Henry Stone on Muddy Waters: “Nobody Cared Until The Rolling Stones Got Into Blues”

“Nobody was into electric blues, it was just some guys from the south playing guitars like Muddy Waters. Americans were like, “What do they know?” Then all of a sudden people in the UK decided that ‘Ey man that’s cool.’ And then that’s what really started Muddy Waters and all those cats. They were nothin really. They didn’t sell that many records here in the states. I was the distributor. I was great friends with Leonard Chess. I sold some, but it wasn’t like big hits. They didn’t become anything until the Rolling Stones hooked onto them. I just thought they were good blues that’s all, but we didnt sell that much, they weren’t hit records. Little Walter and them. They were just funky blues guys that sold some records, some records, but then they didn’t become big until later on yknow when the British guys got into em. Clapton and the Stones yknow.”

©Jacob Katel and Henry Stone Music USA Inc. All Rights Reserved.