What was the very first album you ever bought, did it inspire you then, and does it still inspire you?
At the age of 14 I bought my very first vinyl album. I was brought up on folk music, blues and jazz, so the chance of my first album being some old school blues doesn't come as a surprise now. It was Muddy Waters' "The Original Hoochie Coochie Man", a compilation album printed in Holland. The album is still in mint condition and I play it from time to time to remember where the inspiration started, and it does still inspire me greatly.
Muddy Waters (McKinley Morganfield 1913-1983) was from Issacuena County, Mississippi, and is considered the father of modern Chicago blues, a major inspiration for the British blues explosion in the 1960's and was ranked one of the greatest artists of all time.
When the Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 occurred, the majority of the African American community was neglected in regards to relief from the destruction of the natural disaster. It was during this time that the African American community in Mississippi viewed the treatment that they were given compared to Caucasian citizens as unequal. Morganfield reflected on the lack of help he saw in his community, saying they had nothing left but muddy waters all around them. He took the nick name of Muddy Waters at that time feeling that it was a very good reflection of the music that he played.
Today I want to go and get my old electric guitar out and play some blues.
