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.
Hey Baby
Charlie Musselwhite Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I want to know if you'll be my girl
Hey, hey hey baby!
I want to know if you'll be my girl
When I saw you walking down the street
I said that's a kind of girl I'd like to meet
She's so pretty, Lord she's fine
I'm gonna make her mine, all mine
Hey, hey hey baby!
I want to know if you'll be my girl
When you turned and walked away
Thats when I want to say
C'mon baby, give me a whirl
I want to know if you'll be my girl
Hey, hey hey baby!
I want to know if you'll be my girl
When you turned and walked away
Thats when I want to say
C'mon baby, give me a whirl
I want to know if you'll be my girl
Hey, hey hey baby!
I want to know if you'll be my girl
Hey, hey hey hey hey, baby
C'mon, baby now
The lyrics of Charlie Musselwhite's song "Hey Baby" seem to speak to a first encounter between two strangers on the street, with the singer expressing his immediate attraction to the woman he sees. The repeated refrain of "Hey, hey hey baby! I want to know if you'll be my girl" emphasizes his interest and desire to start a relationship with her. He notes her physical attractiveness and determines that he wants to make her his own, indicating a possible desire for possession or control.
The second stanza takes a more assertive tone, with the singer expressing his desire to take action and pursue the woman: "When you turned and walked away, that's when I want to say, c'mon baby, give me a whirl." He is no longer content to simply admire from afar and instead urges her to take a chance on him. The repetition of the refrain reinforces his persistence and insistence that she consider his proposal.
Overall, the lyrics of "Hey Baby" speak to the common experience of feeling drawn to someone at first sight and wanting to pursue a new and exciting relationship. However, the repeated refrain also hints at a potential possessiveness or pressure to conform to the singer's desires.
Line by Line Meaning
Hey, hey hey baby!
The singer is calling out to a woman, trying to get her attention.
I want to know if you'll be my girl
The singer is expressing interest in the woman and asking if she wants to be in a romantic relationship with him.
When I saw you walking down the street
The singer is describing when he first noticed the woman.
I said that's a kind of girl I'd like to meet
The artist is expressing attraction to the woman's appearance.
She's so pretty, Lord she's fine
The artist is continuing to praise the woman's attractiveness.
I'm gonna make her mine, all mine
The singer is expressing his intention to pursue the woman and have her romantically to himself.
When you turned and walked away
The woman has started to leave the singer's vicinity.
Thats when I want to say
The artist is expressing a desire to express something to the woman at this moment of departure.
C'mon baby, give me a whirl
The artist is asking the woman to spend some time with him and give him a chance.
Hey, hey hey hey hey, baby
The artist is calling out to the woman once more.
C'mon, baby now
The singer is continuing to urge the woman to spend time with him.
Lyrics © Kanjian Music, BMG Rights Management, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Peermusic Publishing
Written by: Bruce Channel, Margaret Cobb
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind