Musselwhite was born in the rural hill country of Mississippi. He has said … Read Full Bio ↴Musselwhite was born in the rural hill country of Mississippi. He has said that he is of Choctaw descent, and he was born in a region originally inhabited by the Choctaw. However, in a 2005 interview[citation needed], he said his mother had told him he was actually Cherokee.

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.

Gone Too Long
Charlie Musselwhite Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Now here you come again
With your big wide grin
You wanna get me back
Aint' gonna be like that

Its been three long years
I done run out of tears
'Nother woman's in my home

You've been gone too long
Cried and I cried
The day you said goodbye.

You wouldn't give me no selection
You're tryin' to make a connection
I Had a stroke of good luck
Now you wanna back up

'Nother womans in my home
You stayed away too long

Well here's my hand
Right here at your command
If you need a little favor
Well you can get my labor
One thing I can't stand
The thought of bein' your man
Nother woman's in my home
You've been gone too long
Well goodbye babe
All I got to say
Maybe we'll meet again
Some ole rainy day
I wanta wish you well
Hope it turns out swell
'Nother woman's in my home

You've been gone too long.
Instrumental Ending

Overall Meaning

The song "Gone Too Long" by Charlie Musselwhite tells a story of a man who is being approached by his previous lover after being gone for three years. The man makes it clear that he has moved on and has found a new partner. He refuses to let her come back into his life, stating that she has been gone for too long. The lyrics are straightforward and showcase the emotions that come with betrayal and heartbreak. Despite the man's willingness to help her with anything but being her man, he ultimately wishes her well and says goodbye.

Through its lyrics, "Gone Too Long" speaks to the idea of not always getting a second chance when it comes to love. The woman in this song has missed her chance to be with the man, and he has moved on. The three years that she was gone were enough for him to realize that he deserves better and not to settle for someone who would leave. The lyrics are a reminder that sometimes, people need to take accountability for the consequences of their actions, which can be life-changing.

Charlie Musselwhite's "Gone Too Long" was released in 1986 as part of his album "Where Have All the Good Times Gone?". The song has been covered by other artists over time and is considered a blues classic. The song speaks to many people who have experienced heartbreak and betrayal in their romantic relationships, and the lyrics resonate with those who have moved on and found happiness again.

Line by Line Meaning

Now here you come again
You have returned once more

With your big wide grin
Wearing a wide smile on your face

You wanna get me back
You want me to return to you

Aint' gonna be like that
It won't go as easily as you think

Its been three long years
It has been three years since you left

I done run out of tears
I have cried a lot and I can't cry anymore

'Nother woman's in my home
Another woman is living with me now

You've been gone too long
You have been absent for too long

Cried and I cried
I cried a lot because of you

The day you said goodbye.
I cried on the day you left

You wouldn't give me no selection
You did not give me any options