Muddy Waters: His Life and Music

The author reviews Mahin and Turk’s children’s book Muddy: The Story of Blues Legend Muddy Waters. This biography of McKinley Morganfield describes his challenges and successes in music and life. Illustrations reflect African American culture using color palettes to highlight the places Waters lived and the music connected to those places including the Mississippi Delta blues and the electric Chicago blues style. The musical writing of Mahin expresses Muddy’s story in a lyrical fashion, borrowing elements from the jazz idiom. The author includes a selected discography and suggestions for additional instruction in the music of Muddy’s life using the artistic processes of listening, responding, and performing appropriate for upper elementary and middle school students in general music