FEATURE image: Muddy Waters, King of the Chicago Blues by Brazilian artist Eduardo Kobra. Located at 17 N. State Street in Downtown Chicago, the 10-story mural of Muddy Waters serves as a monumental public tribute that both beautifies the Loop and permanently honors the foundational legacy of Black electric blues music in the city. Painted in 2027, the mural celebrates how Waters brought the blues up from the Mississippi Delta, went electric, and defined the historic Chicago sound. May 2021. Author’s photograph. 4.37 mb.
The Creation and Its Architectural Canvas
Painted by Brazilian street artist Eduardo Kobra (b. 1975), the monumental mural took over two weeks to complete, replacing a large, yellow painting that read “Go Do Good.” The canvas for this vibrant work is the Stevens Building, a notable early skyscraper situated on the east side of State Street near Washington Street. Designed in 1912 by the legendary architect Daniel H. Burnham (1846–1912), the nineteen-story structure—with three additional levels below ground—was initially built as one of Chicago’s most modern business hubs, bustling with retail shops.
Honoring the King of Chicago Blues
This colorful portrait of Muddy Waters is part of a broader civic campaign to beautify Chicago’s high-rise walls while celebrating the profound significance of Black music in the city. Specifically, Kobra’s mural serves as a towering tribute to Muddy Waters’ indelible legacy on the local music scene. Among his many titles and accolades, Waters remains best known across the globe as the definitive “King of Chicago Blues.”
Muddy Waters tribute mural, looking south on State Street, Chicago. The 100-foot-tall mural of legendary Chicago blues musician Muddy Waters was dedicated in June 2017 on the north wall of the 19-story Stevens Building built by legendary architect Daniel H. Burnham in 1912. June 2022. Author’s photograph. 13.52 mb.
From the Mississippi Delta to the Windy City
Waters’ musical journey began in Mississippi, where he was first exposed to music at his local Baptist church. During World War II, while still in his twenties, he migrated north to Chicago with the ambition of becoming a professional musician. He was drawn to the city because, since the 1920s, Chicago had established itself as a premier national epicenter for jazz and blues music production.
Muddy Waters preforming live at the Newport Jazz Festival. “Rollin’ Stone” is a blues song first recorded by Muddy Water in 1950 and based on an older Delta blues song of the 1920s (“Catfish Blues”). “Rollin’ Stone” is listed as one of the 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. https://web.archive.org/web/20090209134210/http://rockhall.com/exhibithighlights/500-songs-wz – retrieved August 5, 2021.
The Chess Records Era and the Definitive Sound
In 1951, Waters recorded his hit song “Still A Fool” at the newly founded Chess Records on Chicago’s South Side, kicking off a decade of prolific blues classics. At the time, the label’s founding brothers, Leonard and Phil Chess, wanted the young musician to utilize their roster of professional studio musicians. However, Waters pushed to record with his own band.
By September 1953, he was recording with a legendary lineup that would become one of the most acclaimed blues bands in history. This powerhouse ensemble included harmonica virtuoso Little Walter Jacobs, guitar pioneer Jimmy Rogers—who alongside Little Walter and Waters helped define the signature Chicago Blues sound—rural drums legend Elga Speed Edmonds, and distinctive keyboard stylist Otis Spann. At times, the band also featured Grammy-winning bassist Willie Dixon, an inductee into the Blues, Rock and Roll, and Songwriters Halls of Fame. Driven by his crisp electric guitar work and a deep, gravelly voice, Waters forged a distinctive career that spanned 50 years, earning 11 Grammy nominations and 6 wins.
Dedication ceremony
In June 2017 at the dedication of the mural at the busy intersection of State and Washington Streets in the heart of downtown Chicago’s business/shopping districts, Muddy Waters’ family was in attendance. Of Muddy Waters’ legacy, born in Mississippi and living and working in Chicagoland since the 1940’s, Rolling Stone wrote: “With him the blues came up from the Delta and went electric.”
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
Chicagology. ““Charles A. Stevens Building II.”” Accessed August 5, 2021.
Recording Academy. “Muddy Waters.” GRAMMY.com. Accessed August 5, 2021. grammy.com.
The Encyclopedia of Chicago. “Blues.” Chicago Historical Society and Northwestern University. Accessed August 5, 2021. chicagohistory.org.
