Charlie Musselwhite

by Dan Forte & Al CampbellHarmonica wizard Norton Buffalo can recollect a leaner time when his record collection had been whittled down to only the bare essentials: The Paul Butterfield Blues Band and Stand Back! Here Comes Charley Musselwhites South Side Band. Butterfield and Musselwhite will probably be forever linked as the two most interesting, and arguably the most important, products of the white blues movement of the mid- to late 60s — not only because they were near the forefront chronologically, but because they each stand out as being especially faithful to the style. Each certainly earned the respect of his legendary mentors. No less than the late Big Joe Williams said, Charlie Musselwhite is one of the greatest living harp players of country blues. He is right up there with Sonny Boy Williamson, and hes been my harp player ever since Sonny Boy got killed.Its interesting that Williams specifies country blues, because, even though he made his mark leading electric bands in Chicago and San Francisco, Musselwhite began playing blues with people hed read about in Samuel Charters Country Blues — Memphis greats like Furry Lewis, Will Shade, and Gus Cannon. It was these rural roots that set him apart from Butterfield, and decades later Musselwhite began incorporating his first instrument, guitar.Born in Kosciusko, MS, in 1944, Musselwhites family moved north to Memphis, where he went to high school. Musselwhite migrated north in search of the near-mythical $3.00-an-hour job (the same lure that set innumerable youngsters on the same route), and became a familiar face at blues haunts like Peppers, Turners, and Theresas, sitting in with and sometimes playing alongside harmonica lords such as Little Walter, Shakey Horton, Good Rockin Charles, Carey Bell, Big John Wrencher, and even Sonny Boy Williamson. Before recording his first album, Musselwhite appeared on LPs by Tracy Nelson and John Hammond and dueted (as Memphis Charlie) with Shakey Horton on Vanguards Chicago/The Blues/Today series.When his aforementioned debut LP became a standard on San Franciscos underground radio, Musselwhite played the Fillmore Auditorium and never returned to the Windy City. Leading bands that featured greats like guitarists Harvey Mandel, Freddie Roulette, Luther Tucker, Louis Myers, Robben Ford, Fenton Robinson, and Junior Watson, Musselwhite played steadily in Bay Area bars and mounted somewhat low-profile national tours. It wasnt until the late 80s, when he conquered a career-long drinking problem, that Musselwhite began touring worldwide to rave notices. He became busier than ever and continued releasing records to critical acclaim. His two releases on Virgin, Rough News in 1997 and Continental Drifter in 2000, found Musselwhite mixing elements of jazz, gospel, Tex-Mex, and acoustic Delta blues. After signing with Telarc Blues in 2002, he continued exploring his musical roots by releasing One Night in America. The disc exposed Musselwhites interest in country music with a cover version of the Johnny Cash classic Big River, and featured guest appearances by Kelly Willis and Marty Stuart. Sanctuary, released in 2004, was Musselwhites first record for Real World.