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95-410: Muddy Waters , a colleague of Delta blues musicians Son House and Robert Johnson , migrated to Chicago in 1943, joining the established Big Bill Broonzy , where they developed a distinctive style of blues music. Joined by artists such as Willie Dixon , Howlin' Wolf , and John Lee Hooker , Chicago blues reached an international audience by the late 1950s and early 1960s, directly influencing not only

190-594: A psychedelic soul band that Chess had put together. The album proved controversial; although it reached number 127 on the Billboard 200 album chart, it was scorned by many critics, and eventually disowned by Waters himself: That Electric Mud record I did, that one was dogshit. But when it first came out, it started selling like wild, and then they started sending them back. They said, "This can't be Muddy Waters with all this shit going on – all this wow-wow and fuzztone ." Nonetheless, six months later he recorded

285-590: A 1971 album of old but previously unreleased recordings. Later in 1972, he flew to England to record the album The London Muddy Waters Sessions . The album was a follow-up to the previous year's The London Howlin' Wolf Sessions . Both albums were the brainchild of Chess Records producer Norman Dayron, and were intended to showcase Chicago blues musicians playing with the younger British rock musicians whom they had inspired. Waters brought with him two American musicians, harmonica player Carey Bell and guitarist Sammy Lawhorn . The British and Irish musicians who played on

380-509: A Chicago thing. We opened up in Leeds, England. I was definitely too loud for them. The next morning we were in the headlines of the paper, 'Screaming Guitar and Howling Piano'. Although his performances alienated the old guard, some younger musicians, including Alexis Korner and Cyril Davies from Barber's band, were inspired to go in the more modern, electric blues direction. Korner and Davies' own groups included musicians who would later form

475-407: A Florida hotel; Eric Clapton served as best man at their wedding in 1979. He had at least six children, including illegitimate children. Two of his sons Larry "Mud" Morganfield and Big Bill Morganfield are also blues singers and musicians. In 2017, his youngest son, Joseph "Mojo" Morganfield, began publicly performing the blues, and played occasionally with his brothers; he died in 2020 at

570-565: A few exceptions, found it difficult to gain any recognition for their "imitations" of the blues in the US. In contrast, the next wave of bands, formed from about 1967, like Cream, Fleetwood Mac, Ten Years After , Savoy Brown , and Free , pursued a different route, retaining blues standards in their repertoire and producing original material that often shied away from obvious pop influences, placing an emphasis on individual virtuosity. The result has been characterised as blues rock and arguably marked

665-451: A follow-up album, After the Rain , which had a similar sound and featured many of the same musicians. Later in 1969, he recorded and released the album Fathers and Sons , where he returned to his classic Chicago sound. Fathers and Sons had an all-star backing band that included Michael Bloomfield and Paul Butterfield , longtime fans whose desire to play with him was the impetus for

760-517: A friend, produced four albums for him, all on the Blue Sky Records label: the studio albums Hard Again (1977), I'm Ready (1978) and King Bee (1981), and the live album, Muddy "Mississippi" Waters – Live (1979). The albums were critical and commercial successes, with all but King Bee winning a Grammy. Hard Again has been especially praised by critics, who have tended to describe it as his comeback album. In 1981, Waters

855-754: A hit that year. Initially, the Chess brothers would not allow Waters to use his working band in the recording studio; instead, they provided him with bass backing by Ernest "Big" Crawford or by musicians assembled specifically for the recording session, including "Baby Face" Leroy Foster and Johnny Jones . Gradually, Chess relented, and by September 1953 he was recording with one of the most acclaimed blues groups in history: Little Walter Jacobs on harmonica, Jimmy Rogers on guitar, Elga Edmonds (also known as Elgin Evans) on drums, Otis Spann on piano and sometimes, bassist and songwriter Willie Dixon . The band recorded

950-426: A mumber of blues songs which have become classics including " Hoochie Coochie Man ", " I Just Want to Make Love to You ", and " I'm Ready ". Waters's band became a proving ground for some of the city's best blues talent, with members of the ensemble going on to successful careers of their own. In 1952, Little Walter left when his single " Juke " became a hit, although he continued working with Muddy long after he left

1045-654: A plantation owned by Colonel William Howard Stovall . In the early 1930s, Waters accompanied Big Joe Williams on tours of the Delta, playing harmonica. Williams recounted to Blewett Thomas that he eventually dropped Muddy "because he was takin' away my women [fans]". In August 1941, Alan Lomax went to Stovall, Mississippi , on behalf of the Library of Congress to record various country blues musicians. "He brought his stuff down and recorded me right in my house," Muddy told Rolling Stone magazine, "and when he played back

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1140-466: A rock audience. The Super Super Blues Band united Howlin' Wolf and Muddy Waters, who had a long-standing rivalry. It was, as Ken Chang wrote in his AllMusic review, flooded with "contentious studio banter [...] more entertaining than the otherwise unmemorable music from this stylistic train wreck". In 1968, at the insistance of Marshall Chess , he recorded Electric Mud , an album intended to revive his career by backing him with Rotary Connection ,

