Muddy Waters, McKinley Morganfield in real life was born in Issaquena County, Mississippi. He is often referred to as ‘the Father of Chicago Blues’ and is one of the greatest blues guitarists of all times. The magazine Rolling Stone places Muddy Waters at no. 17 of the top 100 great guitarists. He was born on April 4, 1913. His nickname of ‘ Muddy’ it was coined by his liking when playing in the mud.
The first musical instrument that he learned to play was the harmonica. He fell in love with the guitar by the time he turned 17 years old. He was inspired by two blues artists of the south: They were Son House and Robert Johnson. It was Son House that influenced greatly in its heavy, heavy style of voice, its color of dark tone, and its company/signature, the almost solid personality, but it was Johnson which they contributed to his embellishment, imaginative techniques of more agile slide and rates.
Muddy married with Mabel Berry the 20 of November of 1932, but Mabel left him when he has his first-born child with another woman by the name of Leola Spain. Muddy Waters began its career in the 1940’s with Silas Green in 1941 by singing and playing the harmonica. After his collaboration with Silas Green, he met and played with Allan and John Lomax. His first two recordings were released on the Testament label.
In 1943 one of the main men of Chicago Blues Big Bill Broonzy helped Muddy break into the competitive Chicago market by allowing Muddy to open for Broonzy’s shows. Muddy got his first electric guitar in 1945 to help him be heard over the noisy Chicago crowds.
His popularity rose over the coming years. He worked with many other musicians over the next few years such as Leonard and Phil Chess, Sunnyland Slim and that ‘ Gypsy Woman’ and ‘ Little Ana Mae’ in 1947. In 1948 his two songs ‘ I Can’ t Sees Satisfied’ and ‘ I Feel Like Going Home’ became great successes. Soon after Muddy wrote one of his most famous songs “Rollin Stone’ and in the 1950’s he played in a band that several hit songs such as “Hoochie Coochie Man” (Number 8 on the R&B charts), “I Just Want to Make Love to You” (Number 4), and “I’m Ready”. These three were “the most macho songs in his repertoire,” wrote Robert Palmer in Rolling Stone.
In 1954 was the height of his career. The success of his band lead to other artists in the band being able to break away and enjoy solo careers of their own. Little Water Jacobs was able to write down its success in ‘ Juke’ when he left the band of Muddy in 1952. Another member of the band, Rogers, also resigned in 1955 to work alone with its own band, and Otis Spann enjoyed success in the mid 1950’s. As well.
Muddy then moved to England and kept a somewhat low profile. Muddy’s long-time wife Geneva died of cancer on March 15, 1973. A devastated Muddy was taken to a doctor and told to quit smoking, which he did. Gaining custody of some of his “outside kids”, he moved them into his home, eventually buying a new house in suburban, all-white Westmont. Another teenage daughter turned up while on tour in New Orleans; Big Bill Morganfield was introduced to his Dad after a gig in Florida. Florida was also where Muddy met his future wife, the 19-year-old Marva Jean Brooks whom he nicknamed “Sunshine”
On November 25, 1976, Muddy Waters performed at The Band’s farewell concert at Winterland in San Francisco. The concert was released as both a record and a film, The Last Waltz, featuring a performance of “Mannish Boy” with Paul Butterfield on harmonica.
In 1977 Johnny Winter convinced his label, Blue Sky, to sign Muddy, the beginning of a fruitful partnership. His “comeback” LP, Hard Again, was recorded in just two days and was a return to the original Chicago sound he had created 25 years earlier, thanks to Winter’s production. Former sideman James Cotton contributed harmonica on the Grammy Award-winning album and a brief but well-received tour followed.
On April 30, 1983 Muddy Waters died in his sleep, at his home in Westmont, Illinois. At his funeral at Restvale Cemetery in Alsip, Illinois, throngs of blues musicians and fans showed up to pay tribute to one of the true originals of the art form. Two years after his death, Chicago honored him by designating the one-block section between 900 and 1000 E. 43rd Street near his former home on the south side “Honorary Muddy Waters Drive” More recently, the Chicago suburb of Westmont, where Waters lived the last decade of his life, named a section of Cass Avenue near his home “Honorary Muddy Waters Way”.
