Charlie Musselwhite

Charlie Musselwhite

Musselwhite Finds Sanctuary In the Blues
Charlie Musselwhite was destined for a life in the blues from the age of 13, when he learned to play the harmonica. Born in Mississippi and raised in Nashville, Musselwhite found fame in the '60s as part of the Chicago blues scene, performing with Robert Nighthawk, J.B. Hutto, and Homesick James at infamous nightspots such as the Hideaway Club. In 1966, Musselwhite and his own band began a series of influential recordings for the premier blues and folk label of the era, Vanguard Records, including Stand Back!, Stone Blues, and Tennessee Woman. With one of the sweetest-sounding blues harps in the world, Musselwhite's life in the blues has continued through times both hard and glorious for five decades. He's one of the few living white bluesmen universally hailed as a master. Now Musselwhite is recording for Peter Gabriel's Real World label, which has just released Sanctuary, a melancholy set that features Ben Harper and the Blind Boys of Alabama as guests. B&N.com contributor Roberta Penn spoke with this living legend about how Sanctuary evolved.

Barnes & Noble.com: How did you decide what tunes would be on Sanctuary?

Charlie Musselwhite: Both the producers and myself, we had a lot of ideas. We just kept whittling away until we came up with these 12.

B&N.com: Your “My Road Lies in Darkness” has been on previous recordings, hasn’t it? What made you decide to include it in this set?

CM: I recorded it on an Alligator album, and I do it solo live with just guitar in my shows.

B&N.com: I’ve heard Randy Newman’s “Burn Down the Cornfields” on an Etta James record from the ‘70s, and it gave me chills. How did you come to record it?

CM: I was totally unfamiliar with it. Right away I liked the lyrics. I like the humor in it, and it’s kind of mysterious, too. I like it because there are different ways you can take it. One day it means one thing and the next day something else. It doesn’t have to be nailed down.

B&N.com: I like your J. J. Cale take on “Train to Nowhere,” with the Blind Boys of Alabama backing you on vocals.

CM: I thought the Blind Boys made that tune so much more special. One of the producers brought it in.

B&N.com: On a lot of tunes you have a big beat, sometimes just drums are behind your vocals, like on “Shootin’ for the Moon.” That’s new for you, isn’t it?

CM: This is a producer’s project, and they had ideas how it should sound. But much of it was just the musicians sitting around in the studio. The spirit of the music took over. “Shadow People” was just a spontaneous instrumental in the studio.

B&N.com: I love your take on Townes Van Zandt’s “Snake Song” with Charlie Sexton playing the great guitar part.

CM: He’s playing guitar through everything except “Homeless Child” and “Sanctuary.”

B&N.com: How did you hook up with him?

CM: The way we first met was ten years ago. A mutual friend of mine and Tom Waits’s got in some trouble. Tom decided to put on a benefit to raise funds for our friend’s legal problems. Tom came out of retirement for it, and there were a lot of people there. Charlie Sexton was there too. We played together at this benefit, and one of the producers of Sanctuary was there and heard it and wanted to get us together. We really enjoyed playing together, so we were all for it. We played at South by Southwest together and on another record. We were just onstage together at the Continental Club in Austin, and we’ve played together live on several other occasions. He just got through with three years on the road with Bob Dylan and is producing for several artists.

B&N.com: What is it you like about his guitar playing?

CM: He never overplays, and that is so different from many of the blues guitarists today. On Sanctuary I was even trying to take a tonal approach and see how many notes I could not play. It’s a dark mood overall because we are in dark times in America and the world. I would hope the listener would find refuge or sanctuary by listening to this record. Blues is like that, it’s a place a comfort. Its hard times but we can get through this.

B&N.com: What about that title cut, “Sanctuary”?

CM: It’s a tune from a play, “Gospel at Collonus,” and the Blind Boys were in it.

B&N.com: Is that you playing guitar on that sad, sad instrumental by Eddie Harris, “Alicia”?

CM: No, that’s Charlie. It’s introspective, moody. It was on a jukebox in Chicago in the '60s, and I’ve been playing it since then but never found a place for it on an album until now.

B&N.com: The last two cuts, “I Had Trouble” and “Route 19,” are your own, and they are about going back to our roots. Do you think you would ever return to Mississippi to live?

CM: “I had Trouble” is really an autobiographical tune, all of it is true. And yes, we are looking at some places in Mississippi where we could live. Route 19 is where the first Musselwhites settled in the late 1800s. Until recently the log cabin my dad was born in was there. And the old Musselwhite cemetery is still there.

April, 2004