Legendary is a word we sometimes toss around a little too easily, but in the case of Charlie Musselwhite it is more than appropriate – a byword for musical excellence since the 1967 release of his debut on Vanguard Records ‘Stand Back! Here Comes Charley Musselwhite’s South Side Band.’ he had quite the musical education having, as a teenager, been in Memphis at the birth of rock and roll and then relocating to Chicago and mixing with – it’s fair to say – the most significant electric blues players ever: we’re talking Muddy Waters, Junior Wells, Sonny Boy Williamson, Buddy Guy, Howlin’ Wolf, Little Walter, and more. John Lee Hooker became a personal friend – Musselwhite was best man at Hooker’s third wedding. And then straight after that first release he was off to San Francisco, soon to be followed by Paul Butterfield and Mike Bloomfield with all three finding a home in the counterculture scene around the Fillmore West.
Roll forward almost sixty years and Charlie Musselwhite is still touring and recording, and damn if his voice has barely changed in all that time and his harp playing is still astonishing. Astonishing – take a listen, you’ll hear it. Today’s premiere is taken from Charlie Musselwhite’s latest album ‘Look Out Highway‘, which is released on 16th May. ‘Storm Warning‘ could be read a number of ways – sure, his baby might be on the warpath, but there’s also the suggestion that there are other hard and chaotically wild times up ahead…Charlie Musselwhite told Americana UK that: “I wrote Storm Warning years ago and thought it would be a great one to cut with my band. I’d heard songs comparing women to highways with “curves” and “soft shoulders”, etc., but I got to thinking that weather comparisons could also be good. I’ve witnessed some stormy relationships with plenty of rain!”
The new album was recorded at Kid Andersen’s Greaseland Studio in San Jose California, and it’s the first time Charlie has recorded with his long-time touring band, comprised of guitarist Matt Stubbs (GA-20), drummer June Core (Robert Lockwood Jr.) and bassist Randy Burmudes (James Cotton), along with Andersen who has been in and out of the band for many years. Their chemistry and command is abundantly clear from the opening notes. “We finished a gig at The Iridium in New York City and flew straight to California to record.”, Charlie effuses.
