Saturday Music Post - Got My Mojo Working

"Got My Mojo Working" is closely identified with Muddy Waters, but it was actually written for Ann Cole by Preston "Red" Foster in 1956. Cole was a moderately successful R&B artist who recorded for Sol Rabinowitz's Baton label. She opened for Muddy on a national tour in 1957 and made the mistake of including "Mo-Jo" (as she called it) in her set. Muddy heard it, loved it, and decided to record it for Chess Records when he got back to Chicago. Cole's recording and Waters's ended up being released in the same week, and of course his was by far more famous. He also claimed the copyright, though his changes were minimal; litigation followed, with royalties eventually being paid to Foster and his family.

Muddy Waters's mainstream breakthrough was a Newport in 1960. The harp player was James Cotton, with Otis Spann on piano, both of whom also led their own important bands. You can see them in the first clip at The Faculty Lounge. Ann Cole's recording is the second clip. If you keep scrolling through them, there is some historical commentary.