Page 66 - Blues Festival Guide Magazine 2016

you get when you got a long face, and you love women? A
Hound Dog… A Hound Dog Taylor that is.
Taj Mahal:
Living legend Taj Mahal
was born Henry Saint Clair
Fredericks, which was a
great given name. But he
was inspired to take his stage
name following a series
of dreams about Gandhi
and social progress. (Full
disclosure: I’ve been a fan
of his for years – and never
made the connection to the
Indian wonder of the world.) Henry Saint Clair Fredericks a.k.a
Taj Mahal Photo by Ÿ Marilyn Stringer
Muddy Waters:
McKinley Morganfield was
sent to live with his grandma on the Stovall Plantation just north
of Clarksdale, MS, at age three. Soon enough, he developed
a penchant for playin’ around in nearby creeks and puddles.
So his grandma started calling him “that little muddy baby.”
The name stuck. As he grew, he took on the “Water,” and as
his talent and renown grew along with him, just Water wasn’t
enough. So he added the “s” and became Muddy Waters.
Pinetop Smith:
Clarence Smith was the first to call his piano style boogie-
woogie. He was also the first famous bluesman to call himself
Pinetop. But it’s not ‘cause he played a piano with a pine top,
as I always thought. As a young man, Clarence was quite the
tree climber. Always catchin’ him hangin’ out at the top of
pines, his neighbors dubbed him Pinetop.
Howlin’ Wolf:
Chester Burnett was a big man. Big Foot Chester and The Bull
Cow were one-time nicknames. But it wasn’t his size that got
him the moniker he’s famous for. As he tells it himself, it all
started with some bad behavior and words of warning from
his grandfather: “He gimme that name. He used to sit down
and tell me tall stories about what the wolf would do. Cause I
was a bad boy you know. And I was always in devilment…I
got afraid…[but] they start to call me 'Wolf.' And I get mad
about this. So they just kept on callin’ me 'Wolf.' I was three
years old…And it upset me, you know what I mean, I didn’t
know it was going to be a great name for me.”

These are all great names for sure. Makes me want a new
nickname. Do you know any fantastic origin stories of blues
names? Let me know what I’m missing.

CC Rider spends her time venerating the mothers and
fathers of the blues – the giants on whose shoulders we now
stand. Listen to her wax on the Bluesmobile Radio Hour.
Ccriderblues.com

64 Blues Festival Guide 2016