Hear Muddy Waters Discuss His Regrets in 1970
Muddy Waters wasn’t a fan of discussing his music, but he did with Peter Guralnick for the author’s landmark 1971 book Feel Like Going Home: Portraits in Blues and Rock & Roll, which included profiles of rock and blues pioneers like Waters, Howlin’ Wolf and Jerry Lee Lewis. That book, plus Guralnick’s 1979 roots chronicle Lost Highway, will be released as enhanced e-books in December with original audio from interviews with Waters, Merle Haggard and more. Also included are video segments of Guralnick discussing the chapters and an additional chapter for each book.
Find Out Where Muddy Waters Lands in Our List of the 100 Greatest Guitarists
At the time of this 1970 interview, Waters was coming off his first decade of real recognition after a long career. “It changed a heck of a lot for me in the last few years. In the few years, I’ve just began to make a couple dollars,” he says. He discusses what he expects in his band when he hits the stage. “They know when I come in, they should come to the Muddy Waters sound. We’re not going to play no fast stuff. We’re going to play some slow stuff.” He reflects on career milestones from Newport Jazz Festival to touring overseas, and discusses regrets that the world didn’t hear him sooner. “I’m sorry that the world didn’t know me for 40 years,” he says. “When I was younger, I could have put out more.”
Lost Highway and Feel Like Going Home are available for pre-order at Amazon.