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2006-06-08
7:30PM
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"Charlie Musselwhite is one of the greatest living harp players of country blues. He is right up there with Sonny Boy Williamson, and he's been my harp player ever since Sonny Boy got killed."
- Big Joe Williams, legendary blues guitarist
"[Paul] Butterfield and [Charlie] Musselwhite will probably be forever linked as the two most interesting, arguably 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."
- Dan Forte & Al Campbell, AllMusic Guide |
[ Complete Show Schedule... ] |
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FEATURING:
Charlie Musselwhite - harmonica/vocals
Chris "The Kid" Andersen - guitar
Randy Bermudas - bass
June Core - drums |
CHARLIE MUSSELWHITE was born in the hill country of Mississippi and landed in Memphis at a time when the city was coming of age right along with him. The Memphis clubs were exploding into the dynamic music scene that blended black and white influences and gave birth to rock and roll and its greatest giants. Teenaged Charlie often saw Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis and Johnny Cash cruising the hot spots around town. Living across the street from rockabilly legends Johnny Burnette and Slim Rhodes, Charlie was on the invitation list to parties hosted by Elvis, who had suddenly made it cool to be a poor white kid from Mississippi with greased hair and a hunger for music. Charlie lost no time in developing skills for which he himself became legendary - learning to drink deep, comb his hair "right", and to play the hell out of both harp and guitar.
Charlie took these influences and ran with them. Forming his own band, he released his 1966 Vanguard debut, Stand Back! Now considered a classic recording, this album achieved immediate underground success and established Charlie as a blues force in his own right. The album's triumph took Charlie out to California, and he stayed for the good times, good weather and the bounty of good paying gigs. Able for the first time to completely devote himself to music, leaving the "day jobs" far behind, he became a regular player in the San Francisco music scene. Charlie was in "the scene", but he also brought the hard edges of Chicago with him, and to the flower children of San Francisco he was an exotic, intoxicating, very sexy phenomenon.
Musical institutions have honoured Charlie, too. With 14 W.C. Handy awards to his credit and 6 Grammy nominations, he is firmly entrenched in musical history. Charlie has also been honoured with the Lifetime Achievement Award from The Monterey Blues Festival and the San Javier Jazz Festival in Spain and the Mississippi Governor's Award for Excellence in the Arts.
Charlie's version of the blues ventures far beyond conventional honky-tonk - though the Harley Davidsons lined up outside Charlie's gigs testify that Charlie has what it takes to rock the house. Charlie himself is simply interested in sound - as he puts it, "music from the heart": international, cross-cultural, modern and classic, those sounds and tones that have feeling.
Charlie -- whose career spans 40 years and 34 albums -- is back with a new album, "Delta Hardware," set for release on May 16 on Real World Records.
The new record reflects and expands on Charlie's tougher edge, first evident on his breakthrough 1967 release, "Stand Back." In his early days, he befriended and jammed with Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf and Little Walter, just as today he plays with the likes of Ben Harper and Tom Waits. Musselwhite incorporates all his musical and life experiences into 'Delta Hardware,' a new and powerful batch of hard-rocking blues.
http://www.charliemusselwhite.com/ |
