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Muddy Waters

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Renowned British blues rocker Eric Clapton said 'I felt so much love for him. ... Muddy topped off his career by going on Tour as the opening act for Eric Clapton. ... – PowerPoint PPT presentation

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Title: Muddy Waters


1
Muddy Waters
  • From the Cotton Fields
  • to Carnegie Hall

2
McKinley Morganfield.....Muddy Waters
  • Muddy Waters experienced the fullest of life,
    ranging from picking cotton in the depression era
    Mississippi Delta, to playing music before
    thousands of cheering fans all over the world.
    His musical style, which developed from the
    age-old tradition of singing about your troubles,
    laid the foundation for most modern music that
    followed.

3
Muddy Beginnings
  • McKinley Morganfield was born in Rolling Fork, MS
    on April 4, 1915 to Ollie Morganfield and Berta
    Jones. His mother died when he was three, so he
    moved 100 miles away to Clarksdale, MS to live
    with his Grandmother. McKinley got his nickname
    Muddy from his family due to his love for playing
    in mud puddles and creeks. Muddys childhood was
    spent working in the fields with the other
    laborers, where hollering songs was a way to
    pass the miserable day. This method of singing
    is the basis of The Blues, the music he would
    eventually master.

4
Early Music
  • At an early age, Muddy learned to play the
    harmonica accompanied by other homemade
    instruments like a kerosene can. At about 15, he
    got his first guitar, which he learn to play
    bottle-neck style, popular in the Delta region
    which he lived. Instead of fingering the frets of
    the guitar, a smooth bottleneck was used to
    create a sound like an extension of your voice.
    Robert Johnson was a popular player at this time.
  • He was picked by the Son Sims Four to be a
    vocalist and received some instruction by Sims.
    It was the performance of Son House that
    inspired Muddy for a lifetime.

5
Ditchin the Delta
  • Muddy mastered the delta-style guitar which fit
    the brutal living conditions. The music helped
    them communicate their inner feelings of rage
    about their plight as poor laborers. Muddy
    performed all around the area at rough parties,
    dances and picnics. He was first recorded in 1941
    by Alan Lomax who was doing a Folksong Archive
    project. They were actually looking to record
    Robert Johnson, who had passed away !
  • Shortly after this success, Muddy, now a young
    man, had a hankering to spread his delta gift
    to the masses. After a short try in St. Louis,
    he moved to Chicago in 1943.

6
Delta Chicago Blues are born
  • Muddy was involved in the Great Migration, a
    movement of Afro-Americans from the poor rural
    South, to the booming, urban North where
    opportunity was possible. Muddy started out in
    Chicago playing acoustic guitar, but his uncle
    gave him an electric model, just the ticket for
    loud city life. After a slow start, Muddy built
    up a band which played music that excited the
    other southerners who moved north. In 1950, he
    released Rolling Stone which told of being
    root-less and ruthless. The Rolling Stones
    used this song title as their name. As Muddys
    shows became more popular, they became more
    crowded, so Muddy added an amplifier. This
    signified the transition from Acoustic Delta
    Blues to Rockin Electric Guitar Chicago Blues.

7
Racing up the Charts
  • In 1951, Muddys band identified the blues/ rock
    and roll style with an electric guitar and
    raucous vocals. Together they composed many
    popular songs that are copied and reproduced
    around the world today. It took the band until
    1953 to record, because the monopoly of the
    Chicago music scene, created by Chess Recordings,
    was focusing on smaller groups. After Muddy
    started recording with Chess Records, he
    published 14 national hits including Hoochie
    Coochie Man," "I'm Ready," and "Mannish Boy."
    These songs remain on band session lists still
    today. He helped B.B. King start out who referred
    to him as the Boss of Chicago. He also helped
    Chuck Berry get his record deal going. Some say
    that Chuck Berrys true Rock and Roll Style
    decreased the demand for the Blues.

8
Sweeping the Nation
  • By the 1960s, Muddys music had planted itself in
    the American culture. He did not just have
    followers on the Chitlin Circuit for southern
    black folks and the rough Chicago Blues scene,
    but served his music up to a white, middle-class
    audience. Instead of small bar-rooms, Muddy now
    played at college auditoriums, folksong, blues
    and jazz clubs and festival stages. He even
    played at Carnegie Hall in New York City. He was
    involved in many genres including blues, rock and
    roll, country and folk where he did a legendary
    performance at the 1960 Newport Folk Festival. He
    even made TV performances. The early British
    rock scene found its roots in Muddys brand of
    music. Renowned British blues rocker Eric
    Clapton said "I felt so much love for him. I felt
    like he was my father and I was his adopted son

9
Respectin your Elders
  • Through the 1970s, Muddy continued to play his
    music, sometimes performing with the artists
    whos careers were influenced by him. Younger
    musicians who benefited from Muddy, included him
    in their shows. Johnny Winter produced Muddys
    comeback album titled Hard Again with
    follow-ups King Bee and Im Ready.
    Subsequent to this rebirth, Muddy topped off his
    career by going on Tour as the opening act for
    Eric Clapton.
  • According to Muddys late 70s guitarist, Bob
    Margolin, while Muddy popularized the heavy
    sounds that inspired Rock and Roll, rock was more
    commercially successful than blues ever was.
    Margolin further attributed this to the power of
    Muddys music.

10
Blues Dont Know No Barriers
  • Blues music has had an effect on people to break
    down barriers and bring people together. This has
    to do with the fact the music takes over our
    mind, and just for a moment we forget what we
    look like. Bob Margolin writes Go to a Blues
    festival Watch the love of this music tear down
    barriers of Race, Age, Nationality, Politics,
    Society, and Economics He thanks god and the
    black legends for maintaining these seemingly
    magical powers.
  • While Muddy possessed these musical powers, he
    allowed his band members to realize their
    potential saying if you got a star in the band,
    youve got to let him shine.

11
Muddy til the End
  • It has been said that the birth of Rock and Roll
    can be simplified as an amalgamation of the
    music of Muddy Waters and Hank Williams. This is
    a huge statement as rock and roll has been a
    major influence on our culture and way of life.
    Most every artist today can trace their roots
    back to Muddy Waters. Danny Dunlap of Electric
    Woodshed, who has played with other Muddy
    followers like Bo Diddley, credits Muddy for the
    influence in everymans heart and soul. Muddy
    continued impacting generations of musicians
    until a year before his death in 1983.
  • Muddy taught us an important lesson. It doesnt
    matter how you begin your life, you can be a star
    no matter who you are. He started as the poorest
    of poor and at the end of is life, he was as rich
    as Midas in terms of influencing the world of
    music forever.

And just like Muddy spells man M-A-N, I spell
12
  • end E-N-D!

Note Graphics and Images used herein property of
websites and are not used for commercial purposes
Special thanks to Bob Margolin and Danny Dunlap
for their E-mail interview, and William
Goldfarb who teaches me to appreciate the finer
things in life
Muddy Waters 1915 - 1983
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