In 1987, Franklin became the first female artist to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Biography Notable albums1967 I Never Loved A Man The Way I Love You 1967 "I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You)" 9 The Blues Brothers (1980) Rolonda Watts (Rolonda Show) a b c Aretha Franklin Aretha Franklin birthplace --------------- Source: Richie Unterberger ---------------- Aretha Franklin is the undisputed “Queen of Soul” and the first woman inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. She is a singer of great passion and control whose finest recordings define the term soul music in all its deep, expressive glory. As Atlantic Records co-founder Ahmet Ertegun observed, “I don’t think there’s anybody I have known who possesses an instrument like hers and who has such a thorough background in gospel, the blues and the essential black-music idiom.…She is blessed with an extraordinary combination of remarkable urban sophistication and of the deep blues feeling that comes from the Delta. The result is maybe the greatest singer of our time.” Source: Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame
Aretha Louise Franklin (born March 25, 1942) is an American singer, songwriter and pianist commonly referred to as "The Queen of Soul". Although renowned for her soul recordings, Franklin is also adept at jazz, rock, blues, pop, R&B and gospel. She is widely acclaimed for her passionate vocal style and powerful range. In 2008, the American music magazine Rolling Stone ranked Franklin #1 on its list of The Greatest Singers of All Time.
Franklin is one of the most honored artists by the Grammy Awards, with 18 wins to date, as well as the Living Legend Grammy and the Lifetime Achievement Grammy. She also sang at the presidential inauguration of 44th President of the United States Barack Obama. She has scored a total of 20 #1 singles on the Billboard R&B Singles Chart, two of which also became #1 hits on the Billboard Hot 100: "Respect" (1967) and "I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)" (1987), a duet with George Michael. Since 1961, Franklin has scored a total of 45 "Top 40" hits on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
Early life and career
Franklin was born on March 25,1942, in Memphis, Tennessee to the Rev. C. L. Franklin, a Baptist minister, and Barbara Siggers Franklin. Aretha's parents had a troubled relationship and separated when Aretha was six. Siggers died of a heart attack when Franklin was ten. The fourth of five siblings, Aretha's father's first pulpit after Memphis was in Buffalo, New York. The family subsequently moved to Detroit, Michigan where they grew up, Rev. Franklin assumed the pulpit of the New Bethel Baptist Church, and gained national fame as a preacher. Adept at the piano as well as having a gifted voice, Franklin became a child prodigy. By the age of fourteen, she signed a record deal with Battle Records, where her father recorded his sermons and gospel vocal recordings, and she issued Songs of Faith in 1956. Her earlier influences included Clara Ward and Mahalia Jackson, both of whom spent a lot of time in Aretha's home.
Teenage pregnancies derailed Franklin's gospel career when she gave birth to Clarence in 1955 (at age 13) and Edward in 1957 (at age 15). When she returned to singing, Aretha decided to secure herself a deal as a pop artist. After being offered contracts from Motown and RCA, Franklin signed with Columbia Records in 1960. Her recordings during that time reflected a jazz influence and moved away from her gospel roots. Franklin initially scored a few hits on Columbia including her version of "Rock-A-Bye Your Baby (With A Dixie Melody)", which peaked at number 37 on the Billboard Pop Singles chart in 1961, and the Top 10 R&B hits, "Today I Sing The Blues", "Won't Be Long" and "Operation Heartbreak". However, by the end of 1966, with little commercial success in six years with Columbia and desperate for a sound of her own, she accepted an offer to sign with Atlantic Records. According to Franklin years later, "they made me sit down on the piano and the hits came".
"Queen of Soul"
In 1967 Franklin issued her first Atlantic single, "I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You)", a blues ballad that introduced listeners to her gospel style. Produced by Jerry Wexler, the song became Franklin's breakthrough single reaching the Top 10 on the Hot 100, and holding the #1 spot for 7 weeks on Billboard's R&B Singles chart. The B-side, "Do Right Woman, Do Right Man", charted on the R&B side, and introduced a more gospel element to Franklin's developing sound.
