According to The Telegraph, Muddy Waters is the “Father of Modern Chicago Blues”. Rolling Stone states that his sound has influenced other music legends. He was just a little boy when he was born in Mississippi. His famous name came from his humble beginnings.
Robert Gordon wrote in an excerpt from “Can’t be Satisfied” that Muddy Waters was born in 1913 with the name McKinley Morganfield, but later claimed he was born in 1915. His parents did not raise him. His mother died when he was young, and his father had 10 children with her. Little Morganfield lived with his grandma. The first part of his nickname was given to her. She called him “Muddy” because he was fond of the mucky brown stuff along the banks of Deer Creek. He told Robert Palmer that he would play in the mud and try to eat it.
Muddy Waters stage name came a bit later. It was an invention of childhood friends, according to Robert Palmer. It was added by his family when he started playing the harmonica, according to the National Park Service. He started playing the instrument at a young age and performed at local parties. The nickname was linked to his early performance. Robert Gordon said that the name “Water” came from his musical performances in Mississippi, but the final “S” wasn’t added until he moved to Chicago.
According to The Washington Post, Muddy Waters’ music career began when he started playing guitar in 1935. He recorded his first song for the Library of Congress in 1941. Waters brought the Delta blues sound to Chicago in 1943. He picked up the guitar a year later and went on to record a number of hits. The Rolling Stones’ name was inspired by Bob Dylan’s “Like a Rolling Stone,” according to the magazine.
The bridge between Muddy Waters’ hometown music style and rock ‘n’ roll is perhaps his greatest legacy. The Chicago blues style is a type of music that was played by Waters. The Mississippi Blues Trail says this style evolved into rock music. The Mississippi Earth gave Waters his name but also gave him his first instrument. I used to try to play it when I was young. He told Robert Palmer that he would use his stick and beat on the ground to get a new sound.
Waters passed away in 1983 after a heart attack. Before he died, he had won six Grammys. In 1987 he was added to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and in 1992 he received a lifetime achievement award from the Recording Academy. According to The Telegraph, he was worried that people would stop listening to and playing the blues, but as long as people remember his music, it will stay.