OMMA Catalogue Number

OMMA-0105

Artist

Muddy Waters (credited Muddy Water With Sunny Land Slim)

Title

“Gypsy Woman / Little Anna Mae”

Release Details

Issued in 1948 as a 10-inch 78 rpm shellac single by The Aristocrat of Records (catalogue number 1302). Pressed in the United States and distributed as a commercial release within the post-war Chicago blues market.

Edition & Variant Identification

First commercial pressing, corresponding to the initial Aristocrat issue credited to “Muddy Water,” an error consistent with the artist attribution used on this release. Pianist Sunnyland Slim also on the label, also with an in error in his name.

Matrix & Pressing Data

Runout, A-side, label: U 7058.
Runout, B-side, label: U 7059.

Physical Description

10-inch shellac disc with period Aristocrat labels printed in the standard commercial style for the issue. The present copy is housed in a generic sleeve. No inserts are present.

Factory-Origin Characteristics

No factory-origin anomalies are observed on the present copy.

Condition Report

The present copy is in Very Good Minus condition. The shellac surface shows some surface wear and an audible surface bed consistent with age, handling, and the known fragility of 78 rpm shellac records, but remains serviceable. VG- visually with good gloss, reporting good play with soft/moderate background noise. Attractive labels with some wear, with a spot of paper flaking visible on the A-Side.

Provenance

Provenance: Discogs seller “blackgem”; subsequently acquired by the Origins of Modern Music Archive, 27 April 2025.

Photomatching & Verification

Verification is established through concordance of the label credit, catalogue number 1302, and matrix identifiers U 7058 / U 7059 with standard discographic listings for Aristocrat 1302.

Market Context & Historical Notes

“Gypsy Woman / Little Anna Mae” shows Muddy Waters’ transition into the commercial recording market in the emerging post-war Chicago blues scene. Although he had an uncredited release in 1947, and was recorded even earlier on his Mississippi porch step by Library of Congress ethnomusicologist Alan Lomax, this marks Muddy Waters’ first commercial release under his own name.

Aristocrat 1302 documents the early commercialization of Chicago blues before Aristocrat changed its name to Chess Records and helped transform American music. The session is also associated with Sunnyland Slim (with errors in both artists’ names on the label), and surviving copies are materially vulnerable because of the shellac format, which has contributed to condition attrition in the market.

Canonical Status in OMMA

This release is recognized by the Origins of Modern Music Archive as Muddy Waters’ first commercial release under his own name.

References and Source Documentation

Discogs, Muddy Water With Sunny Land Slim – Gypsy Woman / Little Anna Mae (Aristocrat 1302, 78 rpm). https://www.discogs.com/release/8206423-Muddy-Water-With-Sunny-Land-Slim-Gypsy-Woman-Little-Anna-Mae

45cat, Aristocrat 1302, Gypsy Woman / Little Anna Mae. https://www.45cat.com/78rpm/record/1302us

Stefan Wirz, illustrated Muddy Waters discography. https://www.wirz.de/music/waters.htm

The Complete Muddy Waters Discography, listing “Mean Red Spider” as 20th Century 20-51 B under James “Sweet Lucy” Carter and His Orchestra. https://www.bluesandrhythm.co.uk/documents/200.pdf