by Tom Calvarese, Wilmington, DE

On October 17th of 1979, in an amazing stroke of good fortune, I was able to be sitting in approximately the middle of the fifth row of the (now defunct) State Theater in Newark Delaware. To my amazement, the evening unfolded with great anticipation while the crowd enjoyed the most incredible two hours of blues, watching none other than the legendary Muddy Waters and his band.

Even at his advanced age, Muddy’s voice was still strong. With sweat heavily on his brow and with his eyes closed, he soulfully sung his unique style of the blues. His band was so in tune with him, as though they were all an integral part of a single musical entity. The energy of the evening was enormous because at the time, even though I was only 19 years old, I knew how fortunate we all were to be sitting before a living blues legend, just four short years before we lost the great “Hoochie Coochie Man” forever from this world.

What an unforgettable memory this is for me, and is my submission for my most memorable (Muddy) musical moment.