MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE REGULAR SESSION 2009
By: Senator(s) Chassaniol, Ward, Hewes, To: Rules Carmichael, Watson, Burton, Butler, Dearing, Fillingane, Jackson (32nd)
SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION NO. 700
1 A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION RECOGNIZING THE LEGACY OF KOSCIUSKO 2 BLUES ARTIST CHARLIE MUSSELWHITE ON THE OCCASION OF THE UNVEILING 3 OF HIS MISSISSIPPI BLUES TRAIL MARKER. 4 WHEREAS, on Friday, April 24, 2009, the Mississippi 5 Development Authority Tourism Heritage Trails Program, the 6 Mississippi Blues Commission and the Kosciusko-Attala Development 7 Corporation unveiled a Mississippi Blues Trail marker in honor of 8 legendary Kosciusko blues artist Charlie Musselwhite; and
9 WHEREAS, Charlie Musselwhite lived with his family in
10 Kosciusko until they moved to Memphis, Tennessee, in the fall of 11 1947, when he was three. Attracted to the blues as a teenager in 12 Memphis, Musselwhite learned guitar and harmonica and sought out 13 the blues singers he had read about in the book The Country Blues 14 by Sam Charters, who later produced Musselwhite's debut album. 15 Will Shade, Furry Lewis and Memphis Willie B. (Borum) became his 16 first mentors; and 17 WHEREAS, in November of 1962, Musselwhite moved to Chicago in
18 search of employment, first settling in the Uptown area where many 19 white Southern migrants lived. He was soon immersed in the 20 African-American music and lifestyle of the South Side, however, 21 in 1964, he moved there to be closer to the blues action; and 22 WHEREAS, in 1963-1964, he roomed at the Jazz Record Mart and 23 the Old Wells Records Shop with Big Joe Williams, one of many 24 former Mississippians residing in the Windy City. Others, 25 including Muddy Waters, Otis Spann, Big Walter Horton and Magic
26 Sam, also became close friends with Musselwhite, who rated Horton, 27 Williams, Homesick James and John Lee Granderson as the bluesmen
S. C. R. No. 700 *SS02/R1669* N1/2 09/SS02/R1669 PAGE 1 28 who taught him the most. He also cited Little Walter and Robert 29 Nighthawk as major influences; and 30 WHEREAS, as Charlie Musselwhite's reputation grew as a 31 performer in the blues clubs, Sam Charters invited him to record 32 for the Vanguard Label. His Stand Back album of 1967 created such 33 a stir, especially among audiences that were just discovering the
34 blues as a voice of the 1960s counterculture in California, that 35 Musselwhite relocated to the San Francisco area in August of that 36 year. A number of fellow Chicagoans, including Paul Butterfield 37 and Mike Bloomfield, also made the westward move, as did 38 Musselwhite's friend John Lee Hooker from Detroit, Michigan; and 39 WHEREAS, Musselwhite always maintained a blues persona above 40 all else, even though he also explored a variety of American and 41 world music genres. His trendsetting dedication to blues made him
42 a role model, especially among harmonica players on the West 43 Coast. Over the next four decades Musselwhite toured the world 44 and recorded some 30 albums, many of which earned W.C. Handy 45 Awards or Grammy nominations. When he and his wife, Henrietta, 46 were married on January 26, 1981, in San Francisco, California, 47 John Lee Hooker served as his best man; and 48 WHEREAS, Musselwhite said in a recent interview with The 49 London Times that he was born in interesting times. Those times
50 were partying with Elvis Presley as a teenager, calling John Lee 51 Hooker his best friend and playing on Tom Waits' recent 52 recordings. It has been said that actor Dan Aykroyd describes 53 Musselwhite as his inspiration for his character in The Blues 54 Brothers; and 55 WHEREAS, The Mississippi Blues Trail, once completed, will 56 have more than 120 historical markers and sites throughout the 57 state. Mississippi is the only state with a blues trail; and 58 WHEREAS, it is with great pride that we note this landmark
59 event in honor of a Mississippi artist who contributed to the 60 musical legacy of our state: S. C. R. No. 700 *SS02/R1669* 09/SS02/R1669 PAGE 2 61 NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE STATE OF 62 MISSISSIPPI, THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES CONCURRING THEREIN, That 63 we do hereby recognize the legacy of Kosciusko Blues Artist 64 Charlie Musselwhite on the occasion of the unveiling of his 65 Mississippi Blues Trail Marker, and extend our best wishes to all 66 participants in this historic event.
67 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that this resolution be presented to 68 Charlie Musselwhite, forwarded to the Kosciusko Mayor and board of 69 aldermen, the Kosciusko-Attala Development Corporation and the 70 Mississippi Blues Commission, and be made available to the Capitol 71 Press Corps.
S. C. R. No. 700 *SS02/R1669* 09/SS02/R1669 ST: Recognize Kosciusko Blues artist Charlie PAGE 3 Musselwhite and his Mississippi Blues Trail Marker.