Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Series: Muddy Waters Quiz

Answer: Yes

Of course, Muddy Waters got his name way back when he was a child growing up in the Mississippi Delta. He had a fascination with playing in the mud banks around the river, thus earning his name. He was, in fact, born McKinley Morganfield on April 4, 1915 in the thriving metropolis of Rolling Fork, Mississippi. (Some people will argue that he was, in fact, born in Issaquena, Mississippi, but Waters would always claim Rolling Fork as his birthplace, so we'll go with his account.) His parents and grandparents were sharecroppers at Stovall's Plantation.

Answer: Son House

Although all of these artists could be considered influences, it was Son House and his emotional style of playing and singing that hooked Muddy Waters. Son House is considered one of the main pioneers in the Mississippi Delta style of blues.

Answer: Alan Lomax

Alan Lomax was an extremely respected person for his ability to recognize raw talent, and then encouraging that person to great accomplishments. Who did Lomax uncover besides Waters? Leadbelly, Aunt Molly Jackson, Woody Guthrie and Mississippi Fred McDowell, all considered as influences to their followers. Lomax's work in musicology is still considered the standard to follow in the field.

Answer: Sunnyland Slim

Albert "Sunnyland Slim" Luandrew has been recognized as being one of the greatest pianist during the era when blues music was becoming electric. Sunnyland and Eddie Boyd were pianists in Chicago who took Muddy into their band. When Sunnyland needed some recording help, he called on Muddy. Muddy got the chance to record, and sing, two tracks on that day. "Little Anna Mae" and "Gypsy Woman" were born that day, a birth that launched Muddy as a bandleader of his own troop of musicians.

Answer: Little Walter

Ask anybody, "Who revolutionized the harmonica, particularly post World War II?", and Little Walter should be at the top of their list. In addition to Little Walter, Water's band also featured Jimmy Rogers and Baby Face Leroy Foster.

Answer: "I Cant Be Satisfied" and "I Feel Like Going Home"

This record was released in 1948 on the Aristocrat label. Muddy's use of amplification on the record gave the songs a very powerful sound that most people had never experienced. Muddy Waters is known as one of the first players to use the electric guitar in blues music.

Answer: The Last Waltz

"The Last Waltz" is the final concert from The Band. Martin Scorsese directed the 1976 Thanksgiving Day performance. Featured on stage with The Band were an assortment of other musicians including Eric Clapton, Bob Dylan, Ringo Starr, Ron Wood, Neil Young, Van Morrison and many, many others. Muddy Waters nearly was not included in the filming of this movie. Levon Helm, drummer and singer of The Band, threatened to call off the filming if this happened. Waters ended up in the film and performed the great song "Mannish Boy" along with Paul Butterfield on harmonica, Bob Margolin on guitar and Pinetop Perkins on piano.

Answer: Johnny Winter

Johnny Winter was on the Blue Sky record label when he convinced management to sign Muddy Waters. The album that emerged was titled "Hard Again". The album rediscovered the roots of the Chicago blues scene in a way that no recent album had. The album won a Grammy award for Best Traditional Folk Album, just one of his six Grammy awards.

Answer: Keith Richards

Keith Richards is the guitarist and co-founder of the Rolling Stones. The Stones were very indebted to Muddy Waters style of electric blues music, which they adapted to a more rock style of music. They even recorded a couple of Waters' tunes, "I Can't Be Satisfied" and "Still a Fool".

Answer: The Rolling Stones

Waters recorded "Rolling Stone" in 1948, a song that became a great influence to many other artists. Obviously, the Stones went on to use the song as their name. Bob Dylan wrote his signature hit "Like a Rolling Stone" after hearing the Waters tune. Even Jimmy Page would listen to this song before concerts while performing with the Yardbirds.