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A Sweet Tribute to Chicago Blues Legend Muddy Waters


Music would not be what it is today without Chicago blues legend Muddy Waters. He was the first blues musician to use an electric guitar and amplifier, which served as the inspiration for rock n' roll and heavy metal.   

Muddy Waters was born McKinley Morganfield in Clarksdale, Mississippi on April 4 of 1913 or 1915. After World War II, Muddy Waters moved to Chicago at a time when other Black performers from Mississippi including Willie Dixon and Howlin’ Wolf were doing the same.

Muddy recorded his first hit, “I Can’t Be Satisfied,” in 1948 in Chicago. More hits would follow. The Rolling Stones took their name from the Waters song “Rollin’ Stone.”  

Waters first lived in a house on Lake Park Avenue in Kenwood and then moved to suburban Westmont. Musicians like Chuck Berry, Aretha Franklin, Jimmy Page, Eric Clapton, and members of The Rolling Stones were known to spend time at both of the Waters homes.

Waters passed away in 1983; he is buried in Restvale Cemetery in Alsip. Waters’ sons, Larry “Mud” Morganfield and Big Bill Morganfield, are also blues musicians. Waters’ youngest son, Joseph “Mojo” Morganfield, also played the blues. Joseph passed away in 2020.

Muddy Waters was known to love Nehi grape soda. He’d sometimes mix it with vanilla or cherry walnut ice cream. He especially enjoyed this treat while watching Chicago White Sox games on TV. Local musician and artist Ed Bloom, who portrays Mick Jagger in the Rolling Stones tribute band Hot Rocks, created a portrait of Muddy Waters in a wooden frame covered with Nehi soda bottle caps. This portrait is part of the Muddy Waters Blues Historical Exhibit in Westmont. (This exhibit of Waters memorabilia features about 60 artifacts and draws visitors from all over the world. Contact Westmont Special Events at wsec@westmontevents.com or 630-829-9378 for more info.)

In October 2021, Waters’ Kenwood home was officially declared a city landmark. Plans are currently in the works to create the Muddy Waters MOJO Museum at this site, which will consist of museum gallery space on the building's first floor, a recording studio/jam session space in the basement, and a community garden on an adjacent lot. In the meantime, you can get your Muddy Waters fix with a Muddy Waters ice cream soda or the Muddy Waters smoothie recipe I made in his honor. 

Muddy Waters Smoothie (makes 2 servings)

1 c. coconut milk

1 c. grapes

½ c. cherries (pitted)

1/8 c. walnuts (optional)

1 sliced banana (optional) 

If you want to use walnuts in the smoothies, grind them up first in a coffee grinder or food processer. Then put all the ingredients in a blender and mix 'em up.

*If coconut milk isn’t your thing, regular milk or yogurt should also work. I have developed a special love for coconut milk ever since my body decided it no longer wanted to digest dairy products. I prefer the canned, unsweetened coconut milk that I often find in the Asian or Mexican sections of my local supermarkets. One thing I’ve noticed is that canned coconut milk with guar gum, which is sometimes added as a thickener, doesn’t taste as good. That’s my coconut milk spiel.

**I also like to add Grape Nuts cereal to this smoothie because I’m a weirdo who actually likes Grape Nuts. Hey, if Muddy Waters liked grape soda, maybe he liked Grape Nuts cereal too. Then again, maybe not. Grape Nuts cereal contains neither grapes nor nuts. I think Jerry Seinfeld did a routine about this back in the day.

Muddy Waters Ice Cream Soda

Add a scoop of vanilla ice cream to a glass or mug of grape soda (preferably Nehi, if you can find it). Sprinkle with chopped walnuts and add a cherry on top if you want to get all fancy. I’m pretty sure Muddy Waters did not write “I Can’t Be Satisfied” after having one of these.

 Sources:               

“Blues Legend Muddy Waters’ Former Home Is Now a Chicago Landmark” by Justin Laurence and Maxwell Evans in Block Club Chicago (Oct. 14, 2021), https://blockclubchicago.org.

“5 Ways Muddy Waters Changed Music: Amplified Blues, Chuck Berry and More (A 100th Birthday Tribute) by Ryan Book in The Music Times (April 4, 2015), www.musictimes.com.

“Musician Honors Memory of Blues Legend Muddy Waters,” by Joseph Ruzich in the Chicago Tribune (Oct. 3, 2012), www.chicagotribune.com.

“Muddy Waters’ Son Has Got His Mojo Workin' as a Musician” by Jack Walton in the South Bend Tribune (July 9, 2019), www.southbendtribune.com.

“Filmmaker Interview: Robert Gordon and Morgan Neville” for PBS.org (American Masters: S17 EP6: ”Muddy Waters: Can’t Be Satisfied”) (May 24, 2006), www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/.

Muddy Waters MOJO Museum website, www.mojomuseum.com

“Muddy Waters Biography,” The Famous People, www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/muddy-waters-4015.php.

“Muddy Waters Exhibit,” Westmont Special Events, https://westmontevents.com/exhibit

Village of Westmont website, “Recent Village History,” https://westmont.illinois.gov/.

“Muddy Waters,” Clarksdale, Mississippi, www.clarksdale.com/muddy_waters.php

Hot Rocks Band website, https://hotrocksband.tripod.com.

“Muddy Waters,” Encyclopedia Britannica, www.britannica.com/biography/Muddy-Waters.

“Muddy Waters,” Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muddy_Waters.





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