I thought I'd tell you guys about one of my heros, the most
underrated musician in all popular music, a soulful &
talented guy who the record co's never learned how to deal
with or package and who's career parallels that of a David
Goodis hero. At heart a jazz piano player whose boyhood hero
was band leader Stan Kenton, from his earliest days at the
legendary Sun studios, going from label to label they tried
to turn him into a rock'n'roll singer, then a blue-eyed soul
singer, then a country singer & finally as Mr Smooth the
"countrypolitan" hit machine that churned out hit after hit
starting with "Behind Closed Doors" - after taking away his
piano (like taking Ray Charles's piano away) & choosing
his material for him it was no longer the "Silver Fox " who
had recorded such beautiful songs of heartbreak, marital
despair, betrayal, prison, too much alcohol & songs about
staying together through all of that that littered even his
most uneven recordings.It was Mr Showbiz time, Wayne Newton
after his voice broke.After many years Charlie had the hits
he was chasing, he was MEGA. And he hated it. He was a shy,
sensitive man who had battled the bottle his whole life. He
hated touring, hated the show biz hype & felt creatively
stifled. He wanted to be at home on his Arkansas farm with
his beautiful, talented wife Margaret-Ann (who wrote some of
his best songs, including the only good one he recorded
during his superstar period, "Life's Ups & Downs",
recently used here as the soundtrack to a margarine ad [oh,
lord]), and his kids. At the height of his fame he was at the
Country Music Awards Night in Nashville, Charlie presenting
the award for Best Male Country singer, IIRC. He was tanked
when he went on. When he opened the envelope, he stared at
the slip of paper briefly, then pulled a Zippo out of his
pocket, set the paper alight , dropped it & walked off
stage without a word. (The winner that year was John Denver.
I believe Olivia Newton-John won the Best Female Singer
award). That was it for Charlie's career. He returned to his
farm & family in Arkansas where he bought a small bar
nearby & he would perform on weekends playing jazz with a
band made up of his kids. He stayed there till he died,
recording one more record before he died, "Pictures &
Paintings", an album of gentle & beautiful jazz ballads
featuring his wonderful piano & the voice that post-rock
Elvis imitated, IMHO. So a man who had it all, supposedly,
who pissed it all away. I bet Margaret Ann gave him heaps of
stick about it & he no doubt deserved it. Foolish? Self
destructive? Immature? CHURLISH, even? All of the
above.Somehow, though, I love him all the more. His art, his
self-respect, his love of his family all compelled him to
walk away. I know taste is taste & just because we don't
like someone's music or whatever doesn't allow us,
objectively speaking to be rude to others (cf Ellroy/Cave
thread I started) but haven't we all wanted to do something
like that, just once? Giving the forces of mediocrity the
finger, from a position of relative power and then just
walking away.
If anyone is interested in discovering more about the
real Charlie Rich I suggest checking a record titled
"Midnight Hits & Demo's" featuring hits & unreleased
stuff (this being much of the best stuff) from the Sun label
period & "Pictures & Paintings" the last recording
which came out on an independent label , naturally. Also you
could read "Feel Like Going Home" by Peter Guralnick,
featuring interviews with Charlie & other great musicians
who are the guys who provide a lot of that unheard &
unnamed "soundtrack" music in hb/noir fiction particularly
from the 1940's to 1960's, when writers such as Chandler or
the Gold Medal guys talk about the hillbilly or negro
caterwaulling coming from juke joints, roadhouses &
honkytonks ( and check out other Guralnick books "Lost
Highway" & "Sweet Soul Music''). Next instalments are
Jerry Lee Lewis as Jim Thompson hero & Little Walter as a
Walter Mosley character.Just kidding. I'll stop talking about
music now, I promise.We now return you to you regular
service. Rene.
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