Muddy Waters (1913–1983) carried Delta blues from Mississippi to Chicago, plugged it in, and became the father of modern Chicago blues — the Rolling Stones even took their name from his song Rollin' Stone. Start with The Best of Muddy Waters (1958) or the Johnny Winter-produced Hard Again (1977). Shop Muddy Waters vinyl, CDs, and reissues at Wax Trax Records.
McKinley Morganfield was born in Issaquena County, Mississippi on April 4, 1913 and raised in Clarksdale, Mississippi. He was influenced by Son House and Robert Johnson, learning Delta blues guitar in his youth. He was first recorded by folklorist Alan Lomax for the Library of Congress in 1941 at the Stovall Plantation where he worked as a sharecropper. He relocated to Chicago in 1943 and began electrifying his guitar in the late 1940s, establishing the foundational template for the post-war Chicago blues sound. He signed with Chess Records (operated by Leonard and Phil Chess) and his work across the 1950s and 1960s is widely cited as one of the most important contributions to American blues and broader popular music. He performed in his iconic Chess Records ensemble featuring (at various times) Little Walter (harmonica), Otis Spann (piano), and Willie Dixon (bass/songwriting). His mid-1970s Johnny Winter-produced Hard Again (1977) and I'm Ready (1978) provided a late-career commercial revival. He died of heart failure on April 30, 1983 at age 70. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987 (posthumously). His foundational influence on Chicago blues, rock and roll, and broader popular music is widely cited as one of the most important contributions to the form. The Rolling Stones took their name from his song Rollin' Stone (1950).
Muddy Waters's sound is foundational to electric Chicago blues - combining Chicago blues, electric blues, Delta blues, rhythm and blues, and post-war blues with his distinctive vocal delivery and slide guitar work, and his foundational influence on the development of rock and roll. His foundational influence on Chicago blues as a recognized genre, rock and roll, and broader popular music is widely documented.
Original Chess Records pressings of the Muddy Waters catalog are foundational items in blues collecting. Multiple anniversary editions, audiophile reissues (Mobile Fidelity, Acoustic Sounds, Analogue Productions), and the comprehensive Chess/Geffen reissue programs have been released.
Listeners new to Muddy Waters typically start with The Best of Muddy Waters (1958) or Hard Again (1977).
