Muddy Waters House

“Muddy Waters was one of the most important figures in the development of the distinctive urbanized sound that came to be known as the Chicago Blues and is considered by many to be the "Father of Chicago Blues.” Waters recorded with Chicago's Chess Records, first known as the Aristocrat label, from 1947 through 1975.”

“The Chicago Blues created by musicians Muddy Waters, Willie Dixon, Howlin' Wolf, Little Walter, Sonny Boy Williamson II, and others initially found success with an almost exclusively African American audience in the 1940s and early 1950s.”

“One of the rare blues artists to have achieved a level of financial security from his craft by 1954, Muddy Waters moved into the two-flat at 4339 South Lake Park Avenue and took ownership of the home by 1956.”

“As his great granddaughter Chandra Cooper observed: "Think about it. Muddy came to Chicago in 1943 and ten years later he owned his own house. There weren't many people who came from the South, a sharecropper from Mississippi, who accomplished that.” For the first sixteen years at the Lake Park Avenue house, Waters did little to alter its original 1891 appearance.”

“He continued to own the home at 4339 South Lake Park Avenue and rented it out, the first of the new tenants being drummer Willie “Big Eyes" Smith who was part of Waters's band from the late 1960s through 1980.”

“To the larger blues community, it was also a place of hospitality, open to those who needed a bite to eat or a place to stay. When Waters took up residence at 4339 South Lake Park, the building appeared much as it had since its construction in 1891.”

“There were three bedrooms on the first floor – Muddy and Geneva's room, Charles's room, and my room. Muddy's uncle had a bedroom in the basement and the rooms on the second floor always had visitors – musicians and friends who needed a place to stay.”

“By the late 1950s, a burgeoning folk music revival allowed the same blues artists access to a more diverse and larger audience in the United States and abroad, giving international exposure to artists such as Muddy Waters, Willie Dixon, Howlin' Wolf, Little Walter, and Sonny Boy Williamson II (aka Rice Miller).”

“He had achieved national recognition by the late 1930s and helped musicians new to Chicago. He was first to suggest Waters tour overseas after his own successful 1951 tour, an idea Waters would not act upon until years later.”

“Perhaps through error of the manufacturer, the doors had Waters's name in reverse order as “Waters Muddy.” Inside, the house retained its original woodwork with fluted moldings, ornamental corner blocks, and decorative wood and tile fireplaces.”