Blues

At Newport 1960 is a live album by Muddy Waters performed at Newport Jazz Festival in Newport, Rhode Island, with his backing band, consisting of Otis Spann (piano, vocals), Pat Hare (guitar), James Cotton (harmonica), Andrew Stevens (bass) and Francis Clay (drums), on July 3. Waters’ performances across Europe in the 1950s and at Newport helped popularize blues to broader audience, especially to whites. The album is often said to be one of the first blues live albums. The album was released in the US on November 15 that year, featuring eight songs, from “I Got My Brand On You” to “Goodbye Newport Blues”. In 2001, record label Chess released a remastered version, which includes three bonus tracks recorded in Chicago in June. Although At Newport 1960 never charted, it received critical acclaim and was influential for future bands. It was ranked on several music lists, including at number 348 on Rolling Stones “The 500 Greatest Albums of all Time” in 2003. The album cover depicts Muddy Waters at the Newport Jazz Festival holding a semi-acoustic guitar. When photographer Burt Goldblatt asked Waters to pose for the cover he left his Fender Telecaster, which he played during the concert, on the stage and instead took friend John Lee Hooker’s semi-acoustic guitar. The gig was scheduled on July 3, Sunday afternoon. The day before, performances by Ray Charles and singing group Lambert, Hendricks and Ross were met with crowd rushes. About 300 drunken hipsters made an uproar during Charles’ performance caused by poor police security. The policemen attacked with teargas and water hoses. The riots became so out of control that the National Guard was called in at midnight to calm the crowd. When Waters and his band arrived on the scheduled day, they intended to drive back on the next day, until driver James Cotton saw John Lee Hooker standing at a corner, his guitar on his back without a guitar case. Cotton said Hooker should get into his car to get the musicians out of harm’s way. At the same time, the city council decided to cancel the concert, but concert promoter George Wein convinced them when he said that the United States Information Agency (USIA) planned to film the festival to teach American culture in other countries.