The first incendiary world-changing guitarist in Muddy Waters band was the man himself (please check out Wikipedia for chronology and other biographical details). I’m going to try to leave the worshipful adjectives alone, because everything about him is beyond “great” or any other superlative you want to use. Before typing the first word, I realized this was going to be “part 1”—there will be more than I can cover in a single post (part 1 covers the guitarists through Muddy Waters, Brass and the Blues, 1966, part 2 will begin right after that, the first album covered will be Electric Mud, from 1969).

Here’s his complete discography, a labor of love from the people at Blues and Rhythm magazine (don’t miss this, it will offer a lot of details beyond what I’ve supplied). This is going to be an overview, closer to the scale of the discography you’ll find at Wikipedia. What I find most interesting, probably because I hadn’t thought much about it before, is how many records Muddy Waters is on as a sideman. Other than the Leroy Foster records, I haven’t included these here, but I’ll do an OBR on Muddy Waters as sideman before too long.

One thing to be aware of, Muddy Waters considered voice and harmonica to be the most important elements of his music; they were the lead instruments wherever they appeared (I don’t necessarily hear it that way, but I do try to keep his views in mind). Some of the harpists who spent time with Muddy Waters in the period I’ll be covering (through about 50 years ago, December 1966) were James Cotton, Little Walter Jacobs, Junior Wells, George Smith and Sonny Boy Williamson.

Let’s get started. “Locked Out Boogie,” Baby Face Leroy Foster (vocal and drums), Muddy Waters (guitar), Ernest “Big” Crawford (bass); Aristocrat Records, Chicago, IL, recorded November 30, 1948, released 1949. As you can see on the label, Leroy Foster had top billing.

The flip, “Shady Grove Blues,” all same info as above.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SbvYDEPO6vA

Another Leroy Foster song, his version of “Rollin’ and Tumblin’” (parts 1 and 2) is epic. If you listen to only one thing, check this. It’s not too different from Muddy Waters’ version (number 12 on playlist). Muddy Waters got into trouble with the Chess brothers for recording this on Parkway; it’s because of this record that Leonard Chess requested Muddy record his own version.

The first two songs on the singles playlist were recorded on August 31, 1941 on Stovall Plantation in Mississippi by Alan Lomax and John Work for the Library of Congress. There were more songs recorded that day; eventually all were released on Muddy Waters: The Complete Plantation Recordings. The Historic 1941–42 Library of Congress Field Recordings (Chess, 1993; there’s a remastered set from 1997). The second two songs were the first he recorded in Chicago, on Aristocrat, a company the Czyż brothers bought their way into (that’s the Chess brothers, Lejzor and Fiszel Czyż, Leonard and Phil Chess).

“Louisiana Blues” (number 15) introduces Little Walter on harmonica. This is the start of something BIG.

The first songs through “Early Morning Blues” (number 22) feature Muddy Waters accompanying his voice with guitar (he’s the only guitarist, and when you hear piano, bass and drums, it is Johnny Jones on piano, Ernest “Big” Crawford on bass, and Leroy Foster on drums).

“Still a Fool” (1951, number 20 on playlist) was Muddy’s first recording of “Catfish Blues”/“Two Trains Running”/“Rolling Stone.”

When we hear a different guitar, it’s Jimmy Rogers. He was the other guitarist on Muddy Waters’ early ’50s recordings. Once he joined, Muddy Waters seldom played guitar on records. He never got back into it as much as he had been, focusing instead on his singing. The first songs we hear him on are “All Night Long” (number 23).

I just can’t find the 1952 version of “I Can’t Be Satisfied” (Chess 1514) on YouTube. It belongs between 24 and 25, it’s the flip of “Please Have Mercy.”

Another one I don’t want you to miss is “Turn the Lamp Down Low (Baby Please Don’t Go)” with Little Walter from 1953 (number 26).

Here’s the personnel for “Hoochie Coochie Man” (1954, number 29). Muddy Waters (vocals and guitar), Jimmy Rogers (guitar), Little Walter (harp), Otis Spann (piano), Willie Dixon (bass), Fred Below (drums). This was his “regular” band (as if anything about him was regular). You can scroll through the complete discography to find the people who played and recorded with them.

Check the riff on “She’s So Pretty” (the flip side of “Hoochie Coochie Man,” number 30), and the vocal attack on “Just Make Love To Me (I Just Want to Make Love to You)” (number 31, 1954).

We’ve skipped through a couple years, sometime in 1956, James Cotton invited his old friend Pat Hare to replace Jimmy Rogers in the band. The first song is probably “Forty Days and Forty Nights” (number 37 on the playlist, January 1956). It has Pat Hare’s slinkier, more sinewy style (and there’s also a chance that Jimmy Rogers returned for a recording even though he wasn’t in the band). Pat Hare’s style, at least what we hear of it, was heavily dependent on his rig. While he was every bit capable of playing complicated jazz lines, he’s best known as one of the first guitarists to play with distortion (check his contribution to James Cotton’s influential “Cotton Crop Blues”).

