Can't be satisfied Book

If you are a blues fan then Muddy Waters’ name and legacy are easily recognizable. He brought the Mississippi Delta sound to Chicago, electrified it and redefined the genre. Two young British musicians, Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, lifted the name of one of Muddy’s songs when they named their newly founded band. Jann Wenner did the same when he started his new magazine in 1967. When Bob Dylan went “electric”, his first song was entitled Like a Rolling Stone. Guitar legends Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton and Jimmy Page are or were huge Muddy Waters fans. The adage goes “The Blues had a baby and they called it Rock ‘n’ Roll.” Muddy Waters was the “baby’s” godfather. So regardless if the name rings a bell, Waters’ influence on the music we listen to today is prevalent.

Robert Gordon’s book is an attempt to give us the story of McKinley Morganfield’s, (Muddy’s real name), life; from the Mississippi cotton plantation where he was raised, his move to Chicago and attaining world-wide fame. I use the word attempt because much of what we know of Muddy’s life is either what he decided we should know or what his friends and fellow musicians felt comfortable sharing. Muddy was virtually illiterate, so there is very little documentation. What we have are a lot of stories and anecdotes. The author does a very good job in parsing through these, confirming what he can while still giving us an engaging story.

Gordon also does a very good job in analyzing Muddy’s impact on music and his subsequent legacy - First, his influence among his fellow bluesmen, then on the new musical genre of rock and roll; and across the Atlantic Ocean and the birth of the British invasion.

And because the stories go hand in hand with Muddy’s, the book also chronicles the evolution of the Chicago blues scenes and Chess Records. This includes such lesser known musicians such as Otis Spann, Little Walter and Jimmy Rogers, among others.

Can’t Be Satisfied may not be the perfect biography, but as stated above verifying much of Muddy’s life is difficult. Also at times the metaphors in this book are somewhat overwrought –“His notes float like crimson leaves that skip in the wind.” - just to highlight one. All in all though, particularly if you are a blues fan, this is a very good read.