NRR Project: 'I'm Your Hoochie Coochie Man' (Jan. 7, 1954)

 

NRR Project: “I’m Your Hoochie Coochie Man”

Composed by Willie Dixon

Performed by Muddy Waters

Recorded Jan. 7, 1954

2:47

First, read Robert Gordon’s excellent and quite funny essay on this piece at the National Recording Registry!

This recording joins the titanic energy of bluesman Muddy Waters (aka McKinley Morganfield, 1913-1983) and the genius of songwriter Willie Dixon (1915-1992). Waters moved from Mississippi to Chicago after World War II, and set about making a name for himself on that city’s stages. Used to working acoustically, he soon found that he had to electrify his sound to make himself heard in the clubs. This spawned the second great innovation in blues history, one in which amplified instruments howled and wailed the blues, inspiring generations of bluesmakers and, later, rockers.

Dixon was a preternaturally gifted songwriter, and he created dozens of hit songs. Beginning in 1953, he ruled the roost at Chess Records. For this recording, he assembles an amazing selection of musical talent to back Muddy up – Jimmy Rogers on guitar, Elga Edmonds on drums, Otis Spann on piano, Little Walter on harmonica, and Dixon himself on bass. The thunder of the accompaniment makes the song hit hard and not let go.

The song itself is a bragging song, as the singer identifies himself as a master of sexual potency. He invokes various folk beliefs to justify his sonnet of self-worth. This kind of grandstanding was common in blues signing – here Waters pushes it into the stratosphere.

The National Recording Registry Project tracks one writer’s expedition through all the recordings in the National Recording Registry in chronological order. Next time: In Other Words (Fly Me to the Moon).