Theodore Roosevelt Taylor, Chester Arthur Burnett, McKinley Morganfield, Hound Dog Taylor, Howlin’ Wolf, and Muddy Waters. All from the great state of Mississippi and all fine blues men born in the second decade of the twentieth century.
When I was a youngster 5 or 6 years old my much older siblings listened to the Blues. Before Rock and Roll came along my brother Edward who was twelve years older than me and my sister Marge, ten years my senior, had begun my music education with those fine blues men. It was an era filled with cars and music all around America and especially here in Detroit.
The raw simplicity of a twelve bar blues tune, raked with a hammering bass line and a beat from hell, coupled with unforgettable guitar licks to this day still holds interest for all of us ‘kids’ who grew up in the 50s.
Of course being the precursor of that rock ‘n’ roll music we fell for later on … the blues kept coming back in teen life with bands like The Yardbirds, The Rolling Stones, The Jimi Hendrix Experience, Cream, Fleetwood Mac, Bluesbreakers, Led Zeppelin, The Animals, Johnny Winter, Paul Butterfield, Stevie Ray Vaughn, and others.
The champions of blues from Chess Records in Chicago stay top side in the musical cruise through life for me. At night before falling asleep it’s wise to put my phone by my side and find any tune I want to hear on YouTube. Blues, rock, rhythm and blues, soul, and all.
In Mississippi during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, black families, mostly descendants of slaves from before the Civil War, had made and shared great music borne of the conditions present in their lives.
Muddy Waters (1913-1983)
When McKinley Morganfield moved up to Chicago and started playing music in clubs he was an immediate success. He took the name Muddy Waters with him. His grandmother nicknamed him ‘Muddy’ because he loved to play in the mud as a child. ‘Waters’ came from a friend. His song Rollin’ Stone is where the English band got its name. My favorite song of his is “Mannish Boy”. In my brother’s record collection are 78 rpm records with the name McKinley Morganfield on them. Others have Muddy Waters.
Muddy Waters came from Mississippi and went to Chicago where he recorded with Chess Records. He worked with Little Walter, Howlin’ Wolf, Willie Dixon, and Big Joe Williams. Waters was awarded 6 Grammys and was inducted into the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame.
Songs to check out from Muddy Waters:
- “Mannish Boy”
- “Rollin’ Stone”
- “Baby Please Don’t Go”
“Baby Please Don’t Go” by Muddy Waters
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fKUf4mnIyu8
Hound Dog Taylor (1915-1975)
Theodore Roosevelt Taylor from Mississippi, moved to Chicago, and began his musical career later than most. His guitar playing was an inspiration to other players as well as fans. He played slide guitar as well as anyone and that kind of innovation led to a record deal with Chicago based Alligator Records. The first time I heard him play turned me into a Hound Dog Taylor fan right quick.
Songs to check out from Hound Dog Taylor:
- “You Can’t Sit Down”
- “Dust My Broom”
- “Roll Your Money Maker”
“Dust My Broom” by Hound Dog Taylor
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CNlVGr6gJ4Y
Howlin’ Wolf (1910-1976)
Howlin’ Wolf was the big blues man about town in Chicago in the 1960s. He was very tall and a good human being, he gave money to people in need and not just his friends. Wolf was big enough to help end fights in and around the clubs and venues in Chicago. His music was as hard and ruff as he was. Influenced heavily by Charlie Patton a musician from the 1930s a guitarist known for deep delta rhythm and blues.
Howlin’ Wolf came from Mississippi and recorded with Chess Records in Chicago. He worked with Muddy Waters, Sonny Boy Williams II, Robert Johnson, Willie Dixon, Bo Diddley, and BB King. He was inducted into the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame and the Grammy Hall of Fame.
Howlin’ Wolf hits:
- “Spoonful”
- “Smoke Stack Lighting”
- “Back Door Man”
“Smokestack Lighting” by Howlin’ Wolf
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VMUt8KdDtTY
Buddy Guy (b. 1936)
Another Chicago Blues big man: Buddy Guy. He came to Chicago from Louisiana in 1957 and was influenced by Howlin’ Wolf and others. He was signed by Cobra Records, then Chess Records, where he did session work for many of Leonard Chess’s artists. In 1967 he released his first album and came to The Grande Ballroom in Detroit in 1968 where I met and photographed him for many of his gigs there.
Years later in 2012 I was visiting my son Dylan at Chicago’s Columbia College of Art and Music. His dorm room was in a high rise right down the street from Buddy Guy’s Blues club. I said let’s go see if Buddy is at the club. Dylan said: “Do you know him?” I replied that I did. And so we walked to the club as we passed the parking lot to Buddy’s three tall guys got out of an SUV walking toward us. I recognized Buddy right away and turned toward him and made a gesture like I was snapping a photo. He stopped and looked at me and said: “Man I ain’t seen you for years”. I introduced my guitar playing son and we went into the club, sat at the bar, and talked with Buddy for half an hour.
