''Fathers and Sons'' is the seventh studio album by the American

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...

musician

Muddy Waters McKinley Morganfield (April 4, 1913 April 30, 1983), known professionally as Muddy Waters, was an American blues singer and musician who was an important figure in the post-war blues scene, and is often cited as the "father of modern Chicago b ...

, released as a

double A double is a look-alike or doppelgänger; one person or being that resembles another. Double, The Double or Dubble may also refer to: Film and television * Double (filmmaking), someone who substitutes for the credited actor of a character * Th ...

LP by

Chess Records Chess Records was an American record company established in 1950 in Chicago, specializing in blues and rhythm and blues. It was the successor to Aristocrat Records, founded in 1947. It expanded into soul music, gospel music, early rock and roll ...

in August

1969 This year is notable for Apollo 11's first landing on the moon. Events January * January 4 – The Government of Spain hands over Ifni to Morocco. * January 5 **Ariana Afghan Airlines Flight 701 crashes into a house on its approach to ...

. The album contains both studio and live recordings recorded in April 1969 in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, Illinois, with an all-star band, including Michael Bloomfield and

Paul Butterfield Paul Vaughn Butterfield (December 17, 1942May 4, 1987) was an American blues harmonica player, singer and band leader. After early training as a classical flautist, he developed an interest in blues harmonica. He explored the blues scene in his n ...

of the Paul Butterfield Blues Band,

Donald "Duck" Dunn Donald "Duck" Dunn (November 24, 1941 – May 13, 2012) was an American bass guitarist, session musician, record producer, and songwriter. Dunn was notable for his 1960s recordings with Booker T. & the M.G.'s and as a session bassist for Stax Rec ...

of Booker T. & the M.G.'s,

Otis Spann Otis Spann (March 21, 1924 or 1930April 24, 1970) was an American blues musician, whom many consider to be the leading postwar Chicago blues pianist. Early life Sources differ over Spann's early years. Some state that he was born in Jackson, Miss ...

, and

Sam Lay Samuel Julian Lay (March 20, 1935January 29, 2022) was an American drummer and vocalist who performed from the late 1950s as a blues and R&B musician alongside Little Walter, Howlin' Wolf, Paul Butterfield, and many others. He was inducted into ...

. The album was Waters's biggest mainstream success, reaching #70 on the ''Billboard'' 200, which was his only appearance in the top half of the chart. Waters would not make another appearance on the 200 until ''

Hard Again ''Hard Again'' is a studio album by American blues singer Muddy Waters. Released on January 10, 1977, it was the first of his albums produced by Johnny Winter. ''Hard Again'' was Waters's first album on Blue Sky Records after leaving Chess Record ...

'' in 1977.

Background

According to

Marshall Chess Marshall Chess (born 13 March 1942, Chicago, Illinois) is an American record producer, the son of Leonard Chess who co-founded Chess Records. Chess Records Marshall worked for sixteen years with Chess Records; founded by his father Leonard and ...

, ''Fathers and Sons'' came about when Mike Bloomfield said that he and Paul Butterfield wanted to do an album with Muddy Waters while in Chicago for a charity concert. Chess rounded up Donald "Duck" Dunn,

, and Sam Lay for the studio sessions. While some blues purists criticized Waters's "psychedelic" album ''

Electric Mud ''Electric Mud'' is the fifth studio album by Muddy Waters, with members of Rotary Connection playing as his backing band. Released in 1968, it imagines Muddy Waters as a psychedelic music, psychedelic musician. Producer Marshall Chess suggested t ...

'', ''Fathers and Sons'' was received more favorably since it avoided psychedelia, instead showcasing his "classic" sound of the 1950s. In many ways, the album anticipated his later, critically acclaimed, albums produced by

Johnny Winter John Dawson Winter III (February 23, 1944 – July 16, 2014) was an American singer and guitarist. Winter was known for his high-energy blues rock albums and live performances in the late 1960s and 1970s. He also produced three Grammy Award-win ...

