He was born McKinley Morganfield in Rolling Fork, Mississippi, in 1915. At the age of 3, after his mother died, he moved to Clarksdale to be raised by his grandmother. As a child he was dubbed Muddy Waters and it stuck for the rest of his life. As a product of the Delta , the blues were all around him and since he didn't much like farming; at the age of 13 he started playing the harmonica. It was 4 years later that Muddy began playing the guitar, spurred on by his heroes, Son House and Robert Johnson. In 1941 the Library of Congress came looking for Robert Johnson to record him for the library's folk song archives. Robert had been dead for three years upon their arrival, so they recorded Muddy.... and they came back the following year to record some more. In 1943 Muddy moved to Chicago to make his way as a blues man. He made some recordings for Columbia that were never released and also did some for Aristocrat, later known as Chess Records, which didn't sell. Just when it seemed like everything was going absolutely nowhere, Muddy release the single "I can't be satisfied/I Feel like going home." This record is pinpointed as the birth of the "Chicago Blues." He continued with such songs as "Rollin' and Tumblin", "Rollin' Stone", and "Walkin' Blues" , all with Big Crawford on bass. Soon he was using full backing with such well known harmonica players like Little Walter, Walter "Shakey" Horton and James Cotton. He also had the services of Otis Spann on piano and Jimmy Rogers on guitar. These sessions brought us "Hoochie Coochie Man","I've Got My Mojo Working", You Need Love", "Mannish Boy" and "I'm Ready". He continued his music in relative obscurity until collaborations with such musicians as Paul Butterfield, Mike Bloomfield and Johnny Winter brought him some well deserved recognition. Muddy Waters died of heart failure in 1983, but him music lives on for all to enjoy. He is remembered as the father of the Chicago Blues and one of the blues most influential figures.

Selected works:

Sings Big Bill Broonzy (Chess 1960)***, At Newport, 1960 (Chess 1963)****, Folk Singer (Chess 1964)****, Muddy, Brass And The Blues (Chess 1965)**, Down On Stovall's Plantation (Testament 1966)***, Blues From Big Bill's Copacabana (Chess 1968)***, Electric Mud (Cadet 1968)**, Fathers And Sons (Chess 1969)***, After The Rain (Cadet 1969)**, Sail On (Chess 1969)***, The London Sessions (Chess 1971)***, Live At Mister Kelly's (Chess 1971)***, Can't Get No Grindin' (Chess 1973)***, Mud In Your Ear (Musicor 1973)***, London Revisited (Chess 1974)**, The Muddy Waters Woodstock Album (Chess 1975)**, Unk In Funk (Chess 1977)**, Hard Again (Blue Sky 1977)***, I'm Ready (Blue Sky 1978)***, Muddy Mississippi Waters Live (Blue Sky 1979)***, King Bee (Blue Sky 1981)***, Paris 1972 (Pablo 1997)***, Goin' Way Back 1967 recording (Just A Memory 1998)***.

The Best Of Muddy Waters (Chess 1957)*****, The Real Folk Blues Of Muddy Waters (Chess 1966)****, More Real Folk Blues (Chess 1967)****, Vintage Mud (Sunnyland 1970)***, They Call Me Muddy Waters (Chess 1970)***, McKinley Morganfield aka Muddy Waters (Chess 1971)****, Back In The Early Days (Red Lightnin' 1977)***, Chess Masters 3 volumes (Chess 1981-83)****, Rolling Stone (Chess 1982)***, Rare And Unissued (Chess 1984)***, Trouble No More: Singles 1955-1959 (Chess/MCA 1989)***, Muddy Waters 6-LP box set (Chess 1989)*****, The Chess Box 1947-67 9-CD box set (Chess/MCA 1990)*****, Blues Sky (Columbia/Legacy 1992)****, The Complete Plantation Recordings (Chess/MCA 1993)****, The King Of Chicago Blues (Charly 1995)****, His Best: 1947 To 1955 (Chess/MCA 1997)****, His Best: 1956 To 1964 (Chess/MCA 1997)****, King Of The Electric Blues (Columbia/Legacy 1998)***, The Lost Tapes (Blind Pig 1999)****, Best Of Muddy Waters: 20th Century Masters (MCA 1999)****, Mojo: The Live Collection (MCI 2000)***, The Best Of Muddy Waters: The Millennium Collection (MCA 2000)****, Rollin' Stone: The Golden Anniversary Collection (MCA 2000)****, The Anthology (MCA 2001)****, King Of Chicago Blues: The Essential Early Muddy Waters (Indigo 2002)****, Muddy Mississippi Waters Live (Legacy 2003)****, Martin Scorsese Presents The Blues (Hip-O/Chess 2003)***, Baby Please Don't Go (Indigo 2004)****, Feel Like Going Home (Complete Blues 2004)****.

Video:

Messin' With The Blues (BMG 1991), Live (BMG 1993), Got My Mojo Working: Rare Performances 1968-1978 (Yazoo 2000). Muddy Waters: Can't Be Satisfied (Wellspring 2004).