# If I like the music of Muddy Waters... **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 28, 2014, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-like-the-music-of-muddy-waters/694248 "2014-07-28T15:21:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![SanDiegoTim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/85e7bf/32.png) [@SanDiegoTim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanDiegoTim)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2014, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-like-the-music-of-muddy-waters/694248/1 "2014-07-28T15:21:44Z")
…hat other artists would tickle my fancy? ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2014, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-like-the-music-of-muddy-waters/694248/2 "2014-07-28T15:28:31Z")
Willie Dixon, definitely. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2014, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-like-the-music-of-muddy-waters/694248/3 "2014-07-28T15:31:53Z")
Howlin’ Wolf. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2014, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-like-the-music-of-muddy-waters/694248/4 "2014-07-28T15:33:36Z")
[Son House](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NdgrQoZHnNY), perhaps. ---
**Author:** ![DChord568](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@DChord568](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DChord568)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2014, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-like-the-music-of-muddy-waters/694248/5 "2014-07-28T16:14:02Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > Howlin’ Wolf. I like many blues artists, including Muddy. But in my view, when it comes to blues, there’s Howlin’ Wolf…and then there’s everybody else. I would start with Wolf. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2014, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-like-the-music-of-muddy-waters/694248/6 "2014-07-28T16:20:08Z")
> [@DChord568](#): > > I like many blues artists, including Muddy. But in my view, when it comes to blues, there’s Howlin’ Wolf…and then there’s everybody else. > > I would start with Wolf. That’s how I feel about it. They’re great contrasts, similar enough that most fans of one will like the other but different in some fundamental ways. For my money, Wolf is the best singer there ever was. ---
**Author:** ![jerez](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c68b51/32.png) [@jerez](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jerez)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2014, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-like-the-music-of-muddy-waters/694248/7 "2014-07-28T16:33:02Z")
I think it depends on what recordings of Muddy Waters you like and what it is you like about them. But you can’t go wrong with **Robert Johnson**. Looking in one direction, **Son House** , **Willie Brown** and **Charley Patton** were three big names in Mississippi when Muddy was coming up, and **Big Bill Broonzy** gave Muddy a big helping hand in Chicago. Looking in the other direction, **Johnny Winter** and **Bob Margolin** are closely associated with Muddy, but there are many more. For a slightly different kind of Mississippi blues, check out **R.L. Burnside** and others. None of the aforementioned are exactly like Muddy. ---
**Author:** ![Mixolydian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/da6949/32.png) [@Mixolydian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mixolydian)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2014, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-like-the-music-of-muddy-waters/694248/8 "2014-07-28T16:34:21Z")
[Little Walter (Jacobs)](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Walter) and [Otis Spann](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Otis_Spann) were both in Muddy’s early bands; the music is very similar (and Muddy guests on a lot of their material). ---
**Author:** ![The\_Second\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@The\_Second\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Second_Stone)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2014, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-like-the-music-of-muddy-waters/694248/9 "2014-07-28T17:06:17Z")
Buddy Guy is one I’d add. Of the ones the others have mentioned, especially Howlin Wolf. Not the same thing at all, but the same kind of commitment. ---
**Author:** ![scabpicker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scabpicker/32/8268_2.png) [@scabpicker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scabpicker)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2014, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-like-the-music-of-muddy-waters/694248/10 "2014-07-28T18:05:05Z")
I’ll second everyone mentioned before, and relish that I get to be the first to mention [John Lee Hooker](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eM3PuXDpKiA) 🙂 ETA: So good I had to listen to it twice. ---
**Author:** ![Nom\_de\_Plume](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/85f322/32.png) [@Nom\_de\_Plume](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nom_de_Plume)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2014, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-like-the-music-of-muddy-waters/694248/11 "2014-07-28T18:42:37Z")
Don’t forget Elmore James. ---
**Author:** ![DChord568](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@DChord568](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DChord568)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2014, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-like-the-music-of-muddy-waters/694248/12 "2014-07-28T18:44:08Z")
> [@scabpicker](#): > > I’ll second everyone mentioned before, and relish that I get to be the first to mention [John Lee Hooker](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eM3PuXDpKiA) :). D’oh! I really should have mentioned Hooker too, as he’s second in line for me behind Wolf. And if anything, for the OP’s purposes he’s somewhat closer stylistically to Muddy than Wolf is. But really, he’s an entity unto himself. Start with his earliest sides recorded up in Detroit, and then move forward from there. ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2014, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-like-the-music-of-muddy-waters/694248/13 "2014-07-28T18:58:14Z")
[Blind Willie McTell](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OtNZm9KXm8w) [Skip James](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_mmZFox4Rkg) [Son House](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0IhmG7boqes) And of course, the infamous [Robert Johnson](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qpevZxy5398) ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2014, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-like-the-music-of-muddy-waters/694248/14 "2014-07-29T19:18:52Z")
[Sonny Boy Williamson](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nHpqQaf0EK8) [Leadbelly](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ye2N_2ce3QE) Yes, both of these are artists that Led Zeppelin “borrowed” from.