Cover of Charlie Musselwhite's Stand Back album

Charlie Musselwhite (born January 31, 1944 in Kosciusko, Mississippi) is an American blues harp (harmonica) player and band leader, one of the white bluesmen who came to prominence in the early 1960s, along with Mike Bloomfield and Paul Butterfield. Image File history File links Charliemusselwhite. ... Image File history File links Charliemusselwhite. ... January 31 is the 31st day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1944 was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar). ... Kosciusko is a city located in Attala County, Mississippi. ... Harp Attack! blues harp album cover Blues harp or cross harp is a technique of playing an ordinary harmonica which originated in the blues, not a type of harp or harmonica. ... A harmonica A harmonica is a very common free reed musical wind instrument (also known, among other things, as a mouth organ, french harp, blues harp, simply harp, or Mississippi saxophone), having multiple, variably-tuned brass or bronze reeds, each secured at one end over an airway slot of like... The 1960s, or The Sixties, in its most obvious sense refers to the decade between 1960 and 1969, but the expression has taken on a wider meaning over the past twenty years. ... Mike Bloomfield album cover Mike Bloomfield (July 28, 1943 – February 15, 1981) was an American musician, guitarist and composer. ... Paul Butterfield (December 17, 1942 - May 4, 1987) was an American blues musician, and one of the most innovative harmonica players of the electric blues Chicago-originated style. ...

Musselwhite was born in the rural hill country of Mississippi. His family considered it normal to play music, with his father playing guitar and harmonica, his mother playing piano, and a relative who was a one man band. As a teenager, Musselwhite moved to Memphis, Tennessee during the period when African-American music and white music were combining to give birh to rock and roll, rockabilly, and electric blues, and legendary figures such as Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Johnny Cash, as well as minor legends such as Gus Cannon, Furry Lewis, Will Shade, Royal Bell, Memphis Willie B., Johnny Burnette, Red Roby, Abe McNeal, and Slim Rhodes could be not only seen in the local clubs and private parties but even approached person to person. Musselwhite supported himself by digging ditches, laying concrete and running moonshine in a 1950 Lincoln. This environment was Musselwhite's school for music as well as life, and he acquired the nickname Memphis Charlie. City nickname: The River City or The Bluff City Location in the state of Tennessee County Shelby County, Tennessee Area  - Total  - Water 763. ... African Americans, also known as Afro-Americans, Black Americans, or simply blacks are an ethnic group in the United States of America whose ancestors, usually in predominant part, were indigenous to West and Central Africa. ... Rock and roll (also spelled Rock n Roll, especially in its first decade), also called rock, is a form of popular music, usually featuring vocals (often with vocal harmony), electric guitars and a strong back beat; other instruments, such as the saxophone, are common in some styles. ... Rockabilly is the earliest form of rock and roll as a distinct style of music. ... The electric blues is a type of blues music distinguished simply by the amplification of the guitar, or, more rarely, the bass or harmonica. ... Elvis is still alive, and stays in his secret room, with a sex machine. ... Jerry Lee Lewis Jerry Lee Lewis (born September 29, 1935) is an American rock and roll singer, songwriter, and pianist, as well as an early pioneer of the rock and roll movement. ... Johnny Cash (February 26, 1932 – September 12, 2003) was a vastly influential singer and songwriter. ... Gus Cannon (September 12, 1883 - October 15, 1979) was an American blues musician who helped to popularize jug bands (such as his own Cannons Jug Stompers) in the 1920s and 1930s. ... Furry Lewis was a blues guitarist from Memphis, Tennessee. ... Johnny Burnette (March 25, 1934 - August 14, 1964) was a Rockabilly pioneer in Memphis, Tennessee. ... This article is about the construction material. ... Shine Road The name tells the history of this back road Hemingway, South Carolina The literal meaning of moonshine is the light of the moon, but because the activity of distilling whiskey unlawfully was usually done at night with as little light as possible, the word became both a verb... 1950 was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... // Now a widespread name, Lincoln is originally a city in eastern England. ...

In true bluesman fashion, Musselwhite then took off in search of the rumored "big-paying factory jobs" up the "Hillbilly Highway", legendary Highway 51 to Chicago, where he continued his education on the South Side, making the acquaintance of even more legends including Muddy Waters, Junior Wells, Sonny Boy Williamson, Buddy Guy, Howlin' Wolf, Little Walter, and Big Walter Horton. Musselwhite immersed himself completely in the musical life, living in the basement of Delmark Records 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 the nearby bar, Mr. Joe's, with the city's blues musicians, and sitting in with Big Joe Williams and others in the clubs, playing for tips. There he forged a lifelong friendship with John Lee Hooker even though Hooker lived in Detroit, Michigan, the two often visiting each other, and Hooker serving as best man at Musselwhite's wedding. Gradually Musselwhite became well known around town. For the emotional state, see Depression (mood). ... Chicago (officially named the City of Chicago) is the third largest city in the United States (after New York City and Los Angeles), with an official population of 2,896,016, as of the 2000 census. ... The neighborhoods of Chicago lay within Chicagos seventy-seven community areas. ... McKinley Morganfield (April 4, 1915 – April 30, 1983), better known as Muddy Waters, was an American blues musician and is generally considered the father of Chicago blues. ... Junior Wells (December 9, 1934 - January 15, 1998), real name Amos Blackmore, was a blues harmonica player based in Chicago who was famous for playing with Muddy Waters, Buddy Guy, Magic Sam, Lonnie Brooks, the Rolling Stones and Van Morrison. ... There were 2 popular blues harmonica players that went by the name Sonny Boy Williamson Sonny Boy Williamson I, also known as John Lee Williamson was an American blues harmonica player, born in Jackson, Tennessee, whose first record Good Morning, School Girl was a hit in 1937. ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... Howlin Wolf album cover Chester Arthur Burnett (June 10, 1910 – January 10, 1976), better known as Howlin Wolf, was an African American blues singer, songwriter, guitarist and harmonica player. ... Little Walter (born Marion Walter Jacobs) (May 1, 1930 - February 15, 1968) was a blues singer and harmonica player. ... Big Walter Horton (born April 6, 1918 - died December 8, 1981) was an African American blues harmonica player. ... Big Joe Williams (October 16, 1903 - December 17, 1982) was an American blues musician and songwriter, known for his characteristic style of guitar-playing, his nine-string guitar, and his bizarre, cantankerous personality. ... Exterminator could refer to A practitioner in pest control. ... John Lee Hooker John Lee Hooker (August 22, 1917 – June 21, 2001) was an influential American blues singer, guitarist, and songwriter born in Clarksdale, Mississippi. ... Motto: Speramus Meliora; Resurget Cineribus (We Hope For Better Things; It Shall Rise From the Ashes - this motto was adopted after the disastrous 1805 fire that devastated the city) Nickname: The Motor City and Motown Location in Michigan Founded  -Incorporated July 24, 1701 1816  County Wayne County Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick...

