Waters, Muddy: At Newport 1960 (Chess 75) LP

Recorded live at the Newport Jazz Festival on July 3, 1960, At Newport 1960 captures Muddy Waters in electrifying form. Backed by Otis Spann (piano), Pat Hare (guitar), Andrew Stevens (bass), Francis Clay (drums), and James Cotton (harmonica), Waters performs music both rooted in tradition and the modern. It’s a landmark recording that helped bring the blues to a wider audience, cementing Waters’ reputation as a father of the electric blues. Highlights include “I’m Your Hoochie Coochie Man,” “Baby, Please Don’t Go,” “Got My Mojo Working,” and Langston Hughes’ own “Goodbye Newport Blues.”