Charles Douglas Musselwhite (born January 31, 1944) is an American

electric blues Electric blues refers to any type of blues music distinguished by the use of electric amplification for musical instruments. The guitar was the first instrument to be popularly amplified and used by early pioneers T-Bone Walker in the late 1930 ...

harmonica player and bandleader, one of the white bluesmen who came to prominence, along with

Mike Bloomfield Michael Bernard Bloomfield (July 28, 1943 – February 15, 1981) was an American guitarist and composer, born in Chicago, Illinois, who became one of the first popular music superstars of the 1960s to earn his reputation almost entirely on his ...

Paul Butterfield Paul Vaughn Butterfield (December 17, 1942May 4, 1987) was an American blues harmonica player, singer and band leader. After early training as a classical flautist, he developed an interest in blues harmonica. He explored the blues scene in his n ...

, and Elvin Bishop, as a pivotal figure in helping to revive the

Chicago Blues Chicago blues is a form of blues music developed in Chicago, Illinois. It is based on earlier blues idioms, such as Delta blues, but performed in an urban style. It developed alongside the Great Migration of the first half of the twentieth cent ...

movement of the 1960s. He has often been identified as a "white bluesman". Musselwhite was reportedly the inspiration for Elwood Blues; the character played by Dan Aykroyd in the 1980 film, '' The Blues Brothers''.

Biography

Musselwhite was born in

Kosciusko, Mississippi Kosciusko is a city in Attala County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 7,402 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Attala County. History Shortly before the War of 1812, David Choate, a French trader along with his wife, a Ch ...

to white parents. Originally claiming to be of partly Choctaw descent, in a 2005 interview he said his mother had told him he was of distant

Cherokee The Cherokee (; chr, ᎠᏂᏴᏫᏯᎢ, translit=Aniyvwiyaʔi or Anigiduwagi, or chr, ᏣᎳᎩ, links=no, translit=Tsalagi) are one of the indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States. Prior to the 18th century, t ...

descent. His family considered it natural to play music. His father played guitar and harmonica, his mother played piano, and a relative was a one-man band. At the age of three, Musselwhite moved to

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the seat of Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 U.S. census, Memphis is the second-mos ...

. When he was a teenager, Memphis experienced the period when rockabilly,

western swing Western swing music is a subgenre of American country music that originated in the late 1920s in the West and South among the region's Western string bands. It is dance music, often with an up-tempo beat, which attracted huge crowds to dance ...

, and

were combining to give birth to

rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It originated from African-American music such as jazz, rhythm a ...

. That period featured

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...

, Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Cash, and lesser-known musicians such as

Gus Cannon Gustavus "Gus" Cannon (September 12, 1883 or 1884 – October 15, 1979) was an American blues musician who helped to popularize jug bands (such as his own Cannon's Jug Stompers) in the 1920s and 1930s. There is uncertainty about his birth year; ...

Furry Lewis Walter E. "Furry" Lewis (March 6, 1893 or 1899 – September 14, 1981) was an American country blues guitarist and songwriter from Memphis, Tennessee. He was one of the first of the blues musicians active in the 1920s to be brought out of retir ...

, Will Shade, and

Johnny Burnette John Joseph Burnette (March 25, 1934 – August 14, 1964) was an American singer and songwriter of rockabilly and pop music. In 1952, Johnny and his brother, Dorsey Burnette, and their mutual friend Paul Burlison formed the band that became ...

. Musselwhite supported himself by digging ditches, laying concrete and running moonshine in a 1950 Lincoln automobile. This environment was a school for music as well as life for Musselwhite, who eventually acquired the nickname Memphis Charlie. In true bluesman fashion, Musselwhite then took off in search of the rumored "big-paying factory jobs" up the "Hillbilly Highway", Highway 51 to Chicago, where he continued his education on the South Side, making the acquaintance of even more blues musicians, including

Lew Soloff Lewis Michael Soloff (February 20, 1944–March 8, 2015) was an American jazz trumpeter, composer, and actor. Biography From his birth place of New York City, United States, he studied trumpet at the Eastman School of Music and the Juilliard Sc ...