1235-411: A sideline until that time. In the mid-1950s, Waters' singles were frequently on Billboard magazine's various Rhythm & Blues charts including "Sugar Sweet" in 1955 and " Trouble No More ", " Forty Days and Forty Nights ", and "Don't Go No Farther" in 1956. 1956 also saw the release of one of his best-known numbers, " Got My Mojo Working ", although it did not appear on the charts. However, by

1330-512: A style, outside of Britain as well. American guitarist Joe Bonamassa describes his main influences as the 1960s era British blues players, and considers himself a part of that tradition rather than the earlier American blues styles. Beside giving a start to many important blues, pop and rock musicians, in spawning blues rock British blues also ultimately gave rise to a host of subgenres of rock, including particularly psychedelic rock, progressive rock, hard rock and ultimately heavy metal. Perhaps

1425-738: A then-unknown Buddy Guy on acoustic guitar. Folk Singer was not a commercial success, but it was lauded by critic Joe Kane , and in 2003 Rolling Stone magazine placed it at number 280 on its list of the 500 greatest albums of all time . In October 1963, Waters participated in the first of several annual European tours, organized as the American Folk Blues Festival , during which he also performed more acoustic-oriented numbers. In 1967, he re-recorded several blues standards with Bo Diddley , Little Walter, and Howlin' Wolf, which were marketed as Super Blues and The Super Super Blues Band albums in Chess' attempt to reach

1520-473: A trickle of (illegal) imports. Blues music was relatively well known to British jazz musicians and fans, particularly in the works of figures like female singers Ma Rainey and Bessie Smith and the blues-influenced boogie-woogie of Jelly Roll Morton and Fats Waller . From 1955 major British record labels HMV and EMI , the latter, particularly through their subsidiary Decca Records , began to distribute American jazz and increasingly blues records to what

1615-498: A vehicle for the young Steve Winwood ), and Them from Belfast (with their vocalist Van Morrison ). None of these bands played exclusively rhythm and blues, often relying on a variety of sources, including Brill Building and girl group songs for their hit singles, but it remained at the core of their early albums. The British Mod subculture was musically centred on rhythm and blues and later soul music, performed by artists that were not available in small London clubs around which

1710-531: A wide knowledge of blues forms and techniques, which they would carry into the pursuit of more purist blues interests. Blues Incorporated and Mayall's Bluesbreakers were well known in the London jazz and emerging R&B circuits, but the Bluesbreakers began to gain some national and international attention, particularly after the release of Blues Breakers with Eric Clapton album (1966), considered one of

1805-495: A wider interest in rhythm and blues, including the work of Chess Records ' blues artists like Muddy Waters and Howlin' Wolf , but also rock and roll pioneers Chuck Berry and Bo Diddley . Most successful were the Rolling Stones, who abandoned blues purism before their line-up solidified and they produced their first eponymously titled album in 1964, which largely consisted of rhythm and blues standards. Following in

1900-428: Is buried next to his wife, Geneva. After his death, a decades-long court battle ensued between his heirs and Scott Cameron, his manager at the time. In 2010, his heirs were petitioning the courts to appoint Mercy Morganfield, his daughter, as administrator who would then control the assets of his estate which were mainly copyrights to his music. The petition to reopen the estate was successful. Following Cameron's death,

1995-597: Is the earliest in which he stated 1915 as the year of his birth, and he continued to state that year in interviews from that point onward. The 1920 census lists him as five years old as of March 6, 1920. The Social Security Death Index, relying on the Social Security card application submitted after his move to Chicago in the mid-1940s, lists him as being born April 4, 1913. His gravestone gives his birth year as 1915. His grandmother, Della Grant, raised him after his mother died shortly after his birth. Grant gave him

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2090-730: The Checkerboard Lounge , a blues club in Bronzeville , on the South Side of Chicago , which Buddy Guy and L.C. Thurman opened in 1972. A DVD of the performance, Live at the Checkerboard Lounge, Chicago 1981 , was released in 2012. In 1982, he cut way back on performing due to declining health. His last public performance took place when he sat in with Eric Clapton 's band at a concert in Florida in

2185-562: The Library of Congress . In 1943, he moved to Chicago to become a full-time professional musician. In 1946, he recorded his first records for Columbia Records and then for Aristocrat Records , a newly formed label run by brothers Leonard and Phil Chess . In the early 1950s, Waters and his band— Little Walter Jacobs on harmonica, Jimmy Rogers on guitar, Elga Edmonds (also known as Elgin Evans) on drums and Otis Spann on piano—recorded several songs that became blues classics, some with

2280-458: The South Side , with a few in the smaller black neighborhoods on the West Side . New trends in technology, chaotic streets and bars adding drums to an electric mix, gave birth to a new club culture. One of the most famous was Ruby Lee Gatewood's Tavern, known by patrons as "The Gates". During the 1930s virtually every big-name artist played there. What drove the blues to international influence

