Muddy Waters

McKinley Morganfield, born on April 4, 1913 in Issaquena, Mississippi, and died on April 30, 1983 in Westmont, Illinois, is more widely known by his stage name, Muddy Waters. This American musician is widely recognized as a key figure in the development of blues in Chicago. His style and sound significantly influenced the blues scene in the UK that began to emerge in the UK in the early 1960s.The magazine Rolling Stone has ranked him at number 17 in its list of the greatest artists of all time.Waters' first recording was made by Alan Lomax in a Mississippi delta plantation in 1940 for the Library of Congress.

Later, he moved to Chicago, Illinois, where he switched from acoustic to electric guitar, gaining popularity among the African American musicians of the time.Waters' style is distinctive for his use of slide on the guitar. His debut with Chess Records showed him playing the guitar and singing, accompanied by a double bass. Later, he incorporated percussion and harmonica from Little Walter, forming his classic blues lineup.With a deep voice and a charismatic personality, Waters quickly became the most prominent figure of blues in Chicago. B.B. King remembered him as the 'King of Chicago'. His bands included notable blues musicians from Chicago, such as Little Walter, Big Walter Horton, James Cotton, Junior Wells, Carey Bell on harmonica, Willie Dixon on bass, Otis Spann and Pinetop Perkins on piano, and Buddy Guy on guitar, among others.Waters' recordings from the late 1950s and early 1960s are especially notable.