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.
Shootin
Charlie Musselwhite Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Waitin' there but she did not show
Wringin' his hands & shakin' his head
Checkin' his watch, it's time to go
They say the sky is the limit
Perfected in the mirror of the mightly Mississippi
Shootin' for the moon
I hear the truth, it's all you can see
There is a trick in the thick of it all
The ghost in the fog is a thin line
Between first light & last call
Waitin' there by the side of the River
Ready to cross to the other shore
Waitin' there by the side of the River
It never looked so wide before
The lyrics of Charlie Musselwhite's "Shootin' For The Moon" speak of waiting for someone by the side of a river, but ultimately leaving that person behind. The opening lines present the singer waiting for someone by the river, but that person does not show up. The singer expresses his frustration by wringing his hands and shaking his head, checking his watch, implying that the person has stood him up. The second half of the stanza introduces an ambitious metaphor of shooting for the moon, as in aiming high and big. However, this ambition has crash-landed in the Crescent City, aka New Orleans. Here, the "shoot for the moon" seems to be a commentary on the expectations of success and a better life that could come from leaving behind one's current circumstances.
The second stanza presents a commentary on truth and reality, as compared to the blur between truth and illusion. The "trick in the thick of it all" can be interpreted as something misleading or tricky in the midst of everything, perhaps referring to the illusions people have of achieving their big aspirations. There's a thin line between first light and last call, meaning there is not much distance between the beginning and end of the night. The final stanza repeats the opening of the song, but now the singer is ready to cross to the other shore, implying that waiting by the river has expanded his perspective and would prompt him to leave past disappointments behind.
Line by Line Meaning
Waitin' there by the side of the River
Standing beside the water, waiting for her to arrive
Waitin' there but she did not show
She did not come, leaving him alone to wait
Wringin' his hands & shakin' his head
Feeling anxious and nervous, expressing distress with his hands
Checkin' his watch, it's time to go
Looking at the clock, realizing it's time to leave
They say the sky is the limit
People say that anything is possible
Perfected in the mirror of the mightly Mississippi
The reflection in the Mississippi River symbolizes achieving one's desires
Shootin' for the moon
Aiming ambitiously high
Crash landed in the crescent city
Failed to achieve the desired goal, landing in a less desirable place
I hear the truth, it's all you can see
The truth is apparent and cannot be hidden
There is a trick in the thick of it all
There is a deception or hidden aspect in complex situations
The ghost in the fog is a thin line
The paranormal in uncertain situations is just barely visible
Between first light & last call
From sunrise to closing time, encompassing a full day
Waitin' there by the side of the River
Standing again by the water, ready to cross to the other side
Ready to cross to the other shore
Prepared to move forward, to cross over to a new place
It never looked so wide before
The challenge ahead appears more daunting than ever
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: SONNY III LANDRETH
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
oldhiway66
Top of his game. Great track by Musselwhite. Thank you for posting this one.
James Cornish
This song is lovely, so haunted and soulful. No northerner should ever attempt this tune. With my Yankee nasal vogue, I'd ruin it :)