IN: Muddy Waters' birthplace and date are not conclusively known. He stated that he was born in Rolling Fork, Mississippi, in 1915, but it is believed to be more likely that he was born in Jug's Corner, in neighboring Issaquena County, in 1913. Recent research has uncovered documentation showing that in the 1930s and 1940s, before his rise to fame, the year of his birth was reported as 1913 on his marriage license, recording notes, and musicians' union card. A 1955 interview in the Chicago Defender is the earliest in which he stated 1915 as the year of his birth, and he continued to say this in interviews from that point onward.

Initially, the Chess brothers would not allow Muddy Waters to use his working band in the recording studio; instead, he was provided with a backing bass by Ernest "Big" Crawford or by musicians assembled specifically for the recording session, including "Baby Face" Leroy Foster and Johnny Jones. Gradually, Chess relented, and by September 1953 he was recording with one of the most acclaimed blues groups in history: Little Walter Jacobs on harmonica, Jimmy Rogers on guitar, Elga Edmonds (also known as Elgin Evans) on drums, and Otis Spann on piano. The band recorded a series of blues classics during the early 1950s, some with the help of the bassist and songwriter Willie Dixon, including "Hoochie Coochie Man", "I Just Want to Make Love to You", and "I'm Ready".  Along with his former harmonica player Little Walter Jacobs and recent southern transplant Howlin' Wolf, Muddy Waters reigned over the early 1950s Chicago blues scene, his band becoming a proving ground for some of the city's best blues talent. Little Walter continued a collaborative relationship long after he left Muddy Waters's band in 1952, appearing on most of the band's classic recordings in the 1950s. Muddy Waters developed a long-running, generally good-natured rivalry with Wolf. The success of his ensemble paved the way for others in his group to make their own solo careers. In 1952, Little Walter left when his single "Juke" became a hit, and in 1955, Rogers quit to work exclusively with his own band, which had been a sideline until that time.  During the mid-1950s, Muddy Waters' singles were frequently on Billboard magazine's various Rhythm & Blues charts including "Sugar Sweet" in 1955 and "Trouble No More", "Forty Days and Forty Nights", and "Don't Go No Farther" in 1956. 1956 also saw the release of one of his best-known numbers, "Got My Mojo Working", although it did not appear on the charts. However, by the late 1950s, his singles success had come to an end, with only "Close to You" reaching the chart in 1958. Also in 1958, Chess released Muddy Waters' first album, The Best of Muddy Waters, which collected twelve of his singles up to 1956.
QUESTION: What did he do in 1948?
IN: The Manchu (Manchu: manjU; Mollendorff: manju; Abkai: manju; simplified Chinese: Man Zu ; traditional Chinese: Man Zu ; pinyin: Manzu; Wade-Giles: Man3-tsu2) are an ethnic minority in China and the people from whom Manchuria derives its name. They are sometimes called "red-tasseled Manchus", a reference to the ornamentation on traditional Manchu hats. The Later Jin (1616-1636), and Qing dynasty (1636-1912) were established by Manchus, who are descended from the Jurchen people who earlier established the Jin dynasty (1115-1234) in China. Manchus form the largest branch of the Tungusic peoples and are distributed throughout China, forming the fourth largest ethnic group in the country.

Octagonal drum is a type of Manchu folk art that was very popular among bannermen, especially in Beijing. It is said that octagonal drum originated with the snare drum of the Eight-banner military and the melody was made by the banner soldiers who were on the way back home from victory in the battle of Jinchuan. The drum is composed of wood surrounded by bells. The drumhead is made by wyrmhide with tassels at the bottom. The colors of the tassels are yellow, white, red, and blue, which represent the four colors of the Eight Banners. When artists perform, they use their fingers to hit the drumhead and shake the drum to ring the bells. Traditionally, octagonal drum is performed by three people. One is the harpist; one is the clown who is responsible for harlequinade; and the third is the singer.  "Zidishu" is the main libretto of octagonal drum and can be traced back to a type of traditional folk music called the "Manchu Rhythm". Although Zidishu was not created by Han Chinese, it still contains many themes from Chinese stories, such as Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Dream of the Red Chamber, Romance of the West Chamber, Legend of the White Snake and Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio. Additionally, there are many works that depict the lives of Bannermen. Aisin Gioro Yigeng, who was pen named "Helu" and wrote the sigh of old imperial bodyguard, as the representative author. Zidishu involves two acts of singing, which are called dongcheng and xicheng.  After the fall of the Qing dynasty, the influence of the octagonal drum gradually reduced. However, the Chinese monochord and crosstalk which derived from octagonal are still popular in Chinese society and the new generations. Many famous Chinese monochord performers and crosstalkers were the artists of octagonal drum, such as De Shoushan and Zhang Sanlu.
QUESTION:
What material was the drum made from?