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Rollin' Stone (Muddy Waters song)

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"Rollin' Stone"
Song
B-side"Walkin' Blues"

"Rollin' Stone" is a blues song recorded by Muddy Waters in 1950. It is Waters' interpretation of "Catfish Blues", a traditional blues that dates back to 1920s Mississippi.[5] "Rollin' Stone" has been recorded by a variety of artists and has been acknowledged by the Grammy Hall of Fame and Rolling Stone magazine.

Earlier songs

In 1928, Jim Jackson recorded "Kansas City Blues Parts 3 and 4", a follow-up to his highly successful "Jim Jackson's Kansas City Blues Parts 1 and 2". Jackson's lyrics included:

I wished I was a catfish swimming down in the sea
I'd have some good woman fishing after me ...

Several other early songs also explored variations on the catfish and/or fishing theme. In 1941, Tommy McClennan and his sometime partner Robert Petway each recorded versions of the song. Petway's was the first to be titled "Catfish Blues" and is sometimes cited as the basis for Muddy Waters' "Rollin' Stone".[6] However, according to one biographer "They'd been singing "Catfish Blues" for years in the Delta, but it never sounded like "Rollin' Stone".[7]

Muddy Waters song

"Rollin' Stone" has been identified (along with "Walkin' Blues", the single's B-side) as one of the first songs that Muddy Waters learned to play and an early favorite.[8] The words refer to the traditional proverb, "A rolling stone gathers no moss".

Called "a brooding, minor-hued drone piece",[8] "Rollin' Stone" is a mid- to slow-tempo blues notated in 4/4 time in the key of E.[9] Although the instrumental section uses the IV and V chords, the vocal sections remain on the I chord,[9] giving the song a modal quality often found in Delta blues songs. In addition to the traditional catfish verses, Waters added:

Well my mother told my father just before I was born
'I got a boy child comin', gonna be, gonna be a rollin' stone
Sho' enough he's a rollin' stone ...

Unlike most of his early recordings which have bass or other instrumental accompaniment, "Rollin' Stone" is a solo performance by Muddy Waters on vocal and electric guitar. It has "much empty space ... imbued with the power of a pause, of letting a note hang in the air, the anticipation of the next one".[7]

"Rollin' Stone" was the first Muddy Waters record released on Chess Records and the second overall for the label (previous releases were on Aristocrat Records).

Still a Fool

Although "Rollin' Stone" sold enough for Muddy Waters to quit his day job,[7] it did not appear in the record charts. In 1951, Waters used the guitar figure from "Rollin' Stone" for "Still a Fool" (Chess 1480). The song was more successful, reaching #9 in the Billboard R&B chart.[10] Rather than a solo piece, Little Walter (second guitar) and Leonard Chess (bass drum) accompanied Waters (vocal and guitar). Subsequent versions of "Rollin' Stone" or "Catfish Blues" often use some lyrics from "Still a Fool" (sometimes called "Two Trains Running" after the opening verse).

Influence and recognition

English blues rock group The Rolling Stones and the music magazine Rolling Stone took their names from the song.[8] In 2000, the song was honored with a Grammy Hall of Fame Award;[11] in 2004, it was included at #459 by Rolling Stone in the list of the "500 Greatest Songs of All Time".[12]

Other versions

In 1967, "Rollin' Stone" (and "Still a Fool") was used as part of Jimi Hendrix's "Catfish Blues", an homage to Muddy Waters, and included on the albums BBC Sessions and Blues (Hendrix's signature songs "Voodoo Chile" and "Voodoo Child (Slight Return)" evolved from his "Catfish Blues").[13] Johnny Winter gave the song a similar treatment as part of "Tribute to Muddy" from his 1968 album The Progressive Blues Experiment. Humble Pie drew on the song for their 1971 albums Rock On and Performance Rockin' the Fillmore. In 1993, Paul Rodgers with Jeff Beck recorded it for Muddy Water Blues: A Tribute to Muddy Waters.

References

  1. ^ Wight, Phil (1991). "The Complete Muddy Waters Discography". Blues & Rhythm (200): 39. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  2. ^ Palmer, Robert (1989). Muddy Waters: The Chess Box (liner notes). MCA/Chess. p. 28. CHD3-80092. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  3. ^ Rolling Stone magazine gives an incorrect release date of 1948.
  4. ^ Dahl, Bill. "Muddy Waters". Allmusic. Retrieved 3 July 2012.
  5. ^ Herzhaft, Gerard (1992). Encyclopedia of the Blues. University of Arkansas Press. p. 442. ISBN 1-55728-252-8. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  6. ^ Palmer, Robert (1993). Blues Masters Volume 8: Mississippi Delta Blues (liner notes). Rhino Records. p. 8. R2 71130. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  7. ^ a b c Gordon, Robert (2002). Can't Be Satisfied – The Life and Times of Muddy Waters. Little, Brown. p. 101. ISBN 0-316-32849-9. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  8. ^ a b c Palmer, Robert (1981). Deep Blues. Penguin Books. p. 104. ISBN 0-14-006223-8. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  9. ^ a b The Blues. Hal Leonard Corporation. 1995. p. 176. ISBN 0-7935-5259-1. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  10. ^ Herzhaft, Gerard (1992). Encyclopedia of the Blues. University of Arkansas Press. p. 435. ISBN 1-55728-252-8. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  11. ^ "Grammy Hall of Fame Awards". The Recording Academy. 2000. Retrieved March 17, 2011. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  12. ^ "500 Greatest Songs of All Time". Rolling Stone. 2004. Archived from the original on June 18, 2008. Retrieved March 17, 2011. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  13. ^ Fairchild, Michael J. (1994). Jimi Hendrix: Blues (liner notes). MCA Records. p. 22. MCAD-11060. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)

See also

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