2375-416: The 200 Greatest Singers of All Time. The British band The Rolling Stones named themselves after Muddy Waters' 1950 song, "Rollin' Stone" . Jimi Hendrix recalled that "I first heard him as a little boy and it scared me to death". Eric Clapton was a big fan of Muddy Waters growing up and his band Cream covered " Rollin' and Tumblin' " on their 1966 debut album, Fresh Cream . Canned Heat also covered

2470-600: The AC/DC song " You Shook Me All Night Long " came from lyrics of Waters' song " You Shook Me ", written by Dixon and J. B. Lenoir . In 1981 ZZ Top guitarist Billy Gibbons went to visit the Delta Blues Museum in Clarksdale with The Blues magazine founder, Jim O'Neal. The museum's director, Sid Graves, brought Gibbons to visit Waters original house, and encouraged him to pick up a piece of scrap lumber that

2565-651: The Animals , the Yardbirds , Eric Clapton , Fleetwood Mac and Led Zeppelin . American blues became known in Britain from the 1930s onwards through a number of routes, including records brought to Britain, particularly by African-American GIs stationed there in the Second World War and Cold War, merchant seamen visiting ports such as London , Liverpool , Newcastle upon Tyne and Belfast , and through

2660-934: The Band on drums, organ, accordion and saxophone. In November 1976, he appeared as a featured special guest at the Band's Last Waltz farewell concert, and in the subsequent 1978 feature film documentary of the event. Waters performed at the Montreux Jazz Festival in 1972, 1974 and 1977. An album, CD, and streaming release featuring many of his best known songs from these performances was compiled in 2021 as Muddy Waters: The Montreux Years . In 1974, his backing musicians in Montreux included Buddy Guy, Pinetop Perkins, Junior Wells , and Rolling Stones bassist Bill Wyman. Wyman and Perkins also performed with him in 1977. From 1977 to 1981, blues musician Johnny Winter , who idolized Waters since childhood and who had become

2755-688: The Bluesbreakers, Green, with the Bluesbreaker's rhythm section Mick Fleetwood and John McVie , formed Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac , produced by Mike Vernon on the Blue Horizon label. One key factor in developing the popularity of the music in the UK and across Europe in the early 1960s was the success of the American Folk Blues Festival tours, organised by German promoters Horst Lippmann and Fritz Rau. The rise of electric blues, and its eventual mainstream success, meant that British acoustic blues

2850-529: The British blues Boom". Free, with the guitar talents of Paul Kossoff , particularly from their self titled second album (1969), produced a stripped down form of blues that would be highly influential on hard rock and later heavy metal. Ten Years After, with guitarist Alvin Lee , formed in 1967, but achieved their breakthrough in 1968 with their live album Undead and in the US with their appearance at Woodstock

2945-555: The British folk circuit. Dave Kelly was also a founder of The Blues Band with former Manfred Mann members Paul Jones and Tom McGuinness , Hughie Flint and Gary Fletcher . The Blues Band was credited with kicking off a second blues boom in Britain, which by the 1990s led to festivals all around the country, including The Swanage Blues Festival, The Burnley National Blues Festival, The Gloucester Blues and Heritage Festival and The Great British Rhythm and Blues Festival at Colne. The twenty-first century has seen an upsurge in interest in

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3040-859: The Ealing Club, Blues Incorporated were given a residency at the Marquee Club and it was from there that in 1962 they took the name of the first British Blues album, R&B from the Marquee for Decca, but split before its release. The culmination of this first movement of blues came with John Mayall , who moved to London in the early 1960s, eventually forming the Bluesbreakers , whose members at various times included, Jack Bruce , Aynsley Dunbar , Eric Clapton , Peter Green and Mick Taylor . While some bands focused on blues artists, particularly those of Chicago electric blues, others adopted

3135-690: The London Skiffle Club at the Roundhouse public house in London's Soho , and guitarist Alexis Korner , both of whom worked for jazz band leader Chris Barber , playing in the R&;B segment he introduced to his show. The club served as a focal point for British skiffle acts and Barber was responsible for bringing over American folk and blues performers, who found they were much better known and paid in Europe than America. The first major artist

3230-845: The Mississippi Blues Commission marked the site of his cabin with a marker as part of the Mississippi Blues Trail in Clarksdale, Mississippi . He also received a plaque on the Clarksdale Walk of Fame . Muddy Waters' Chicago Home in the Kenwood neighborhood is in the process of being named a Chicago Landmark. A crater on Mercury was named in his honor in 2016 by the IAU . In 2023, Rolling Stone ranked Waters at number 72 on its list of

3325-465: The Moody Blues away from 12-bar structures and harmonicas into complex, classical-influenced progressive rock . Some played a loud version of blues rock that became the foundation for hard rock and heavy metal. Led Zeppelin , formed by Yardbirds guitarist Jimmy Page, on their first two albums, both released in 1969, fused heavy blues and amplified rock to create what has been seen as a watershed in

