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Part 1 covered Muddy Waters’ first recordings, made by Alan Lomax and John Work for the Library of Congress, on Stovall Plantation in August 1941 through his 1966 album, Muddy Waters, Brass and the Blues. Part 2 started a little earlier in 1966, when the Muddy Waters Band backed Big Mama Thornton and John Lee Hooker, and it ended with Electric Mud.
There’s a wealth of live material in the current period as well. The closer to the present it gets, the more cameras there were. Before we get to those, there a few more really high-quality documents that really belong chronologically to the earlier parts in the RECAPITULATION section.
The next Blues Roots will appear on Thursday, August 31, 2017. The next part of Muddy Waters and His Guitarists should be ready about mid-October.
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I’ve been really busy at work, where I have the right kind of computer (with the necessary functions) to put this together, so part 3 covers a shorter timespan than you might have expected—I think this is going to end up being a 6-part series (but you’d be right to expect me to get to part 4 with less of a gap—when all parts are complete, I’ll post them altogether with a synopsis if you’d rather wait). Because of that, this is also a lot more of a “just the facts” Blues Roots than I’d prefer to present—and many of those facts are in the links (all open in a new window, so you won’t lose your place).…………………………………………d…o…n.’.t………m…i…s…s…………………………………………
There’s also an unrelated topic about the Arhoolie Foundation website at the very bottom. That website has some jaw-dropping interviews (sound files and transcripts), as well as other resources, covering a wide swath of styles.:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::M:U:D:D:Y::::W:A:T:E:R:S::::R:E:C:A:P:I:T:U:L:A:T:I:O:N:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
First a quick B&W look back to Thursday, May 7, 1964, and The Blues and Gospel Train show, performed in an old, seldom-used railway station in Manchester, England for Granada TV.
Do any of our English, Irish, Scottish or European members have any firsthand stories about that performance or about the American Folk Blues Festivals that crossed England and the European continent from 1962 to 1972 and from 1980 until 1985? I’d especially like to hear anyone’s first- or second-hand recollections of the performances or the TV show, or your opinions of the influence these concerts had on the rock music of the day.
Footage from the American Folk Blues Festivals (especially the first 5 videos, number 6 includes the interviews with English concert-goers [first video above]; number 7 is The Blues and Gospel Train; numbers 8 through 14 are redundant, there in case any of the first 5 are deleted); number 15 to the end are individual performances in no particular order (and every once in a while, a random video meant for another playlist ends up in the wrong place—I found one here; if you ever see any out of place, I’d appreciate hearing about it).
Here’s the whole Copenhagen concert where Muddy Waters plays the Italian guitar seen in the photo on Electric Mud (the last video in part 2, “Long Distance Call,” is an excerpt from here). Personnel and set list from a comment (thank you, mrjohn1964!). “Back at the Chicken Shack,” “Train Fare Home Blues,” “(I’m Your) Hoochie Coochie Man,” “Long Distance Call,” “Nobody Knows My Trouble,” “Cold Cold Feeling,” “Got My Mojo Working,” “Tiger In Your Tank”; Muddy Waters (vocals, guitar), Paul Oscher (harp), James “Pee Wee” Madison (left-handed guitar), Luther “Snake” Johnson (guitar), Otis Spann (piano), Sonny Wimberley (bass), S.P. Leary (drums); Sunday, October 27, 1968.
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Here’s the complete Muddy Waters discography, a labor of love from the people at Blues and Rhythm magazine. This has been my source for when recording were made and who was on them, etc., unfortunately, it gives us discography numbers, not album titles, to show where/how they were released.::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::P:A:R:T::::3::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Part 3 will cover the period of After the Rain, Fathers and Sons, Live at Mr. Kelly’s and The London Muddy Waters Sessions, roughly three years from May 1969 through April 1972. The three studio recordings were geared toward the white youth rock audience, with Michael Bloomfield, Paul Butterfield and Donald “Duck” Dunn (of Booker T. and the M.G.’s [apostrophe is how group wrote it]) appearing on Fathers and Sons along with a stellar blues band; and rockers Stevie Winwood, Rory Gallagher, Mitch Mitchell, Georgie Fame and Rick Grech played on The London Muddy Waters Sessions, along with many American blues and jazz guys (the horns were recorded in New York and overdubbed).This Muddy Waters and His Guitarists playlist has been in use since part 1. I didn’t make any additions this time but include it here anyway.
