“Muddy Waters Invented Electricity” – Joe Bonamassa
Blues Waters – Muddy & Joe

Muddy & Joe’s American Blues

Joe Bonamassa is an American bluesman making his way through the American blues landscape. Born in Utica and playing guitar almost his entire life, Joe lives the blues in everything that he does. But where does this American blues spirit come from? In large part, Joe owes much of his sound and spirit to one of the icons of American blues, the Chicago-based electric blues magician Muddy Waters.

Few bluesmen stand in the same inner circle of blues gods as Muddy Waters. “Everyone loves Muddy Waters,” Joe says, when asked about Muddy. “He’s probably the most universally agreed upon blues artist that everyone loves. Everyone feels Muddy.”

Dig a little deeper and it’s easy to see that without Muddy Waters paving the way, there could never have been a Joe Bonamassa.

The West Coast Blues Goes Sophisticated

Allmusic calls Muddy Waters, “The single most important artist to emerge in post-war American blues.” And for that reason, Muddy Waters’ influence on Joe cannot be overemphasized. It is poetic, then, that Joe Bonamassa’s first major tribute concert, Muddy Wolf at Red Rocks, featured the music of McKinley “Muddy Waters” Morganfield. But what precisely made Muddy Waters so special?

During the 1940’s, the American west coast was the center of blues innovation. The blues that came out of this west coast scene were far more polished, sophisticated, and instilled with the feel of urban living than the raw, gritty music produced back home in the Delta.

But a major paradigm shift occurred during the west coast blues era: the incorporation of amplified instrumentation – specifically, electric guitar - amongst blues giants like the great T-Bone Walker.

Not all blues fans were impressed with this slicker west coast sound of the blues, and purists continued to hanker after the down-home, earthy grit of the original Delta bluesmen.

Yet the electric guitar forced the traditional Delta Blues sound to update. When Muddy Waters came along, he eschewed the urbane blues of the west coast and retained the earthiness of his Delta homeland. But that grit was now married to the amplified strands of electric guitars.

It was blues for modern times, for a new era. In so doing, Muddy Waters completely reinvigorated the genre of blues and directly paved the way for the vast majority of blues that would follow.

Joe and Muddy on the Rocks

Knowing how important Muddy Waters is to the history of the blues, Joe Bonamassa undertook a very special endeavor in August of 2014. Putting together a killer blues band filled with the finest musicians, Joe created an exemplary tribute concert to pay homage to both Muddy Waters and Muddy’s fellow Chicago blues genius and chief rival, Howlin’ Wolf.

The concert was a triumph and one of the biggest nights of Joe’s already storied career. For him, it was a chance to help keep the great blues music of the past alive so that it’s never forgotten. But it’s also an opportunity to make this classic music his own, to put his original spin on the Muddy Waters vibe and reinterpret great blues music for the contemporary musical environment.

The Red Rocks show was full of Muddy Waters classics and deep cuts: tunes like “I Can’t Be Satisfied”, “You Shook Me”, and “Tiger in Your Tank.” Backed by Joe’s world-class blues band and reverberating throughout the breathtaking Red Rocks Amphitheatre, Muddy Wolf at Red Rocks was a majestic blues tribute show that will rival the very best live blues concerts in history.

It’s Joe’s way of thanking Muddy for leading the way in so many different facets of the blues.

Own Your Copy of Joe Bonamassa Muddy Wolf at Red Rocks Today!