, Muddy Waters,

Junior Wells Junior Wells (born Amos Wells Blakemore Jr., December 9, 1934January 15, 1998) was an American singer, harmonica player, and recording artist. He is best known for his signature song " Messin' with the Kid" and his 1965 album '' Hoodoo Man Blues ...

, Sonny Boy Williamson,

Buddy Guy George "Buddy" Guy (born July 30, 1936) is an American blues guitarist and singer. He is an exponent of Chicago blues who has influenced generations of guitarists including Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, Jimmy Page, Keith Richards, Stevie Ray Vaugh ...

Howlin' Wolf Chester Arthur Burnett (June 10, 1910January 10, 1976), better known by his stage name Howlin' Wolf, was an American blues singer and guitarist. He is regarded as one of the most influential blues musicians of all time. Over a four-decade care ...

Little Walter Marion Walter Jacobs (May 1, 1930 – February 15, 1968), known as Little Walter, was an American blues musician, singer, and songwriter, whose revolutionary approach to the harmonica had a strong impact on succeeding generations, earning hi ...

, and

Big Walter Horton Walter Horton (April 6, 1921 – December 8, 1981), known as Big Walter (Horton) or Walter 'Shakey' Horton, was an American blues harmonica player. A quiet, unassuming, shy man, he is remembered as one of the premier harmonica players in the hi ...

. Musselwhite immersed himself completely in the musical life, living in the basement of and occasionally working at Jazz Record Mart (the record store operated by

Delmark Records Delmark Records is an American jazz and blues independent record label. It was founded in 1958 and is based in Chicago, Illinois. The label originated in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1953 when then owner, and founder, Bob Koester released a record ...

founder

Bob Koester Robert Gregg Koester (October 30, 1932 – May 12, 2021) was an American record producer and businessman who was the founder and owner of Delmark Records, a jazz and blues independent record label. He also operated the Jazz Record Mart in Chi ...

) with Big Joe Williams and working as a driver for an exterminator, which allowed him to observe what was happening around the city's clubs and bars. He spent his time hanging out at the Jazz Record Mart, at the corner of State and Grand, and a nearby bar, Mr. Joe's, with the city's blues musicians, and sitting in with Williams and others in the clubs, playing for tips. There he forged a lifelong friendship with John Lee Hooker; though Hooker lived in Detroit, Michigan, the two often visited each other, and Hooker served as best man at Musselwhite's third marriage to Henrietta Musselwhite. Gradually Musselwhite became well known around town. In 1965, when working at the Jazz Record Mart, Charlie met Vanguard Records producer/writer Sam Charters, who included him in the blockbuster blues trilogy, Chicago/The Blues/Today! (Volume 3 / VRS 9218), in which he played with blues harp legend

's Blues Harp Band. At this time Charters signed him to another contract which led to Musselwhite's first solo outing in 1966, Stand Back! Here Comes Charley Musselwhite's South Side Band (VSD 79232). Musslewhite played all harmonica on the 1965 Vanguard Records album ''So Many Roads'' by John Hammond. In time, Musselwhite led his own blues band, and after Elektra Records' success with

, he released the album '' Stand Back! Here Comes Charley Musselwhite's Southside Band'' in 1966 on Vanguard Records to immediate success. He took advantage of the clout this album gave him to move to San Francisco, where, instead of being one of many competing blues acts, he held court as the king of the blues in the exploding countercultural music scene, an exotic and gritty figure to the flower children. Musselwhite convinced Hooker to move to California. Since then, Musselwhite has released over 20 albums and has been a guest performer on albums by many other musicians, such as Bonnie Raitt's ''

Longing in Their Hearts ''Longing in Their Hearts'' is the twelfth album by Bonnie Raitt, released in 1994. The album contained the mainstream pop hit, "Love Sneakin' Up On You," which reached #19 on the Billboard singles chart, and "You", which remains to date her only ...

