Muddy Waters Tribute

It's about time that the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum got around to paying tribute to McKinley Morganfield (Muddy Waters) by featuring him in the American Music Masters series entitled Got My Mojo Workin': Muddy Waters and Modern Blues. The blues master guided the barebones acoustic sounds of his Mississippi Delta home into clubs on the south side of Chicago, bridging the gap between the blues and rock and roll in the '40s and '50s. Ideally, the concerts, films, and lectures surrounding the Rock Hall's tribute will introduce Waters to a new generation and further illuminate those already familiar with his work. The climax of the event will take place with two concerts -- an informal one at the Odeon and a more formal one at Severance Hall. But other than a relatively new group, the North Mississippi All-Stars, both bills are heavy with acts whose fans are probably already familiar with Waters. Former Rolling Stones guitarist Mick Taylor, Double Trouble members Chris Layton and Tommy Shannon, singer-guitarist Bonnie Raitt, and local guitarist Robert Lockwood Jr. have fanbases that are well-educated enough to know about Waters' significance. While they are likely to pay proper tribute to the blues great, who died in 1983, they'll just be preaching to the choir.