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Copyright © 2002-2004
by James P. Hauser except where otherwise noted.  All rights reserved.

The Rock'n'Roll Connections Of

Muddy Waters

Muddy Waters was one of the greatest bluesmen of all time. He was an excellent songwriter, a great bandleader, an incredible performer on stage, a powerful and innovative guitarist, and a superb singer. He grew up on a plantation in Clarksdale, Mississippi and began playing guitar at 17. In 1941, while he was in his mid-20s, he was recorded by folklorist Alan Lomax for the Library of Congress.

In 1943, Waters left his Mississippi home for Chicago where he would soon become the chief architect of a new kind of blues, the post-war Chicago blues. He created this new music by transforming the rural, acoustic sound of the Mississippi Delta blues into an electric-powered sound which was loud, intense, and beat-driven. This new music was the sound of the big city. Chicago blues was the first electric band music and its lineup of drums, bass, electric guitar, harmonica, and piano was the forerunner of the rock and roll band. Yeah, Muddy delivered the real thing, and we're not talkin' 'bout soft drinks, sneakers, or charge cards here.

The thing about Muddy was that not only was he a fantastic musician, but he always had bands that were equally incredible.  The list of great bluesmen who played in his bands over the years is longer and heavier than a boom time freight train--Little Walter, Otis Spann, Jimmy Rogers, Big Walter Horton, Fred Below, Buddy Guy, James Cotton, Pinetop Perkins, Junior Wells, Louis Myers, Willie Dixon, etc., etc. etc.  Muddy's bands were incredibly cohesive units; no matter how hard they rocked or which way they rolled, the players were together as dots on dice.  Quite simply, Muddy was the ultimate bandleader.

Muddy's influence on rock goes far and wide. For instance, he steered Chuck Berry to a recording contract with Chess Records, the label for which Waters and many other major Chicago bluesmen recorded. And Muddy collaborated and recorded with Bo Diddley, another rock and roll star who was also with Chess. Further evidence of his influence on rock is his development of a set of swaggering stop-time riffs which have been utilized by musicians to create some of the world's most exciting rock music including Bo Diddley's "I'm a Man", George Thorogood's "Bad to the Bone", Chuck Berry's "No Money Down", and the Kinks' (or Van Halen's if you prefer) "You Really Got Me". Muddy Waters's songs have been recorded by a bunch of rockers including Jimi Hendrix, Elvis, The Rolling Stones, The Grateful Dead, and Led Zeppelin to name just a few.

You say you want more rock 'n' roll connections? Well, Ol' Blueskat's got 'em for ya. In 1958, Waters went on his first tour of England, inspiring Britishers Alexis Korner and Cyril Davies to form the group Blues Incorporated. This band functioned as sort of a British R&B incubator; its young blues-loving musicians included, at one time or another, future Rolling Stones Mick Jagger and Charlie Watts, and two men, Jack Bruce and Ginger Baker, who would one day team up with Eric Clapton to form Cream.

Muddy died in 1983 and his passing was mourned by many. He was a man of great vision, dignity, leadership, and hard work. Bo Diddley once released an album with the boastful title A Man Amongst Men; Muddy Waters would never make that claim about himself, but in relation to him, most of the rest of us guys are just thumb-sucking boys. The rock stars who followed in his footsteps achieved much greater fame and made tons more money, but absolutely nobody rolled bigger stones! Read on below to find out more about rock's huge debt to Mr. Waters.

More of Muddy's rock 'n' roll connections:

Duane Allman/Allman Brothers Band: The album Duane Allman: An Anthology includes a version of Muddy's "Rollin' Stone" with great guitar from Duane. The Allman Brothers' Win, Lose or Draw album features a nice interpretation of Muddy's "Can't Lose What You Never Had".

The Band: In the early 90s, reunited members of The Band recorded a version of Muddy Waters's "Same Thing" and released it on their first album in 15 years, Jericho. The reunion did not include original members Robbie Robertson and the late Richard Manuel, but the great blues pianist Champion Jack Dupree contributed to the album as a guest artist.

David Bowie: Bowie once was in a band called The Manish Boys which was named after Muddy's great song "Mannish Boy".

Foghat: The 70s blues-rockers Foghat had a hit with their rendition of Muddy Waters's classic "I Just Want to Make Love to You". It appeared on their very first album, Foghat, and it can also be found on Best of Foghat, and Foghat Live. After all these years, their cover of this song still sounds great, and if you've lost your mojo, listening to the record is just bound to bring it back.

