- This topic has 17 replies, 7 voices, and was last updated 8 years, 1 month ago by
.
-
Posts
-
-
hi folks
lately I‘ve seen a lot of great submissions about muddy waters ep …213 /214 I love Muddy of course (who doesn’t?) but I realize that I can’t recognize many licks muddy signature licks…(maybe except the epic mannish boy…).
I always think he was more like a great singer or a great leader able to get amazing musicians together or create superband (…think all great harmonicist, guitar players that played with him) than a gittarist with his own licks, like John Lee hooker, Lighting Hopkins, Chuck Berry etc…probably I’m wrongdoes anybody help me knowing better Muddy’s music tell me more about him?
thanks
happy picking
ale -
-
-
I think many of those licks associated with Muddy came from his lead guitarist Jimmy Rodgers.
We have a Jimmy Rodgers Style lesson from Brian.
I’m sure Gary Moore did this one( possibly not as good as Jimmy)
..Billy..
-
Thanks, Bryce, shaming me into doing Muddy Waters and His Guitarists, part 3? It’s overdue, and those lessons did make me think I’d like to do it soon. Not tomorrow, I’ve just been busy, keep hoping for a stretch when I can relax and think. My main thing is, when I do it, I want to do something at least as good as the first two parts. Maybe August 17.
Here are part 1 and part 2, which ends with Electric Mud; part 3 will pick up with After the Rain (an album that might have been received a little easier if it hadn’t followed the psychedelic caricature in Electric Mud, the “Rollin’ and Tumblin’” on there is one of my favorites). There’s a PDF discography from the English Blues and Rhythm magazine included in both parts—don’t miss it.
I didn’t do an analysis of his music in either part, so please don’t look for that, just tried to supply his music in chronological order with some context. Here’s the main playlist from those (I’ll add to it for part 3).
I think you’re right about Muddy Waters’ voice being his most distinctive feature, and his leadership, but there are a few things I can think of in his guitar playing that say “Muddy Waters.” The main one is the timbre which comes from a combination of vibrato and… and… and I don’t know.
Another one of the first things you might think of as distinctively Muddy Waters are his slide licks, which include sliding into the tonic from below on the first string, then dropping down to the 5 and flat 3, then sighing, to the tonic below it on the G/third string, like in “Feel Like Going Home.”
Another thing that’s distinctively Muddy Waters is playing those country blues riffs through an amplifier —Muddy Waters is credited as being the person who electrified the blues. Here’s one of my favorites. I may have been influenced by knowing this song was one (I’m not sure the one) that was close to Muddy Waters’ heart (October 27, 1968 in Copenhagen).
1976/77 in Dortmund, Germany
Here’s the same concert, and a very similar riff. I’d say this is distinctively Muddy Waters, descending from tonic to the tonic an octave below, stopping on the 5 and flat 3 (slightly sharp) on the way down. If anyone can bring any more clarity to what’s happening, or corrections to something I may have described wrong, please, please do.
There’s a discussion about the title of this Lightnin’ Hopkins tune in the comments.
As you mentioned, there’s the “Mannish Boy” riff, which is the D chord (IV) played over the A (tonic). The 3 notes of the D (with the 5 of the chord in the bass) on the second to fourth strings (A, D, F#) slide down two frets to a C chord (still works with A, creating an A7#9), then drops to an A7 on (root on 5th fret, sixth string).There’s also that turnaround riff (in E) that ascends three half steps to B (on the A/fifth string) drops from G (3rd fret, E/sixth string) to the open E, slides up to G# (4th fret, E/sixth string), then jumps up to the E an octave above (I usually use the D/fourth string, 2nd fret but maybe it’s the A/fifth string, 7th fret). A lot of people do this—I’m not sure Muddy Waters was the first, but it’s definitely one of his (will talk more about his turnaround licks in another comment, asap).
