THE SIGHT OF blues-harp legend Charlie Musselwhite holding a Harmony acoustic guitar on the cover of his 2022 album, Mississippi Son (Alligator), isn’t as incongruous as you might think. Chances are, if you’ve listened to any of his two-dozen-plus solo albums, you’ve already heard Musselwhite play guitar. But he wouldn’t be offended if you didn’t notice. After all, harmonica has been his calling card since the 1960s, when he was sitting in with Muddy Waters and other foundational blues artists on Chicago’s South Side.
But throughout his five-decade career in blues music, Musselwhite has snuck a bit of his own fretwork into the mix across most of his albums. On Mississippi Son, which pays tribute to the music and region that inspired him, he finally brings his guitar playing to the forefront on 14 country blues songs recorded in his adopted Mississippi Delta hometown of Clarksdale, where Son House, Charley Patton, Robert Johnson and other blues greats played.
“The guitar players in my band that I hired, to me they were way better, more modern guitar players than I was,” Musselwhite admits, speaking from his home, which backs up to the languid Sunflower River as it flows through one of the most fertile musical landscapes in America. “I liked having a guy that could play a strong rhythm underneath me so I can play the harp over the top of that. And a good player makes you play better.”
This story is from the November 2022 edition of Guitar Player.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the November 2022 edition of Guitar Player.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
MY CAREER IN FIVE SONGS
\"La Grange\" aside, these are the songs Billy F. Gibbons considers among his finest achievements.
TIP SHEET
He's played with and learned from the masters. Here are Christone \"Kingfish\" Ingram's best practices for performance.
How I Wrote..."The Story in Your Eyes"
Justin Hayward reveals the story and hidden message behind the Moody Blues' timeless 1971 hit single.
TWA
Krytical Mass KM-01 Reactive Octave Fuzz
FENDER
Tone Master Pro FR-10 Powered Cabinet
TWO NOTES
Special Edition Limited Run Torpedo Captor X
FENDER
Tone Master Pro Floor Modeler
AMERICANA AMBASSADOR
David Grisman details the historic mandolins, guitars and banjos he played on the Acoustic America album, as exhibited at Arizona's Musical Instrument Museum.
CAN'T STOP THE BOP
He's a bebop originator who's played with everyone from Charlie Parker to Jimmy McGriff. Now 96 and fronting a new album, Chicago guitarist George Freeman shows no sign of slowing down
DIRTY DEEDS
Looking for fresh musical inspiration, Kenny Wayne Shepherd left Nashville for Alabama's FAME Studios. The result is Dirt on My Diamonds, Vol. 1, the first half of a new album project that continues his blues-rock evolution.