Muddy Waters
McKinley Morganfield, better known as Muddy Waters, was one of the foremost artists in blues history. In the late 1940s and 1950s he led the way in transforming traditional Delta blues into the electric Chicago blues style that paved the road to rock ‘n’ roll. Waters was born in the Jug’s Corner community of rural Issaquena County but always claimed Rolling Fork as his birthplace. His birth date has been cited as April 4, 1913, 1914, or 1915.
His grandmother, Della Grant, nicknamed him “Muddy” because, as a baby on the Cottonwood Plantation near Mayersville, he loved to play in the mud. Childhood playmates tagged on “Water” or “Waters” a few years later. His father, Ollie Morganfield, was a sharecropper in the Rolling Fork area who also entertained at local blues affairs. But Waters was raised by his grandmother, who moved to the Stovall Plantation near Clarksdale when he was still a young child, and his influences were Delta musicians such as Son House, Robert Johnson, and Robert Nighthawk. Muddy first played harmonica with Stovall guitarist Scott Bohanner, but took up guitar under the older musician’s tutelage, and later performed with another mentor, blues legend Big Joe Williams. He also played in a string band, the Son Sims Four, and drove a tractor on the Stovall Plantation, where he ran a juke joint out of his house.
Waters did his first recordings at Stovall in1941-42 for a Library of Congress team led by Alan Lomax and John Work III. In 1943 he moved to Chicago, and by the end of the decade he was setting the pace on the competitive Chicago blues scene. The city was loaded with freshly arriving talent from Mississippi, Arkansas, and Louisiana as southern farm workers continued to migrate to the alleged “promised land” of the north. Many of the finest musicians, including harmonica player Little Walter Jacobs, pianist Otis Spann, and guitarist Jimmy Rogers, worked in the seminal Muddy Waters Blues Band, which virtually defined the Chicago blues genre. Both through his recordings on the Aristocrat and Chess labels and through his sensual and electrifying live performances, he not only became a blues icon but a godfather to generations of rock ‘n’ roll bands, as he expanded his audience from the African American clubs of Chicago’s South and West sides to Europe and beyond. The Rolling Stones recorded several of his songs and took their name from one of his early records, “Rollin’ Stone.” Jazz, R&B, country & western, and hip hop artists have used his material as well.
Other Muddy Waters classics, many written by Vicksburg native Willie Dixon, include “Got My Mojo Working,” “Manish Boy,” “I Just Want to Make Love to You,” “Hoochie Coochie Man,” and “I’m Ready.” Waters returned to visit or perform in Mississippi on occasion, and appeared at the Greenville V.F.W., the Ole Miss campus, and the 1981 Delta Blues Festival. A recipient of multiple Grammy awards, charter member of the Blues Foundation’s Blues Hallof Fame, and 1987 inductee into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Muddy Waters died in his sleep on April 30, 1983, at his home in Westmont, Illinois
The Mississippi Blues Trail markers tell stories through words and images of bluesmen and women and how the places where they lived and the times in which they existed–and continue to exist–influenced their music. The sites run the gamut from city streets to cotton fields, train depots to cemeteries, and clubs to churches. We have a lot to share, and it’s just down the Mississippi Blues Trail.
The Mississippi Blues Trail is an ongoing project of the Mississippi Blues Commission. Funding for this project has been made possible by grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, National Endowment for the Humanities, Mississippi Department of Transportation, the Federal Highway Administration, AT&T, and the Delta Center for Culture and Learning at Delta State University plus additional support from the Mississippi Development Authority Tourism Division.
For more information visit msbluestrail.org.
The Mississippi River, which forms the western border of the state, is the longest river in North America.
During the antebellum period, Sharkey County experienced a boom in cotton production, making it an integral part of the Mississippi planter class. The county was heavily dependent on enslaved labor, with large plantations dominating the agricultural landscape. However, such prosperity was marred by the brutal treatment of slaves and the perpetuation of the plantation system.
After the Civil War and the emancipation of slaves, Sharkey County faced widespread economic devastation. The once-thriving plantations were unable to adapt to the new labor system, leading to a decline in cotton production. Many former slaves also struggled to find stability and opportunities for economic advancement. Consequently, sharecropping became a prevalent form of labor in the county, with many former slaves and poor white farmers working on the land of large landowners.
In the 20th century, Sharkey County endured the challenges of the Great Depression, the decline of the cotton industry, and racial segregation. The transformation of agriculture led to a shift from cotton to other crops such as soybeans and rice. Additionally, the civil rights movement brought attention to the racial injustices within the county, leading to protests and demonstrations. Despite these challenges, Sharkey County continues to be a vibrant community with a resilient spirit rooted in its historical legacy.
Sharkey County Timeline
This timeline provides a glimpse into the major events and milestones that have shaped the history of Sharkey County, Mississippi.
- 1876 - Sharkey County was established on February 2.
- 1890 - The county courthouse was completed.
- 1927 - The Great Mississippi Flood significantly affected Sharkey County.
- 1933 - The Great Depression brought economic challenges to the county.
- 1964 - Sharkey County played a role in the Civil Rights Movement.
- 1978 - The Yazoo-Mississippi Delta Joint Water Management District was formed.
- 2010 - Sharkey County's population was 4,916 based on the census.