Travel for Change: Charlie Rich - Lonely Weekend Videos

Added: Jul 18, 2008

From: JBauder1948

Duration: 2:9

He was born in Colt, Arkansas, on December 14, 1932. No other rockabilly artist had to wait as long as Charlie Rich to obtain the star status that he long deserved. Charlie was schooled in gospel music as a child, and his parents were Missionary Baptists who were very active in the church. His mother played organ, and both parents were members of a gospel quartet, where harmonious singing reigned supreme. By the time he attended Consolidated High School in Forrest City, his interest and participation in music had expanded. While his environment was that of country music, he began to develop an acute interest in jazz. He also developed a "cute" interest in an attractive young woman by the name of Margaret Ann, whom he married after they graduated from high school.Margaret Ann was Charlie's biggest supporter as he tried to advance in the music world. He played in many local groups as a teenager, usually normal dance music, but occasionally jazz. He attended the University of Arkansas for a year, as a music major, then he joined the Air Force, in 1951.While he was stationed in Oklahoma for three years, he formed his own jazz group. He then organized a singing group called the Velvetones, that even had its' own television show for awhile. After the service he tended to lean toward the blues area of music. Now, however, he had a desire to try farming and left music for the weekends. Margaret Ann urged him to get ahead in music, but not much happened for several years. Finally, she called Bill Justis, A & R man at Sun Records, and asked for a chance to have him hear Charlie's tapes. They liked what they heard and began to use him as a session man for various performers, including Johnny Cash and Roy Orbison, and to use his songs for other artists. Many of these songs became hits for other artists, "The Ways of a Woman in Love" and "I Just Thought That You'd Like to Know" (Johnny Cash), and "Break Up" and "I'll Make It All Up To You" (Jerry Lee Lewis).At the end of the decade, Sun began releasing a few of Charlie's recordings. On his third release he made the charts with a heavy rockabilly number called "Lonely Weekends." Unfortunately Sun was on the wain by this time, and there was no one to push for him and promote him as was done with the great artists before him. When Sun faded out of the business in the mid-'60's he turned to Mercury Records under the direction of Shelby Singleton, who would later take over Sun. His first single, on the Smash label, entitled "Mohair Sam," made the charts in 1965. He liked the company, and he liked Jerry Kennedy, who produced most of the country songs for Mercury, but once more, there was no follow-up hit. About 2 years later, Charlie signed with RCA, and again, he received little promotional push, even though one of the songs, "Big Boss Man" was a fair hit. At this time, Charlie began to hit the pills and the booze. He moved to Hi Records, and still received no noticeable recognition. In 1968, he signed with Epic Records. Epic teamed him with producer Billy Sherrill, who was pushing out the formatted country music style, and making hits. Billy had great faith in Charlie's style and his ability, and together they worked on finding Charlie's formula for success. But, just as before, they seemed to be going nowhere. Though his songs made the charts, none were at the upper level. Some of the songs that made it were, "Big Boss Man," "Who Will the Next Fool Be," "Nice and Easy," and "Life's Little Ups and Downs," the latter written by Margaret Ann. When Bill Williams joined Epic, in the promotional department, in Nashville, he fell in love with the latest release by Charlie, entitled "Behind Closed Doors." He began a mountain of promotional material to push the record, and it paid off. The single became a major hit in 1973, and earned a gold record. More important, however, the follow-up record, "The Most Beautiful Girl" earned another gold record. His albums began to reach high levels on the charts, and he was on his way. At the 1973 Country Music Association Awards celebration, in Nashville, Charlie picked up three awards; Best Song, Best Record and Best Male Artist. When he sang "Behind Closed Doors," his fellow musicians gave him a standing ovation. His success at Epic would continue, and in 1978 he moved to United Artists, but kept Billy Sherrill at the controls in the studio. He continued to obtain moderate success with his recordings, because he now had a good following.

Channel: Music

Tags: pop  rockabilly 

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