Charlie Musselwhite is a blues harp player, vocalist and acoustic guitarist. After learning at the feet of mentors like Furry Lewis in 1950s Memphis, he moved to Chicago in 1962 and was soon at the forefront of an interracial group of young musicians expanding the sound and style of Chicago blues. He continues to restlessly expand the palette of the blues, exploring in his playing and collaborations the links between classic blues, jazz, and world music.

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Hubert Sumlin: I got fired—by Wolf—in front of all these people. Only time I played with a straight pick, and he said…well he told me, he said, Hey, slow up man, you’re running off leaving me! I can’t get no voice out. I can’t even get the words out! Which I was. But he fired me, man, he said, Sit down. Is there another guitar player in the audience? So here’s five or six of them out there, man, and so everybody wanted to play. He sent me home. Told me, said, When you get…number one, you been on them picks. Start thinking about your fingers, man. Like me. You hear me? That’s what he told me.

Man, I cried all the way home. I got home that night, I didn’t go to bed. Still of the night. I sat up there and went to sleep in a chair. And something come to me whiles I was asleep. Said, look it here, put them picks down, man. Do like the old man says. Said, you got all your records. Said, let me see what you can do with that. Man I put it down, I started playing with my pick…with my fingers, and thanks to God… I said, hey, this sound this guy got, it’s the sound I got! He got the voice! What in the world, I said, this is it! And I went back the next night. He wouldn’t let me play, man, ‘til the last song! Then he called me up there. Are you ready?

I got up there and played Smokestack Lightnin' like I supposed to… went… He said, that’s what I’m talking about. Said, You know what? You must have went home and prayed. That’s what he told me! And from then on, I started to put music to all the numbers.

Charlie Musselwhite: I remember the first time I saw Howlin’ Wolf. A lot of times when you go to see somebody you’ve heard on record, it’s kind of a- it possibly can be a little bit of a let-down because it’s not quite up to the record. Or you go to a restaurant you’ve been hearing people raving about it, and yeah, it’s ok.

Wolf was everything you’d ever heard on a record and way more. I mean, the power that came off that stage from him was just like, like everybody was like pinned to the walls. I remember walking into Sylvio’s, the place was packed. The band was on the stage playin’ and Wolf was sitting in a chair on the floor in front of the bandstand, so I had to like get up really close and look over the people’s shoulders to see him. And he was sitting there playing guitar and sometimes he’d play harmonica, and he’s singing. And then he finally decided to get up and I remember he just kept getting up and getting up and getting up and… damn! I mean he was huge!

Video Copyright © 2003 Experience Music Project

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