{"id":19680,"date":"2020-10-23T05:30:35","date_gmt":"2020-10-23T09:30:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/?p=19680"},"modified":"2020-09-16T17:04:42","modified_gmt":"2020-09-16T21:04:42","slug":"elvin-bishop-and-charlie-musselwhite-birds-of-a-feather-make-blues-together","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/2020\/10\/23\/elvin-bishop-and-charlie-musselwhite-birds-of-a-feather-make-blues-together\/","title":{"rendered":"Elvin Bishop and Charlie Musselwhite: Birds of a Feather Make Blues Together"},"content":{"rendered":"

This feature appeared previously in SF Weekly<\/em>.<\/span><\/p>\n

The musical careers of Elvin Bishop and Charlie Musselwhite have followed similar paths. Both were raised in America\u2019s heartland: Bishop in Iowa, Musselwhite in Tennessee. Both white musicians developed a deep and abiding love for the blues, eventually relocating to Chicago. After establishing themselves as formidable players \u2013 Bishop as a guitarist, Musselwhite as a blues harpist \u2013 both relocated to the Bay Area, immersing themselves in the region\u2019s blues and rock scene. Both men created massive bodies of recorded work.<\/p>\n

And they certainly knew of and respected each others\u2019 music. \u201cWe\u2019ve been friends for over 50 years,\u201d Musselwhite says. Yet they never teamed up to make an album together until now. \u201cAlthough we\u2019ve planned it for 50-something years, our paths never really crossed that much,\u201d Bishop says. \u201cIt just was hit-and-miss, here and there.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Their first collaboration took place when Musselwhite guested on a track included on the 2017 album Elvin Bishop\u2019s Big Fun Trio<\/i>. A highlight of that record is their co-written tune \u201c100 Years of Blues.\u201d The autobiographical song chronicles their parallel musical journeys in a way that makes the collaboration seem like the most natural thing in the world.<\/p>\n

In fact it is. After that session, Bishop and Musselwhite started playing shows together. \u201cWe did a packaged show with several artists on it,\u201d Musselwhite recalls. \u201cAnd when we got together and did some tunes \u2013 just the two of us \u2013 it really clicked really well; it was just so natural and easy.\u201d He says that it felt as if he and Bishop had played together all their lives, \u201cbecause we know the same music.\u201d<\/p>\n

And now Bishop and Musselwhite have repurposed the title of their first collaboration for a new collection of music, 100 Years of Blues<\/i>. Musselwhite laughs as he explains part of the motivation for the project. \u201cIt just made sense: if we were going to be doing these shows, we might as well have something to sell at the gig!\u201d<\/p>\n

Most of the songs on 100 Years of Blues<\/i> \u2013 four written by Bishop, four from Musselwhite, a few well-chosen blues standards and a new recording of the title number \u2013 had been in their live set for a while. The easygoing, rural blues character of opening track \u201cBirds of a Feather\u201d sets the tone for the engaging collection. Joined by longtime Bishop sideman Bob Welsh on guitar plus producer Kid Andersen on upright bass, the no-drums 100 Years of Blues<\/i> is a timeless set of tunes from a duo that has plenty to offer but nothing left to prove.<\/p>\n

The sessions for the album \u2013 cut at Bishop\u2019s Hog Heaven home studio in Lagunitas and finished at Andersen\u2019s Greaseland Studios in San Jose \u2013 were quick, loose and informal. \u201cKid brought his equipment up and we recorded it just like we do it on the show,\u201d Musselwhite says. \u201cIt was all live.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe didn\u2019t scheme much,\u201d Bishop says. \u201cWe just got in there and said, \u2018Here are some tunes I want to do, and there are some tunes you want to do, so let\u2019s just do \u2018em!\u2019\u201d He says that they employed a tried-and-true approach to making the record. \u201cIt rolled out in the old-fashioned way of doing blues,\u201d he says. \u201cNot many overdubs; just get in there and go for it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bishop gives credit to Andersen for his part in making the record. \u201cThe guy has got great taste,\u201d he says. \u201cKid is very enthusiastic, a fun to be around guy in a recording situation, and he\u2019s got a lot of good ideas. He sets a really positive atmosphere, and for this kind of music that\u2019s 75% of the battle right there.\u201d<\/p>\n

But at its core, 100 Years of Blues<\/i> is about the real chemistry between Bishop and Musselwhite. \u201cIt\u2019s nice to play with somebody who\u2019s so solid and real with his blues,\u201d Bishop says. \u201cCharlie is somebody who was lucky enough to be there during the time when I was, when all the classic Chicago blues guys were young and strong, and the blues ruled in Chicago. We have so much in common that it\u2019s just a pleasure to sit down with him and play.\u201d<\/p>\n

The pair\u2019s Chicago connection and shared history there is reinforced by the fact that 100 Years of Blues<\/i> is on the Alligator label. Both Bishop and Musselwhite recorded for Bruce Iglauer\u2019s Chicago-based label in the \u201880s and \u201890s, but both eventually moved on to other labels. Now they\u2019re back, and Bishop says that it feels like family.<\/p>\n

Bishop notes that after being away from Alligator for nearly a decade, he found a surprise upon his return to the label. \u201cIt was all the same people working all the same jobs! To me, that speaks well to the person doing the organizing. Bruce is a good guy and treats his troops well.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"The immediacy of the songs on 100 Years of Blues<\/i> comes in large part because both Bishop and Musselwhite have spent most of their lives immersed in the blues; it\u2019s second nature. And Bishop says that while he sometimes spends a lot of time refining a song to get it the way he wants it, getting it right is often about not trying too hard. He relates a quote he attributes to country legend Hank Williams: \u201cIf it takes me over 20 minutes to write a tune, I just wad it up and throw it in the wastebasket.\u201d<\/p>\n

Listening to the new album, it\u2019s clear just how much the musicians enjoyed making it. \u201cWhen music\u2019s played from the heart, you can play together with no problem,\u201d Musselwhite says. And the relaxed, humorous character of the music shines through the performances. Humor has been central to Bishop\u2019s music ever since 1968 when he left the Paul Butterfield Blues Band for a solo career. Even in the midst of a pandemic, and with smoke wildfires darkening the skies, Bishop remains upbeat. \u201cThere are so many situations you are confronted with where you can laugh or cry,\u201d he says. \u201cI really prefer to laugh.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This feature appeared previously in SF Weekly. The musical careers of Elvin Bishop and Charlie Musselwhite have followed similar paths. Both were raised in America\u2019s heartland: Bishop in Iowa, Musselwhite […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":19681,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,41,49],"tags":[3844,4330,4328,4329],"class_list":["post-19680","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blues","category-interview","category-new-release","tag-alligator-records","tag-charlie-musselwhite","tag-elvin-bishop","tag-kid-andersen","cat-9-id","cat-41-id","cat-49-id","has_thumb"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19680","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19680"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19680\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19683,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19680\/revisions\/19683"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/19681"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19680"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19680"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19680"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}