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Muddy Waters, leader of the pack
Born in Jug’s Corner, Mississippi, in 1915, Muddy Waters (birth name
McKinley Morganfield) came north to Chicago in 1945 and became the leader
of Chicago’s South Side blues scene. A large and imposing man, Waters dominated
the stage, the scene, and the entire city in all things blues. He had talented
contemporaries, like Howlin’ Wolf and Sonny Boy Williamson II, but no
single person is more associated with the Chicago sound than Muddy.
He had everything:
A guitar style that included both percussive, stinging single-note Delta riffs
An aggressive bone-chilling slide technique
A big raspy singing voice
A commanding stage presence
A long and prolific performing and recording career
Plus, he was one of the very few who played acoustic in Mississippi and electric
in Chicago, single-handedly leading the charge to bridge the two styles.
Truth is, though, that Muddy was important for his historical contributions,
being first on the scene, and for bringing his brand of a hopped-up Delta
sound into a large-ensemble setting.
Figure 12-2 shows an electric guitar passage in the style of Muddy Waters
with both riff playing and straight-picking lines represented.
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Figure 12-2:
A passage
in the style
of Muddy
Waters.
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218 Part IV: Sounding Like the Masters: Blues Styles through the Ages TEAM LinG
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