Editing Muddy Waters (section)

=== Commercial success, 1948–1957 ===
Initially, the Chess brothers would not allow Muddy Waters to use his working band in the recording studio;{{sfn|Palmer|1982|p=163}} instead, they provided him with bass backing by [[Ernest "Big" Crawford]] or by musicians assembled specifically for the recording session, including [["Baby Face" Leroy Foster]] and [[Little Johnny Jones (pianist)|Johnny Jones]]. Gradually, Chess relented, and by September 1953 he was recording with one of the most acclaimed blues groups in history: [[Little Walter Jacobs]] on harmonica, [[Jimmy Rogers]] on guitar, [[Elgin Evans|Elga Edmonds]] (also known as Elgin Evans) on drums, [[Otis Spann]] on piano and sometimes, bassist and songwriter [[Willie Dixon]].{{Sfn|Palmer|1982|p=167}} The band recorded a number of blues songs which have become classics including "[[Hoochie Coochie Man]]", "[[I Just Want to Make Love to You]]", and "[[I'm Ready (Muddy Waters song)|I'm Ready]]".

His band became a proving ground for some of the city's best blues talent,<ref name="allmusic-waters-bio">{{Cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/muddy-waters-mn0000608701/biography|title=Muddy Waters {{!}} Biography & History|author=Mark Deming|website=[[AllMusic]] |access-date=July 2, 2019}}</ref>{{Better source needed|date=April 2021}} with members of the ensemble going on to successful careers of their own. In 1952, Little Walter left when his single "[[Juke (song)|Juke]]" became a hit, although he continued working with Muddy long after he left the band, appearing on most of the Muddy's classic recordings in the 1950s. In 1954, [[Howlin' Wolf]] moved to Chicago with money that he earned through the success of the singles he recorded at [[Sun Records]] which Chess released, and the legendary rivalry with Muddy began. The rivalry was, in part, stoked by Willie Dixon providing songs to both artists, with Wolf suspecting that Muddy was getting Dixon's best songs.<ref name="musicradar-life-times-wolf">{{Cite web|title=The life and times of Howlin' Wolf |url=https://www.musicradar.com/news/guitars/the-life-and-times-of-howlin-wolf-254631|author=Ed Mitchell|date=June 10, 2010|access-date=July 2, 2019}}</ref> In 1955, Jimmy Rogers left to work exclusively with his own band which had been a sideline until that time.

In the mid-1950s, his singles were frequently on [[Billboard (magazine)|''Billboard'']] magazine's various [[Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs|Rhythm & Blues charts]]{{sfn|Whitburn|1988|p=435}}<ref name=pc4>{{Gilliland |url=https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc19750/m1/ |title=Show 4 – The Tribal Drum: The Rise of Rhythm and Blues. [Part 2] |publisher=Digital.library.unt.edu|accessdate=January 6, 2015}}</ref> including "Sugar Sweet" in 1955 and "[[Trouble No More (song)|Trouble No More]]", "[[Forty Days and Forty Nights]]", and "Don't Go No Farther" in 1956.{{sfn|Dahl|1996|p=}} 1956 also saw the release of one of his best-known numbers, "[[Got My Mojo Working]]", although it did not appear on the charts.{{sfn|Whitburn|1988|p=435}} However, by the late 1950s, his singles success had come to an end, with only "Close to You" reaching the chart in 1958.{{sfn|Whitburn|1988|p=435}}  Also in 1958, Chess released his first compilation album, ''[[The Best of Muddy Waters]]'', which collected twelve of his singles up to 1956.{{sfn|Gordon|2002|pp=163–164}}