Some Blues music to check out from Buddy Guy:
- “Mustang Sally”
- “Feels Like Rain”
- “Ain’t No Sunshine’ (with Tracy Chapman)
“Mustang Sally” by Buddy Guy
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eAyFynJXe4g
Little Walter (1930-1968)
Chicago Blues has, in my opinion, two of the greatest harmonica players ever: Little Walter and Paul Butterfield. Little Walter was very moody and prone to violence on occasion but a Harp player extraordinaire he was!
From Louisiana, Little Walter recorded at Chess Records in Chicago. He worked with Muddy Waters, Sonny Boy Williamson II, Jimmy Rogers, Junior Wells, Ray Charles, Bo Diddley, and Hound Dog Taylor. He was inducted into the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame and the Grammy Hall of Fame.
Some Blues music to check out from Little Walter:
- “Key To The Highway
- “Last Night”
- “My Babe”
“My Babe” by Little Walter
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=duRp_avXtMM
Lead Belly (1888-1949)
Down in Louisiana around the turn of the last century some very important American music was brewing around the bayou. Huddy William Ledbetter known as Lead-Belly began to play and sing a different style of Blues in Louisiana in the years before, during and after World War One. His recording career began on Banner Records in 1935 where some of those recordings have him singing, clapping, and stomping his feet to the beat. The name Lead-Belly is synonymous with the Blues.
Songs to check out by Lead Belly:
- “Good Night Irene”
- “Bring Me A Little Water Silvy”
- “House of the Rising Sun”
“House of the Rising Sun” by Lead Belly
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y5tOpyipNJs
Sonny Boy Williamson II (1912-1965)
Another bluesman from Mississippi who worked in Arkansas, Chicago, and Europe. Williamson was billed as the world’s greatest harmonica player. Like others, he recorded with Chess Records in Chicago. Williamson played with Elmore James, Howlin’ Wolf, Ike Turner, The Yardbirds, The Animals, and Roland Kirk.
Songs from Sonny Boy Williamson II
- “Keep It To Yourself”
- “Good Evening Everybody
- “Don’t Start Me To Talkin’’
“Don’t Start Me to Talkin’” by Sonny Boy Williamson II
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QyCwO18qybk
Elmore James (1918-1963)
Another blues man from Mississippi who also recorded with Chess Records in Chicago. Billed as the King of the Slide Guitar and worked with Sonny Boy Williamson II. He was inducted into the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame and influenced the playing of B.B. King, Chuck Berry, Hound Dog Taylor, and Jimi Hendricks.
Songs from Elmore James
- “The Sky Crying”
- “Every Day I Have the Blues”
- “Standing By the Crossroads”
“Standing At the Crossroads” by Elmore James
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dSWVfx39UIs
Willie Dixon (1915-1952)
Considered the most influential blues songwriter whose songs were covered by many artists. Dixon came from Mississippi and went to Chicago where he recorded with Chess Records. He worked with Little Walter, Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley, Buddy Guy, Howlin’ Wolf, Sonny Boy Williamson II, and others. Awarded a Grammy and inducted into the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame.
Songs by Willie Dixon
- “Spoonful”
- “The Seventh Son”
- “Hoochie Coochie Man”
“The Seventh Son” by Willie Dixon
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=llOo7OmnmYA
John Lee Hooker (1912-2001)
When I was eleven or twelve my older brother took me to see John Lee Hooker at the blues and folk club Chess Mate in Detroit. We went early and got there about the same time as John Lee arrived. My brother and John were friends. We walked in and John asked my brother to go down the street to the Trade Winds liquor store and get him a pint, he gave my brother Edward a twenty. Edward asked John to look after me while he was gone, John said: “cool”. We went up on the stage he asked his roadie to get me a chair then he plugged in his Gibson 335 and began to do a sound check. The only people in the room at the time were the two of us, the club manager, and John Lee’s roadie. When I think about it I can’t believe I was there sitting on the stage next to a legend and hearing ‘Boom Boom’ done live for his sound check tune!
Years later I got a job at a music store in Detroit called Artist’s Music. While I was working at the branch on Gratiot and Seven Mile, one afternoon John Lee Hooker came in to pick up his Gibson, he was having some work done on it. Being new to that branch of Artist’s I didn’t know John was a customer.
He came over to the counter, looked at me and said:
“You’re Eddie’s little brother”! I was happy to know he remembered me. I went in the back and got his guitar for him, set the case on the counter, he opened it pulled out his guitar (the same 335) and started to play. After a few minutes he said: “They fixed it real good man, thanks”. I’ll bet lots of people have stories about their encounters with famous people. Those stories are so fun to tell!
Songs from John Lee Hooker:
- “Boom Boom”
- “Boogie Chillen”
- “I’m In The Mood”
“Boom Boom” by John Lee Hooker
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o_6SlT3Yy10
“Cadillac Records” Movie
A 2008 film about Chess Records and Chicago Blues in the 1940s to the 1960s. In 1950 Leonard Chess formed Chess Records in Chicago and signed some of the greatest blues artists of all time.
Cast:
Adrien Brody as Leonard Chess
Beyonce as Etta James
Jeffrey Wright as Muddy Waters
Cedric the Entertainer as Willie Dixon
Columbus Short as Little Walker
Eamonn Walker as Howlin’ Wolf
Mos Def as Chuck Berry
Kevin Mambo as Jimmy Rogers