3420-654: The Rolling Stones (named after Waters's 1950 hit "Rollin' Stone"), Cream , and the original Fleetwood Mac . In the 1960s, Waters' performances continued to introduce a new generation to Chicago blues. At the Newport Jazz Festival , he recorded one of the first live blues albums, At Newport 1960 , and his performance of "Got My Mojo Working" was nominated for a Grammy award . In September 1963, in Chess' attempt to connect with folk music audiences, he recorded Folk Singer , which replaced his trademark electric guitar sound with an acoustic band, including

3515-528: The Rolling Stones' music, as in their version of " Little Red Rooster ", which went to number 1 on the UK singles chart in December 1964. Other London-based bands included the Yardbirds (whose ranks included three key guitarists in Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck and Jimmy Page), The Kinks (with pioneer songwriter Ray Davies and rock-guitarist Dave Davies ), and Manfred Mann (considered to have one of

3610-470: The Seventies (1981), Chicago blues saw its best documentation during the 1970s thanks in part to Alligator Records and its owner Bruce Iglauer, described by Robert Christgau as a "folkie Leonard Chess ". Chicago blues was one of the most significant influences on early rock music. Chuck Berry originally signed with Chess Records —one of the most significant Chicago blues record labels. Berry met and

3705-742: The UK, but found it difficult to break into the American market. Only the Who managed, after some difficulty, to produce a significant US following, particularly after their appearances at the Monterey Pop Festival (1967) and Woodstock (1969). Because of the very different circumstances from which they came, and in which they played, the rhythm and blues these bands produced was very different in tone from that of African American artists, often with more emphasis on guitars and sometimes with greater energy. They have been criticised for exploiting

3800-642: The age of 56. Muddy Waters died in his sleep at his home in Westmont, Illinois , on April 30, 1983 from heart failure and cancer-related complications. He was taken from his Westmont home, where he lived for the last decade of his life, to Good Samaritan Hospital in Downers Grove, Illinois , where he was pronounced dead. His funeral was held on May 4, 1983. Throngs of blues musicians and fans attended his funeral at Restvale Cemetery in Alsip, Illinois . He

3895-496: The album included Rory Gallagher , Steve Winwood , Rick Grech , and Mitch Mitchell . Muddy was dissatisfied by the results, due to the British musicians' more rock-oriented sound. "These boys are top musicians. They can play with me, put the book before 'em and play it, you know," he told Guralnick. "But that ain't what I need to sell my people. It ain't the Muddy Waters sound. An' if you change my sound, then you gonna change

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3990-409: The album. It was the most successful album of Muddy Waters' career, reaching number 70 on the Billboard 200 . In 1971, Chess recorded a show at Mister Kelly's , an upscale Chicago nightclub. The album signaled Waters's return to form and cemented his appeal with white audiences. In 1972, he won his first Grammy Award , for Best Ethnic or Traditional Recording for They Call Me Muddy Waters ,

4085-575: The anniversary of Muddy Waters' death, as a means of preserving and promoting Chicago blues. Urban blues evolved from classic blues following the Great Migration , or the Great Northern Drive, which was both forced and voluntary at times, of African Americans from the southern U.S. to the industrial cities of the north, such as Chicago. Big Bill Broonzy and Muddy Waters directly joined that migration, like many others, escaping

4180-553: The band, appearing on most of the Muddy's classic recordings in the 1950s. In 1954, Howlin' Wolf moved to Chicago with money that he earned through the success of the singles he recorded at Sun Records which Chess released, and the legendary rivalry with Waters began. The rivalry was, in part, stoked by Willie Dixon providing songs to both artists, with Wolf suspecting that Waters was getting Dixon's best songs. In 1955, Jimmy Rogers left to work exclusively with his own band which had been

4275-572: The bassist and songwriter Willie Dixon . These songs included " Hoochie Coochie Man ," " I Just Want to Make Love to You " and " I'm Ready ". In 1958, he traveled to England, laying the foundations of the resurgence of interest in the blues there. His performance at the Newport Jazz Festival in 1960 was recorded and released as his first live album, At Newport 1960 . Waters' music has influenced various American music genres, including rock and roll and subsequently rock . Waters' place and date of birth are not conclusively known. He stated that he

4370-403: The beginnings of a separation of pop and rock music that was to be a feature of the record industry for several decades. Cream is often seen as the first supergroup , combining the talents of Clapton, Bruce and Baker; they have also been seen as one of the first groups to exploit the power trio . Although only together for a little over two years in 1966–1969, they were highly influential and it

4465-523: The blues in Britain that can be seen in the success of previously unknown acts including Seasick Steve , in the return to the blues by major figures who began in the first boom, including Peter Green, Mick Fleetwood, Chris Rea and Eric Clapton, as well as the arrival of new artists such as Dani Wilde , Matt Schofield , Aynsley Lister and most recently in 2017 the Starlite Campbell Band . The British blues tradition lives on, as

