MUDDY WATERS
The man who electrified the blues–literally and metaphorically
As the father of modern Chicago Blues, it’s hard to overstate the importance of Muddy Waters in the development of blues music as we know it. After he had grown up playing acoustically in the rural South, Muddy’s sound evolved as he moved northwards, where he would play at juke joints located near Chicago’s many factories. In order to be heard over the industrial hubbub, he very pragmatically decided that he would need to amplify his guitar. Thus, Muddy electri ed the blues both literally and metaphorically speaking and changed its sonic trajectory once and for all.
Prior to this, he’d developed an aggressive right-hand technique from playing loud and hard, and this still played a major part in his sound after going electric, but the introduction of an amp and the change of guitar gave him access to extra tonal possibilities. Gritty and expressive, early records like TheRealFolk Bluesbridged the gap between the rural tradition and Muddy’s burgeoning urban blues identity, before 1969’s double LP, FathersAnd Sons, really served to de ne the sound of modern Chicago –as well as the sound of the now iconic Chess Records.
As for his in uence, the long list of artists who have covered Muddy’s tunes speaks for itself: Led Zeppelin, The Yardbirds, The Animals, Johnny Winter, The Allman Brothers Band, Eric Clapton, Je Beck, Gary Moore, The Black Crowes, the New York Dolls and many more have all paid homage. The Rolling Stones even got the inspiration for their band name from Muddy’s song of the same name.
Profundity in simplicity
From Got My Mojo Working and Mannish Boy to Spoonful and I’m Your Hoochie Coochie Man, his body of work has truly stood the test of time, and learning some of those canonical licks, slide lines and foot stomping rhythms will be a necessity –nay, a rite of passage –if you ever plan to play at a local blues jam night.
His signature style demonstrates one of the fundamental principles of blues music: that there can be profundity in simplicity. Muddy’s playing was not about cramming in as many notes as possible. In fact, he got a whole career’s worth of mileage out of the ve not
