King Bee (album)

King Bee
Studio album by
Released1981 (1981)
RecordedMay 1980
GenreBlues
Length39:54
LabelBlue Sky
ProducerJohnny Winter
Muddy Waters chronology
Muddy "Mississippi" Waters - Live
(1979)
King Bee
(1981)
The Chess Box
(1989)

King Bee is the fourteenth and final studio album by blues singer and guitarist Muddy Waters. Released in 1981, it is third in a series of records done for the label Blue Sky Records under producer/guitarist Johnny Winter. Recorded in three days (and in the wake of Muddy's failing health) some of the band members, namely Winter and guitarist Bob Margolin, were not happy with the result. As his health deteriorated, Muddy was forced to cancel an increasing number of shows and never performed after early December 1981. He died of a heart attack on April 30, 1983.

The album was recorded in May 1980. A salary dispute between the band and Muddy Waters's manager, Scott Cameron, halted the session. Eventually the album was completed by using a couple of outtakes from 1977's Hard Again.

David Michael Kennedy was the photographer for the King Bee, providing photos for the front cover, back cover, and the inside album sleeve. The photo for the inside album sleeve was a picture of Muddy and his large family sitting in the living room of his home in Westmont, Illinois.