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.
No More Lonely Nights
Charlie Musselwhite Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I'm not going to spend another lonely night by myself
If I can't find my baby I'll have to carry somebody else
All night last night I haven't slept a wink this day
All night last night I haven't slept a wink this day
I can't find my baby, well I'll get myself somebody else
Yesterday has been long, long and lonesome day
And it looks like tomorrow is going to be same a-way
The lyrics to Charlie Musselwhite's "No More Lonely Nights" talk about the desperation someone feels when they are alone and cannot find their significant other. The chorus, "I'm not going to spend another lonely night by myself," reiterates the main message of the song, that being alone is unbearable. The second line of this chorus, "If I can't find my baby I'll have to carry somebody else," suggests that the singer would rather be with anyone if they cannot be with the person they want. This theme of desperation is picked up again in the second verse, where the singer says, "All night last night I haven't slept a wink this day / I can't find my baby, well I'll get myself somebody else." The singer is unable to sleep and is searching for someone to be with, even if it's not the person they truly want to be with.
The last verse talks about how the previous day was lonely and that the singer expects the next day to be the same. There is a hopeless tone to these lyrics, and it suggests that the singer has been alone for a while and is tired of it. Overall, "No More Lonely Nights" is a song that explores the pitfalls of being alone and the lengths someone might go to avoid it.
Line by Line Meaning
I'm not going to spend another lonely night by myself
I refuse to experience loneliness once again tonight without someone by my side
If I can't find my baby I'll have to carry somebody else
If I cannot locate my significant other, I'm willing to take someone else with me to fill the void
All night last night I haven't slept a wink this day
Throughout last evening, I was unable to catch any shuteye and the same holds true for today
I can't find my baby, well I'll get myself somebody else
Since I'm unable to locate the person I'm seeking, I'll locate someone else instead to keep me company
Yesterday has been long, long and lonesome day
The previous day seemed like an eternity due to its lack of excitement or social activity
And it looks like tomorrow is going to be same a-way
Unfortunately, the forthcoming day seems to be shaping up in a similar uneventful manner
Writer(s): CHARLES MUSSELWHITE
Contributed by Christian R. Suggest a correction in the comments below.