'' and the Blind Boys of Alabama's '' Spirit of the Century'', both winners of

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pr ...

s. He also performed on Tom Waits's '' Mule Variations'' and INXS's '' Suicide Blonde''. He has won 14 Blues Music Awards, has been nominated for six Grammy Awards, received

Lifetime Achievement Award Lifetime achievement awards are awarded by various organizations, to recognize contributions over the whole of a career, rather than or in addition to single contributions. Such awards, and organizations presenting them, include: A * A.C. ...

s from the Monterey Blues Festival and the San Javier Jazz Festival, in San Javier, Spain, and received the Mississippi Governor's Award for Excellence in the Arts. In 1979, Musselwhite recorded ''The Harmonica According to Charlie Musselwhite'' in London for Kicking Mule Records, intended to accompany an instructional book; the album became so popular that it was released on CD. In June 2008, Blind Pig Records reissued the album on 180-gram vinyl with new cover art. Liri Blues Charlie Musselwhite 2000

In 1990 Musselwhite signed with

Alligator Records Alligator Records is an American, Chicago-based independent blues record label founded by Bruce Iglauer in 1971. Iglauer was also one of the founders of the '' Living Blues'' magazine in Chicago in 1970. History Iglauer started the label using ...

, a step that led to a resurgence of his career. In 1998, Musselwhite appeared in the film '' Blues Brothers 2000''. He played the harmonica in the Louisiana Gator Boys, which featured many other blues and R&B musicians, such as

B.B. King Riley B. King (September 16, 1925 – May 14, 2015), known professionally as B.B. King, was an American blues singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer. He introduced a sophisticated style of soloing based on fluid string bending, shi ...

Bo Diddley Ellas McDaniel (born Ellas Otha Bates; December 30, 1928 – June 2, 2008), known professionally as Bo Diddley, was an American guitarist who played a key role in the transition from the blues to rock and roll. He influenced many artists, inc ...

, Eric Clapton,

Koko Taylor Koko Taylor (born Cora Anna Walton, September 28, 1928 – June 3, 2009) was an American singer whose style encompassed Chicago blues, electric blues, rhythm and blues and soul blues. Sometimes called "The Queen of the Blues", she was known f ...

, Jimmie Vaughan, Dr. John, and Jack DeJohnette. Over the years, Musselwhite has branched out in style. His 1999 recording, ''Continental Drifter'', is accompanied by Cuarteto Patria, from Cuba's Santiago region, the Cuban music counterpart of the Mississippi Delta. Because of political differences between Cuba and the United States, the album was recorded in Bergen, Norway, with Musselwhite's wife handling the details. Musselwhite believes the key to his musical success was finding a style in which he could express himself. He said, "I only know one tune, and I play it faster or slower, or I change the key, but it's just the one tune I've ever played in my life. It's all I know." His two albums, ''

Sanctuary A sanctuary, in its original meaning, is a sacred place, such as a shrine. By the use of such places as a haven, by extension the term has come to be used for any place of safety. This secondary use can be categorized into human sanctuary, a sa ...

'' (which saw a guest appearance by Hooker) and ''

Delta Hardware ''Delta Hardware'' is the twenty fourth studio album by blues harp player and vocalist Charlie Musselwhite. The album was released in 2006, on Real World Records. It is Musselwhite's second release on Real World Records, his first being Sanctuary ...

'', were released by Real World Records. Musselwhite played on Tom Waits's 1999 album '' Mule Variations''. He can be heard at the beginning of the song "Chocolate Jesus", saying "I love it". Waits has mentioned that this is his favorite part of the song. In 2002, he was featured on the

tribute album ''Hey Bo Diddley: A Tribute!'', performing the song " Hey Bo Diddley". Musselwhite lost both of his elderly parents in December 2005, in separate incidents. His mother, Ruth Maxine Musselwhite, was murdered. Musselwhite joined the judging panel of the 10th annual Independent Music Awards, to assist independent musicians' careers. He was also a judge for the 7th and 9th Independent Music Awards. Musselwhite was inducted into the