Her next single, "Respect", written and originally recorded by Otis Redding, firmly launched Franklin on the road to superstardom. Franklin's feminist version of the song became her signature tune for life, reaching #1 on both the R&B and the Pop charts—holding the top spot on the former chart for a record 8 weeks—and helping her Atlantic debut album, I Never Loved A Man The Way I Love You, reach million-seller status. In the next ten months, Franklin released a number of top ten hits including "Baby I Love You", "Chain of Fools" and "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman".
In early 1968 Franklin won her first two Grammies (for "Respect"), including the first Grammy awarded in the "Best Female R&B Vocal Performance" category. She went on to win eight "Best Female R&B Vocal Performance" awards in a row. Over the next seven years, Franklin continued to score hit singles including "Think", "The House That Jack Built", "I Say a Little Prayer" (a cover of Dionne Warwick's hit), "Call Me" and "Don't Play That Song (You Lied)". "Spanish Harlem" reached #2 on Billboard's Hot 100 and even gave Aretha her first Top 10 Adult Contemporary (at the time labeled Easy Listening) hit.
By the end of the 1960s, Franklin's position as The Queen of Soul was firmly established. Her albums were also hot sellers; one in particular, 1972's Amazing Grace, eventually sold over two million US copies, becoming "the best-selling gospel album of all time". Franklin's hit streak continued into the mid-1970s. 1973's emotional plea "Angel", produced by Quincy Jones and written by Franklin's sister Carolyn, was a stand-out single that became yet another #1 on the R&B chart, although the subsequent album Hey Now Hey (The Other Side of the Sky) was not successful.
1974's gold-certified single "Until You Come Back to Me (That's What I'm Gonna Do)" hit #1 R&B and #3 on the Billboard Hot 100. By 1975, however, with the expanding exposure of Disco and the popularity of fellow Atlantic artist Roberta Flack, relations between Franklin and Atlantic Records were starting to strain. As a result, Aretha was recording poor material such as 1975's listless You album, and her record sales declined dramatically. Franklin had peaked, and the music industry was moving on to younger black female singers such as Natalie Cole, Chaka Khan and Donna Summer.
Decline and tragedy
In 1976, Franklin's Curtis Mayfield-produced soundtrack of the film, Sparkle, brought Franklin another hit. It was her first album to reach gold status since the landmark Amazing Grace. The suggestive "(Giving Him) Something He Can Feel" became a number-one R&B smash and reached #28 on the Pop side. However, it was Aretha's only Pop Top 40 appearance during the second half of the 1970s. Her later period Atlantic albums including Sweet Passion, Almighty Fire and La Diva were critical as well as sales failures and to top it off Franklin owed major debts to the IRS for failure to pay back taxes. Her recording contract with Atlantic ran out at the end of 1979, and neither Aretha nor the company had any desire to renew it. On June 10, 1979, Franklin's father, the Rev. C.L. Franklin, was seriously wounded during what was said to be an attempted robbery at his Linwood Avenue home in Detroit, leaving him in a comatose state in which he remained until his death in the summer of 1984.
Return to prominence
In 1980, Franklin's career was given a much-needed boost by a cameo performance as Mrs. Matt Murphy in The Blues Brothers, singing Think. That same year, Clive Davis signed Aretha to his Arista Records. The singles "United Together" and "Love All The Hurt Away"—a duet with George Benson—returned her to the Top 10 on the Billboard R&B Singles chart. But it was the spectacular 1982 album, Jump To It, produced by longtime admirer Luther Vandross, and the title-track single that gave Aretha her first R&B chart-topping and pop success since "(Giving Him) Something He Can Feel". The album enjoyed a long run at #1 on Billboard's R&B Albums chart (even the Zoomin' album only reached #3). It won an American Music Award, was nominated for a Grammy and was certified gold in early 1983 - Aretha's first gold disc since the 1976 Sparkle album.
