Muddy Waters catalogue to be administered by Sony Music Publishing
Sony Music Publishing will oversee a catalogue that includes Muddy Water’s hits such as ‘Mannish Boy’ and ‘Champagne & Reefer’.
Muddy Waters in 1976. Credit: David Redfern / Getty
Sony Music Publishing has completed a worldwide deal with the estate of blues legend Muddy Waters, and will now administer the guitarists’ entire catalogue.
Sony Music Publishing will oversee a catalogue that includes Muddy Water’s hits like Mannish Boy, Champagne & Reefer, Country Blues and The Blues Had A Baby And They Called It Rock & Roll, among other well-known tracks.
In a statement to Music Business Worldwide, Waters’ daughter Mercy Morganfield said of the deal, “My father’s legacy is a vital part of not only musical history but American history. Making sure future generations are aware of the way blues legends like Dad, Howling Wolf, BB King, John Lee Hooker, Buddy Guy and so many others have shaped other genres of music from Rock and Roll to Hip-Hop is so important.
“We don’t want these names to get lost in history and in the telling and retelling of their stories,” she said, adding that the family was hopeful that the deal would give the musician his “rightful place in music history.”
Known as the father of Chicago blues, Waters rose to fame in the 1940s, and has been cited as an influence by the Rolling Stones, Jeff Beck and Led Zeppelin‘s Jimmy Page, among others. He would win six Grammy awards throughout his lifetime, and was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987.
Muddy Waters passed away on 30 April 1983.
In 2020, his Chicago home was converted into a museum and community space set to open in 2023. The space will include an intimate performance venue, recording studio and a community garden, while also serving as a celebration of Waters and blues.
The home, purchased by Waters in 1954, was the first house he ever bought. Over the following two decades, the musician would live and rehearse at the property before moving to Westmont, Illinois, where he died in 1983.