Recording and production

The studio disc of the album was recorded on April 21–23, 1969, at Ter Mar Studios. These sides were engineered by

Ron Malo Ronald Clements Malo (August 29, 1935 in Illinois – August 15, 1992 in Burbank, California) was an American engineer for Chicago's Chess Studios from 1959 until 1970. He was the engineer for the first sessions the Rolling Stones did in the US, i ...

and featured rhythm guitarist Paul Asbell, who did not play on the live songs. The live songs were recorded on April 24, 1969, at the Super Cosmic Joy-Scout Jamboree. These sides were engineered by

Reice Hamel Reice Hamel (June 18, 1920 – October 1, 1986) was an American Audio Recording engineer. He is considered, along with his colleague Wally Heider, to be the pioneer of complex live remote recording. He recorded under the company name, Reice Hamel ...

. Drummer

Buddy Miles George Allen "Buddy" Miles Jr. (September 5, 1947February 26, 2008) was an American composer, drummer, guitarist, vocalist and producer. He was a founding member of the Electric Flag (1967), a member of Jimi Hendrix's Band of Gypsys (1969–197 ...

played on the second part of "

Got My Mojo Working "Got My Mojo Working" is a blues song written by Preston "Red" Foster and first recorded by R&B singer Ann Cole in 1956. Foster's lyrics describe several amulets or talismans, called ''mojo'', which are associated with hoodoo, an early African ...

". The producer on all sessions was Norman Dayron, who would go on to produce ''

The London Howlin' Wolf Sessions ''The London Howlin' Wolf Sessions'' is an album by blues musician Howlin' Wolf released in 1971 on Chess Records, and on Rolling Stones Records in Britain. It was one of the first super session blues albums, setting a blues master among famous mu ...

'' in 1970, among other items.

Artwork and design

The cover illustration for ''Fathers and Sons'' was created by Don Wilson and was based on

Michelangelo Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni (; 6 March 1475 – 18 February 1564), known as Michelangelo (), was an Italian sculptor, painter, architect, and poet of the High Renaissance. Born in the Republic of Florence, his work was insp ...

's design on the

Sistine Chapel The Sistine Chapel (; la, Sacellum Sixtinum; it, Cappella Sistina ) is a chapel in the Apostolic Palace, the official residence of the pope in Vatican City. Originally known as the ''Cappella Magna'' ('Great Chapel'), the chapel takes its name ...

. The original album's design was by Daily Planet and was packaged in a foldout sleeve. The 2001

MCA Records MCA Records was an American record label owned by MCA Inc., which later became part of Universal Music Group. Pre-history MCA Inc., a powerful talent agency and a television production company, entered the recorded music business in 1962 wit ...

expanded reissue featured a reissued design by Mike Fink.

Track listing

All songs written by

McKinley Morganfield McKinley Morganfield (April 4, 1913 April 30, 1983), known professionally as Muddy Waters, was an American blues singer and musician who was an important figure in the post-war blues scene, and is often cited as the "father of modern Chicago ...

, except where indicated.

Vinyl version

;Side A (studio) #"All Aboard" – 2:50 #"Mean Disposition" – 5:42 #"Blow Wind Blow" – 3:35 #"Can't Lose What You Ain't Never Had" – 3:03 #"Walkin' Thru The Park" – 3:07 ;Side B (studio) #"

Forty Days and Forty Nights 40 (forty) is the natural number following 39 and preceding 41. Though the word is related to "four" (4), the spelling "forty" replaced "fourty" in the course of the 17th century and is now the standard form. In mathematics *Forty is a compo ...

" (Bernard Roth) – 3:04 #"Standin' Round Crying" – 4:01 #" I'm Ready" (

Willie Dixon William James Dixon (July 1, 1915January 29, 1992) was an American blues musician, vocalist, songwriter, arranger and record producer. He was proficient in playing both the upright bass and the guitar, and sang with a distinctive voice, but he ...

) – 3:33 #"Twenty Four Hours" (

Eddie Boyd Edward Riley Boyd (November 25, 1914 – July 13, 1994)Dahl, Bill. Eddie Boyd: Biography AllMusic. Retrieved October 13, 2016. was an American blues pianist, singer and songwriter, best known for his recordings in the early 1950s, including the ...

) – 4:46 #"Sugar Sweet" (

Mel London Mel London (April 9, 1932 – May 16, 1975) was an American songwriter, record producer, and record label owner. He was active in the Chicago blues and R&B scenes in the 1950s and 1960s. London is best known for his compositions for Chicago ...

