“Gypsy woman told my mother
Before I was born
You got a boy child comin’
He’s gonna be a son of a gun…”–Muddy Waters
At twenty-two years old Brian Bisesi played guitar in Muddy Waters’s band. Bisesi also served as Muddy’s road manager from 1978-80. Bisesi’s music career has now spanned over forty years. His album Blues Explosion earned him a GRAMMY award.
Bisesi’s new book, Out of the Blue: Life on the Road with Muddy Waters, proves revelatory. Bisesi provides a first-hand glimpse into Muddy Waters (McKinley Morganfield), the legendary godfather of electric Chicago Blues operating onstage and off during the final years of his life. Muddy played gigs right up until his death at seventy in April 1983.
Born in Rolling Fork, Mississippi, Muddy’s first recordings were for the Library of Congress in the early 1940s. His music influenced American bluesmen and most of the musicians associated with the “British Invasion” and beyond. By the time Bisesi joined Muddy’s band in the late 1970s, Muddy attained well-deserved respect in the music world. In 1976, Muddy made a dynamic appearance in Martin Scorsese’s classic film about The Band called The Last Waltz.
It all started on March 14, 1978, when Muddy’s guitarist, Bob Margolin, asked Besisi if he’d like to sit in with Muddy’s band in New Jersey. The next night Muddy asked Besisi to join the band. Margolin, wrote in Out of the Blue’s Foreword:
“Brian will tell you about the tragedy and aftermath in depth from the inside.
“More than any other writing I’ve seen about Muddy, Brian reveals the daily life from participation and observation on the road with the band–the amazing musical family and brotherhood, the blessings and challenges, our band slang and expression, and the musical, spiritual experience of being with Muddy on and off the bandstand. I bear witness that Brian is telling it like it was as far as what I saw personally.”
Bisesi’s soulful tale truly captures Muddy’s magnetic personality. We discover Muddy’s love for cooking, champagne, reefer, the ladies, his guitar techniques, and hardships, as well as entertaining road stories. Muddy respected Biseli’s guitar playing and trusted him with the band’s money.
The book chapter titles such as “Motherfucker,” “Ribs a la Muddy,” “Duane’s Les Paul,” “Eric, Meet Johnny,” “Something Weird,” and “Rest in Peace” provide a sense of the book’s style and tone any music lover will enjoy. Bisesi tells great stories with Muddy involving the Rolling Stones, Johnny Winter, Jimmy Carter, Jeff Beck, Eric Clapton, Gregg Allman, George Harrison, Willie Dixon and many others. It’s a hilarious read on some pages and heartbreaking on others. Just the story about Muddy meeting George Harrison is worth the price of the book.
This excerpt highlights Muddy inviting the Rolling Stones to his Chicago show during the Stones’ Some Girls tour:
“I made my way to the dressing room and found Muddy with an arm wrapped around his buddy Keith Richards. I stepped out of the dressing room, and there was Mick Jagger, standing in the hallway alone. I told him I worked for Muddy and that he asked me to bring him back to the dressing room. ‘Yes. Muddy. Please take me to him,’ Mick said in his courtly British way.”
Bisesi described how the Stones joined Muddy for a few songs that night, including “Got My Mojo Working.”
In the end, Bisesi details the band’s disintegration and sad break-up over the influence of a new manager: A year later, Bisisi crossed paths with Muddy one last time:
“Muddy chatted briefly with me and Junior. He asked me what we were doing in New York. ‘We’re working,’ Junior answered. To which Muddy said, ‘Oh well, that’s good. You guys, you know that’s good.’ And that’s the last time I ever saw Muddy Waters. I never got a chance to sit down and clear the air. Given half a chance, I still believe I could have helped patch things up between Muddy and the band…”
Bisesi commits high adventure to every page. Out of the Blue travels straight to the heart of Muddy Waters’s iconic talent.
Brian Bisesi went on from touring with Muddy Waters to play across the US, Europe, and Canada with blues masters Luther “Guitar Junior” Johnson, J. B. Hutto, and others. He also toured and coproduced albums for Waters’s son, Big Bill Morganfield. Blues Explosion, recorded with Hutto, won the Grammy for Best Traditional Blues Album. Bisesi’s writing has appeared in the magazines Big City Rhythm & Blues and Rhythms.
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