Blues Society of Western PA - Newsletter

"The Blues Overtook me" is pure Charlie Musselwhite. A groundbreaking recording artist since the 1960s, Musselwhite continues to be a trail blazer in music while remaining firmly entrenched in the blues. His heart felt vocals, rich, melodic harmonica playing and deep country blues guitar work reflect his often autobiographical, original songs. Living Blues has stated, “Musselwhite’s rock-solid vocals creep up and overwhelm you before you know it. He plays magnificent harp with superb dexterity and phrasing. The results are amazing.” Blues Revue Magazine proclaimed , "It is hard to think of anything that harmonica master Charlie Musselwhite has not done. He should have been co-owner of the Blues Music Awards, having received 35 nominations and winning 23 times, including Album or Blues Album of the Year seven times! Musselwhite has been nominated six times for Grammy Awards and joined the Blues Hall of Fame in 2010." The Chicago Times stated that Charlie "is in top form with his deeply personal tales (newest CD, the Well)… a formidable talent, he defines the cutting edge in contemporary blues, putting a Chicago accent on his rural Southern harmonica chops.” At the 2011 Blues Music Awards, Charlie won the Best Instrumentalist-Harmonica Award and Traditional Blues Male Artist of the Year! The Well, a CD just released in 2010, was nominated for the Traditional Blues Album of the year and his song, "Sad and Beautiful World," was nominated for Song of the Year.

Growing up in Memphis, he listened to the workers singing in the field. He once commented, "The feeling in that music-it described just how I felt. Man, it just wrapped itself around me ......It affected me so strongly that I just wanted to make that sound myself. Charlie Musselwhite is known for taking risks in music, broadening his perspective of the blues. Charlie plays hard-edged blues, up-tempo swingin' shuffles, dark jazz, a little rockabilly, some New Orleans swamp and even Latin-flavored blues from Rio and Cuba. His advice to new harp players: 'Don't imitate anybody. Be yourself. Playing what you feel inside is really the key. I call it following the will of the music. When you're playing that way, you're having fun with it. When you're having fun, you're learning. If you set it up like work, you're not gonna get the feeling in the music part. ...I 'm always thinking about the different places I try to get at musically. It's like reachin' into this unknown strange room to try and find the spark. There's a level where you play the stuff you just know by rote from years of playin' the traditional, but I'm always waiting for that door to open to the next level. When I can slide through, things become more spontaneous. When I get really hacky, I go over the top into where it really takes off. I feel like I'm standin' next to the tracks and there's a train highballin' right by the end of my nose. I can't even grab a hold of it. I can only just try to keep up with it. It's so fleeting, it's like trying to capture a moonbeam. You can't think at all or you lose it, you're just a witness to it. The more I play, it's easier to find that magical door." (Children of the Blues, Art Tripaldi)

Recently, I was listening to a song from the Powder Blues Band, the words "wrong side of town but the right side of blues" mirrored the life that Charlie Musselwhite embraced as a young man. I felt the need to talk with this man who has orchestrated his life through his love of the blues.

Jonnye: Growing up in Memphis, you were accepted as a player on Beale Street," the other side of town." What did you do to win their acceptance?

Charlie: (warm and congenial) I was interested in the blues from a young age and would follow the street singers. They were there and I was there. They were flattered that I was showing them interest and complimented that I wanted to watch and learn. They were glad to teach a little kid the blues. The difference, I was a little white kid hungering for the music.

J: You were quoted as saying, "Playing in Memphis was strictly for my own gratification. There was something in me that needed to be satisfied . I just wanted to play for myself and learn from those guys." Who influenced you or who taught you the most in your journey.

C: (Slowly, in a quiet voice) Will Shade from the Memphis Jug Band taught me guitar and harp. Furry Lewis taught me slide guitar. They recorded in the 1920s and the 1930s. Furry outlived Will and went on to work the Folk circuit at college campuses.

J: Elvis was on the scene in Memphis while you were there. You stated that his popularity gave you and your fellow musicians hope, validated your type of music and encouraged the players to be more active. What comes to mind when you think of those times.

C: (softly chuckling) Elvis was just like me...we were kids from Mississippi. The nearest big town was Memphis and that's where we would go. We dressed the same and were considered white trash. When Elvis became popular than we were not seen as being so bad. We were okay.

J: You were "schooled" in Chicago. In the 1960's, Chicago was the "living room" of Blues, a symbolic home-style offering of music that migrated from the South to the North. It was a time when white blues enthusiasts were able to mix it up on the streets, in the taverns, and in homes with the first generation music makers of all types. (Sounds like the words from one of your songs.) How did the music scene transform or affect your life.

C: (seriously) I went to Chicago to get a job in the factory. There was a migration where people traveled from Memphis to Chicago looking for great jobs. I stumbled on the blues scene. I saw signs in windows advertising Muddy Waters and Howlin'  Wolf. I would hang out in clubs. No one knew that I played. There was nothing better than to sit and listen to Muddy Waters and Howlin'  Wolf. (softly chuckling) A waitress finally told Muddy that I was a player. He recognized me from being in the clubs. The word got out. I had no plans to play but I was getting offers for gigs that paid money. (Laughing) What could be better? Just like in Memphis, the Chicago players were knocked out and flattered when someone wanted to learn.

J: You have said, "It’s about the feeling, and about connecting with people. And blues, if it’s real blues, is loaded with feeling. And it ain’t about technique, either. It’s about truth, connecting to the truth and communicating with the people.” You have had a long, varied life of good times and bad times....Your music always tells a story...How do you do this...I always feel that you are talking personally to us.

C: (a pause, quietly) I just play from my heart. (earnestly, seriously) It is just a simple way of saying it...not putting on a show but expressing from my heart. I just play what I know, the best that I can.

J: I love your Brazilian Blues...how did that evolve.

C: I would search junk stores in Memphis to find records. I could get them for a nickel back then. I would look for blues or any type of music from other parts of the world that would look interesting. I took a liking to Flamenco early on. Every culture has a music of lament...good times, bad times, lost love, a commonality. Music is natural to the world and I am a fan. I especially like the country and working people's type of music from around the world... those songs that are not the top 40.

J: With your new awards, where do you go from here. You are highly regarded by your fellow artists....what keeps you going.

C: (hesitating and with a soft chuckle)( I could feel the humble smile) I am flattered by the awards and I appreciate them. I don't let it go to my head. I don't deserve something special. I am lucky to be on the scene...(seriously) to be healthy and alive and to play music. Life is good. I do what I do and hope that people like it. It is no mystery...(seriously) I simply do what I do.

J: We will see you at the Heritage Festival in Wheeling on August 13. What would you like to tell the blues fans.

C: (laughing) (I could feel the smile) Come early, stay late! We'll blow all the blues away...at least until the next day! We will have fun! See you in August!~Jonnye Weber

After note: I shared with Charlie an amazing tribute. During a difficult time, my late partner had arranged for a nurse to purchase a ticket for me to see Charlie at the Rex. Walking into the building, the music wrapped its arms around me. Charlie helped sooth my wounds. It was a wonderful night to let the blues “wash away the dust of life.” I chatted with Charlie later in the evening. I felt like I was there with a close friend...and his music. At the end of the night when I returned to my husband’s bedside...the ultimate blues lover smiled a very tired smile and asked if Charlie had cheered me up....and how was my dose of the blues for the evening. Charlie's response: (a soft, uplifting chuckle) We are brought together for awhile with the music. Blues is not sad. It's about getting rid of the bad feelings. Blues...well, to quote John Lee Hooker...Blues is a Healer!