Good Rockin' Charles
Encyclopedia
Good Rockin' Charles was an American
Chicago blues
and electric blues
harmonicist, singer and songwriter
. He released one album in his lifetime, and is best known for his work with Johnny "Man" Young, Otis "Big Smokey" Smothers
, Arthur "Big Boy" Spires
and Jimmy Rogers
.
, United States
, and later known as Charles Edwards. He relocated from his birthplace to Chicago
, Illinois
in 1949, and was inspired by fellow harmonica players, Sonny Boy Williamson I
, Sonny Boy Williamson II
and Little Walter
. In the following decade, Charles found steady work with local Chicago blues musicians such as Johnny "Man" Young, Otis "Big Smokey" Smothers, and Arthur "Big Boy" Spires. In 1955 he settled on working in the backing band for the blues singer, Jimmy Rogers. Two years later, the short-lived independent record label
, Cobra Records
, offered Charles the opportunity to record his own work. However, Charles turned it down.
This wariness of working in a recording studio
, had earlier seen him replaced at the last minute, as the harmonica player on Jimmy Rogers recording of "Walking by Myself" (1956). The role fell to Big Walter Horton
, who greatly enhanced his reputation by playing on the track.
In 1975, Charles was finally convinced to record his own album
. His eponymous effort initially appeared on vinyl on Mr. Blues Records in 1976, having been recorded the previous November. It was subsequently re-issued by P-Vine Records
. Charles later suffered with ill health and was unable to record any significant further work.
Charles died in Chicago in May 1989, aged 56.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Chicago blues
Chicago blues
The Chicago blues is a form of blues music that developed in Chicago, Illinois, by taking the basic acoustic guitar and harmonica-based Delta blues, making the harmonica louder with a microphone and an instrument amplifier, and adding electrically amplified guitar, amplified bass guitar, drums,...
and electric blues
Electric blues
Electric blues is a type of blues music distinguished by the amplification of the guitar, bass guitar, drums, and often the harmonica. Pioneered in the 1930s, it emerged as a genre in Chicago in the 1940s. It was taken up in many areas of America leading to the development of regional subgenres...
harmonicist, singer and songwriter
Songwriter
A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
. He released one album in his lifetime, and is best known for his work with Johnny "Man" Young, Otis "Big Smokey" Smothers
Otis "Big Smokey" Smothers
Otis "Big Smokey" Smothers was an African American, Chicago blues guitarist and singer. He was once a member of Howlin' Wolf's backing band, and worked variously with Muddy Waters, Jimmy Rogers, Bo Diddley, Ike Turner, J. T. Brown, Freddie King, Little Johnny Jones, Little Walter, and Willie Dixon...
, Arthur "Big Boy" Spires
Arthur "Big Boy" Spires
Arthur "Big Boy" Spires was an American blues singer and guitarist, who recorded for a number of record labels in Chicago in the 1950s and 1960s.-Life and career:...
and Jimmy Rogers
Jimmy Rogers
Jimmy Rogers was an American Chicago blues singer, guitarist and harmonica player, best known for his work as a member of Muddy Waters' band of the 1950s.-Career:...
.
Biography
He was born Henry Lee Bester in Tuscaloosa, AlabamaTuscaloosa, Alabama
Tuscaloosa is a city in and the seat of Tuscaloosa County in west central Alabama . Located on the Black Warrior River, it is the fifth-largest city in Alabama, with a population of 90,468 in 2010...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, and later known as Charles Edwards. He relocated from his birthplace to Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
in 1949, and was inspired by fellow harmonica players, Sonny Boy Williamson I
Sonny Boy Williamson I
Sonny Boy Williamson was an American blues harmonica player and singer, and the first to use the name Sonny Boy Williamson.-Biography and career:...
, Sonny Boy Williamson II
Sonny Boy Williamson II
Willie "Sonny Boy" Williamson was an American blues harmonica player, singer and songwriter, from Mississippi. He is acknowledged as one of the most charismatic and influential blues musicians, with considerable prowess on the harmonica and highly creative songwriting skills...
and Little Walter
Little Walter
Little Walter, born Marion Walter Jacobs , was an American blues harmonica player, whose revolutionary approach to his instrument has earned him comparisons to Charlie Parker and Jimi Hendrix, for innovation and impact on succeeding generations...
. In the following decade, Charles found steady work with local Chicago blues musicians such as Johnny "Man" Young, Otis "Big Smokey" Smothers, and Arthur "Big Boy" Spires. In 1955 he settled on working in the backing band for the blues singer, Jimmy Rogers. Two years later, the short-lived independent record label
Independent record label
An independent record label is a record label operating without the funding of or outside the organizations of the major record labels. A great number of bands and musical acts begin on independent labels.-Overview:...
, Cobra Records
Cobra Records
Cobra Records was an independent record label that operated from 1956 to 1959. The label was important for launching the recording careers of Chicago blues artists Otis Rush, Magic Sam, and Buddy Guy and "signaled the arrival of a new generation of [blues] artists and a new sound .....
, offered Charles the opportunity to record his own work. However, Charles turned it down.
This wariness of working in a recording studio
Recording studio
A recording studio is a facility for sound recording and mixing. Ideally both the recording and monitoring spaces are specially designed by an acoustician to achieve optimum acoustic properties...
, had earlier seen him replaced at the last minute, as the harmonica player on Jimmy Rogers recording of "Walking by Myself" (1956). The role fell to Big Walter Horton
Big Walter Horton
Walter Horton, better known as Big Walter Horton or Walter "Shakey" Horton, was an American blues harmonica player. A quiet, unassuming and essentially shy man, Horton is remembered as one of the premier harmonica players in the history of blues...
, who greatly enhanced his reputation by playing on the track.
In 1975, Charles was finally convinced to record his own album
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
. His eponymous effort initially appeared on vinyl on Mr. Blues Records in 1976, having been recorded the previous November. It was subsequently re-issued by P-Vine Records
P-Vine Records
P-Vine Records is a record label started by Blues Interactions, Inc., a firm in Tokyo, Japan established in 1975 by Yasufumi Higurashi and Akira Kochi...
. Charles later suffered with ill health and was unable to record any significant further work.
Charles died in Chicago in May 1989, aged 56.
Discography
| Year | Title | Record label |
|---|---|---|
| 1976 | Good Rockin' Charles | Mr. Blues Records / P-Vine Records P-Vine Records P-Vine Records is a record label started by Blues Interactions, Inc., a firm in Tokyo, Japan established in 1975 by Yasufumi Higurashi and Akira Kochi... |