Charlie Sexton loves touring with Charlie Musselwhite, calls him “the real thing”

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON JAN. 20, 2005

By Steve Newton

Blues fans eagerly anticipating the upcoming Vancouver show by Charlie Musselwhite have further reason to be psyched, because the harmonica great’s touring band includes singer-guitarist Charlie Sexton. You may recall Sexton from such albums as 1985’s Pictures for Pleasure, which he released at the ripe old age of 16.

Even by then he was an experienced performer, having made underaged appearances at venues like the Split Rail and the fabled Antone’s in his hometown of Austin, Texas.

“I started playing in clubs when I was 11 years old,” Sexton relates on the line from his home in the roots-rock mecca. “Growing up here, there was a lot goin’ on, and it’s still a really good music scene. Gordie Johnson from Big Sugar relocated here; he’s got a band down here that’s really cool.”

During the ’80s, Sexton would often perform in bars with fellow Austin resident Stevie Ray Vaughan. In ’92, he hooked up with the rock legend’s former rhythm section, Double Trouble, and guitarist-vocalist Doyle Bramhall II to form Arc Angels. The foursome’s self-titled, Little Steven -produced debut generated a fair bit of buzz, and a fruitful songwriting bond between Sexton and Bramhall was established.

“Over the years, Doyle and I have written together quite a lot,” Sexton explains. “We had one song that actually ended up getting cut on the B.B. King/Eric Clapton record.”

That Sexton-Bramhall composition, “I Wanna Be”, wound up on the Grammy-winning Riding With the King CD of 2000, and Bramhall eventually became Slowhand’s right-hand man on guitar, being prominently featured on both of Clapton’s 2004 Robert Johnson tributes, Me and Mr. Johnson and Sessions for Robert J.

Sexton has also spent time with one of the gods of rock, touring with Bob Dylan for four years and playing guitar on his superb 2003 CD, Love and Theft.

In 2001, Sexton made his mark as a producer as well with Lucinda Williams’s acclaimed Essence album. His next production job is for Los Super Seven, an offshoot of Los Lobos that includes that band’s David Hidalgo and Cesar Rosas. This year they’ll release a star-studded album–with appearances by Clarence Gatemouth Brown, Delbert McClinton, John Hiatt, and Lyle Lovett–that takes its title, Heard It on the X, from an old ZZ Top tune.

“It’s a border-radio kind of concept,” Sexton notes, “so it’s got a little bit of everything. It’s got some mariachi, it’s got some Latin stuff, it’s got some blues, R & B, country swing, western swing. It’s pretty cool.”

Sexton recently signed to Back Porch Records, and next month he begins work on his latest solo album, but for now he’s happy to be backing up Musselwhite on a six-date West Coast trek that begins in L.A. and ends at the Yale Hotel on Monday (January 24).

When asked to pinpoint which hallowed Musselwhite material he’s most keen about playing live, Sexton finds it hard to restrict himself to just one song.

“Just about anything he does,” states the multitalented musician. “Charlie’s like the real thing, you know.”

To hear the full audio of my 2005 interview with Charlie Sexton–and my 1992 interview with him and Doyle Bramhall II as well–subscribe to my Patreon page, where you can eavesdrop on over 500 of my uncut, one-on-one conversations with rock legends since 1982.