As you mentioned, the guitarists who played with him are also a part of his style. Jimmy Rogers is the first person people usually think of, with reason, but the guitarists who I really love out of his bands are Sammy Lawhorn (who usually played a Gretsch with a Bigsby tremolo, he played it so tastefully you wouldn’t necessarily know it was a trem; he was taught by Robert Lockwood) and Luther “Snake” Johnson.
There are two more Luther Johnsons who played guitar; Luther “Guitar Junior” Johnson also played with Muddy Waters (both Snake and Guitar Junior are featured in tomorrow’s Blues Roots). Luther “Houserocker” Johnson didn’t play with Muddy Waters.
Pat Hare (on James Cotton’s 1954 “Cotton Crop Blues,” whew), James “Pee Wee” Madison (left-handed guitarist) are two more guitarists to check out.
There is a DVD/booklet on this very subject by “Steady Rollin’” Bob Margolin, who played rhythm guitar with Muddy Waters from 1973 to 1980.
Don D.
-
-
Don like always many thanks for sharing us these amazing infos..this was exactly what I’ve needed to know. I don’t know how to thank you
Ale-
Don is a wealth of Blues Knowledge. I greatly appreciate his efforts and all that he shares with us in his the Our Blues Roots (OBR) posts. I knew he was the right man for the job to school you in Muddy Waters. 🙂
Thanks Don!!!
-Bryce
Anchorage, Alaska-
-
Yes, it does put it under the correct reply. I just found a setting on the forum that allows for this. It must have come out in a recent system update. I need to do a quick announcement telling everyone of this feature, I have just been so swamped of late with work and family. I was going to do a quick video tutorial to show how it is supposed to work.
-Bryce
Anchorage, Alaska -
-
-
-
My pleasure, Steve, Alessandro,
You know what I forgot to mention? Robert Nighthawk was instrumental in teaching Muddy Waters how to play, so if Muddy Waters’ slide riffs sound like Robert Nighthawk’s, there’s a reason.
I will be mentioning Robert Nighthawk in passing in tomorrow’s Blues Roots; I’ll put a link to a really good website about him in his name.
Robert Nighthawk played guitar at the reception for Muddy Waters’ first wedding. There was so much dancing, the floor collapsed.
Don D.
-
CORRECTION: Don’t know what I was thinking. I wrote that Robert Lockwood taught Sammy Lawhorn. That’s not true. It’s more “in the family” than that. Houston Stackhouse, the same man who gave Robert Nighthawk his first slide guitar instruction, taught Sammy Lawhorn. Houston Stackhouse also comes up at some length in tomorrow’s Blues Roots.
Robert Lockwood’s prodigy and longtime playing partner (on some great Sonny Boy Williamson II records [Aleck “Rice” Miller], among other things) was Luther Tucker.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
It’s going to take more time than I have today to go into the Muddy Waters turnarounds, but I’ll be thinking about it and will post something soon.
Don D.
-
Thank you for that, Bryce! It’s my pleasure to do these. Seriously, I learn quite a bit and it keeps me focused on music, which is its own reward.
(Just beginning to see people using these these “Reply”s instead of a new comment. Let me see if this appears under your comment.)
Don, just checked in and man I really enjoy your endeavor to help us newbies understand so much more the genres what Brian lessons are about. Thank you much and also Bryce for his time here with his efforts and time to coordinate a great Active Melody site!
-
-
Well, after a bit of practice , I watched each one above and found it quite interesting ,,amazing how way much talent and feel for the blues can be passed on from player to player,, these videos help in that respect. I’m already onto BB king EP215 going to keep practicing a bit of everything, again ty and looking forward to more “Blues Roots”
-
Here’s a link to a post on Sammy Lawhorn from a few weeks ago, marking his birthday. Sammy Lawhorn was one of the two guitarists I mentioned as being my favorites. There are quite a few samples of his playing. I mentioned his Gretsch but, I should have remember his Guild!
I’ll be back with some Muddy Waters turnarounds tomorrow or at the latest on Monday.
Don D.
-
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.