4560-550: The development of early rock and roll musicians such as Chuck Berry and Bo Diddley , but also reaching across the Atlantic to influence both British blues and early hard rock acts such as Eric Clapton , the Rolling Stones , and Led Zeppelin . Prominent record labels such as Vee-Jay Records and Chess Records helped promote and spread the style. The Chicago Blues Festival has been held annually since 1984, on

4655-511: The development of hard rock and nascent heavy metal. Later recordings would mix in elements of folk and mysticism, which would also be a major influence on heavy metal music. Deep Purple developed a sound based on "squeezing and stretching" the blues, and achieved their commercial breakthrough with their fourth and distinctively heavier album, Deep Purple in Rock (1970), which has been seen as one of heavy metal's defining albums. Black Sabbath

4750-417: The early 1950s in Britain virtually disappeared in the 1970s. Although overshadowed by the growth of rock music the blues did not disappear in Britain, with American bluesmen such as John Lee Hooker, Eddie Taylor , and Freddie King continuing to be well received in the UK and an active home scene led by figures including Dave Kelly and his sister Jo Ann Kelly , who helped keep the acoustic blues alive on

4845-819: The first song I sounded just like anybody's records. Man, you don't know how I felt that Saturday afternoon when I heard that voice and it was my own voice. Later on he sent me two copies of the pressing and a check for twenty bucks, and I carried that record up to the corner and put it on the jukebox. Just played it and played it and said, 'I can do it, I can do it'." Lomax came back in July 1942 to record him again. Both sessions were eventually released by Testament Records as Down on Stovall's Plantation . The complete recordings were reissued by Chess Records on CD as Muddy Waters: The Complete Plantation Recordings. The Historic 1941–42 Library of Congress Field Recordings in 1993 and remastered in 1997. In 1943, Waters headed to Chicago with

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4940-408: The guitar, seen as a distinctive characteristic of the subgenre. Clapton stated, "I spent most of my teens and early twenties studying the blues—the geography of it and the chronology of it, as well as how to play it". Peter Green started what is called "second great epoch of British blues", as he replaced Clapton in the Bluesbreakers after his departure to form Cream. In 1967, after one record with

5035-490: The harsher southern Jim Crow laws . Bruce Iglauer , founder of Alligator Records stated that, "Chicago blues is the music of the industrial city, and has an industrial sense about it." Additionally, recognizing the shift in blues, Chicago blues singer and guitarist Kevin Moore expressed the blues transition stating, "You have to put some new life into it, new blood, new perspectives. You can't keep talking about mules, workin' on

5130-513: The heirs' lawyers, in May 2018, sought to hold Scott Cameron's wife in contempt for allegedly diverting royalty income. The heirs, however, asked for that citation not to be pursued. The last court date was held on July 10, 2018, and, as of 2023, the disputed arrangement remained unchanged. Two years after his death, the city of Chicago paid tribute to him by designating the one-block section between 900 and 1000 East 43rd Street near his former home on

5225-460: The hope of becoming a full-time professional musician. He recalled arriving in Chicago as the single most momentous event in his life. He lived with a relative for a short period while driving a truck and working in a factory by day and performing at night. Big Bill Broonzy , then one of the leading bluesmen in Chicago, had Muddy open his shows in the rowdy clubs where Broonzy played. This gave him

5320-457: The largest open-air markets in the nation. Residents of the black community would frequent it to buy and sell just about anything. It was a natural location for blues musicians to perform, earn tips, and jam with other musicians. The standard path for blues musicians was to start out as street musicians and at house parties and eventually make their way to blues clubs. The first blues clubs in Chicago were mostly in predominantly black neighborhoods on

5415-423: The late 1950s, his singles success had come to an end, with only "Close to You" reaching the chart in 1958. Also in 1958, Chess released his first compilation album, The Best of Muddy Waters , which collected twelve of his singles up to 1956. Muddy toured England with Spann in 1958 where they were backed by local Dixieland -style or " trad jazz " musicians, including Chris Barber and members of his band. At

5510-442: The levee." Chicago blues was heavily influenced by Mississippi bluesmen who traveled to Chicago in the early 1940s. Chicago blues is based on the sound of the electric guitar and the harmonica, with the harmonica played through a PA system or guitar amplifier, both heavily amplified and often to the point of distortion, and a rhythm section of drums and bass (double bass at first, and later electric bass guitar) with piano depending on

5605-514: The massive catalogue of African American music, but it has also been noted that they both popularised that music, bringing it to British, world and in some cases American audiences, and helping to build the reputation of existing and past rhythm and blues artists. Most of these bands rapidly moved on from recording and performing American standards to writing and recording their own music, often leaving their R&B roots behind, but enabling several to enjoy sustained careers that were not open to most of

