Charlie Musselwhite

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Over the years, Musselwhite has released dozens of albums and has contributed to countless others including guesting on Bonnie Raitt’s Grammy award-winning Longing In Their Hearts, The Blind Boys of Alabama’s Grammy-winning Spirit of the Century, Tom Waits’ Mule Variationsand even playing the driving harmonica on INXS’ Suicide Blonde. He was the longtime compadre and musical partner to his friend John Lee Hooker. His recent tour and recording sessions with Ben Harper have led to live and studio tracks featuring Charlie on the limited edition bonus disc of Ben’s soon-to-be released Both Sides of the Gun.

Musical institutions have honored Musselwhite, too. With 18 W.C. Handy awards to his credit and 6 Grammy nominations, he is firmly entrenched in musical history. Musselwhite has also been honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award from The Monterey Blues Festival and the San Javier Jazz Festival in Spain and the Mississippi Governor’s Award for Excellence in the Arts. Perhaps most meaningful to him personally, in 1987, he conquered a long-running battle with alcoholism.

Musselwhite’s version of the blues ventures far beyond conventional honky-tonk – though the Harley Davidsons lined up outside Musselwhite’s gigs testify that Musselwhite has what it takes to rock the house. Musselwhite himself is simply interested in music with feeling – as he puts it, “music from the heart”: “For me, it’s about the feeling, and connecting with people. And blues, if it’s real blues, is loaded with feeling. And it ain’t about technique either, it’s about truth, connecting to the truth and communicating with people.”