Muddy Waters

One of the most significant figures in the development of postwar blues music, singer-songwriter Muddy Waters' deceptively simple yet powerful songs came to define the electrified Chicago sound, which in turn, had a lasting influence on generations of rock-n-roll and blues players. Waters' deep, masculine voice was his calling card, and he could wield it in a wide variety of tempos, from slow and sensual on "I Can't Be Satisfied" and "King Bee" to an earth-shaking stomp on rockers like "Got My Mojo Workin'" and "Mannish Boy." These and other songs marked his initial rise to prominence in the early '50s through Chess Records, and their tremendous impact could be felt throughout popular music, most notably through British Invasion players like the Rolling Stones and the Yardbirds, who drew heavily on his work. Waters fell out of fashion in the 1960s, only to experience a rebirth in the 1970s through collaborations with American bluesman Johnny Winter. Their work together generated countless Grammys and worldwide respect from the blues community until Waters' death in 1983. In the decades that followed, his stature in popular culture continued to grow, and Waters' best work came to represent for many listeners the sound of the blues: earthy, sexy, unstoppable.