On this day, January 7, 1954, this blues legend recorded the hit song that would later inspire the booming genre of rock 'n' roll.

MUDDY WATERS electrified the blues — literally and figuratively. His iconic 1950s recordings set the template for Chicago’s amplified blues, shape-shifting the sound from its rural, acoustic roots to ...

Muddy Waters’ songs such as “I’m Your Hoochie Coochie Man” and “Rollin’ Stone” helped earn him a spot in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Sun-Times file photo Editor’s note: The weekly Illinois ...

If the blues is the backbone of American popular music, then Muddy Waters was the backbone of the blues. Sure, there were plenty of significant blues artists before him and others after his heyday, ...

People, how come I can’t be happy, like everybody else? / Yeah, how come I can’t be happy, well you know like everybody else? / You know I’ve been layin’ round in Chicago, you know I just been grievin ...

Thursday night at C-Boy's Heart & Soul, and Steve Wertheimer's southside juke joint is drenched in true blues. Dim lights, vintage soul posters, foil streamers, and a threepiece rhythm section. A ...

As the National Museum of African American Music opens its doors, journalists from the USA TODAY Network explore the stories, places and people who helped make music what it is today in our expansive ...

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Editor’s note: The weekly Illinois Bicentennial series is brought to you by the Illinois Associated Press Media Editors and Illinois Press Association. More than 20 newspapers are creating stories ...

Since June 2017, Muddy Waters' image has beamed down from a 10-story mural at 17 N. State St. in Chicago. But the king bee of Chicago blues looms even larger over the city with his outsized musical ...

Since June 2017, Muddy Waters’ image has beamed down from a 10-story mural at 17 N. State St. in Chicago. But the king bee of Chicago blues looms even larger over the city with his outsized musical ...