Musicians - Charlie Rich

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	Musicians - Charlie Rich

Charlie Rich (December 14, 1932 - July 25, 1995) was an American musician and pianist. A multi-Grammy Award winner, his eclectic-style of music was often hard to classify in a single genre, playing in the rockabilly, jazz, blues, country, and gospel genres. In the latter part of his life, Rich acquired the nickname "The Silver Fox" in reference to his full head of gray hair. Charlie Rich's pioneering contribution to early rock n' roll has been recognized by the Rockabilly Hall of Fame. Rich's son, Charlie Rich, Jr., is also a musician.

Early life

Rich was born in Colt, Arkansas to rural cotton farmers, beginning a professional musical career while in the U.S. Air Force in the early 1950s. His first musical group, called the Velvetones, played jazz and blues and featured his fiancée, Margaret Ann, on lead vocals. Rich left the military in 1956 and tried to farm five acres in Tennessee. He began performing clubs around the Memphis area, playing both jazz and R&B. It was during these hard times he began writing his own material.

Early Recording Career

Rich was a session musician for Judd Records, which was owned by Judd Phillips, the brother of Sun Records founder Sam Phillips. After recording some demos for Sam Phillips at Sun Records that were considered too uncommercial and jazzy, legend has it that he was given a stack of Jerry Lee Lewis records and told: "come back when you get that bad." In 1958 Rich became a regular session musician for Sun Records playing on records by Lewis, Johnny Cash, Bill Justis, Warren Smith, Billy Lee Riley, Carl Mann, and Ray Smith. He also penned songs for Lewis, Cash, and others.

His third single for the Sun subsidiary Phillips International Records was the 1960 Top 30 hit "Lonely Weekends," noted for its Elvis-like vocals. None of his seven follow-up singles were a success, though several of the songs became staples in his live set, including "Who Will the Next Fool Be," "Sittin' and Thinkin'," and "No Headstone on My Grave." These songs were often recorded by others to varying degrees of success, such as the Bobby Bland version of "Who Will the Next Fool Be."

Rich's career stalled, he left the struggling Sun label in 1964, signing with a subsidiary of RCA. His first single for RCA, "Big Boss Man," was an minor hit, but again his Chet Atkins-produced follow-ups all stiffed. Rich moved to Smash Records early in 1965. Rich's new producer, Jerry Kennedy, encouraged the pianist to emphasize his country and rock & roll leanings, although Rich considered himself a jazz pianist and had not paid much attention to country music since his childhood. The first single for Smash was "Mohair Sam," an R&B-inflected novelty-rock number, and it became a Top 30 pop hit. Unfortunately again for Rich, none of his follow-up singles were successful. Rich was forced to change labels, moving over to Hi Records, where he recorded straight country, but none of his singles made a dent on the country charts.

Country superstardom

Despite Rich's lack of consistent commercial success, Epic Records signed Rich in 1967, mainly on the recommendation of producer Billy Sherrill. Sherrill helped Rich refashion himself as a Nashville Sound balladeer during an era when old rock n' rollers like Jerry Lee Lewis and Conway Twitty were finding a new musical home in the country and western format. This new "Countrypolitan" Rich sound paid off in the summer of 1972, when "I Take It on Home" went to number six in the country charts. The title track from his 1973 album, Behind Closed Doors, became a number one hit early in 1973, crossing over into the Top 20 on the pop charts. This time his follow-up did not fizzle as "The Most Beautiful Girl" spent three weeks at the top of the country charts and two weeks at the top of the pop charts. Now established as a country music star, Behind Closed Doors won three awards from the Country Music Association that year: Best Male Vocalist, Album of the Year, and Single of the Year. The album was also certified gold, Rich won a Grammy for Best Country Vocal Performance, Male, and he also took home four ACM awards.

After "The Most Beautiful Girl," number one hits came quickly as several songs topped the country charts and crossed over to the pop charts. Both RCA and Smash re-released his previously recorded material, scoring minor hits. All of this success led the CMA to name him Entertainer of the Year in 1974. Rich had three more top five hits in 1975, but even though he was at the peak of his popularity, Rich began to drink heavily, causing considerable problems off-stage. His destructive personal behavior famously culminated at the CMA awards ceremony for 1975, when he presented the award for that year's Entertainer of the Year. Instead of reading the name of the winner, who happened to be John Denver, he set fire to the envelope with a cigarette lighter. Many considered it an act of rebellion against the Music Row-controlled Nashville Sound. Others, including industry insiders, were outraged and Rich had trouble having hits throughout 1976.

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