The oldest son of the iconic bluesman Muddy Waters is Mud Morganfield and his new album Deep Mud is Chicago blues at its finest! Mud carries the mantle (and weight) of his father’s legacy well. He looks like his father and, at times, it seems like Muddy is in the room when his son sings. But Mud is much more that just the offspring of a famous bluesman, he is a driving force for the contemporary Chicago blues. While Deep Mud features two cover tracks of his father’s music, the recording also has a dozen great original songs written by Mud. From a touching song about his mother, who passed away earlier this year, to songs about drinkin’, dancin’, and gettin’ your groove on, the recording (which comes out tomorrow September 26th) just exudes the Chicago blues.
As you would expect, someone with Mud’s blues pedigree attracts the finest blues musicians in Chicago for his albums. The recording features harpist Studebaker John (who also served as producer), guitarists Rick Kreher and Mike Wheeler, bassist E.G. McDaniel, drummer Melvin “Pookie Styx” Carlisle and keyboard players Roosevelt “Mad Hatter” Purifoy and Sumito “Ariyo” Ariyoshi and trumpet player Phil Perkins. Together as a band, they unapologetically kick out that badass Chicago blues sound that redefined the blues back after the end of World War II and continues to attract audiences interested in dancing and having a good time to engaging and sultry musical rhythms.
The songs, She is Getting Her Groove On, Lover Man and Ernestine best exemplify the highly danceable nature of the Chicago blues that Mud Morganfield likes to sing. My personal favorite is the opening track, Bring Me My Whiskey and I also loved Mud’s cover of his dad’s song Strange Woman on which he plays bass. Don’t Leave Me is also another favorite featuring some stellar harpin’ by Studebaker John.
The last song on Deep Mud is entitled A Dream Walking about his mother, Mildred McGhee. While Muddy Waters was in and out of his life, his mom was a mainstay. Through the twists and turns of his journey which included quitting high school, getting his GED, and eventually graduating from college, his mom was there for him. Mud drove a truck for a living and did not turn to music full time until he was in his mid fifties. His mom lived to see him emerge as one of the stars of the contemporary blues. A Dream Walking is probably the most touching son to mother blues song that I have ever heard and is well worth a listen.
The Chicago blues are an enduring part of Mud Morganfield’s life. He was born into the blues, raised up in them on the tough streets of Chicago, struggled and survived life’s many trials and has emerged at the age of 70 as the face and voice of the contemporary Chicago Blues. It’s a cool story and the current chapter, epitomized in Deep Mud, is goin’ just fine!
Mud Morganfield – Deep Mud [2025 Nola Blue Records]
#blues #bluesmusic #bluesnews #bluesreviews #musicnews #newmusic #contemporaryblues #mudmorganfield #deepmud
Ben Vee started out spinning songs on terrestrial radio and at nightclubs back in the 1970’s in his home state of Louisiana. After a career in the construction business, he returned to DJing in 2011. He now hosts two shows each week on http://www.bluesmusicfan.com and writes about the blues for BMFR at http:/www.bluesbeats.com and on his own blog at http://www.benveeblues.com from his home in Connecticut.
Leave a Reply