Muddy (Morganfield) Waters
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McKinley (Morganfield) Waters (1913 - 1983)

McKinley (Muddy) Waters formerly Morganfield
Born in Issaquena, Mississippi, United Statesmap
Son of [father unknown] and [mother unknown]
[sibling(s) unknown]
[spouse(s) unknown]
[children unknown]
Died at age 70 in Westmont, Illinois, United Statesmap
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Profile last modified | Created 16 Nov 2014
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Biography

Notables Project
Muddy (Morganfield) Waters is Notable.

Muddy Waters is best known as the "father of modern Chicago blues" and was a major inspiration for the rise of British blues in the 1960s.

McKinley Morganfield was born in Jug's Corner, Issaquena County, Mississippi, but in 1920, he relocated 80 miles north with his grandmother Della Jones Grant to the Stovall Plantation in Coahoma, Mississippi.[1] (Muddy was to make his first Library of Congress recordings there, describing himself in 1941 as "Stovall's famous guitar picker").

In the 1930 census Morganfield (age 16), Laborer, was shown with Della Jones in Beat 2, Coahoma, Mississippi, United States.[2]

He was given the nickname "Muddy" at an early age because he loved to play in the muddy water of nearby Deer Creek. On November 20, 1932, Muddy married Mabel Berry. Guitarist Robert Nighthawk played at the wedding and the party reportedly got so wild the floor fell in. Mabel left Muddy three years later when Muddy's first child was born; the child's mother was Leola Spain, 16 years old.

In the 1940 census Mc (age 27), Farmer, was the married head of household in Coahoma, Mississippi.[3]

Muddy headed to England in 1958 and shocked audiences (whose only previous exposure to blues had come via the acoustic folk/blues sounds of acts such as Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee and Big Bill Broonzy) with his loud, amplified electric guitar and thunderous beat. In 1967, he joined forces with Bo Diddley, Little Walter and Howlin' Wolf to record the Super Blues and The Super Super Blues Band pair of albums of Chess blues standards.

Muddy's long-time wife Geneva died of cancer on March 15, 1973. A devastated Muddy was taken to a doctor and told to quit smoking, which he did. He gained custody of some of his illegitimate children. Another teenage daughter turned up while Muddy was on tour in New Orleans; Big Bill Morganfield was introduced to his Dad after a gig in Florida. Florida was also where Muddy met his future wife, the 19-year-old Marva Jean Brooks whom he nicknamed "Sunshine". [4]Clapton served as best man at their wedding, also in 1973. In 1982, declining health dramatically curtailed Muddy's performance schedule. His last public performance took place when he sat in with Eric Clapton's band at a Clapton concert in Florida in autumn of 1982. On April 30, 1983, Muddy Waters died in his sleep from heart failure, at his home in Westmont, Illinois.

The site of his house outside Clarksdale, MS is part of the Mississippi Blues Trail.

Sources

  1. 1920 Census: 1920 United States Federal Census: Year: 1920; Census Place: Beat 2, Coahoma, Mississippi; Roll: T625_873; Page: 9B; Enumeration District: 30 Ancestry Record 6061 #50934237
    Name:Mack Morganfield
    Age:5
    Birth Year:abt 1915
    Birthplace:Mississippi
    Home in 1920:Beat 2, Coahoma, Mississippi
    Residence Date:1920
    Race:Black
    Gender:Male
    Relation to Head of House:Grandson
    Marital Status:Single
    Father's Birthplace:Mississippi
    Mother's Birthplace:Mississippi
    Occupation:None
    Household Members
    NameAge
    Della Grant39
    Joe Grant10
    Mack Morganfield5
  2. 1930 Census: "1930 United States Federal Census"
    Year: 1930; Census Place: Beat 2, Coahoma, Mississippi; Page: 10B; Enumeration District: 0007; FHL microfilm: 2340878
    Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry Record 6224 #36487111 (accessed 30 April 2022)
    Morganfield Jones (16), single son, Laborer, in household of Della Jones (48) in Beat 2, Coahoma, Mississippi, USA. Born in Mississippi.
    Name Age Relation Status Sex Occupation Birth Place
    Della Jones 48 Head Widowed M Farmer Mississippi
    Joe Jones 19 Son Single M Laborer Mississippi
    Morganfield Jones 16 Son Single M Laborer Mississippi
  3. 1940 Census: "1940 United States Federal Census"
    Year: 1940; Census Place: Coahoma, Mississippi; Roll: m-t0627-02016; Page: 5B; Enumeration District: 14-7
    Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry Record 2442 #126664609 (accessed 30 April 2022)
    Mc Kinley Morganfield (27), married, Farmer, head of household in Coahoma, Mississippi. Born in Mississippi.
    Name Age Relation Status Sex Birth Place
    Mc Kinley Morganfield 27 Head Married M Mississippi
    Maybelle Morganfield 25 Wife Married F Mississippi
  4. Marriage: "U.S., Newspapers.com Marriage Index, 1800s-current"
    The Atlanta Constitution; Publication Date: 9/ Jun/ 1979; Publication Place: Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Ancestry Record 62116 #82925157 (accessed 30 April 2022)
    Muddy Waters (64) marriage to Marva Jean Brooks on 12 Jun 1979 in Chicago.




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