HONORING MUDDY ' S LEGACY
Photo by Alan Grossman
B
ig Bill Morganfield carries his monumental legacy with the grace of a man who understands its significance . It ’ s not just that he looks and sounds like his father . It ’ s that he continues the path of playing blues as a means for spiritual uplift . Muddy Waters created a blues landscape that reached across time , geography , language and culture and his son has made sure that this gift lives on .
After producing five albums that demonstrated Bill ’ s skill at crafting song
By Rosalind Cummings-Yeates
Big Bill Morganfield
collections that pay allegiance to blues history while at the same time expanding the genre , his latest CD , Blood Stains on the Wall ( Black Shuck Records ) is smashing blues charts with a masterful blend of slide guitar , raw emotion and blues spirit .
“ Those are some big shoes to fill . I can ’ t fill the hole that ’ s left , all I can do is put a little dirt in it ,” said Bill about the legacy he inherited . When he was a kid growing up with his grandmother in Ft . Lauderdale , he had very limited knowledge about this paternal legacy and just how legendary his father was . “ I knew my dad made records and I knew he was good . I didn ’ t know how good he was until I was 15 ,” explained Bill about his awareness of his dad ’ s profession growing up .
Living in south Florida , where blues isn ’ t a significant part of the music scene , Bill focused on sports and played basketball and ran track for his high school teams . “ I was very athletic . I ran real fast and jumped really high , I was pretty good ,” he recalled . So good that he won a full basketball scholarship to Miami Christian University . Bill Morganfield might not have known a lot about the blues while he was growing up but he did know about the spirit that underscores authentic blues . He constantly studied the bible and planned to be a minister . “ I ’ m very spiritual and very in tune with our Father . That ’ s been my saving grace .“ He started his ministerial studies at Miami Christian University but when he experienced blatant racism on the campus , he decided to leave and transfer to Tuskegee University , where he majored in English and decided to become a teacher .
Bill graduated and started teaching middle school in Atlanta but little did he know , his blues bloodline was about to kick in and change the course of his life . “ When my dad died in 1983 , I decided to do a tribute to him ,” said Bill . “ I had a broken heart . There was so much that my dad and I couldn ’ t talk about . Playing blues was the only thing I could do to get closer to him . I thought it would take a year and I ’ d do one record . It took me six years but I was up for the challenge .”
Clearly , after listening to the seamless artistry of Blood Stain on The Wall , Bill is indeed up for the challenge . From the jaunty cover of Muddy ’ s “ I Don ’ t Know Why ,” to the haunting riffs of the original title track , the range of styles and engaging delivery marks the CD as a blues essential . Bill spent years as a club and radio DJ in Atlanta and that experience is showcased by a smoothly sequenced album that commands listeners . “ I think that every CD should be like a musical program so that you don ’ t push next and skip a song ,” he said . All the songs should be strong enough so that people don ’ t skip them .”
Other highlights include the heart tugging ballad that he wrote after his mother ’ s passing , “ When You Lose Someone You Love ”, an effervescent take on Jimmy Reed ’ s “ Too Much ” and the deep fried electric blues funk of “ Hold Me Baby ,” which appeared on the Fox TV series Shots Fired .
When he first picked up the guitar , Bill had never planned on a blues career , he only wanted to connect with his father and do a tribute . “ I had to get really good to make my dad proud . I had been listening to R & B , dance and pop . All of sudden , I started buying only blues . I got into it so deep that I wanted to listen to it all . I went to the beginning and listened to the plantation recordings and then Robert Johnson . I tried to duplicate what I heard . I can hear anything and play it . I call it crazy ears . My dad had crazy ears , he could hear things nobody else could . I can hear things too . You can ’ t play nothing until you hear it ,” he said .“ I had a system of learning , I broke it down bar by bar . It took me three months to learn “ Walkin ’ Blues .” That ’ s how I learned to play old Delta blues .”
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18 illinoisentertainer . com june 2017