Muddy Waters: Baby Face Leroy's Almighty "Rollin' and Tumblin'"

The 1950 Parkway 78 Heralds a New Era in Chicago Blues

This is the story of how a handful of 1950 78s featuring Muddy Waters, Little Walter, Jimmy Rogers, and Baby Face Leroy Foster jumpstarted a new era in Chicago blues recording.

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Near the end of World War II, Chicago’s “Bluebird sound,” with its patented instrumentation and predictable arrangements, began to give way to the rawer, more stripped-down blues…