Tom Cat

Muddy Waters recorded Tom Cat at Ter Mar Studios in Chicago in May 1968 during the Electric Mud sessions. The recording used a studio band associated with Rotary Connection, with Charles Stepney arranging and producing alongside Marshall Chess and Gene Barge. Released on the Cadet Concept album Electric Mud in 1968, Tom Cat formed part of Chess Records attempt to place Waters in a contemporary rock-market setting. The album was controversial at release but reached number 127 on the Billboard Pop Albums chart. Tom Cat remains tied to the later reassessment of Electric Mud as one of Muddy Waters most unusual Chess-era projects. Its Stepney-led production has drawn renewed attention from listeners interested in the crossovers between Chicago blues, soul, and late-1960s studio experimentation.