Listen for a song from our Tuesday Featured Artist every hour from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m.
"The Father of Chicago Blues", McKinley Morganfield, best known as Muddy Waters, was born April 4, 1915 into deep poverty on the Stovall Plantation in the Mississippi delta. His grandmother nicknamed him "Muddy" because he liked playing in the mud and the kids at school added "Waters". The rural South was a hotbed for the blues in the '20s and ‘30s, and young Muddy became entranced with the music at an early age. By age 17 he was playing guitar and harmonica, and moved to Chicago not long after to become a full time musician. Muddy Waters' influence was tremendous, not just on blues and rhythm and blues but rock, folk, jazz and country as well. Countless rock musicians, including Keith Richards, Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, and Jimmy Page, have cited Waters as a major influence. The Stones took their name from his song "Rollin Stone". It was his use of amplification that is often cited as the link between Delta blues and rock and roll. His music will get your mojo workin' this Tuesday as we celebrate the life, legacy and music of the legendary Muddy Waters on what would have been his 102nd birthday.
