Sony Music Publishing execs, from left, Ian Holder, Brian Monaco and Liz Lewis welcome Mercy Morganfield and estate lawyer Michael Reinert to the company’s New York offices before heading out for a three-card monte demonstration in Times Square.

Sony Music Publishing got its mojo working on 10/12, signing a worldwide deal with the estate of Muddy Waters to administer his catalog of songs.

The father of Chicago blues, McKinley Morganfield, aka Muddy Waters, penned such classics as “Hoochie Coochie Man,” “Mannish Boy” and “Rollin’ Stone” and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987. He received six Grammy Awards and a Grammy Lifetime Achievement award.

“Muddy Waters was without a doubt one of the most impactful songwriters in modern music,” Sony Music Publishing Chairman & CEO Jon Platt said. “His vibrant, expressive sound is embodied in music today and continues to inspire generations. We look forward to working with the Muddy Waters Estate to build upon its enduring songwriting legacy.”

Waters’ daughter and executor of the estate, Mercy Morganfield, added, “Making sure future generations are aware of the way blues legends like dad, Howlin Wolf, B.B. King, John Lee Hooker, Buddy Guy and so many others have shaped other genres of music from rock & roll to hip-hop is so important. We don’t want these names to get lost in history and in the telling and retelling of their stories.

"I believe we have a partner in Sony who can help keep that flame alive and expand our reach, giving my father his rightful place in music history, a place we all believe he and so many others deserve. I am looking forward to the work ahead.”

Muddy Waters photo credit: Getty Images/Val Wilmer