At Newport 1960 is a live album by Muddy Waters recorded during his performance at the Newport Jazz Festival on July 3, 1960. With his longtime backup band, Muddy Waters plays a mix of his older popular tunes and some newer compositions. Chess Records released the album in the United States on November 15, 1960. At Newport 1960 is sometimes referred to as the first live blues album and has received critical acclaim. Rolling Stone magazine included it at number 348 on its list of "500 Greatest Albums of all Time". Along with the songs on The Best of Muddy Waters (1958), the album was an important influence on the emerging younger white blues scenes in the U.S. and U.K. Background Muddy Waters was one of the most popular blues artists of the 1950s. Beginning in 1948, he had fifteen singles that appeared on the Billboard Rhythm & Blues Records chart. His debut album, The Best of Muddy Waters (1958), contained twelve of his hits. However, by 1960, what had been the traditional blues audiences were moving away from Chicago-style blues towards the more polished R&B and soul sounds. Chess released Sings Big Bill Broonzy (1960), a collection of Muddy Waters' interpretations of songs by the blues musician Big Bill Broonzy. When he performed at the Newport Jazz Festival, his electric blues band consisted of Otis Spann (piano, vocals), Pat Hare (guitar), James Cotton (harmonica), Andrew Stevens (bass) and Francis Clay (drums). Recording The gig was scheduled for Sunday afternoon, July 3. The day before, performances by Ray Charles and singing group Lambert, Hendricks and Ross were met with unruly crowds. About 300 drunken revelers made a commotion during Charles' performance and the police responded with teargas and water hoses. The riots became so out of control that the National Guard was called in at midnight to calm the crowd. When Waters and his band arrived on the scheduled day, they intended to drive back on the next day, until driver James Cotton saw John Lee Hooker standing at a corner, his guitar on his back without a guitar case. Cotton said Hooker should get into his car to get the musicians out of harm's way. At the same time, the city council decided to cancel the concert, but concert promoter George Wein convinced them when he said that the United States Information Agency (USIA) planned to film the festival