4/23/1980 Muddy Waters, Shryock Auditorium, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, IL


 41 years ago today...

April 23, 1980 - Carbondale, IL

Muddy Waters had his mojo working in an electric Blues concert at Shryock Auditorium on the campus of Southern Illinois University.
This was the one and only time I saw this legendary King of Chicago Blues in concert. He was age 65 at the time, leaning on a stool while leading his band which included long-time backing musicians Pinetop Perkins on piano, Willie "Big Eyes" Smith on drums and Steady Rollin' Bob Margolin on guitar.
My newspaper review of the show noted that the 80-minute concert kicked off with "Hoochie Koochie Man" and concluded with "Kansas City," "Mannish Boy" and a single-song encore of "I've Got My Mojo Working."
When the house lights came on, the 1,000 in attendance refused to leave and remained on their feet cheering for another song. The band returned for a quick instrumental, but without Mud. I went backstage after the show hoping to meet him, but he wasn't accepting any guests.
Just a few years ago, I toured the former Chess Records studio on Chicago's south side, bringing my memories of Muddy full circle.
Photo credit to Daily Egyptian for the B/W image from this concert.




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