Booking Charlie Musselwhite

Charlie Musselwhite Biography

American blues musician Charlie Musselwhite was born in 1944 in Mississippi. Charlie’s father played harmonica and guitar, his mother played piano, and he had other relatives who performed in small bands. That Charlie would grow up with an interest in pursuing music as a career is no surprise, and so when the family moved to Memphis, a teenage Musselwhite immersed himself fully in the local music scene, now exploding with the rockabilly sounds that would give rise to rock and roll.

Musselwhite quickly established a reputation for his musical talents, becoming known as “Memphis Charlie” to those in town. As a young adult, Charlie moved to the south side area of Chicago, where he forged friendships with some of the industry’s most notable talents—Muddy Waters, Buddy Guy, Big Walter Horton, and many others. After forming his own blues band, Musselwhite signed with Vanguard Records and entered the studio to prepare for a debut album.

The result, Stand Back! Here Comes Charley Musselwhite’s Southside Band, was an immediate success upon its release in 1996. The album set the stage for a career that has since contributed twenty albums and countless contributions to works by other artists. Notable collaborations for Musselwhite include the Blind Boys of Alabama’s Spirit of the Century; Bonnie Raitt’s Longing in Their Hearts; and Ben Harper’s Grammy-award winning album Get Up! In addition, Charlie’s own albums have been nominated six times for Grammy awards and he himself has earned multiple Lifetime Achievement Awards.

Charlie Musselwhite continues to perform and record. He was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in 2010, and most recently, he won the Blues Music Award for Best Instrumentalist—Harmonicist in 2015.