CHARLIE MUSSELWHITE COMES HOME
Guitar Player|November 2022
One of the most revered blues harp players, Musselwhite finds his way back to the guitar on Mississippi Son.
JIM BEAUGEZ
CHARLIE MUSSELWHITE COMES HOME

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.”

Denne historien er fra November 2022-utgaven av Guitar Player.

Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.

Denne historien er fra November 2022-utgaven av Guitar Player.

Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.

FLERE HISTORIER FRA GUITAR PLAYERSe alt
How I Wrote..."Year of the Cat"
Guitar Player

How I Wrote..."Year of the Cat"

AI Stewart reflects on his beguiling hit, some 10 years in the making.

time-read
3 mins  |
December 2024
UAFX
Guitar Player

UAFX

Teletronix LA-2A Studio Compressor

time-read
2 mins  |
December 2024
LINE 6
Guitar Player

LINE 6

POD Express

time-read
2 mins  |
December 2024
MAN OF STEEL
Guitar Player

MAN OF STEEL

He brought the Dobro to centerstage with his dazzling talent. As he drops his first album in seven years, Jerry Douglas reflects on his gear, career and induction in the Bluegrass Hall of Fame.

time-read
8 mins  |
December 2024
HIGH TIME
Guitar Player

HIGH TIME

The new MC5 album took more than 50 years to arrive. The band members have all passed on, but the celebration is just beginning.

time-read
10+ mins  |
December 2024
58 YEARS OF GUITAR PLAYER
Guitar Player

58 YEARS OF GUITAR PLAYER

As Guitar Player moves full-time to its online home, we look back at some of its greatest stories in print.

time-read
5 mins  |
December 2024
DRAGON TALES
Guitar Player

DRAGON TALES

In a Guitar Player exclusive, Jimmy Page sheds light on the amplifiers behind his Led Zeppelin tone and how they live again in his line of Sundragon signature amps.

time-read
10+ mins  |
December 2024
CLOSER TO HOME
Guitar Player

CLOSER TO HOME

Rehearsal space, studio, vessel and abode Diego Garcia's boat is the home base for his new album, as well as his musical life as the seafaring Spanish guitarist Twanguero.

time-read
6 mins  |
December 2024
Funk Noir
Guitar Player

Funk Noir

With The Black Album, Prince made his greatest-and most infamousmusical statement.

time-read
2 mins  |
December 2024
Medium Cool
Guitar Player

Medium Cool

Striking the middle ground between its Thinline brethren, Gibson's ES-345TD remains a versatile, if underrated, gem.

time-read
4 mins  |
December 2024