{"id":5035,"date":"2014-03-28T15:24:17","date_gmt":"2014-03-28T15:24:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.eoisabi.org\/?p=5035"},"modified":"2026-03-23T18:12:50","modified_gmt":"2026-03-23T18:12:50","slug":"muddy-waters","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/englishroam.com\/?p=5035","title":{"rendered":"Muddy Waters + Big Bill Morganfield"},"content":{"rendered":"
\u203e<\/address>\n
Muddy Waters<\/strong> transformed the soul of the rural South into the sound of the city, electrifying the blues at a pivotal point in the early postwar period. His recorded legacy, particularly the wealth of sides he cut in the Fifties, is one of the great musical treasures of this century.\u00a0Above all others, it was Waters who linked the country blues of his native Mississippi Delta with the urban blues that were born in Chicago.<\/address>\n
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He was born McKinley Morganfield in Rolling Fork, Mississippi, in 1915. At the age of three he was sent to live with his grandmother, on the Stovall Plantation north of Clarksdale, after his mother died. There he acquired the nickname \u201cMuddy\u201d for his penchant for playing in nearby creeks and puddles. Waters began playing harmonica at the age of seven and took up guitar at seventeen. He picked cotton on the plantation for fifty cents a day and played music as part of a trio at fish fries and house parties on weekends. \u00a0In May 1943, Waters made the move from the rural plantation to the big city, heading north to Chicago by train.<\/address>\n
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Waters\u2019 approach to the blues underwent a dramatic metamorphosis after moving to Chicago, where he befriended and played with such estimable figures as Big Bill Broonzy and John Lee \u201cSonny Boy\u201d Williamson. Waters switched from acoustic to electric guitar in order to be heard over the din of patrons at the clubs he played on Chicago\u2019s South Side. After a few false starts, Waters\u2019 recording career began in earnest soon after pianist Sunnyland Slim introduced him to\u00a0<\/a>Leonard Chess<\/a>, co-owner of the Aristocrat label (later Chess Records). Working at the famed Chess Studios on South Michigan Avenue, Waters cut many of the greatest recordings in the blues canon. He developed a fruitful team approach to record-making with producer\u00a0Leonard Chess,<\/a>\u00a0bassist\/songwriter\u00a0Willie Dixon<\/a>, and various musical associates.<\/address>\n
Rock’n’Roll Hall Of Fame<\/address>\n
\u2022\u2192Interview by Alan Lomax:\u00a0McKinley Morganfield a.k.a. Muddy Waters<\/a><\/strong><\/address>\n
\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u25ca \u00a0 \u00a0 ‘All Aboard’ \u00a0 \u21d2\"all_aboard\"<\/a><\/h6>\n
Mean old Frisco\u00a0takes my breath away . . .<\/strong><\/address>\n
well I’ve been howling I’ve been trusting<\/address>\n
and now I’m lookin’ for the day.<\/address>\n
Wake a man feel good –\u00a0got me hold let me down . . .<\/strong><\/address>\n
cos I’ve been howling – I’ve been trustin’\u00a0<\/address>\n
and now I’m gettin’ pushed around.<\/address>\n
Can you show me\u00a0how the train goes round the bend . . .<\/strong><\/address>\n
and I’ve howling oh so long\u00a0and now i’m looking for the end.<\/address>\n
Wake a man feel good –\u00a0got me hold let me down . . .<\/strong><\/address>\n
cos I’ve been howling – i’ve been trustin\u00a0<\/address>\n
and now I’m gettin’ pushed around<\/address>\n
Can you show me\u00a0how the train goes round the bend . . .<\/strong><\/address>\n
and I’ve howling oh so long\u00a0and now I’m looking for the end.<\/address>\n

\u2234<\/p>\n

\"40\"<\/a>\u21d0 ‘Forty days and forty nights\u2028<\/strong>\u00a0<\/address>\n
Since my baby left this town<\/address>\n
Sun shinin’ all day long\u2028 but the rain keep comin’ down<\/address>\n
She’s my life – I need her so\u2028<\/address>\n
Why she left I just don’t know<\/address>\n
\u00a0<\/address>\n
Forty days and forty nights\u2028<\/strong><\/address>\n
Since I set right down and cried<\/address>\n
Keep rainin’ all the time \u2028but the river’s runnin’ dry<\/address>\n
Lord help me it just ain’t right\u2028<\/address>\n
I love that girl with all-a my might<\/address>\n
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Forty days and forty nights<\/strong> – \u2028Since my baby broke my heart<\/address>\n
Searchin’ for her in a while\u2028 – Like a blind man in the dark<\/address>\n
Love can make a poor man rich\u2028 \u00a0or break his heart –\u00a0I don’t know which<\/address>\n
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Forty days and forty nights<\/strong> \u2028- Like a ship out on the sea<\/address>\n
Prayin’ for her each night\u2028 that she would come back-a home to me<\/address>\n
Life is love and love is right\u2028 – I hope she come back home tonight<\/address>\n
\u25ca \u2192 ‘My Home Is In The Delta<\/a>‘ \u21d3 \u00a0[1963]<\/h6>\n