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.
Going Away Baby
Charlie Musselwhite Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I'm going away just worry you off my mind
Now you keeps me worrying all the time
Now I ain't never had but four women in my life
Now I ain't never had but four women in my life
My mother, my sister, my sweetheart and my wife
If you don't want me baby please don't dog me around
Just like you found me, you can put me down
She says goodbye baby if you call that gone
She says goodbye baby if you call that gone
You can leave me now but I swear you won't stay long
The lyrics to Charlie Musselwhite's "Going Away Baby" focus on themes of leaving, breakups, and the desire to escape constant worry. In the first verse, the singer announces their plans to leave in order to stop worrying about their significant other. The line "Now you keeps me worrying all the time" suggests that the relationship is causing anxiety and stress for the singer.
In the second verse, the singer reflects on their past relationships and lists the four women who have had the most significant impact on their life- their mother, sister, sweetheart, and wife. This highlights the importance of familial relationships and love, as well as the vulnerability that comes with romantic love.
The third verse is a plea to the significant other, asking them not to lead the singer on and to be honest about their feelings. The phrase "Just like you found me, you can put me down" suggests a sense of resignation but also implies that the singer is willing to accept the end of the relationship.
The final verse is a response by the significant other, who appears to be dismissive of the singer's departure. The line "You can leave me now but I swear you won't stay long" suggests that the significant other believes the singer will soon return, either out of desire or necessity.
Overall, the lyrics of "Going Away Baby" reveal the complicated emotions involved in leaving a relationship and the difficulty of moving on.
Line by Line Meaning
I'm going away just worry you off my mind
I am leaving in order to stop constantly worrying about you
Now you keeps me worrying all the time
You are the cause of my constant worry
Now I ain't never had but four women in my life
I have only had four significant women in my life: my mother, my sister, my sweetheart, and my wife
My mother, my sister, my sweetheart and my wife
These are the only women who have been significant to me throughout my life
If you don't want me baby please don't dog me around
If you do not want to be with me, please do not string me along or treat me poorly
Just like you found me, you can put me down
You have the power to end our relationship as easily as you began it
She says goodbye baby if you call that gone
She believes that saying goodbye means our relationship is over
You can leave me now but I swear you won't stay long
Even if you leave me, I am confident that you will not be gone for long
Contributed by Stella C. Suggest a correction in the comments below.