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.
It Ain't Right
Charlie Musselwhite Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You know it ain't right to treat me like you do
When you don't want me to, do these things to you
You know it ain't right to treat me this-a way
You know it ain't right to treat me this-a way
Takes my money, and go off to play
You know it ain't right to say what you did
You've got another man, and you can't keep it hid
You know it ain't right to stay out all night long
You know it ain't right to stay out all night long
I ain't got nobody, to carry my business on
The lyrics of Charlie Musselwhite's "It Ain't Right" are an expression of the singer's frustration and disappointment with his lover's behavior towards him. The repetition of the phrase "You know it ain't right" adds to the emotional depth of the song, emphasizing how strongly the singer feels about what is happening to him. The first two stanzas highlight how the singer's lover is mistreating him by only wanting him for certain things and taking his money to play. This suggests that their relationship is not genuine and mutually beneficial but rather transactional, leaving the singer feeling used and unappreciated.
The third stanza reveals that the lover has another man and is not being honest with the singer about it. This could mean that the singer is the "other man" in the relationship, and the lover is trying to hide it from him. Alternatively, it could be a case of infidelity and betrayal. The final stanza is perhaps the most poignant, as it reveals the loneliness and isolation the singer is experiencing as a result of his lover's actions. He is left with nobody to turn to or rely on, and his business is suffering as a result. Ultimately, the singer's message is clear: the way he is being treated is unfair, unjust and, above all, it ain't right.
Line by Line Meaning
You know it ain't right to treat me like you do
It is unfair for you to treat me this way when you do not want me to treat you in the same manner.
When you don't want me to, do these things to you
It is unjust for you to act this way towards me while not wanting me to act similarly towards you.
You know it ain't right to treat me this-a way
It is wrong for you to treat me in this manner.
Takes my money, and go off to play
It is inappropriate for you to take my money and spend it on other activities without my consent.
You know it ain't right to say what you did
It is not acceptable for you to say what you did, given that you have someone else in your life that you are keeping hidden.
You've got another man, and you can't keep it hid
It is unjust for you to have another man in your life and try to hide it from me.
You know it ain't right to stay out all night long
It is unfair for you to stay out late all night when I have nobody else to depend on.
I ain't got nobody, to carry my business on
It is difficult for me to manage my business when I have nobody else to turn to for help.
Contributed by Kennedy B. Suggest a correction in the comments below.