Rollin' Stone, also known as Catfish Blues, is a blues in E major credited to Muddy Waters (McKinley Morganfield) as lyricist and composer. Waters recorded it in February 1950 for Chess, his first release on the label, with "Walkin' Blues" on the B-side. The single appeared later that year and sold about 70,000 copies. It reworks "Catfish Blues", a Delta blues dating to 1920s Mississippi, whose earlier versions include Jim Jackson's 1928 "Kansas City Blues" and recordings by Tommy McClennan and Robert Petway in 1941. Played at a mid- to slow-tempo in 4/4, with a solo vocal and electric guitar, it moves to the IV and V chords in the instrumental section while the vocal sections stay on I. Waters reused its melody and guitar figure for "Still a Fool" in 1951. Jimi Hendrix's 1967 "Catfish Blues" was an homage, and Frank Zappa recorded a version in 1970. Robert F. Palmer wrote that the Rolling Stones took their name from the song, and the name of Rolling Stone magazine is said to come from it. The Rolling Stones recorded it as "Rolling Stone Blues" on Hackney Diamonds (2023). The song received a Grammy Hall of Fame Award in 2000, was ranked in Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs, and was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in 2019.