The following year Franklin and Vandross collaborated again on the disappointing Get It Right. But in 1985, Franklin's sound was commercialized into a glossy pop sound as she experienced her first-ever Platinum-certified album, Who's Zoomin' Who?. Yielding smash hits like the Motown-influenced "Freeway of Love" (#3 Pop/#1 R&B), the title track (#7 Pop/#2 R&B), and her duet with rock duo Eurythmics, "Sisters Are Doing It For Themselves" (#18 Pop/#66 R&B), the album became the first Platinum certification of Aretha's entire career, introducing her sound to a younger generation of fans. In 1986, Franklin did nearly as well with an album simply titled Aretha, which yielded her first number-one pop single in two decades with the George Michael duet, "I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)". The album is noteworthy for the striking cover which was Andy Warhol's last work before his death. Other hits included her cover of The Rolling Stones' "Jumpin' Jack Flash" and the girl group-inspired "Jimmy Lee". When Aretha was taken out of print, it had sold over 900,000 US copies.
Aretha returned to gospel in 1987 with her album One Lord, One Faith, One Baptism which was recorded live at her New Bethel Baptist Church in Detroit. However, the disc was a far cry from her 1972 effort Amazing Grace and had middling sales. Follow-ups such as 1989's Through The Storm and 1991's What You See Is What You Sweat sold poorly and failed to produce any major mainstream hits—other than the former album's Elton John-featured title track—but her career got a slight boost in 1993 when she scored a dance-club hit with "Deeper Love" from the Sister Act 2: Back In The Habit soundtrack. In 1994, she scored another hit with the Babyface-produced ballad, "Willing To Forgive", which hit the Top 5 of Billboard's R&B chart and #26 on the Hot 100.
Franklin returned to prominence with her 1998 album, A Rose Is Still A Rose. The album's mixture of urban contemporary, hip-hop soul and soul was a departure from Franklin's previous material. The title track, produced by Lauryn Hill, gave her a smash hit on the R&B and Pop charts and earned a gold single while the album was certified gold also, the first time since 1986's Aretha that any of the singer's albums went gold. That same year, with less than twenty-four hours to prepare, Franklin stepped in for Luciano Pavarotti to sing "Nessun Dorma" at the 1998 Grammy Awards. (Pavarotti, who was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award that night, was too sick to attend.) She gave a soulful and highly improvised performance in the aria's original key, while firmly stamping out the year with a captivating performance during VH-1's "Divas Live" telecast.
Recent years
Following the success of A Rose Is Still A Rose, Franklin has continued recording if only sporadically. Her most recent full studio release was 2003's critical and commercial failure So Damn Happy, which included the Grammy-winning track "Wonderful". Shortly after its release, Franklin left Arista Records after twenty-three years with the company. She has since started her own label, Aretha Records, and plans to issue her long-delayed new album, A Woman Falling Out Of Love in 2009. She is also coaching young actors during auditions for a musical based on her autobiography, From These Roots.
In 1998, Franklin also took again her role of Mrs. Murphy in Blues Brothers 2000, this time singing her old hit "Respect". Like in the 1980 movie, she plays the possessive wife of the lead guitarist of the Blues Brothers Band, singing the song during a row with her husband about his joining his former band.
In 2007, Arista Records released a duets compilation album entitled, "Jewels In The Crown: All-Star Duets With The Queen." The disc features duets performed with Mariah Carey, Luther Vandross, Whitney Houston, Richard Marx, Annie Lennox, John Legend, Mary J. Blige, Frank Sinatra, George Michael, Christina Aguilera, George Benson, Fantasia, and Gloria Estefan. A duet with Faith Hill has been recorded but it's not on the album. The album includes two new recordings with Fantasia, on the lead single "Put You Up On Game" and John Legend. The lead single "Put You Up On Game" hit radio on October 1, 2007 and became the number one most added song on Urban AC radio the following week. The album also includes Aretha's historic rendition of "Nessun Dorma" from the 1998 Grammy telecast.
In 2008, Franklin was honored as MusiCares "Person of the Year," two days prior to the 50th Annual Grammy Awards, where she was awarded her 18th career Grammy. Post-Grammy's, Miss Franklin enterted into a feud with both Beyonce and Tina Turner. This was due to the fact that Beyonce introduced Turner as 'The Queen' prior to their show-stealing duet of Proud Mary.
