Chess tried a few different tacks to open their stable of talents to this new young audience and their wads of disposable income. In the 1960s, rock n’ roll’s raging popularity off the proverbial backs of hard-livin’ bluesmen posed challenges to that arrangement. (After a brief stint in charge of Chess in 1969, Leonard’s son Marshall would go on to run Rolling Stones Records, an imprint primarily set up for solo releases from the namesake band’s members.) Though born in Mississippi, Waters had resided in Chicago since the 1940s, and his working relationship with Chess yielded the 1950s hits he’s come to be known for, including "Hoochie Coochie Man," "I Just Want to Make Love to You," and "I'm Ready." Together, the label and its star artist were a winning combo. Founded in Chicago in 1950 by brothers Leonard and Phil Chess, the label served as Waters’ recording home, putting out singles at first and subsequently his albums. In it, he appears to assign some blame to Waters, at least to some extent, for the watering down of blues by non-black artists, skewering Jeff Beck and John Mayall in the process.Īt that point in time, Chess Records had been a staple of the blues industry making some risky pandering moves. In an October 1968 column for Esquire, music critic Robert Christgau charged him with “clowning for the white audience” in a live setting, arguably the best way to make a buck at the time. Even with renewed interest in what he was doing, Waters still somehow managed to get dinged as being inauthentic or otherwise part of the problem. Folks like Keith Richards looked up to Waters and his ilk as heroes, with the Stones literally named for one of the veteran bluesman’s tunes-though good luck getting the man paid for that. So too was the case with black bluesmen, who found themselves marginalized and made niche while America and Britain made googly eyes at the shaggy young rockers conveniently copping their shit.Įven those who admired the blues and identified as fans had a challenging relationship at the time with these still-kicking singers and axemen. We see the likes of G-Eazy and Post Malone regularly roost in the upper reaches of the Billboard charts while rappers whose lives more closely match the roots and realities that made hip-hop happen struggle to be heard. This trend, or perhaps, virus, persists in American music even today, an unabashedly systematic and ostensibly appreciative appropriation by white artists of music conceived of and originated by non-whites. It was neither the first time white musicians would crib from black artistry nor would it be the last. Five decades later, Eric Clapton’s continued devotion to the form, for example, indicates a hardwired fandom or fetish for the black experience exemplified in song. King, and Muddy Waters were practically gods to this new generation of tunesmiths. Established artists like John Lee Hooker, B.B. A perfect sound birthed from the culture of African American life at the turn of the 20th Century, it both laid the foundation and set the stage, giving so much of itself and, in line with its often doleful and tragic subject matter, receiving so little in return.įrom pop powerhouses like the Beatles and the Rolling Stones to psychedelic lords Cream and the Yardbirds, the blues provided the blueprint and the soul for so much music in the 1960s. Maligned quite publicly by the legendary bluesman allegedly at its helm, this crossover record offers an unusual case study in the unwieldy power of artistic influence. The 50th anniversary series’ fourth installment addresses a noteworthy yet problematic attempt to bridge the sound of 1968’s rock revolution with one of its biggest forefathers. From groundbreaking releases that stumped the normies to genuine gems rarely discussed in contemporary criticism, Rock N Roll 5-0 goes deep in the service of inclusivity, diversity and eclecticism.
Muddy waters electric mud album series#
A break from the Beatles-Stones-Dylan feedback loop, this monthly series explores the less heralded, the disregarded, the ignored and the just-plain-great records deserving of reappraisal, exploration and celebration. A deliberate alternate music history, Rock 'N' Roll 5-0 looks back five decades at some of the most notable, and notably overlooked, albums of the time.
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