Muddy Waters is my favorite blues artist. No, he is my favorite musician, period…in any genre. He is the centerpiece of the blues mural that has graced BB’s Lawnside BBQ for many years. At BB’s Lawnside BBQ, the blues joint I own, we have celebrated his birthday for many years with great Chicago blues, and a commemorative t-shirt. And with his birthday right around the corner (April 4), I thought it would be a good time to share my memories of seeing him live, and my favorite recordings.
The best place to start any Muddy Waters collection is with a compilation of his work. My favorite is a two-disc set, Muddy Waters – The Anthology, on MCA Records. It starts with “Gypsy Woman” and “I Can’t Be Satisfied” originally on Aristocrat Records before the Chess Brothers changed their label name. These songs were released on 78 RPM in 1947 and 1948, respectively.
The first disc covers Muddy’s early classics “Rollin Stone,” “Louisiana Blues,” “Long-distance Call,” “Still a Fool,” “Hoochie Coochie Man” and “I Just Want to Make Love to You” (which appears on BB’s 2010 Muddy Waters t-shirt). The second disc continues with the classics, “Mannish Boy,” “Got My Mojo Working,” “She’s Nineteen Year’s Old”…which brings the listener to 1972. Obviously, a terrific overview of Muddy’s early career.
I first saw Muddy Waters in 1964 at the Club Mardi Gras on 18th & Vine in Kansas City, Missouri. A few years later, in 1967, I saw him at the Newport Jazz Festival where I was lucky enough to talk with Otis Spann, Muddy’s longtime piano player. The photos I took of Muddy graced the 2009 Muddy Waters t-shirt. Not long after that show, I purchased Muddy Waters at Newport 1960, a live classic with “I’m Your Hoochie Coochie Man” and an extended version of “I’ve Got My Mojo Working.”
My next experience seeing Muddy live was June 3, 1971 at Mr. Kelly’s in downtown Chicago, the night of my bachelor party before Jo (the real boss of BB’s) and I got married. Muddy recorded a live album Muddy Waters Live (at Mr. Kelly’s) a few days later during the same engagement. Both albums give the listener a good idea of a live Muddy Waters performance.
Muddy’s so-called “comeback” after he had left Chess Records was in 1971 when Johnny Winter convinced his record label (Blue Sky/CBS) to record an album. Johnny played on the album along with Muddy’s band at the time. That album, Hard Again, contained remakes of classics like “Mannish Boy,” “I Can’t Be Satisfied,” plus new material such as “The Blues Had a Baby and They Named It Rock & Roll” and “Cross-eyed Cat.” Lots of energy for a 58-year old Mississippi bluesman. This album was very important because it brought Muddy’s music to a whole new generation of fans.
There are two other albums I would recommend: Folk Singer and One More Mile. Folk Singer, an acoustic album from 1964, was cut in Chess studios with Buddy Guy on guitar and Willie Dixon on bass. Muddy came to Chicago in the late 1940’s playing an acoustic guitar before he “plugged in” and this album took him back to the Delta.
Kicking off with “Thirteen Highway”, One More Mile, is a double album from 1963. This album features James Cotton (harmonica), Luther Tucker (guitar), Otis Spann (piano) Will Dixon (bass) and Willie “Big Eyes” Smith (drums). All famous bluesmen in their own right. My Pencil Won’t Write anymore makes my top 10 list of Muddy’s songs.
Top 10 Muddy songs:
1) Louisiana Blues, 1950
2) Rollin’ Stone, 1950
3) Still A Fool, 1951
4) I Just Want to Make Love to You, 1954
5) I’m Ready, 1954
6) Mannish Boy, 1955 & 1971
7) She’s Nineteen Years Old, 1958
8) My Home is In The Delta, 1963
9) Strange Woman, 1971
10) My Pencil Won’t Write No More, 1972
Check out my complete Muddy Waters playlist.
Remember, all of the album and song selections are my personal favorites. Please feel free to dig in and make your own choices. And remember to honor Muddy every year!
In our business we can sometimes thin we know it all, but after reading this I can see I have much to learn. :)