*The Hoochie Coochie Man- The Blues of Muddy Waters

Click on title to link to YouTube's film clip of Muddy waters Performing "He's Got His Mojo Workin'".

DVD Review

Anytime Is Blues History Month

Muddy Waters Can’t Be Satisfied, Muddy Waters, various band members and other artists, Productions,1997

Over the past year I have made some effort to trace back the roots of the blues by highlighting various seemingly forgotten blues artists, mainly from the country blues branch. I have also mentioned that the huge black migration of blacks in the 1930’ sand 1940’s from the South to the North, mainly up the river to Chicago, called for a different kind of energy and so the blues got plugged in to reflect that change. One would think that well before now I would have covered the great Muddy Waters, a seminal figure in that transformation of the blues. There are a few reasons what this has not been done previously. For one, I have tried to concentrate on the country blues artist, many who have been unjustly neglected. For another, I was aware that “Cadillac Records”, essentially the story of Muddy and his relationship to Chicago’s Chess Records, the key outlet for electric blues during its rise, was to be released at the end of 2008. But the main reason is that when it comes to the question of the “King of Chicago Blues” Howlin’ Wolf is my choice and I have felt no urgency to get to Muddy’s work, as important as it is to my project.

That said, this well made production highlighting the career and work of Muddy Waters is well worth the watch whatever your sympathies. As usual with these kinds of efforts there are many “talking heads” that inevitably populate this format. These include, importantly, various musicians that worked with Muddy over the years, like James Cotton and Charlie Musselwhite, and provide insight into his musician style, his personal habits including his womanizing and drinking, his on-and- off stage presences, a tour of various spots in Chicago where the music was made in the old days and a hint at his personality. There are also the appreciations by various later musicians influenced by Muddy, including Bonnie Raitt, Eric Clapton and the ubiquitous Keith Richards. Finally there are family members, girlfriends and others giving their, sometimes painful, recollections of the man.

Additionally, this film provides a running commentary through Muddy’s life, of the ups and downs of Chicago blues and the artists that performed that work. We get glances of Muddy’s start as a Delta artist in the late 1930’s, the transformation of his work as he hits Chicago in the war time 1940’s, his fight to be “King of the Hill”, his effect on other artists, the decline of the blues with the onslaught of rock & roll in the 1950’s, the revival in the 1960’s and his ultimate place in the blues pantheon. Along the way we get to hear snippets of his most famous work, including “Can’t Be Satisfied” and “Mannish Boy”. I, personally, do not think they compare to Howlin’ Wolf on “The Red Rooster” or “The Killing Floor” but this film gives those who have Muddy as number one in their electric blues pantheon plenty of ammunition for their position.