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After the Rain (recorded in January 1969 at Ter-Mar Studios [the Chess Records studios], released in the U.S. on Monday, May 12, 1969) is Muddy Waters’ first album after Electric Mud (which was recorded in May 1968, and released in the U.S. on Saturday, October 5, 1968). It features all the same musicians, but it seems like more of a genuine musical statement than the enactment of a producer’s concept. After the Rain sounds particularly good to me, one of my favorite versions of one of my favorite songs can be found on this album; “Rollin’ and Tumblin’,” third song on the album, at 9:34 on video below.
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Fathers and Sons, released August 18, 1969. Michael Bloomfield is his usual self on here—meaning every note is filled with excitement and feeling. Same could be said for everyone on the record; pianist is Otis Spann, drummer is Sam Lay.
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Live at Mr. Kelly’s, released October 1971. “Joe Denim” is James Cotton.
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The London Muddy Waters Sessions, released April 1972, was a document of Chess Records (see external links at bottom) sending blues musicians to England to record with their fans in the hopes of creating a crossover record. For me, it worked, they were among the first Howlin’ Wolf and Chuck Berry records I listened to (Howlin’ Wolf’s was made first, Bo Diddley and Chuck Berry each made one later).
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Muddy Waters and Big Mama Thornton talking in back of car, “Hoochie Coochie Man” (click link in her name to reach an interview with her). Also see Big Mama Thornton & Chicago All Stars & Muddy Waters’ Blues Band video in dedicated section below and the interview in the Arhoolie Records Archive section at bottom.
The “lost” Muddy Waters concert , recorded at Washington University (tracks 1–7) and Oregon University (tracks 8–11), 1971, very complete set list at link, along with an interesting essay about the musicians in this period (the video itself has a great song and personnel list but lacks the perceptive essay).
Muddy Waters (full concert, very complete set list at video), Ash Grove, Los Angeles, CA), July 29, 1971.
The very great Gunsmoke Blues, made by the crew of the TV show Gunsmoke. See the comments at the video for the story of how it came together as well as personnel and song list.
Live, “rare” performances. I’m including these without having seen all of them (at least in this sequence). From what I have seen, I don’t think they’re all that rare, nothing so far I haven’t seen elsewhere.
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Big Mama Thornton & Chicago All Stars & Muddy Waters’ Blues Band, track listing, personnel for the Chicago All-Stars tracks listed at YouTube, but the tracks recorded with the Muddy Waters Band don’t have a personnel listing, recorded in London, October 20, 1965.
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A set of four really great songs from one of the guitarists most often associated with Muddy Waters, Jimmy Rogers & His Rocking Four: Jimmy Rogers (vocal and guitar), Bob Woodfork (guitar), Henry Gray (piano), Willie Dixon (bass), A.J. Gladney (drums), Chicago, August 12, 1952.“Mistreated Baby”
“The Last Time” Muddy Waters said he was the second vocal on here, and it’s thought he may have been the second guitar (instead of Bob Woodfork).
“What’s the Matter?”
“Out On the Road”
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Jimmy Rogers talking about Blind Lemon Jefferson and playing “Walking By Myself” at Antones, 1985
Jimmy Rogers’ 70th birthday, Chicago Blues Festival, June 3, 1994
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There are 58 versions of “Trouble In Mind,” all genres, starting with the first recorded version by Thelma La Vizzo, made in 1924. There’s also the contents of a saxophone-piano album by Archie Shepp and Horace Parlan that’s named for the song (at the bottom).
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Chris Strachwitz , founder, president and owner of Arhoolie Records, is first and foremost a fan and a scholar or the blues. His website contains so much valuable blues-related information, even a casual fan will probably find something that appeals to them.Here’s the site for Arhoolie Records. Here’s the far more valuable and interesting Arhoolie Foundation website. This includes an interview with Earl Hooker.
Don D.
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