Thursday, March 15, 2012

Muddy Waters The Mojo Man - Sandra B. Tooze

As everyone knows, Muddy is one of the main men of the blues and the gentleman mostly responsible for what is known as the Chicago blues sound. His group brought the Mississippi Delta sound to the North, electrified it, and changed the course of  musical history forever!

Waters had a long (but not long enough!) career with many of the usual - and many unusual - ups & downs. From his start living and working on a plantation through playing in local juke joints to his move up north, subsequent stardom and many accolades - Grammys, an appearance at the White House, and much more - Muddy was a man dedicated to the blues. In this book, all of the people who have worked with him have nothing but good to say about him (so much so that you wonder if it is somewhat one-sided - or, at least, that no one wanted to speak badly about the dead) and the music that he left behind, of course, speaks for itself.

This book details his band line-ups, with short histories of everyone who worked with him and tales of where they moved on to after their times with the man. Many other careers were created by this legend and most, if not all, rock'n'rollers owe a huge debt to him - especially groups like the Rolling Stones, who took their name from one of his songs, and guitar superstars like Johnny Winter and Eric Clapton, to name a few.

A very comprehensive account of Muddy's career with a nice discography and tons of interviews with many of his sidemen and stars who were influenced by him. A great job!