"Rollin' Stone" is a
blues
Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...
song recorded by
Muddy Waters in 1950. It is his interpretation of "Catfish Blues", a
Delta blues that dates back to 1920s Mississippi.
[
] "Still a Fool", recorded by Muddy Waters a year later using the same arrangement and melody, reached number nine on the
Billboard R&B chart. "Rollin' Stone" has been recorded by a variety of artists.
Earlier songs
In 1928,
Jim Jackson recorded "Kansas City Blues Parts 3 and 4", a follow-up to his highly successful "
Jim Jackson's Kansas City Blues Parts 1 and 2". Jackson's lyrics included:
Several other early songs also explored variations on the catfish and/or fishing theme. In 1941,
Tommy McClennan and his sometime partner
Robert Petway each recorded versions of the song. Petway's was the first to be titled "Catfish Blues" and is sometimes cited as the basis for Muddy Waters' "Rollin' Stone". However, according to one biographer "They'd been singing "Catfish Blues" for years in the Delta, but it never sounded like "Rollin' Stone".
[
]
Muddy Waters song
"Rollin' Stone" has been identified (along with "Walkin' Blues", the single's B-side) as one of the first songs that Muddy Waters learned to play and an early favorite.
[
] The words refer to the traditional proverb, ''"
A rolling stone gathers no moss"''.
Called "a brooding, minor-hued drone piece",
"Rollin' Stone" is a mid- to slow-tempo blues
notated in
4/4 time in the key of
E major
E major is a major scale based on E, consisting of the pitches E, F, G, A, B, C, and D. Its key signature has four sharps. Its relative minor is C-sharp minor and its parallel minor is E minor. Its enharmonic equivalent, F-flat maj ...
.
[
] Although the instrumental section uses the IV and
V chords, the vocal sections remain on the I chord,
giving the song a modal quality often found in Delta blues songs. In addition to the traditional catfish verses, Waters added:
Unlike most of his early recordings which have bass or other instrumental accompaniment, "Rollin' Stone" is a solo performance by Muddy Waters on vocal and electric guitar. It has "much empty space ... imbued with the power of a pause, of letting a note hang in the air, the anticipation of the next one".
"Rollin' Stone" was the first Muddy Waters record released on
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 an ...
and the second overall for the label (previous releases were on
Aristocrat Records).
[
] It did not reach the national record charts, but sold about 70,000 copies
and allowed Muddy Waters to quit his day job.
Still a Fool
In 1951, Muddy Waters used the vocal melody and guitar figure from "Rollin' Stone" for "Still a Fool". The song was more successful, reaching number nine in the
''Billboard'' R&B chart.
Rather than a solo piece,
Little Walter on second guitar and
Leonard Chess
Leonard Samuel Chess (born Lejzor Szmuel Czyż; March 12, 1917 – October 16, 1969) was a Polish-American record company executive and the founder of Chess Records alongside his brother Phil. He was influential in the development of the recor ...
on bass drum accompanied Muddy on vocal and guitar. Subsequent versions of "Rollin' Stone" or "Catfish Blues" often use some lyrics from "Still a Fool" (sometimes called "Two Trains Running" after the opening verse).
Influence and recognition
According to music writer
Robert F. Palmer, English
blues rock
Blues rock is a fusion music genre, genre and form of rock music, rock and blues music that relies on the chords/scales and instrumental improvisation of blues. It is mostly an electric ensemble-style music with instrumentation similar to electri ...
group
the Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for over six decades, they are one of the most popular, influential, and enduring bands of the Album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the band pione ...
(who recorded their version of the song on their 2023 album ''
Hackney Diamonds'' as "Rolling Stone Blues") and the music magazine ''
Rolling Stone
''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason.
The magazine was first known fo ...
'' took their names from the song.
Moreover, magazine editor
Jann Wenner explained:
In 2000, the song was honored with a Grammy Hall of Fame Award; in 2004, it was included at number 459 by ''Rolling Stone'' in its list of the "500 Greatest Songs of All Time". It was updated to number 465 in 2010. In 2019, the
Blues Foundation inducted "Rollin' Stone" into the Blues Hall of Fame as a "Classic of Blues Recording".
In 1967, "Rollin' Stone" (and "Still a Fool") was used as part of
Jimi Hendrix
James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942September 18, 1970) was an American singer-songwriter and musician. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential guitarists of all time. Inducted ...
's "Catfish Blues", a homage to Muddy Waters, and included on the albums ''
BBC Sessions'' and ''
Blues
Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...
''. Hendrix's signature songs "
Voodoo Chile" and "
Voodoo Child (Slight Return)" evolved from his "Catfish Blues".
Frank Zappa
Frank Vincent Zappa (December 21, 1940 – December 4, 1993) was an American guitarist, composer, and bandleader. In a career spanning more than 30 years, Zappa composed Rock music, rock, Pop music, pop, jazz, jazz fusion, orchestra ...
recorded a version of the song at the
Record Plant in 1970. The vocals were later wiped and the backing track was then re-utilized to create the song "Stink-Foot" on ''
Apostrophe (')'' (1974). A rough mix of the original version was posthumously released in 2023 on ''Funky Nothingness''.
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]
References
External links
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{{Authority control
Muddy Waters songs
Blues songs
1950 songs
Chess Records singles
Grammy Hall of Fame Award recipients
Songs written by Muddy Waters