(Reprinted from, Library of Congress)
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Mr. Waters is considered to be the "Grandfather of Rock" because
he:
i. was the first of the original “Delta”
blues musicians to mic the acoustic guitar thereby creating Electric Rock
guitar music; and,
ii. discovered and introduced Chuck
Berry to Chess Records, acted as the first "record producer"
in organizing the recording sessions, helping to select the material recorded
and arranging for the musicians who recorded such classics as "Johnnie
B. Good".
During the five years while Ashwood
Kavanna acted as his exclusive agent-manager for this legendary
Blues Band, the most important L.P. of Muddy's career was recorded:
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“Fathers and Sons” L.P. presented three generations
of blues men, honoring the teacher-creator by his pupils; Michael Bloomfield,
Paul Butterfeld (Harmonica), Donald ‘Duck’ Dunn (Bass) Sam lay (Drums),
(with Buddy Miles, (Drums), on live cuts), and Otis Spann (Piano);
It proved to be historic in every sense. Ashwood
Kavanna was the guy who planned and booked this live performances
at the Auditorium Theater (Chicago) - April 21, 22 and 23, 1969 as an effort
to reinvigorate and re-introduce Muddy to the white rock audiences.
It worked. His career was revived and Muddy went on to play colleges
across the country into infamy.
This L.P. is a "tour de force," supplemented
by Spann’s authentic blues piano, and features such numbers as “All Aboard,”
“Standin’ Round Crying,” “Twenty Four Hours,” “Long Distance Call,” “The
Same Thing” and “Got My Mojo Working.” The studio portion of the
album was recorded apace, with only a couple of takes required for most
songs. Muddy made it clear what he wanted, and his musicians delivered.
The young sidemen already knew his repertoire; they’d cut their teeth on
the songs of their hero.
For Sam Lay, Fathers And Sons was a professional
and personal milestone: “It was really an honor and a thrill to be in,
and I really appreciate just knowing that I was a part of it,” he states
with great reverence. “You’re talking about a legend, [Muddy] is
a legend. I won’t say was. He still is as far as I’m concerned.”
Muddy had been Sam’s idol ever since he discovered
blues. He’ll never forget the first time he ever saw Muddy perform,
in the late 1950's at Gleason’s in Cleveland. Although Muddy was
singing through a small cracker box P.A., Lay describes his voice as frightening.
It carried the force of a Texas tornado and the impact of a bolt of lightning.
After moving to Chicago, Lay joined Little Walter’s band, then played for
Howlin’ Wolf for six years before becoming a founding member of the Paul
Butterfield Blues Band. He got to know Muddy, jammed with him and
occasionally filled in for his drummer if he couldn’t make a gig.
The live portion of Fathers And Sons was taped
at a concert on 24 April, dubbed the “Super Cosmic Joy-Scout Jamboree,”
a benefit for the Phoenix Fellowship of the Academy of Cultural Exploration
and Design. Among the acts preceding Muddy that night were Nick Graventies,
Quicksilver Messenger Service and a set performed by Butterfield, Bloomfield
and Buddy Miles. "In those days," commented, Ashwood
Kavanna "I'd book several of my bands as a package. "
The colleges would promote it as a 'festival.' That is how I first started
the Ann Arbor Blues Festival, by convincing the college to take a package
and my acts." Now in its' 24th year, it lives on as a testament.
Then Muddy appeared and delivered his first offering,
”Hoochie Coochie Man.” He galvanized the predominantly white college
audience of 2,800 — most of them hearing Muddy for the first time — and
led them on a blues trip that left the crowd. In response to his
last number, “Got my Mojo Working,” the rapturous throng rose en masse
and demanded an encore. Another set of drums was pushed on stage,
and Buddy Miles sprinted out to join Lay in drumming for the finale. Although
this recording is truly a gem, you can never really capture
magic and energy on the tape. It was a musical moment — you just
had to be there," said Ashwood.
The performance lives on as mph. Almost
10 minutes of pandemonium ensued after Muddy left the stage. “The
people had him surrounded,” Lay says, describing the bedlam backstage.
“They swarmed him like a flight of bumblebees.” Obviously pleased,
Muddy exclaimed, “It’s just like Newport out there.” The impact of
"Fathers And Sons" would be momentous and document him as the founder —
the Grandfather of Rock music.
From then on, Muddy’s tours were almost wholly
booked in white venues — coffeehouses, clubs, colleges and festivals.
"Fathers And Sons had made Muddy an icon of growing white American
rock music. America had re-discovered a part of its lost soul and
heritage.
"I am honored to have had the opportunity to play
a role in the musicology of American Blues history at such a young age
(19 yrs)" commented Ashwood.
from, "Muddy Waters, the Mojo Man"by Sandra Toose
(Forward by Eric Clapton) 1996
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