Drinking Muddy Water

Album: Little Games (1967)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • This song is an update of the 1950 Muddy Waters blues classic "Rollin' and Tumblin'" and nominally a tribute to the bluesman. As well as the four Yardbirds members, the track also featured The Rolling Stones' Ian "Stu" Stewart on piano.
  • This was a track on Little Games. The album was produced by successful singles producer Mickie Most, who was brought in by The Yardbirds' record company to coax out more commercial product. Although Page had worked earlier for Most as a session guitarist, he was unhappy with him taking on the production duties as the producer was basically interested in singles and didn't believe it was worth spending much time on album tracks. Page recalled to Mojo magazine July 2014. "You'd finish recording the track and Mickie would just go 'Next!'"

    "I remember that happening during 'Drinking Muddy Water,'" Page continued. "Stu looked at me and he said 'I can't believe this! I've never worked like this in my life! And I said to him, 'And you're not going to start now! We're going to hear a playback. And we did, but everything was based around the idea of getting things done quickly."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Chris Tomlin

Chris TomlinSongwriter Interviews

The king of Christian worship music explains talks about writing songs for troubled times.

Trans Soul Rebels: Songs About Transgenderism

Trans Soul Rebels: Songs About TransgenderismSong Writing

A history of songs dealing with transgender issues, featuring Pink Floyd, David Bowie, Morrissey and Green Day.

Phone Booth Songs

Phone Booth SongsSong Writing

Phone booths are nearly extinct, but they provided storylines for some of the most profound songs of the pre-cell phone era.

Ramones

RamonesFact or Fiction

A band so baffling, even their names were contrived. Check your score in the Ramones version of Fact or Fiction.

Songs in Famous Movie Scenes: '80s Edition

Songs in Famous Movie Scenes: '80s EditionMusic Quiz

You know the scenes - Tom Cruise in his own pants-off dance off, Molly Ringwald celebrating her birthday - but do you remember what song is playing?

Bryan Adams

Bryan AdamsSongwriter Interviews

What's the deal with "Summer of '69"? Bryan explains what the song is really about, and shares more of his songwriting insights.