5700-685: The model for the subgenre, forming the band Blues Incorporated . In early 1962, having been ejected from the Roundhouse for being too loud, Korner and Davies moved their club to the venue used by Ealing Jazz Club and on 17 March opened the UK's first regular UK blues night. Blues Incorporated became something of a clearing house for British blues musicians in the later 1950s and early 1960s, with many joining, or sitting in on sessions. These included future Rolling Stones , Keith Richards , Mick Jagger , Charlie Watts and Brian Jones ; as well as Cream founders Jack Bruce and Ginger Baker ; beside Graham Bond and Long John Baldry . After their success at

5795-468: The more pop-oriented beat groups of the first wave of the invasion, who (with the major exception of the Beatles) were unable to write their own material or adapt to changes in the musical climate. The blues boom overlapped, both chronologically and in terms of personnel, with the earlier, wider rhythm and blues phase, which had begun to peter out in the mid-1960s leaving a nucleus of instrumentalists with

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5890-631: The most authentic sounding vocalists in the scene in Paul Jones ) and the Pretty Things , beside the more jazz-influenced acts like the Graham Bond Organisation, Georgie Fame and Zoot Money . Bands to emerge from other major British cities included the Animals from Newcastle (with the keyboards of Alan Price and vocals of Eric Burdon ), the Moody Blues and Spencer Davis Group from Birmingham (the latter largely

5985-399: The most important contribution of British blues was the surprising re-exportation of American blues back to America, where, in the wake of the success of bands like the Rolling Stones and Fleetwood Mac, white audiences began to look again at black blues musicians like Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf and John Lee Hooker , who suddenly began to appeal to middle class white Americans. The result was

6080-417: The movie soundtrack. Grammy Awards British blues British blues is a form of music derived from American blues that originated in the late 1950s, and reached its height of mainstream popularity in the 1960s. In Britain, blues developed a distinctive and influential style dominated by electric guitar, and made international stars of several proponents of the genre, including the Rolling Stones ,

6175-586: The next year. Among the last British blues bands to gain mainstream success were Jethro Tull , formed from the amalgamation of two blues bands, the John Evan Band and the Mcgregor's Engine in 1967. Their second album, Stand Up , reached number one in the UK in 1969. British blues entered a rapid decline at the end of 1960s. Surviving bands and musicians tended to move into other expanding areas of rock music. Some, like Jethro Tull, followed bands like

6270-472: The nickname "Muddy" at an early age because he loved to play in the muddy water of nearby Deer Creek . "Waters" was added years later, as he began to play harmonica and perform locally in his early teens. He taught himself to play harmonica. The remains of the cabin on Stovall Plantation where he lived in his youth are now at the Delta Blues Museum in Clarksdale, Mississippi . He had his first introduction to music in church: "I used to belong to church. I

6365-420: The opportunity to play in front of a large audience. In 1944, he bought his first electric guitar and then formed his first electric combo. He felt obliged to electrify his sound in Chicago because, he said, "When I went into the clubs, the first thing I wanted was an amplifier. Couldn't nobody hear you with an acoustic." His sound reflected the optimism of postwar African Americans. Willie Dixon said that "There

6460-668: The same time, American artists, such as the Paul Butterfield Blues Band (who included two members of Howlin' Wolf 's band), John P. Hammond , and Charlie Musselwhite performed in the style of Chicago blues. Later, Cream , Rory Gallagher , and the Allman Brothers Band also pursued their own interpretations of Chicago blues songs and helped popularize blues rock . Muddy Waters McKinley Morganfield (April 4, 1913 – April 30, 1983), known professionally as Muddy Waters

6555-633: The scene was based. As a result, a number of mod bands emerged to fill this gap. These included the Small Faces , The Creation , the Action and, most successfully, the Who . The Who's early promotional material tagged them as producing "maximum rhythm and blues", but by about 1966 they moved from attempting to emulate American R&B to producing songs that reflected the Mod lifestyle. Many of these bands were able to enjoy cult and then national success in

6650-467: The seminal British blues recordings. Produced by Mike Vernon , who later set up the Blue Horizon record label , it was notable for its driving rhythms and Clapton's rapid blues licks with a full distorted sound derived from a Gibson Les Paul and a Marshall amp. This sound became something of a classic combination for British blues (and later rock) guitarists, and also made clear the primacy of

6745-447: The song at the Monterey Pop Festival and later Bob Dylan played it on his album Modern Times . Many bands recorded " Hoochie Coochie Man " including The Allman Brothers Band , Humble Pie , Steppenwolf , Supertramp and Fear . The Led Zeppelin hit " Whole Lotta Love has lyrics and a melody heavily influenced by the Muddy Waters hit " You Need Love " (written by Willie Dixon ). Angus Young has cited Muddy as an influences and

6840-438: The song or performer. Urban blues started in Chicago and St. Louis , as music created by part-time musicians playing as street musicians , at rent parties , and other events in the black community. For example, bottleneck guitarist Kokomo Arnold was a steelworker and had a moonshine business that was far more profitable than his music. An early incubator for Chicago blues was the open-air market on Maxwell Street , one of