Franklin sang at the inauguration concerts for Bill Clinton in 1993 and at the inauguration ceremony for Barack Obama in 2009.
Personal life
Twice divorced, Franklin is the mother of four grown sons. Two of them, Kecalf and Teddy, are active in the music business. Teddy is the musical director and guitarist of Franklin's touring band. From 1961 to 1969, Aretha was married to her manager and co-writer Ted White. In 1978 she married Cooley High actor Glynn Turman. She also had seven year relationship with Ken Cunningham (1969-1976), the father of her youngest son. While White had been a decade older than Aretha, Cunningham and Turman were both several years younger than Aretha. The marriage to Glynn lasted until late 1982 when Franklin and her family returned permanently to Detroit. She and Turman divorced in early 1984.
She is the godmother of Whitney Houston, who also grew up to be a R&B star, rising to fame in the mid-1980s, and subsequently struggling with cocaine addiction thereafter. A still image of Franklin was shown in the closing scene of Houston's 1985 video for the single How Will I Know.
Awards and achievements
Aretha Franklin wipes a tear after being honored with the Presidential Medal of Freedom on November 9, 2005, during ceremonies at the White House. Looking on are fellow recipients Robert Conquest, left, and Alan Greenspan.
In 1985, then-Gov. James Blanchard of Michigan declared her voice “a natural resource” during a ceremony that marked her 25 years in show business
On January 3, 1987, she became the first woman to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
In May 1987, she was awarded an honorary Doctor of Musicology degree from the University of Detroit.
In September, 1999, she was awarded The National Medal of Arts by President Clinton.
In 2004, Rolling Stone Magazine ranked her #9 on their list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time.[7] To give perspective to this honor, only the Beatles, Bob Dylan, Elvis Presley, the Rolling Stones, Chuck Berry, Jimi Hendrix, James Brown, and Little Richard finished ahead of her on this list. Ray Charles finished at number ten, right behind Franklin.
In 2005, she was awarded The Presidential Medal of Freedom by President George W. Bush.
In 2005, she became the second woman (Madonna being the first, a founding member) to be inducted into the UK Music Hall of Fame.
On February 6, 2006, she performed, along with Aaron Neville, the Star-Spangled Banner at Super Bowl 40
On May 13, 2006, she was presented with an honorary Doctor of Music degree by the Berklee College of Music.
On April 1, 2007 Aretha sang "America the Beautiful" at Wrestlemania 23.
On May 14, 2007, she was presented with an honorary Doctor of Music degree from the University of Pennsylvania.
Is an honorary member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.
She is the youngest recipient of a Kennedy Center Honor.
First black woman to appear on the cover of Time magazine.
On February 8, 2008, Franklin was honored as MusiCares "Person of the Year".
On February 14, 2008, Franklin was given the Vanguard award at the NAACP Image awards.
On May 4, 2008, Franklin was given the Key to the City of Memphis at the 2008 "Memphis in May International Music Festival" by Mayor Dr. Willie Herenton during her performance onstage
On September 13, 2008, Franklin was ranked #19 on the Billboard Hot 100 All-Time Top Artists list by Billboard Magazine.
November 2008, Franklin was named by The Rolling Stone magazine. as the #1 all time best singer of the rock era. She came in ahead of Ray Charles at No. 2, Elvis Presley at No. 3, Sam Cooke at No. 4 and John Lennon at No. 5, according to the magazine's survey of 179 musicians, producers, Rolling Stone editors, and other music-industry insiders.
On January 20, 2009, Franklin performed "My Country 'Tis of Thee" during the inauguration ceremony of Barack Obama.
Grammy Awards
Franklin has won twenty one (21) Grammy Awards in total during her nearly half-century long career (she first charted in 1961), and holds the record for most Best Female R&B Vocal Performance award with eleven to her name (including eight consecutive awards from 1968 to 1975 - the first eight awarded in that category).