Blues Hall of Fame The Blues Hall of Fame is a music museum located at 421 S. Main Street in Memphis, Tennessee. Initially, the "Blues Hall of Fame" was not a physical building, but a listing of people who have significantly contributed to blues music. Started in 1 ...

in 2010. The same year, he appeared on the

JW-Jones JW-Jones (born July 15, 1980) is a Canadian blues guitarist, singer, songwriter and band leader. He is a Juno Award nominee (2015), ''Billboard'' magazine Top 10 Selling artist, and winner of the International Blues Challenge for "Best Self-Produ ...

recording "Midnight Memphis Sun", along with

Hubert Sumlin Hubert Charles Sumlin (November 16, 1931 – December 4, 2011) was a Chicago blues guitarist and singer, best known for his "wrenched, shattering bursts of notes, sudden cliff-hanger silences and daring rhythmic suspensions" as a member of Howlin ...

. Also in 2010, he released the album ''The Well''. In the title song he credits Jessica McClure's ordeal as a child trapped in a well for over 58 hours in 1987 for inspiring him to quit drinking, stating,

She was trapped in there with a broken arm in the dark, in a life-and-death situation she was singing nursery rhymes to herself and being brave... It made my problems seem tiny. So as a prayer to her and myself, I decided I wasn't going to drink till she got out of that well. It was like I was tricking myself, telling myself that I wasn't going to quit for good, just until she got out. It took three days to get her out, and I haven't had a drink since.

For the first half of 2011, Musselwhite toured with the acoustic-electric blues band Hot Tuna. In the latter half of 2011, he went on tour with

Cyndi Lauper Cynthia Ann Stephanie Lauper Thornton (born June 22, 1953) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and activist. Her career has spanned over 40 years. Her album ''She's So Unusual'' (1983) was the first debut album by a female artist to achi ...

, having played harmonica on her hit album ''

Memphis Blues The Memphis blues is a style of blues music created from the 1910s to the 1930s by musicians in the Memphis area, such as Frank Stokes, Sleepy John Estes, Furry Lewis and Memphis Minnie. The style was popular in vaudeville and medicine shows a ...

''. While on this tour, he appeared with Lauper on Jools Holland's television program ''

Hootenanny A hootenanny is a party involving music in the United States. It is particularly associated with folk music. Etymology Placeholder Hootenanny is an Appalachian colloquialism that was used in the early twentieth century U.S. as a placeholder nam ...

'' on New Year's Eve 2011, performing a modified arrangement of Lauper's signature song, " Girls Just Wanna Have Fun". In 2012, Musselewhite released the live album ''Juke Joint Chapel'' (recorded at the Shack Up Inn in Clarksdale, Mississippi) which was nominated for a Grammy for Best Traditional Blues Album. Musselwhite also teamed with

Ben Harper Benjamin Chase Harper (born October 28, 1969) is an American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. Harper plays an eclectic mix of blues, folk, soul, reggae, and rock music and is known for his guitar-playing skills, vocals, live perfo ...

to record the album '' Get Up!,'' which was released in January 2013. In January 2014, it won a

for

Best Blues Album The Grammy Award for Best Blues Album was an award presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to recording artists for releasing albums in the blues genre. Honors in severa ...

. In 2014 and 2015, he won a Blues Music Award in the category Best Instrumentalist – Harmonicist. At the 40th Blues Music Awards ceremony in 2019, Musselwhite's joint composition with

, "No Mercy In This Land", was named as 'Song of the Year'.

Discography

*1967 '' Stand Back! Here Comes Charley Musselwhite's Southside Band'' (Vanguard) *1968 ''Stone Blues'' (Vanguard) *1968 ''Louisiana Fog'' (Cherry Red Records/Kent Music) *1969 ''Memphis, Tennessee '' (Paramount-ABC/MCA) *1969 ''Tennessee Woman'' (Vanguard) *1970 ''Chicago Blue Stars-Coming Home'' (Blue Thumb Records) *1971 ''Takin' My Time'' (Arhoolie) *1974 ''Goin' Back Down South'' (Arhoolie) *1975 ''Leave The Blues To Us'' (Capitol) *1977 ''

The Cream "The cream" is a testosterone-based ointment that is used in conjunction with anabolic steroids such as tetrahydrogestrinone (THG, also known as "the clear") in order to mask doping in professional athletes. The drug was made public when the Un ...