“All Aboard” (number 42) is related to “Mean Old Frisco” (a song written by Arthur Crudup, a future Blues Roots profile). A later segment will feature Muddy Waters and Johnny Winter’s version of this.

Hubert Sumlin joined Muddy Waters’ band for about a year around this time; the first songs he played on were “Don’t Go No Farther,” “Diamonds at Your Feet” and “Just To Be With You” (July 1956, numbers 43-45).

Robert Junior Lockwood (Robert Johnson’s stepson, friend and protégé) probably sat in for the recording of “Good News,” “Evil,” “Come Home Baby (I Wish You Would),” (numbers 49 to 51) and “Let Me Hang Around” (not on playlist). Pat Hare was the other guitarist in May-June 1957.

Luther Tucker joined sometime after that. The first songs he recorded with the band were “Close To You,” “She’s Nineteen Years Old” and “Walking Thru the Park” in August 1958 (starting with number 54). He recorded his last songs with the band in June 1963.

Muddy Waters had perfect pitch and could tell whose instrument was out of tune, with guitars he could even tell which string while the whole band was playing. I wish I could remember where I read this but that was such a remarkable thing, I remember those details.

In January 1960, Chess released Muddy Waters Sings Big Bill Broonzy (recorded July-August 1959); with Muddy Waters (vocals), James Cotton (harp), Pat Hare (guitar), Otis Spann (piano), Andrew Stephenson (bass), Francis Clay (drums, all except track 7 on playlist), Willie Smith (drums, track 7). Muddy Waters didn’t play guitar at all on this album; I would think that a lot of the songs that appear around this time and after are his musicians on guitar.

Muddy Waters at Newport 1960 is a live album by Muddy Waters performed at Newport Jazz Festival in Newport, Rhode Island, with James Cotton (harp), Pat Hare (guitar), Otis Spann (vocals, piano), Andrew Stephenson (bass) and Francis Clay (drums), on July 3, 1960. It was released November 15, 1960 (song list is about the 5th comment down at the YouTube video).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z1y0au523yo&t=1132s

“Hoochie Coochie Man” from Newport, July 3, 1960.

“I’ll Put A Tiger In Your Tank” from Newport, July 3, 1960.

“Got My Mojo Working” from Newport, July 3, 1960.

Chess bought the rights to Earl Hooker ’s May 3, 1961 recording of “Blue Guitar.” Willie Dixon wrote lyrics for Muddy Waters to sing to make “You Shook Me” (1962, number 78 on the playlist) right over the recording made by Earl Hooker’s band: Earl Hooker (guitar), A.C. Reed (tenor), Lafayette Leake (piano), Earnest Johnson (bass), Bobby Little (drums).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rky4KKq3aug

It’s Earl Hooker’s band on “You Need Love” and “Little Brown Bird” (numbers 80 and 81). Earl Hooker (guitar), A.C. Reed (tenor), Jackie Brenston (baritone), John “Big Moose” Walker (organ), Earnest Johnson (bass), Casey Jones (drums) recorded the instrumental tracks in Chicago, July 1962. Muddy Waters overdubbed the vocal on Fri. October 12, 1962. “You Need Love” should also sound familiar to Led Zeppelin fans (released 1963).

Pat Hare left the band in 1963 when he was arrested for killing a his girlfriend and a police officer (the story is told in detail at the link in the first mention of his name). James “Pee Wee” Madison and Sammy Lawhorn both joined the band around this time, James “Pee Wee” Madison’s first recordings on April 9, 1964 were “The Same Thing” and “You Can’t Lose What You Ain’t Never Had” (numbers 84 and 85). He played with Muddy Waters’ band until the ending of the world tour in 1973, mostly playing rhythm guitar on an upside-down Fender Mustang.

Sammy Lawhorn made his first recordings with the band in October 1964 with “My John The Conquer Root,” “Short Dress Woman” (both on number 86) and “Put Me In Your Lay Away” (sorry, not on the playlist). He stayed with the band through 1972.

Matt Guitar Murphy joined the Muddy Waters Band at the American Folk Blues Festival in 1963. “Got My Mojo Working” starts at 4:50 in (the rest of the video is pretty great too).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BZMoikK3ct8

Folk Singer is the fourth studio album by Muddy Waters, released in April 1964 (these songs also include the bonus songs from the 1993 and 1999 reissues). Buddy Guy joined on acoustic guitar for this session.

Muddy Waters, Brass and the Blues was released in December 1966. James “Pee Wee” Madison, Sam Lawhorn were the two guitarists on this album.

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