First Recording Sessions 1941-1946

Performer: Muddy Waters
Artist: Baby Face LeRoy; Little Walter
Producer: Johnny Parth; Johnny Parth (Compilation)
Distributor: Allegro Corporation (Dist

Notes: Personnel includes: Muddy Waters, Percy Thomas (vocals, guitar); Baby Face Leroy Foster (vocals, drums); Charles Berry (guitar); Louis Ford (mandolin); Little Walter (harmonica); Sunnyland Slim, James Clark (piano); Ransom Knowling (bass); Judge Riley (drums). Recorded at Stovall's Plantation, Mississippi, Clarksdale, Mississippi and Chicago Illinois between 1941 & 1950. Includes liner notes by Jake Gittes. Personnel: Muddy Waters (vocals, guitar); Leroy Foster (vocals, guitar, drums); Homer Harris, Percy Thomas (vocals, guitar); Louis Ford (vocals, mandolin); Little Walter (vocals, harmonica); Son Simms (guitar, violin); Alex Atkins (soprano saxophone); James Clark , Lee Brown, Sunnyland Slim (piano); Judge Riley (drums). Liner Note Author: Jake Gittes. Recording information: 1941-1946. The landmark sides which comprise Muddy Waters' First Recording Sessions trace the early evolution of one of the blues' most enduring greats, offering invaluable insight into the primal influences which helped shape his musical identity. The profound influence of Waters' idol Son House is most indelibly etched into these early sides, with the bottleneck guitar sound on the first cuts "Country Blues" and "I Be's Troubled" -- both recorded by Alan Lomax in 1941 -- a prime example of the Mississippi blues style of the period. When Lomax returned a year later, he recorded Waters in a string band also including violinist Son Simms, guitarist Percy Thomas and mandolinist Louis Ford; among the tracks they cut is "Take a Walk with Me," in all likelihood inspired by Robert Lockwood. By the final group of songs, dating from 1946, Waters was in Chicago, and here his guitar style began to move toward his future trademark sound, which is most in evidence on the classic closer, the two-part "Rollin' and Tumblin." ~ Jason Ankeny This disc is essential for even casual fans of the legendary bluesman Muddy Waters, because unlike any other recordings in his long and prolific career, the cuts featured here show the roots of his idiosyncratic style of electrified Chicago blues. More to the point, the first 13 tracks, recorded in Mississippi in 1941 and 1942, are neither electric nor Chicago-style full-band blues, but straight-up acoustic country blues in the Delta style. The self-explanatory "Country Blues" is Waters' first recording, and in it, one can already hear his trademark lyrical slide guitar, albeit in nascent form. Blues like "Why Don't You Live So God Can Use You" and "You Got to Take Sick and Die Some of These Days" are as painful and mysterious as their titles. The remaining 11 tracks, which were recorded in Chicago in the mid-'40s and include an early "Rollin' and Tumblin'," show Waters developing his electrified full-band style.

Originally a Delta bluesman in the vein of Son House, Muddy Waters moved north in the 1940s and became the leader of the first--and greatest--electric Chicago blues band. Waters' abrasive guitar, impassioned singing, and commanding stage presence inspired generations of disciples, and hits like "Hoochie Coochie Man" and "I've Got My Mojo Workin'" are now indisputable classics.

Click Here for Shipping Options and Policies

Shipping or Dimension weight in pounds: 0.25