Waters, Muddy (1915-1983), was an influential blues singer and guitarist. His music inspired many rock music performers, including Mick Jagger of the Rolling Stones and Elvis Presley.
Waters was born on April 4, 1915, in Rolling Fork, Mississippi. His given and family name was McKinley Morganfield. He made his first recording in Mississippi in 1941. At that time, he performed country blues music, singing and accompanying himself on an acoustic (nonelectric) guitar. In 1943, Waters moved to Chicago, where an active blues scene offered new ideas and greater opportunities for work. He became the most important originator of urban blues music, which featured a blues singer with an electrically amplified guitar; a rhythm section of piano, bass, and drums; and a loud, aggressive style. He began to record commercially under the name Muddy Waters in 1947.
Waters’s first hit, recorded in 1948, was “I Can’t Be Satisfied.” The greatest successes of Waters’s career came during the 1950’s and 1960’s. They included “Rollin’ Stone,” “I’m Your Hoochie Coochie Man,” “Mannish Boy,” “Got My Mojo Working,” and “Tiger in Your Tank.” He died on April 30, 1983. Waters was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987.
See also Guy, Buddy .
