Muddy Waters

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For the album by Redman, see Muddy Waters (album). For the college football coach, see Muddy Waters (American football). For the MUD, see Muddy Waters (online game).

Muddy Waters

Muddy Waters at the opening of Peaches Records & Tapes in Rockville, Maryland (mid-1970s)

Background information

Birth name

McKinley Morganfield

Born

April 4, 1913 Issaquena County, Mississippi, United States

Died

April 30, 1983 (aged 70) Westmont, Illinois, United States

Genres

Blues, Chicago blues, country blues, Delta blues, electric blues

Occupations

Singer, songwriter, guitarist, bandleader

Instruments

Vocals, guitar, harmonica

Years active

19411982

Labels

Aristocrat, Chess,[1] Testament

Website

www.muddywaters.com

Notable instruments

Gibson Les Paul Fender Telecaster

McKinley Morganfield (April 4, 1913[2] April 30, 1983), known as Muddy Waters, was an American blues musician who is considered the "father of modern Chicago blues". He was a major inspiration for the British blues explosion in the 1960s[3] and is ranked No. 17 inRolling Stone magazine's list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time.[4]
Contents
[hide]

1 Early life 2 Early career 3 Commercial success 4 England and low profile 5 Comeback 6 Death 7 Influence 8 Awards and recognition

o o o o

8.1 Grammy Awards 8.2 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 8.3 The Blues Foundation Awards 8.4 Inductions

9 Discography

9.1 Studio albums

10 Notes 11 References 12 External links

Early life[edit source | editbeta]

Although in his later years Muddy usually said that he was born in Rolling Fork, Mississippi in 1915, he was most likely born at Jug's Corner in neighboring Issaquena County in 1913.[5] Recent research has uncovered documentation showing that in the 1930s and 1940s he reported his birth year as 1913 on

both his marriage license and musicians' union card. A 1955 interview in the Chicago Defender is the earliest claim of 1915 as his year of birth, which he continued to use in interviews from that point onward. The 1920 census lists him as five years old as of March 6, 1920, suggesting that his birth year may have been 1914. The Social Security Death Index, relying on the Social Security card application submitted after his move to Chicago in the mid-1940s, lists him as being born April 4, 1913. Muddy's gravestone gives his birth year as 1915. Muddy's grandmother, Della Grant, raised him after his mother died shortly following his birth. Della gave the boy the nickname "Muddy" at an early age because he loved to play in the muddy water of nearby Deer Creek.[6] Muddy later changed it to "Muddy Water" and finally "Muddy Waters". The shack where Muddy Waters lived in his youth on Stovall Plantation is