| "Rollin' Stone" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by Muddy Waters | ||||
| B-side | "Walkin' Blues" | |||
| Released | 1950 | |||
| Format | 10" 78 rpm record | |||
| Recorded | Chicago February 1950[1][2][3] |
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| Genre | Blues | |||
| Length | 3:05 | |||
| Label | Chess (Cat. No. 1426) | |||
| Producer | Leonard Chess, Phil Chess | |||
| Muddy Waters singles chronology | ||||
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"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.[4] "Rollin' Stone" has been recorded by a variety of artists and has been acknowledged by the Grammy Hall of Fame and Rolling Stone magazine.
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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:
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".[5] However, according to one biographer "They'd been singing "Catfish Blues" for years in the Delta, but it never sounded like "Rollin' Stone".[6]
"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.[7] The words refer to the traditional proverb, "A rolling stone gathers no moss".
Called "a brooding, minor-hued drone piece",[7] "Rollin' Stone" is a mid- to slow-tempo blues notated in 4/4 time in the key of E.[8] Although the instrumental section uses the IV and V chords, the vocal sections remain on the I chord,[8] giving the song a modal quality often found in Delta blues songs. In addition to the traditional catfish verses, Waters added:
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".[6]
"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).
Although "Rollin' Stone" sold enough for Muddy Waters to quit his day job,[6] 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.[9] 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).
English rock group The Rolling Stones and the music magazine Rolling Stone took their names from the song.[7] In 2000, the song was honored with a Grammy Hall of Fame Award;[10] in 2004, it was included at #459 by Rolling Stone in the list of the "500 Greatest Songs of All Time".[11]
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").[12] 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.
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