The cover art photography and design on The Real Folk Blues was done by Don S. Bronstein and the sleeve notes for the original album were done by Willie Dixon.

[5] Later, when Leonard and Phil Chess took over the record label, Muddy used a more electric backing band featuring members such as Little Walter.

PopMatters Marshall Bowden explained, "Muddy's last R&B chart hit with Chess came in 1958 ... he was no longer a popular recording artist.

Chess looked about for a way to promote the singer to a young generation, and hit upon the folk music craze that was taking place.

This meant that some of the songs came from the deep rural blues tradition (the "folk" aspect) while others were much more urban, demonstrating the influential sound that Waters had been spreading around since his arrival in Chicago".