The Blues Foundation announced today, on the eve of the Phuket Festival, that Charlie has been inducted into the Blues Foundation Hall of Fame. This is a good day for blues harmonica!
Congragulations Charlie! I watched him playing the same bay area dives my band did, conquer alcohol, and climb to the top of the blues harp heap. We would often play with Mark Naftlins Blue Monday show from the sleeping lady in Fairfax. Tom Mazzolini broadcasted it live. Bob Weir owned the club and it was a non drinking, non smoking place in the early 80's! But backstage, it was everything and anything. I remember watching Chalie fire up his old chrysler new yorker at 3am with those shades on. He would cruise out at about 15mph. I often wondered how he made it home due the amount of partying he did. This makes getting such reward even more meaningful. I realize his playing is not the stuff that the younger players go for, but he was one of the first to break the blues barrier and play in all black clubs. That opened the door for some many oportunities for us that followed him, including having forums like this exist. I feel he gets ignored a lot by the current blues harp fans/players. That is too bad. Charlie has always been a laid back guy, and never one to hype himself. He is one of the last living links to the greats like SBWII, Little Walter, etc. I hope the award gets him even better gigs. Walter ---------- walter tore's spontobeat - a real one man band and over 1 million spontaneously created songs and growing. I record about 300 full length cds a year.
Hes an incredible story just waiting to be told to the masses. The first white guy to break deep into the black scene...not just at the festival type stuff but late night blues bars on the south side of Chicago, Memphis and Delta. Only white cat in sight. Able to send chills down any spine. A true hard core Mississippi Delta Gentleman. Born in Kosciusko Ms. He transended harp playing. Learned by doing and listening not lessons.Ive had the great pleasure of playing at events with him and spending time backstage talking about the old days. Two lane highway trips up and down 49 and 61 .Anybody whos anybody knows hes the man...past and still present.RESPECT.
One of the first harp players I had finally gotten enough nerve to go up to and talk to. And he was nothing short of a true gentleman. His band at the time included Tommy Hill on drums and Kid Ramos on guitar. They played The Bottom Line in NYC that night. That was also one of my first shows in a string of many in NYC that lasted from the early 90's well into 2009.
Last Edited by on Feb 25, 2010 11:24 AM
I love Charlie Musselwhite. He's kind of like the Albert Collins of harp. You can identify him after just a few notes, even if you've never heard the song before.
I,m also a great fan of Charlies and have seen him numerous times and spent some time talking with him and as said A True Gentleman and I would say a modern day ambassador of the Blues, although I thoroughly enjoy his work on Continental Drifter where he delves into S.American ghetto music(I think its been called)Senor' Charlie as they call out to him on one of the tunes also does some nice licks on INXS,s Suicide Blonde which I,ve often wondered and actually forgot to ask him what type of an effect was used when they recorded that particular tune.
Last Edited by on Feb 25, 2010 6:57 PM
I've been fortunate to get to know Charlie in the last few years. He is the most down to earth, humble, genuinely nice guy - and he has stories for days. I really like the man, not just his playing. ---------- /Greg
Blown Out Reed, um...why do you keep erasing your post and then reposting the exact same thing(except you seem to change the picture below your post slightly every few times you do it)? Do you just want to make sure you have the last post on the thread? : )
Why was my post deleted? This is censorship and detrimental to any meaningful conversation. I politely stated my opinion, which is that I don't like him at all, he can't sing and is just a boring player
Everybody is entitled to their opinion....even if they are a minority of ONE. ---------- Music is your own experience, your own thoughts, your wisdom. If you don't live it, it won't come out of your horn. They teach you there's a boundary line to music. But, man, there's no boundary line to art. - Charlie Parker
This is a thread from several years ago but I thought I'd add my favorite Charlie song. Charlie's Old Hwy 51 Blues. When I saw him earlier this year in Seattle at Mark Hummel's show, he was the best (in my opinion) - so laid back and relaxed, yet so bluesy. Just great!
Last Edited by Rgsccr on Jun 20, 2016 11:52 PM
Charlie will be in my hometown of Ottawa this Thursday night with Elvin Bishop. I have my tickets right here on my desk. They are opening a Jazzfest her in Ottawa. Our Bluesefest in July doesn't have a headliner of this calibre. Charlie is holding a BMA mic in the ad page: http://ottawajazzfestival.com/artists/elvin-bishop-charlie-musselwhite/
@1847 this is exactly how I posted about the show on Facebook; sorry the photo won't transfer here? I posted the responses too.
Owen Evans 10 hrs · Last evening, here in Ottawa, I had the pleasure to hear a performance by two living blues legends: Charlie Musselwhite (blues harmonica) and Elvin Bishop (blues guitar) - accompanied by a super keyboard player / guitarist (whose name I never heard, anyone?) Sheila & I went together with our friends Bonnie & Marc. Marc has also instructed me on the blues harmonica for a couple of years. All of us came away with our own feelings about the performance but with the universal truth that the show was absolutely mesmerizing for so many reasons! Marc paraphrased another musician regarding how the blues transcends other genres of music by being universal. Agreed. I believe that a fellow harp player, Pierre Lacocque says it best when he states: "... The blues, like the Bible, reflects existential emotions that transcend a particular culture or historical context. It speaks to me, to my heart, and to my soul. It has a universal message." http://www.chicagobluesguide.com/…/miss-heat-pierre-inter-2…
Owen Evans's photo.
CommentShare 15Tom Halchak, Kay Kotsis and 13 others Comments Bonnie Penfold Bonnie Penfold Such a pleasure!! (Bob Welsh was on guitar/piano - and did exactly what he needed to, well executed, without a word, fully respectful of the legends on stage.) Unlike · Reply · 3 · 9 hrs
Sheila Evans replied · 3 Replies · 1 hr Winslow Yerxa Winslow Yerxa I remember when both these guys would show up at a local blues jam hosted by Butterfield's original piano player, Mark Naftalin. Just another Monday night in Marin County. The deep camaraderie from a shared background was strongly in evidence. Unlike · Reply · 2 · 4 hrs · Edited Jeremiah Kiser Jeremiah Kiser What a treat :) Unlike · Reply · 1 · 4 hrs Sheila Evans Sheila Evans Ottawa was musically transformed into a back porch deep in the Delta. Old blues tunes simply preformed by two of the best.Delightful. Unlike · Reply · 2 · 1 hr
Last Edited by Owen Evans on Jun 24, 2016 9:24 PM
