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.
Key to the Highway
Charlie Musselwhite Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Billed out my Reno and bound to go
I'm gonna leave here running
Because, walkin' is most too slow
Give me one more kiss, mama
Just before I have to go
When I'm gonna leave this town, girl
I'm goin' back back to the highway
Where I'm better known
Because, you haven't done nothin'
But drove, a good man away from his home
Well it's so long, so long baby
I'm gonna say goodbye
I'm gonna roam this ole highway
Until the day I die
When the moon peep over the mountain
I'll be on my lonesome way
I'm gonna roam this ole highway
Until the break of day
The opening line of the song, “I’ve got the key, to the highway,” is a reference to the freedom and independence that comes with being on the road. The singer of the song has paid his debts and is ready to hit the highway, as staying in one place is too slow for him. The lyric “When the moon peep over the mountain, I’ll be on my lonesome way” further emphasizes the loneliness and isolation of his life on the road.
In the second stanza, the singer requests one last kiss from his lover. He sings, “Give me one more kiss, mama, just before I have to go.” However, he has already made up his mind to leave and never come back. The repeated line “Ain’t coming back down no more” shows that he’s ready to move on and start a new chapter in his life. Finally, the song ends with the singer saying goodbye to his lover and hitting the road once again to roam until the break of day.
Overall, the song Key to the Highway is about the allure and freedom of life on the open road, as well as the loneliness and isolation that comes with it.
Line by Line Meaning
I've got the key, to the highway
I have the freedom to travel wherever I please
Billed out my Reno and bound to go
I've paid off my debts and I'm ready to hit the road
I'm gonna leave here running
I'm eager to start my journey and I'll be moving quickly
Because, walkin' is most too slow
Walking is too slow and restrictive for someone like me
Give me one more kiss, mama
I want to say goodbye and show my affection one last time
Just before I have to go
Before I embark on my journey and leave this place behind
When I'm gonna leave this town, girl
I'm leaving this place for good and not looking back
Ain't coming back down no more
I have no intention of returning to this place again
I'm goin' back back to the highway
I'm returning to the open road where I feel most at home
Where I'm better known
I've made a name for myself on the road and I'm welcomed there
Because, you haven't done nothin'
The people in this town don't understand me or appreciate my talents
But drove, a good man away from his home
The town and its people have pushed me away and caused me to leave
Well it's so long, so long baby
I'm saying goodbye to someone I care about deeply
I'm gonna say goodbye
I'm telling the people and places of this town the same thing
I'm gonna roam this ole highway
I'm opening myself up to the endless possibilities and adventures of the road
Until the day I die
I'll be on the road for as long as I live
When the moon peep over the mountain
In the late hours of the night, when everything is quiet and peaceful
I'll be on my lonesome way
I'll be traveling alone, enjoying the freedom and solitude of the road
Until the break of day
I'll keep moving until the sun comes up and a new day begins
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: MCKINLEY MORGANFIELD
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
rockalitico
Tremendo!!!.... Cuanto sabe Charlie
matteo garibaldoni
semplicemente grande,charlie è unico
Jack Russell
What can you say..Great stuff..
Rose Davila
MUY BUENO
steve hady
Always one of my favorites. Used to see him at The Nitty Gritty in Madison, Wi in the early 70s
Vito Barzuk
Awesome!
R Marty
Saw him play in Sandpoint Idaho in the 90s, awesome!
Paul Martin
Charlie signed my old mixed blues album one night and my blues magazine. Tramps back in nyc in the day, in Chelsea. Called him Memphis Charlie on the album. His younger musicians that night got a kick out of his young photo on the album
Richardo Boyd
Oh my, Charlie workin' it.
Richardo Boyd
More than workin' it, he owned it. :-)