Big Bill Morganfield™ is the son of McKinley Morganfield (Muddy Waters) and has emerged in the past few years as one of the top blues talents in America. Bill has played all over the world in the past 15 years, bringing pure joy to those who have had the pleasure of seeing one of his live performances.
Big Bill's story is simply a great success story. Many have dreams, but so few have what it takes to make that dream a reality. He came from poverty and the odds were not in his favor. But, hard work, burning desire, perseverance, and strong religious convictions gave him the strength and focus needed to fulfill his dreams.
Many men try to fill their father's shoes when they join the family business. Few, however, must prove they are up to the task in front of an audience as large as the one that watched Big Bill Morganfield™ come into his own.Morganfield didn't take up the challenge until several years after his dad passed away in 1983. The blues world mourned the passing of Muddy. Muddy leaves not only a gaping hole on the blues scene but also a grief-stricken son who is contemplating how to handle the loss. Bill buys himself a guitar and retreats into a private world, intending to teach himself how to play and then pay homage to his famous father.
That tribute was six long years in coming; years that Morganfield spent teaching himself how to play the instrument. He studies the blues styles of the past. Says Bill, "I learned the old traditional blues, songs written in the 1930's to the 1950's." An evening spent playing harp at Center Stage in Atlanta with Lonnie Mack followed. The audience, which numbered 1000, went wild over the performance and set the novice musician's spirit afire.