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.
Please Remember Me
Charlie Musselwhite Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
If we never, never meet again?
Will you please remember me?
I′ll always be your friend
I wanna go, go back home
I can't find my way
I wanna go, go back home
Once I had, I had a few good days
They're all behind me now
Once I had a few good days
Guess I'll get by somehow
I went down one old lonesome road
Couldn′t find my way back
I went down one old lonesome road
Wasn′t nobody crying 'bout that
Will you please remember me
If we never, never meet again?
Will you please remember me?
I′ll always be your friend
The lyrics of Charlie Musselwhite's song Please Remember Me convey deep emotions of loss, regret, and the longing for recognition and connection. It is a song about the fear of being forgotten and the need for reassurance that one's existence and impact on others will not fade into obscurity. The singer pleads with his listeners to remember him even if they never meet again. He wants to be remembered as a friend and hopes that his memory will not fade away.
The lines "I wanna go, go back home, I can't find my way" suggest that the singer is lost and struggling to find his way back to his true self. He feels disconnected from his past and is searching for a sense of belonging. The mention of "a few good days" and how they're "behind me now" implies that the singer has had a difficult journey and is reminiscing about happier times. However, he is not dwelling on his past and is determined to "get by somehow."
The repeated phrase "Will you please remember me?", followed by "I'll always be your friend," conveys a sense of vulnerability and insecurity. The singer seeks reassurance that his memory will live on and that he will not be forgotten. He recognizes the transitory nature of human connections and wants to leave a lasting impact on those who have touched his life.
Overall, Please Remember Me is a poignant reflection on the human need for connection and the fear of being forgotten. It is a reminder that even when we feel lost and disconnected, the impact we have on others can never truly be erased.
Line by Line Meaning
Will you please remember me
The singer is asking the listener to remember them even if they never see each other again.
If we never, never meet again?
The singer is wondering if they will ever see the listener again in the future.
I′ll always be your friend
The singer wants the listener to know that they will always be their friend.
I wanna go, go back home
The artist wants to go back to their home for comfort.
I can't find my way
The artist is lost and unsure of what to do next.
Guess I′ll get lucky one day
The singer hopes that things will turn around for them eventually.
Once I had, I had a few good days
The singer has fond memories of the past.
They're all behind me now
The artist realizes that those good days are gone and they can never return.
Guess I'll get by somehow
The artist will find a way to cope with their current situation.
I went down one old lonesome road
The artist has been on a difficult journey alone.
Couldn′t find my way back
The singer feels lost and unable to find their way out of their troubles.
Wasn′t nobody crying 'bout that
No one else is concerned about the artist's struggles.
Writer(s): Charles Musselwhite
Contributed by Caroline M. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Mitch Gawlik
Back in the day Charlie looked like a hit man, these days he seems like the most mellow man
on earth. He's a national treasure.
heartofmusic1
playin' it for my late, who I lost 22 years ago yesterday. This Charlie Musselwhite is really good! ♥♪
Marek Dembiński
Heart of...?
Warren Floyd
Sing it Charlie, true blues !!!!
Arkady Yablokov
Прекрасно... Могу слушать бесконечно. Чарли Масселуайт и Джеймс Коттон, пожалуй самые великие харперы современного блюза...
MonkeyBlueAss
HE TOUCH MY SOUL WITH THIS SONG !
Marek Dembiński
Charlie ....czaruje. Amazing !!!!!
Jose
Un buen blues como los de antes para escucharlo un buen día de lluvia en el campo y en soledad
Ma Valentina Nuñez
jose.pedro. sanchez.marañon. 💕
Roy Arauz
QUE BUENA LETRA DE CANCION Y EL VIDEO ME RECUERDA MI VIDA EN SUR DE LUISIANA, GO CHARLIE. GO