BLUES N'AT

On April 4 the blues community celebrated the birthday of blues legend Muddy Waters. Today, Mrs. Black-N-Gold is digging the blues of Muddy Waters. If you're a fan of any type of music, chances are good that the genre that you enjoy, be it blues or otherwise, was someway touched by The Man.

 Born McKinley Morganfield in Rolling Fork, MS, in either 1913 or 1915, the youngster started out playing the harmonica and was given his famous moniker by his grandmother who raised him after Muddy's mother died shortly after his birth. Muddy ultimately took up the guitar in his teens and made his way north, to Chicago around 1940.

Unable to earn a living as a professional musician he went back to Mississippi where he ran a juke joint, often entertaining the patrons himself. It was also during this time that Muddy was first recorded, as Alan Lomax included him in his Library of Congress recordings.

In 1943, Muddy made the permanent move to Chicago in hopes of becoming a full-time musician. Muddy was given an electric guitar in 1945 and it would change the course of music history. Muddy's mastery of the electric guitar helped bridge the gap between the Delta Blues and Rock 'N Roll. Muddy started out recording for Aristocrat Records, eventually becoming world-renowned blues label, Chess Records. Muddy helped put Chess on the map and himself on the charts by putting his own stamp on many of songwriter Willie Dixon's songs and making them his own. Some of Muddy's better known songs include, "Hoochie Coochie Man", "I Just Want to Make Love to You" and "Got My Mojo Working".

The many musicians who played in Muddy's band is like a "Who's Who" of the blues" James Cotton, Little Walter, Junior Wells, Jimmy Rogers and Pinetop Perkins to name a few. In the late '50s, as his popularity was beginning to wane with black audiences, Muddy found a whole new generation of followers with white audiences here in the States and in Europe. Muddy and his contemporaries toured Europe playing the folk festival circuit, inspiring the likes of Eric Clapton, The Rolling Stones, Jimi Hendrix and AC/DC. Another devotee, Johnny Winter, produced a series of albums for Muddy in the 1970s, including Muddy's last recorded album, "King Bee".

The Blues Hall of Fame inducted Muddy in 1980. He passed on to the Big Juke Joint in the Sky on April 30, 1983. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame posthumously in 1987 and was honored with a Grammy Lifetime Achievement in 1992. He left behind a catalog that continues to provide listeners with hours upon hours of vast listening pleasure.

To paraphrase Muddy, the blues had a baby and they named it rock 'n roll. And Muddy Waters was the father. He always had his mojo working. Until next time boys and girls. Keep It Bluesy!