Nicknamed for the puddles he played in while growing up in Mississippi, McKinley Morganfield, known as Muddy Waters, learned harmonica and guitar while working as a sharecropper. He came to Chicago in 1943, shortly after being recorded by folklorist Alan Lomax for the Library of Congress. Performing in neighborhood bars on Chicago’s South Side, he decided he needed something louder than an acoustic guitar to cut through club noise, bought his first electric guitar in 1944, and gained national success in 1952 with “Rollin’ Stone,” his first release with Chess Records, the rhythm-and-blues label he worked with for the next 25 years. Through his electric guitar, use of the metal slide, and amplified ensemble style, he pioneered the Chicago Blues style. His early hits included “I Can’t Be Satisfied,” “I Feel Like Going Home,” and “Louisiana Blues,” and later hits such as “Hoochie Coochie Man” and “Got My Mojo Working” remain blues standards. With the success of his music career, he bought a two-flat at 4339 South Lake Park Avenue in 1954 and adapted the basement as a rehearsal room; for 20 years it was a gathering place for the greatest figures of the Chicago Blues, who often played on the front lawn on warm summer evenings.