About

In the late 1970s Johnny Winter produced four albums of new recordings by Muddy Waters – Hard Again, I’m Ready, Muddy “Mississippi Waters-Live and King Bee. There were some new songs written for the sessions, some new covers were recorded and some of Muddy’s older songs were revisited with updated arrangements & renewed vigor. This time period marked an upsurge in Muddy’s career in general, but also effectively closed out his recording career with the King Bee release.

King Bee was made at a time when Muddy’s long-time 1970s era band was breaking apart, mostly due to financial/managerial pressures. It was the last album he made with Luther Johnson, Bob Margolin, Pinetop Perkins, Jerry Portnoy, Calvin Jones and Willie Smith, who would leave Waters shortly after finishing the album to form The Legendary Blues Band (minus Pinetop Perkins.)

In general, the songs on King Bee are deeper, more mournful sounding, than on the previous Johnny Winter-produced albums. Where the other albums were bathed in a positive “let’s party” vibe, King Bee was recorded during a period of band-management turmoil and the declining health of Muddy. Don’t take that to mean that the songs on King Bee are bad; they are most certainly not. They just have a more melancholy feel to them – deeper blues, if you will. – STL Blues