6935-528: The south side "Honorary Muddy Waters Drive". In 2017, a ten stories-mural commissioned as a part of the Chicago Blues Festival and designed by Brazilian artist Eduardo Kobra was painted on the side of the building at 17 North State Street, at the corner of State and Washington Streets. The Chicago suburb of Westmont, where he lived the last decade of his life, named a section of Cass Avenue near his home "Honorary Muddy Waters Way". In 2008,

7030-429: The summer of 1982. Muddy Waters was married to his first wife, Mabel Berry, from 1932 to 1935. Muddy Waters' second wife, whom he married in the 1940s, Geneva Wade, died of cancer on March 15, 1973. Gaining custody of three of his children, Joseph, Renee, and Rosalind, he moved them into his home, eventually buying a new house in Westmont, Illinois . In 1977, he met Marva Jean Brooks, whom he nicknamed "Sunshine", at

7125-404: The time, English audiences had only been exposed to acoustic folk blues, as performed by artists such as Sonny Terry , Brownie McGhee , and Big Bill Broonzy . Both the musicians and audiences were unprepared for his performance, which included electric slide guitar playing. He recalled: They thought I was a Big Bill Broonzy [but] I wasn't. I had my amplifier and Spann and I was going to do

7220-698: The wake of the Beatles ' national and then international success, the Rolling Stones soon established themselves as the second most popular UK band and joined the British Invasion of the American record charts as leaders of a second wave of R&B orientated bands. In addition to Chicago blues numbers, the Rolling Stones covered songs by Chuck Berry and the Valentinos , with the latter's " It's All Over Now " giving them their first UK number one in 1964. Blues songs and influences continued to surface in

7315-489: The whole man." He stated, "My blues look so simple, so easy to do, but it's not. They say my blues is the hardest blues in the world to play." Nevertheless, the album won another Grammy, again for Best Ethnic or Traditional Recording. He won another Grammy for his last LP on Chess, The Muddy Waters Woodstock Album , recorded in 1975 with a new band, guitarist Bob Margolin ; [pianist, [Pinetop Perkins]] and Paul Butterfield on harmonica with Levon Helm and Garth Hudson of

7410-523: Was Big Bill Broonzy , who visited England in the mid-1950s, but who, rather than his electric Chicago blues , played a folk blues set to fit in with British expectations of American blues as a form of folk music. In 1957 Davies and Korner decided that their central interest was the blues and closed the skiffle club, reopening a month later in the Roundhouse pub, Wardour Street, Soho as the London Blues and Barrelhouse Club . To this point British blues

7505-528: Was a good Baptist, singing in the church. So I got all of my good moaning and trembling going on for me right out of church," he recalled. By the time he was 17, he had purchased his first guitar. "I sold the last horse that we had. Made about fifteen dollars for him, gave my grandmother seven dollars and fifty cents, I kept seven-fifty and paid about two-fifty for that guitar. It was a Stella . The people ordered them from Sears-Roebuck in Chicago." He started playing his songs in joints near his hometown, mostly on

7600-435: Was a master of just the right notes. It was profound guitar playing, deep and simple ... more country blues transposed to the electric guitar, the kind of playing that enhanced the lyrics, gave profundity to the words themselves." In 2003, Rolling Stone included The Anthology: 1947-1972 on its list of greatest albums. They ranked Waters seventeenth on their list of the greatest artists of all time. Gibbons wrote: It

7695-472: Was acoustically played emulating Delta blues and Country blues styles and often part of the emerging second British folk revival. Critical in changing this was the visit of Muddy Waters in 1958, who initially shocked British audiences by playing amplified electric blues , but who was soon playing to ecstatic crowds and rave reviews. Davies and Korner, having already split with Barber, now plugged in and began to play high-powered electric blues that became

7790-811: Was all supposed to be disposable. Just noise on a shellac disc. And here we are in the 21st century still trying to figure out how such a simple art form could be so complicated and subtle. It's still firing brain synapses around the world. You've got the Japanese Muddy Waters Society corresponding with fans in Sweden and England, and his music can still propel a party in the U.S. He made three chords sound deep, and they are. Muddy Waters' songs have been featured in long-time fan Martin Scorsese 's movies, including The Color of Money , Goodfellas , and Casino . A 1970s recording of "Mannish Boy"

7885-618: Was an American blues singer, songwriter and musician who was an important figure in the post-World War II blues scene, and is often cited as the "father of modern Chicago blues ". His style of playing has been described as "raining down Delta beatitude". Waters grew up on Stovall Plantation near Clarksdale, Mississippi , and by age 17 was playing the guitar and the harmonica , copying local blues artists Son House and Robert Johnson . In 1941, Alan Lomax and Professor John W. Work III of Fisk University recorded him in Mississippi for

7980-454: Was an emerging market. Many encountered blues for the first time through the skiffle craze of the second half of the 1950s, particularly the songs of Lead Belly covered by acts like Lonnie Donegan . As skiffle began to decline in the late 1950s, and British rock and roll began to dominate the charts, a number of skiffle musicians moved towards playing purely blues music. Among these were guitarist and blues harpist Cyril Davies , who ran

