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. At the age of three, Musselwhite moved to Memphis, Tennessee. When he was a teenager, Memphis experienced the period when rockabilly, western swing, electric blues, and some forms of African American music were combining to give birth to rock and roll. The period featured 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. 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."[citation needed]
In true bluesman fashion, Musselwhite then took off in search of the rumored "big-paying factory jobs" up the "Hillbilly Highway", legendary Highway 61 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, and occasionally working at Jazz Record Mart (the record store operated by Delmark Records founder Bob Koester) 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; 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.
In time, Musselwhite led his own blues band, and, after Elektra Records' success with Paul Butterfield, he released the classic[citation needed] 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.
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. He also appeared on Tom Waits' Mule Variations and INXS' Suicide Blonde. He himself has won 14 W. C. Handy awards and six 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.
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.
Unfortunately, Musselwhite, as with many of his peers, fell victim to alcoholism; by his own admission[citation needed], he had never been on stage sober until after he stopped drinking entirely in 1987.
In 1990 Musselwhite signed with Alligator Records, a step led to a resurgence of his career.
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, with Musselwhite's wife ironing out all the details.
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."[1]
His past two albums, Sanctuary and Delta Hardware have both been released on Real World Records.
Clarksdale Boogie
Charlie Musselwhite Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Meet me where, where they play good blues
Come to clarksdale fall right in the blues
Jump it on 61, well be having fun, jump it on 61, blues is on the run
Jump it on 61, well be having fun, jump it on 61, blues is on the run
......cause my baby walking slow
And the boogie first one on the floor
Hip shaking mama, loud as she can be
Hip shaking mama, shake all over me
Hip shaking mama, loud as she can be
Shake all over me, shake all over me
Boogie baby set the blues on fire
Boogie baby set the blues on fire
Jump all night and never can get tired
Alright, here she comes
Hip shaking mama, loud as she can be
Hip shaking mama, shake all over me
Hip shaking mama, shake all over me
Shake all over me, shake all over me
We don't care if it rains all night
We don't care if it rains all night
Clarksdale loaded with good blues tonight
Jump it on 61, well be having fun, jump it on 61, blues is on the run
Jump it on 61, well be having fun, jump it on 61, blues is on the run
Alright
Let's go
The lyrics of Charlie Musselwhite's song Clarksdale Boogie paint a vivid picture of a fun and lively blues scene in the town of Clarksdale, Mississippi. The singer invites the listener to join him in this musical haven, where they play good blues and fall right into the rhythm of the town. The mention of 61 refers to Highway 61, which runs through Clarksdale and is known as the "blues highway" as it connects iconic blues locations such as New Orleans, Memphis, and St. Louis.
The song features a boogie beat that inspires dancing all night long, with a hip shaking mama leading the way. Her loud presence and passionate performance shake all over the singer, giving the song a sensual and energetic vibe. The lyrics also convey a sense of carefree attitude and disregard for external factors such as the rain, as long as the town is loaded with good blues tonight.
Overall, Clarksdale Boogie is a celebration of the blues and the sense of community that it brings. It's an invitation to let loose, have fun, and join the musical journey that Clarksdale provides.
Line by Line Meaning
Meet me where, where they play good blues
Come and join me at a place where they perform good blues music
Come to clarksdale fall right in the blues
Come to Clarksdale to immerse yourself in the blues music scene
Jump it on 61, well be having fun, jump it on 61, blues is on the run
Let's take Highway 61 and enjoy the ride while listening to blues music
cause my baby walking slow
My partner is moving slowly and we need to hurry up
And the boogie first one on the floor
The boogie is the first dance of the night and everyone is eager to move to the rhythm
Hip shaking mama, loud as she can be
There is a woman in the room shaking her hips with loud energy
Shake all over me, shake all over me
She is dancing so well that she is shaking all over me and I can't help but feel the rhythm
Boogie baby set the blues on fire
This boogie dance is so good that it's adding fuel to the already on-fire blues music
Jump all night and never can get tired
We can dance all night long without ever getting tired because the music is so good
We don't care if it rains all night
We are so caught up in the music that we don't care about the weather outside
Clarksdale loaded with good blues tonight
Clarksdale is filled with excellent blues music tonight
Alright
Let's keep enjoying the music and keep the good times rolling
Contributed by Madison B. Suggest a correction in the comments below.