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.
I Don
Charlie Musselwhite Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
But there's a circus coming out
Always busy proving
What the world is all about
It's no use looking you in the eye
I don't believe a word you say
Blame it on hard living
Blame it on the victims
All stumbling behind
I don't even need to look you in the eye
I don't believe a word you say
Don't know what to do without you
Don't know what to do with you
Used to look at you with wonder
Now I look at you and wonder
I can't even look you in the eye
I don't believe a word you say
The first stanza of "I Don't Play" describes the singer's inability to trust someone who constantly talks, yet doesn't seem to say anything meaningful. The singer recognizes a pattern of that person always trying to prove themselves to the world, but ultimately their words come out like a "circus." The singer implies that they already know the person is lying or speaking insincerely even without looking them in the eye. The line "It's no use looking you in the eye" suggests that the singer doesn't want to be drawn in by further attempts at persuasion.
In the second stanza, the singer suggests reasons for the individual's behavior, blaming it on external circumstances such as hard living, the times, and victims. They seem to be implying that the individual is using these circumstances as an excuse for their behavior or to gain sympathy. The singer repeats their previous line about not needing to look the person in the eye, once again emphasizing their distrust.
The final stanza switches gears slightly, expressing confusion and frustration regarding the relationship with the individual in question. The singer doesn't seem to know how to interact with them, and implies that there used to be a time when they viewed the person with wonder, but that time has now passed. The song ends on the reiterated line about not believing a word the person says, which serves as a conclusion to the entire track of distrust.
Overall, "I Don't Play" is a song about recognizing someone as insincere or untrustworthy and refusing to engage with them emotionally or intellectually. The singer sees lies and excuses instead of real communication and decides not to allow themselves to be drawn in.
Line by Line Meaning
I see your mouth moving
I am aware that you are speaking
But there's a circus coming out
However, what you are saying is absurd and unbelievable
Always busy proving
You are constantly trying to convince others to believe your lies
What the world is all about
Your words often relate to the bigger picture of life around us
It's no use looking you in the eye
Making eye contact with you is pointless and does not change the fact that I do not believe you
Blame it on hard living
The challenges you have faced in life are the reason why you lie
Blame it on the times
The current state of the world is causing you to lie
Blame it on the victims
You put the blame on others for your actions
All stumbling behind
People who are struggling in life are becoming affected by your lies
Don't know what to do without you
I am uncertain how I would live my life without you
Don't know what to do with you
I am uncertain how to handle you and your deceitful ways
Used to look at you with wonder
I once viewed you with amazement and admiration
Now I look at you and wonder
Currently, I have doubts and suspicions towards you
I can't even look you in the eye
I am incapable of making eye contact with you due to my lack of trust and belief in you
I don't believe a word you say
Your words hold no truth or value to me
Lyrics © RESERVOIR MEDIA MANAGEMENT INC
Written by: BENJAMIN CHASE HARPER, CHARLES MUSSELWHITE, JASON MOZERSKY, JESSE INGALLS, JORDAN RICHARDSON
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@Cole4737
This song is like therapy for a Heartache. Not a word!!
@georgealanlpsandcds9311
Ben is becoming a legendary bluesman - yeah!
@lukecarter6970
Directions for the hours after a hard day: 1) Lay on bed 2) Listen to Ben Harper
@jonathanparrott2574
Cleveland, MS...Bolivar County... I was born and raised here in MS, Charlie is a national treasure to us.
@ricardoabreubr
Inspiration by Jimmy Page and Robert Plant !!!!!!!! Sensational, thank God you're both here and playing together.
@danielpinkowski4890
Man I remember this came out when The Black Leys released Turn Blue, Wolfmother released New Crown, The Eagles Of Death Metal were touring, along with Mumford and Sons... so much good music that year
@willykayak
amazing soul stretching blues and the great Charlie Musslewhite. . .Wow!!! also love " I Ride at Dawn" from this album. . . .special. . . .like the HELL out of it. . . . .thanks Ben & Charlie for the compliation. . . Willy
@Stu411
Oh yea, Brilliant combo, love Charlie Musselwhites tone through that mic!
@axslinger2001
People get hung up on "Burn one Down" and don't realize that Ben is so much more . He is the real deal and continues to evolve, this is the proof!
@kimberlyacosta8829
Ben harpers curse is his AWESOME BEAUTIFUL looks