Charlie Musselwhite

Harmonica player and vocalist Charlie Musselwhite was one of the first non- black blues artists to interpret the richly emotive harp styles of Little Walter, Sonny Boy Williamson (Rice Miller), and other great blues harp players.

A Native American of Choctaw ancestry, Musselwhite, like Paul Butterfield, proved that non-black players could make a contribution to the form. Musselwhite was born in Mississippi but grew up in Memphis, where he struck up friendships with Will Shade of the Memphis Jug Band, Furry Lewis, and other old-time bluesmen. By the time Musselwhite moved to Chicago in 1962, he had mastered the rudiments of both harp and guitar, thanks mostly to Shade, and was eager to learn the finer points of the blues.

In 1966 Musselwhite signed a recording contract with Vanguard Records and released Stand Back! Here Comes Charlie Musselwhite's Southside Blues Band, one of the classic blues albums of the decade. Throughout the late '60s and '70s Musselwhite recorded regularly and toured extensively. He cut three more albums for vanguard, Stone Blues (1968) Charlie Musselwhite (1968), and Tennessee Woman (1969), plus a couple for Cherry Red Records, Louisiana Fog and Blues from Chicago, both in 1968, and performed at many of the period's biggest blues festivals, in the U.S. and abroad.

He launched a comeback in 1990 when he signed with Alligator and recorded Ace of Harps, his best effort since his days as an Arhoolie artist. Musselwhite followed Ace of Harps with Signature, another acclaimed album on Alligator. Musselwhite continues to perform and record.

To view his discography click here.