'' with John Lee Hooker (Tomato) *1978 ''Times Gettin' Tougher Than Tough'' (Crystal Clear) *1979 ''The Harmonica According To Charlie Musselwhite'' (Kicking Mule; later issued on Blind Pig) *1982 ''Curtain Call: Charlie Musselwhite & The Dynatones 'Live (War Bride-Solid Smoke; later issued on Westside) *1984 ''Where Have All the Good Times Gone?'' (Blue Rock'it) *1986 ''Mellow-Dee'' (CrossCut) *1988 ''Cambridge Blues'' (Blue Horizon) *1989 ''Memphis Charlie'' (Arhoolie) - compilation *1990 ''Ace Of Harps'' (Alligator) *1991 ''Signature'' (Alligator) *1993 ''In My Time'' (Alligator) *1994 ''The Blues Never Die'' (Vanguard) - compilation *1997 ''Rough News'' (Point Black-Virgin/EMI) *1999 ''Continental Drifter'' (Point Blank-Virgin/EMI) *1999 ''Super Harps'' (with

James Cotton James Henry Cotton (July 1, 1935 – March 16, 2017) was an American blues harmonica player, singer and songwriter, who performed and recorded with many fellow blues artists and with his own band. He also played drums early in his career. ...

Billy Branch Billy Branch (born William Earl Branch, October 3, 1951) is an American blues harmonica player and singer of Chicago blues. Branch is a three-time Grammy nominee, a retired two-term governor of the Chicago Grammy Chapter, an Emmy Award winner, a ...

, Sugar Ray Norcia) (Telarc) *1999 ''Harpin' on a Riff: The Best of Charlie Musselwhite'' (Music Collection International) - compilation *2000 ''Best of the Vanguard Years'' (Vanguard) - compilation *2000 ''Up and Down the Highway: Live 1986'' (Indigo; reissue of ''Cambridge Blues'') *2002 '' One Night in America'' (Telarc) *2003 ''Darkest Hour: The Solo Recordings of Charlie Musselwhite'' (Henrietta Records) *2004 ''

'' (Real World-Narada/EMI) *2005 ''Deluxe Edition'' (Alligator) - compilation *2006 ''

'' (Real World-Narada/EMI) *2007 ''Black Snake Moan (Music from the Motion Picture)'' (New West) *2008 ''Rough Dried: Live at the Triple Door'' (Henrietta) *2010 '' The Well'' (Alligator) *2012 ''Juke Joint Chapel'' ive(Henrietta) *2013 '' Get Up!'' (with

) (Stax-Concord/UMe) *2013 ''Remembering Little Walter'' (with various artists, Blind Pig, 2013)'' *2015 ''I Ain't Lyin'...'' ive(Henrietta) *2018 ''No Mercy in This Land'' (with Ben Harper) (ANTI/Epitaph) *2020 ''100 Years of Blues'' (with Elvin Bishop) (Alligator Records) *2022 ''Mississippi Son'' (Alligator)

References

External links

Official websiteCharlie Musselwhite's music collection at MOG.com
* Allmusic.com review of Delta Hardware CDbr>Video of interview and performance clipNAMM Oral History Interview
2010 {{DEFAULTSORT:Musselwhite, Charlie 1944 births Living people American bandleaders American male singers American blues singers American blues harmonica players Blues musicians from Mississippi Harmonica blues musicians Country blues musicians Grammy Award winners Real World Records artists People from Kosciusko, Mississippi Musicians from Memphis, Tennessee Vanguard Records artists Native American musicians American blues guitarists American male guitarists Guitarists from Mississippi Guitarists from Tennessee 20th-century American guitarists 20th-century American male musicians Arhoolie Records artists Blind Pig Records artists Alligator Records artists