Muddy Water– the Blues standard. I first heard this version of Muddy Water performed by Aretha Franklin – a great guiding light for any gospel / blues singer. It became a staple on my set list for decades…yes I’m that , shall we say , seasoned …hahaha … well I did begin performing onstage at a very young age. My family has photos of me, age 4, doing a comedy routine at a church camp and I very well remember singing ‘Jesus Loves Me ‘, whilst accompanying myself on the Ukelele at church at around the same age.
On the gig : Singing in church at 12
Like Aretha, I grew up in the church and also like Aretha my father was a preacher. He came from a long line of professional musicians and was out on the gig with his family , playing drums, then trumpet , at around age 7 or 8 . Below you can see some music that his father Alf Foletta wrote and had published. There’s the whole family band, my dad Dennis Foletta on trumpet , top right hand corner. He was the oldest of five. ( his youngest sister not yet born) . Both his mother and 2 sisters were all amazing singers, as was he.
He taught me to play piano , and was particularly keen to get my left hand striding along, playing a bass line to , ‘When The Saints Go Marching In’ ; me comping on the piano so he could play the trumpet solo. He gave me 50 cents as a reward when my left hand could stretch an octave and plied me with Fats Waller for inspiration. He also taught me to play the guitar and the Uke.
Here we are performing at Soup Plus on George Street Sydney AU – Dad on trombone on the left. Circa 1992
I fell in love with Aretha’s voice in my early 20’s , her gospel tracks and the music she made popular in the 60’s like Respect and Natural Woman. I hope you enjoy this rendition of the blues standard MUDDY WATER
Deb Dicembre Music 