual", David Wild of "Rolling Stone" wrote, "the melancholy "How Are You" is another of Ray's well-crafted songs of love and loss." The track also appeared on the compilation album, "Picture Book". Like many other Kinks singles of the 1980s, a promotional video for "How Are You" was filmed, featuring Ray Davies. Unusually, the video "How Are You" (as well as those for the two other singles from "Think Visual") was not directed by Julien Temple,