) – 2:16 ;Side C (live) #"Long Distance Call" – 6:35 #"

Baby, Please Don't Go "Baby, Please Don't Go" is a traditional blues song that was popularized by Delta blues musician Big Joe Williams in 1935. Many cover versions followed, leading to its description as "one of the most played, arranged, and rearranged pieces in ...

" (

Big Joe Williams Joseph Lee "Big Joe" Williams (October 16, 1903 – December 17, 1982) was an American Delta blues guitarist, singer and songwriter, notable for the distinctive sound of his nine-string guitar. Performing over five decades, he recorded the s ...

) – 3:05 #"Honey Bee" – 3:57 ;Side D (live) #"The Same Thing" (Dixon) – 6:00 #" Got My Mojo Working, Part 1" (Preston Foster, Morganfield) – 3:39 #"Got My Mojo Working, Part 2" (Foster, Morganfield) – 5:33

CD version

#"All Aboard" – 2:52 #"Mean Disposition" – 5:42 #"Blow Wind Blow" – 3:38 #"Can't Lose What You Ain't Never Had" – 3:06 #"Walkin' Thru The Park" – 3:21 #"Forty Days And Forty Nights" (Roth) – 3:08 #"Standin' Round Cryin'" – 4:05 #"I'm Ready" (Dixon) – 3:39 #"Twenty Four Hours" (Boyd) – 4:48 #"Sugar Sweet" – 2:18 #"Country Boy"* – 3:20 #"I Love the Life I Live (I Live the Life I Love)"* (Dixon) – 2:45 #"Oh Yeah"* (Dixon) – 3:38 #"I Feel So Good"* (

Big Bill Broonzy Big Bill Broonzy (born Lee Conley Bradley; June 26, 1903 – August 14, 1958) was an American blues singer, songwriter, and guitarist. His career began in the 1920s, when he played country music to mostly African American audiences. In the 1930s ...

) – 3:00 #"Long Distance Call"+ – 6:37 #"Baby, Please Don't Go"+ (Williams) – 3:03 #"Honey Bee"+ – 3:56 #"The Same Thing"+ (Dixon) – 5:59 #"Got My Mojo Working, Part 1"+ (Foster, Morganfield) – 3:22 #"Got My Mojo Working, Part 2"+ (Foster, Morganfield) – 2:54 * = Bonus track + = Recorded live

Personnel

*Muddy Waters –

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

–

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...

* Michael Bloomfield – guitar *

–

harmonica The harmonica, also known as a French harp or mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used worldwide in many musical genres, notably in blues, American folk music, classical music, jazz, country, and rock. The many types of harmonica inclu ...

Donald Dunn Donald Dunn may refer to: * Donald "Duck" Dunn (1941–2012), American bass guitarist, session musician, record producer, and songwriter * Donald G. Dunn (1923–2021), decorated U.S. Army veteran of World War II {{hndis, Dunn, Donald ...

–

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...

–

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

*Paul Asbell –

rhythm guitar In music performances, rhythm guitar is a technique and role that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse in conjunction with other instruments from the rhythm section (e.g., drum kit, bass guitar ...

– drums on "Got My Mojo Working, Part 2" *Jeff Carp –

chromatic harmonica The chromatic harmonica is a type of harmonica that uses a button-activated sliding bar to redirect air from the hole in the mouthpiece to the selected reed-plate desired. When the button is not pressed, an altered diatonic major scale of the key ...

on "All Aboard" *

Phil Upchurch Philip Upchurch (born July 19, 1941) is an American jazz and blues guitarist and bassist. Career Upchurch started his career working with the Kool Gents, the Dells, and the Spaniels, before going on to work with Curtis Mayfield, Otis Rush, and ...

– bass guitar on "All Aboard" ;Technical *Norman Dayron – producer *

–

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the l ...

–

in Live Sessions

Release history

References

External links

*
''Fathers and Sons''. Expanded Reissue at Yahoo! Music
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fathers And Sons (Album) Muddy Waters albums 1969 albums 1969 live albums Chess Records albums Chess Records live albums MCA Records albums MCA Records live albums