The American blues singer and guitarist Muddy Waters was key to the development of blues music, combining the sound of his native Mississippi Delta with the urban, electric blues born in Chicago.
Born McKinley Morganfield in Rolling Fork, Mississippi, on April 4, 1915, he acquired his nickname “Muddy” from his grandmother because he liked to play in the muddy creek behind their cabin. He began his career as an acoustic guitarist. In 1943, he moved to Chicago, switched to electric guitar, and began to join his Delta style to that of urban blues. He became known as “The Father of Chicago Blues.”
Waters’ work inspired musicians in the U.S. and Britain, including Bob Dylan, whose hit “Like a Rolling Stone” was named after Waters’ “Rollin' Stone.” Others influenced by Waters’ music include Mick Jagger of The Rolling Stones and Elvis Presley. The song “Rollin Stone” was also the inspiration for the title of Rolling Stone Magazine. In 2004, Waters was ranked 17th in Rolling Stone Magazine’s “100 Greatest Artists of All Time.”
Muddy Waters died on April 30, 1983, in Westmont, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago.
Web Sites
Catalog
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Databases
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