Page 14 - BiTS_02_FEBRUARY_2022

club in Washington that’s very famous and unfortunately, it is no longer there - it’s called The

Cellar Door, but Muddy used to come and play regularly there and I was a guest of The Nighthawks,
who were the opening act and so I got to sit backstage with Muddy Waters and just soak up all of
his wisdom and his aura and it was his birthday, so he had a case of champagne, so I got to have
champagne with him on his birthday.

BiTS: What was he like as a person?

CPK: He was in his glory. Back stage he was adored by everyone, and people were coming up the
steps to the dressing room and some people that he even knew from Mississippi were there and
everyone just adored him, and he had an ear-to-ear smile, and he was just a perfect gentleman.
Sometimes he had such a thick Mississippi accent that I had to lean over and listen very carefully to
pick up what he was saying with the accent, and he was just so friendly and welcomed all the young
white musicians with open arms and he didn’t have a racist bone in his body. He hired white

musicians in his band and when he got on stage, it was one of the deepest musical experiences that
I’ve ever had. He just moved me beyond anything I can even put into words, just the depth of his

singing and the slide guitar and he was just so deep that it really turned me sideways.

BiTS: Do you remember who was in his band at that time?

CPK: Yes. It was Willie ‘Big Eyes’ Smith on drums. Jerry Portnoy, who actually recorded with me
later - I sent you a sample of a song we did together on harmonica.

BiTS: You did. That’s wonderful.

CPK: Jerry went on to play with Eric Clapton on the “From the Cradle" album and the great guitar
player Bob Margolin on guitar. Who else am I missing? His nickname was Fuzzy - Calvin Jones on

bass and we called him Fuzzy and, of course, the amazing icon of the piano, Pinetop Perkins on
piano.

BiTS: What a wonderful band.

CPK: He would do these deep, deep blues where your soul would be moved to another dimension
and then break out in this raucous fast blues shuffle and the whole room was just in total

exuberance. His fast party blues were the best in the world.