The night the Stones jammed with their blues idol in Chicago
by John Fisher,posted Jul 10 2012 10:37AM
Back in 1981, the Rolling Stones were doing a three-night stand in a big arena in Chicago. On one of the nights, they snuck out after hours to the Checkboard Lounge, a storied blues club on the South side of the city, where they joined blues legend Muddy Waters. (I lived in Chicago then, and I remember the buzz as word spread that the Stones might be showing up at this joint at, like, one in the morning. If everybody who said they were there really went, the crowds must have overflowed into the street.) As fans of Chicago blues from their very earliest days in England, the Stones were eager to hang with one of their idols. Luckily, somebody had the presence of mind to capture the whole thing on film. Now there's a meticulously restored version of that footage on DVD. It's Muddy Waters and The Rolling Stones Live at the Checkerboard Lounge Chicago 1981.(Buy it here.)
I love this video from that night -- Mick Jagger looks like the eager young intern from London trying to keep up with the blues master.