Led Zeppelin: Led Zeppelin recorded a couple of blues which were originally recorded by Muddy Waters. First, they did "You Shook Me" which was released on their debut album. Then, for their Led Zeppelin II LP, they reworked his "You Need Love" retitling it as "Whole Lotta Love".

Mannfed Mann Band: Remakes of two Muddy Waters songs, "I Got My Mojo Working" and "I'm Your Hoochie Coochie Man", were released by The Mannfred Mann Band on their second LP, Five Faces of Mannfred Mann. Both songs are also included on the album R&B Years which is a compilation of Mannfred Mann's covers of various rhythm and blues tunes.

Righteous Brothers: The Righteous Brothers recorded a rendition of Muddy's "I Just Want to Make Love to You" which can be found on the albums Moonglow Years and Anthology 1962-1974. If you're a big Righteous Brothers fan and if you're not aware of their early work on the small Moonglow label, then you should lay your ears on the Moonglow Years album. It's a collection of great, heavily R&B-influenced music which the Righteous Brothers recorded for this label before they hit the big-time by teaming up with producer Phil Spector. In addition to "I Just Want to Make Love to You", it has covers of Ray Charles's "This Little Girl of Mine", Jimmy Reed's "Baby What You Want Me to Do?", Buster Brown's "Fannie Mae" plus plenty more great white rhythm 'n' blues.

Rolling Stones: Several Muddy Waters tunes have been covered by the Rolling Stones. Their very first album, The Rolling Stones, contained a remake of "I Just Want to Make Love to You". And a version of Muddy's "I Can't Be Satisfied" is on the album More Hot Rocks (Big Hits And Fazed Cookies). Finally, a cover of "Look What You've Done" appears on December's Children. The Stones even named themselves after a Muddy Waters song, "Rollin' Stone".

Shadows of Knight: On their very first album, Gloria, the Shadows of Knight covered three Muddy Waters songs: "I Just Want to Make Love to You", "I Got My Mojo Working", and "I'm Your Hoochie Coochie Man". This sixties garage band, best known for its hit recording of Van Morrison's "Gloria", could sure play some heavy duty R&B. In addition to the Waters tunes, their first album included renditions of Bo Diddley's "Oh Yeah", John Lee Hooker's "Boom Boom", and Chuck Berry's "Let It Rock". Sounds like some klutch kargo to Blueskat, how about you?

The Zombies: A Zombies cover version of Muddy Waters's "I Got My Mojo Working" was on the band's first American LP, The Zombies (Featuring She's Not There and Tell Her No).

Many other rock musicians have recorded versions of Muddy Waters records.  Some of them are listed below, arranged alphabetically by the names of the musicians and bands.

Eric Clapton: Blow Wind Blow

Grateful Dead: Same Thing

Jimi Hendrix: I'm Your Hoochie Coochie Man, Catfish Blues (traditional)

Humble Pie: Rollin' Stone

Elvis Presley: I Got My Mojo Working

Motorhead: I'm Your Hoochie Coochie Man

New York Dolls: I'm Your Hoochie Coochie Man

Steppenwolf: I'm Your Hoochie Coochie Man

Rod Stewart: I Just Want to Make Love to You

Them: I Just Want to Make Love to You

Notes

The Last Waltz

The Last Waltz, Martin Scorsese's movie documentary of The Band's farewell concert includes a fantastic guest appearance by Muddy Waters singing "Mannish Boy". It's an absolutely rivetting performance--and Ol' Blueskat is not just talkin' 'bout plain old industrial strength rivets here--I'm talking about the kind of rivets they use on satellites and intergalactic space probes! And I'm testifyin' that Muddy's take on this song has been known on several occasions to exhilarate worn-out tired old men into orbit faster than they could say "Space Shuttle Mama". So pick up a copy of the movie and have yourself a double E feast--your eyes and ears will thank you for what they behold!

Got My Hi-Heel Sneakers

What do you get when you take Muddy Waters's "Got My Mojo Working" and slow it down to a laid back Jimmy Reed-style shuffle? Well, you get a song entitled "Hi Heel Sneakers". It was written and recorded by the great soul blues musician Tommy Tucker (also known as Robert Higginbotham). Tucker's humorous lyrics are what make this song extra special. Plenty of other musicians have recorded "Hi Heel Sneakers" including Jerry Lee Lewis, Bobby "I Fought the Law" Fuller, and Mr. Tom Jones. But probably the best known version of the song is the recording made by Stevie Wonder.

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