In time, Musselwhite naturally led his own blues band, and, after Elektra Records' success with Paul Butterfield, he released the classic Stand Back! album in 1966 on Vanguard Records (as "Charley Musselwhite"), to immediate and great 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 even convinced Hooker to move out to California. Elektra Records was a record label started in 1950 by Jac Holzman and Paul Rickholt, who both invested $300. ... Paul Butterfield (December 17, 1942 - May 4, 1987) was an American blues musician, and one of the most innovative harmonica players of the electric blues Chicago-originated style. ... 1966 was a common year starting on Saturday (link goes to calendar) // Events January January 1 - In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa ousts president David Dacko and takes over the Central African Republic. ... Vanguard Records was a record label set up in 1950 by brothers Maynard and Seymour Solomon in New York. ... This page is a candidate for speedy deletion. ... Flower child originated as a synonym for hippie, for their custom of wearing flowers to symbolize peace and love also refered as peace and love. The term has evolved independently of its origins as a synonym for hippie. ...

Since then, Musselwhite has released over 20 albums, as well as guesting on albums by many other musicians, such as Bonnie Raitt's Longing in Their Hearts and The Blind Boys of Alabama's Spirit of the Century, both winners of Grammy awards, Tom Waits' Mule Variations, and INXS' Suicide Blonde. He himself has won 14 W. C. Handy awards and 6 Grammy nominations, as well as Lifetime Achievement Awards from the Monterey Blues Festival and the San Javier Jazz Festival in San Javier, Spain, and the Mississippi Governor's Award for Excellence in the Arts. Bonnie Raitt on the cover of her album Silver Lining Bonnie Raitt, (born November 8, 1949) is an American singer, songwriter, and guitar virtuoso who was born in Burbank, California, the daughter of Broadway musical star John Raitt. ... Longing in Their Hearts is the twelfth album by Bonnie Raitt, released in 1994 (see 1994 in music). ... The Blind Boys of Alabama are a gospel music group from Alabama that first formed at the Alabama Institute for the Negro Blind in 1939. ... The Grammy Awards (originally the Gramophone Awards), presented by the Recording Academy (an association of Americans professionally involved in the recorded music industry) for outstanding achievements in the recording industry, is one of four major music awards shows held annually in the United States (the Billboard Music Awards, the American... Tom Waits Tom Waits (born Thomas Alan Waits on December 7, 1949 in Pomona, California) is an American singer-songwriter, composer and actor. ... Mule Variations is an album by Tom Waits, released 1999 by the Anti sub-label of Epitaph Records. ... The Australian band INXS, as they were with the late Michael Hutchence INXS is an Australian rock group. ...

In 1979, Musselwhite recorded The Harmonica According to Charlie Musselwhite in London for Kicking Mule Records, intended to go with an instructional book; the album itself became so popular that it has been released on CD. This page refers to the year 1979. ... The clock tower of the Palace of Westminster, which contains Big Ben London is the capital city of the United Kingdom and of England. ... Kicking Mule Records was a record label which was acquired by Fantasy Records. ...

Unfortunately, Musselwhite, as with many of his peers, fell victim to alcoholism, particularly when playing; by his own admission, he had never been on stage sober. In 1987, he finally quit drinking, and in 1990 signed with Alligator Records, which led to a resurgence of his career. 1987 is a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1990 is a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Alligator Records is the Chicago based record label set up by Bruce Iglauer with his own savings torecord and produce his favorite band Hound Dog Taylor & The HouseRockers. ...

Over the years, Musselwhite has branched out in style. His 1999 recording, Continental Drifter, is accompanied by Quarteto Patria, from Cuba's Santiago region, the Cuban music analog of the Mississippi Delta. Because of the political differences between Cuba and the United States, the album was recorded in Bergen, Norway, Musselwhite's wife ironing out all the details. 1999 is a common year starting on Friday Anno Domini (or the Current Era), and was designated the International Year of Older Persons by the United Nations. ... Santiago de Cuba is the capital city of Santiago de Cuba Province in eastern Cuba. ... To the natives of the state of Mississippi the Mississippi Delta is the distinct northwest section of the state, generally between the Mississippi and Yazoo Rivers. ... County Hordaland Landscape Midhordland Municipality NO-1201 Administrative centre Bergen Mayor (2004) Herman Friele (H) Official language form Neutral Area  - Total  - Land  - Percentage Ranked 215 465 km² 445 km² 0. ...

Musselwhite believes the key to his musical success was finding a style where he could express himself. He has 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."