8075-539: Was born in 1915 at Rolling Fork in Sharkey County, Mississippi , but other evidence suggests that he was born in the unincorporated community of Jug's Corner, in neighboring Issaquena County , in 1913. In the 1930s and 1940s, before his rise to fame, the year of his birth was reported as 1913 on his marriage license, recording notes, and musicians' union card. A 1955 interview in the Chicago Defender

8170-504: Was completely overshadowed. In the early 1960s, folk guitar pioneers Bert Jansch , John Renbourn and particularly Davy Graham (who played and recorded with Korner), played blues, folk and jazz, developing a distinctive guitar style known as folk baroque . British acoustic blues continued to develop as part of the folk scene, with figures like Ian A. Anderson and his Country Blues Band, and Al Jones . Most British acoustic blues players could achieve little commercial success and, with

8265-508: Was in this period that Clapton became an international superstar. Fleetwood Mac are often considered to have produced some of the finest work in the subgenre, with inventive interpretations of Chicago blues. They were also the most commercially successful group, with their eponymous début album reaching the UK top five in early 1968 and as the instrumental " Albatross " reached number one in the single charts in early 1969. This was, as Scott Schinder and Andy Schwartz put it, "The commercial apex of

8360-630: Was influenced by Muddy Waters in Chicago and Waters suggested he audition for Chess. Willie Dixon and other blues musicians played on some of Berry's early records. In the UK in the early 1960s, beat groups , such as the Rolling Stones , the Yardbirds , and the Animals (dubbed the British invasion in the US), were heavily influenced by Chicago blues artists. The last two served as backing musicians for Sonny Boy Williamson II and made their first recordings with him when he toured England in 1963 and 1964. At

8455-442: Was invited to perform at Chicago Fest , the city's top outdoor music festival. He was joined onstage by Johnny Winter and Buddy Miles , and played classics like "Mannish Boy", "Trouble No More", and "Mojo Working" to a new generation of fans. Shout! Factory made the performances available on DVD in 2009. On November 22, he performed live with three members of the Rolling Stones ( Mick Jagger , Keith Richards and Ronnie Wood ) at

8550-534: Was not mentioned on the label. Later that year, he began recording for Aristocrat Records , a newly formed label run by the brothers Leonard and Phil Chess . In 1947, he played guitar with Sunnyland Slim on piano on the cuts "Gypsy Woman" and "Little Anna Mae". These were also shelved, but in 1948, "I Can't Be Satisfied" and "I Feel Like Going Home" became hits, and his popularity in clubs began to take off. Soon after, Aristocrat changed its name to Chess Records . Waters's signature tune " Rollin' Stone " also became

8645-791: Was originally part of the roof. Gibbons eventually converted the wood into a guitar. Named Muddywood, the instrument is now exhibited at the Delta Blues Museum in Clarksdale. In 1993, Paul Rodgers released the album Muddy Water Blues: A Tribute to Muddy Waters , on which he covered a number of his songs, including "Louisiana Blues", "Rollin' Stone", "Hoochie Coochie Man" and "I'm Ready" in collaboration with guitarists Gary Moore , Brian May and Jeff Beck . Following Waters' death, fellow blues musician B.B. King told Guitar World , "It's going to be years and years before most people realize how greatly he contributed to American music." The bluesman John Hammond Jr. told Guitar World , "Muddy

8740-453: Was quite a few people around singing the blues but most of them was singing all sad blues. Muddy was giving his blues a little pep." In 1946, Waters recorded some songs for Mayo Williams at Columbia Records , with an old-fashioned combo consisting of clarinet, saxophone and piano; they were released a year later with Ivan Ballen's Philadelphia-based 20th Century label, billed as James "Sweet Lucy" Carter and his Orchestra – Muddy Waters' name

8835-496: Was the promotion of record companies such as Paramount Records , RCA Victor , and Columbia Records . Through such record companies Chicago blues became a commercial enterprise. The new style of music eventually reached Europe and the United Kingdom. In the 1960s, young British musicians were highly influenced by Chicago blues resulting in the British blues movement. According to Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of

8930-544: Was the third incarnation of a group that started as the Polka Tulk Blues Band in 1968. Their early work included blues standards, but by the time of their second album Paranoid (1970), they had added elements of modality and the occult that would largely define modern heavy metal. Some, like Korner and Mayall, continued to play a "pure" form of the blues, but largely outside of mainstream notice. The structure of clubs, venues and festivals that had grown up in

9025-528: Was used in Goodfellas , Better Off Dead , Risky Business , and the rockumentary The Last Waltz . In 1988 "Mannish Boy" was also used in a Levi's 501 commercial and re-released in Europe as a single with "Hoochie Coochie Man" on the flip side. Waters is a central character in the 2008 American biographical drama film Cadillac Records . The role of Muddy Waters is played by Jeffrey Wright . Wright recorded " (I'm Your) Hoochie Coochie Man " for

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