Aretha Franklin's Grammy Award Wins
1. 1968 Best Rhythm And Blues Recording R&B Respect
2. 1968 Best Female R&B Vocal Performance R&B Respect
3. 1969 Best Female R&B Vocal Performance R&B Chain Of Fools
4. 1970 Best Female R&B Vocal Performance R&B Share Your Love With Me
5. 1971 Best Female R&B Vocal Performance R&B Don't Play That Song For Me
6. 1972 Best Female R&B Vocal Performance R&B Bridge Over Troubled Water
7. 1973 Best Female R&B Vocal Performance R&B Young, Gifted and Black (album)
8. 1973 Best Soul Gospel Performance Gospel Amazing Grace (album)
9. 1974 Best Female R&B Vocal Performance R&B Master Of Eyes
10. 1975 Best Female R&B Vocal Performance R&B Ain't Nothing Like The Real Thing
11. 1982 Best Female R&B Vocal Performance R&B Hold On...I'm Comin' (album track)
12. 1986 Best Female R&B Vocal Performance R&B Freeway Of Love
13. 1988 Best Female R&B Vocal Performance R&B Aretha (album)
14. 1988 Best R&B Performance - Duo Or Group with Vocals R&B I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me) (with George Michael)
15. 1989 Best Soul Gospel Performance - Female Gospel One Lord, One Faith, One Baptism (album)
16. 1991 Living Legend Award Special
17. 1994 Lifetime Achievement Award Special
18. 2004 Best Traditional R&B Vocal Performance R&B Wonderful
19. 2006 Best Traditional R&B Vocal Performance R&B A House Is Not A Home
20. 2007 Golden Grammy Awards Special
21. 2008 Best Gospel-Soul Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group Gospel Never Gonna Break My Faith (with Mary J. Blige)
Discography
1967 Aretha Arrives
1968 Lady Soul
1968 Aretha Now
1968 Aretha In Paris
1969 Soul '69
1969 Aretha's Gold
1970 This Girl's In Love With You
1970 Spirit in the Dark
1971 Live At Fillmore West
1971 Aretha's Greatest Hits
1972 Young, Gifted And Black
1972 Amazing Grace
1973 Hey Now Hey (The Other Side Of The Sky)
1974 Let Me In Your Life
1974 With Everything I Feel In Me
1975 You
1976 Sparkle
1976 Ten Years Of Gold
1977 Sweet Passion
1978 Almighty Fire 1979 La Diva
1980 Aretha
1981 Love All The Hurt Away
1982 Jump To It
1983 Get It Right'
1985 Who's Zoomin' Who?
1986 Aretha
1987 One Lord, One Faith, One Baptism
1989 Through The Storm
1991 What You See Is What You Sweat
1994 Greatest Hits 1980-1994
1998 A Rose Is Still A Rose
2001 Aretha's Best
2003 So Damn Happy
2007 Jewels in the Crown: All-Star Duets with the Queen
2008 This Christmas
Top 10 US Hot 100 singles
1967 "Respect" 1
1967 "Baby I Love You" 4
1967 "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman" 8
1967 "Chain of Fools" 2
1968 "(Sweet Sweet Baby) Since You've Been Gone" 5
1968 "Think" 7
1968 "The House That Jack Built" 6
1968 "I Say a Little Prayer" 10
1971 "Bridge Over Troubled Water" / "Brand New Me" 6
1971 "Spanish Harlem" 2
1971 "Rock Steady" 9
1972 "Day Dreaming" 5
1973 "Until You Come Back to Me (That's What I'm Gonna Do)" 3
1985 "Freeway of Love" 3
1985 "Who's Zoomin' Who" 7
1987 "I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)" (with George Michael) 1
Filmography
Motown 40: The Music Is Forever (1998) (ABC-TV documentary)
Blues Brothers 2000 (1998)
DIVAS LIVE (1998)
Immaculate Funk (2000) (documentary)
Rhythm, Love and Soul (2002)
Tom Dowd & the Language of Music (2003) (documentary)
Singing in the Shadow: The Children of Rock Royalty (2003) (documentary)
From The Heart / The Four Tops 50th Anniversary and Celebration (2004)
Atlantic Records: The House that Ahmet Built (2007) (documentary)
TV Talkshow Music Appearances
Oprah Winfrey (Oprah's 40 Birthday, with Patti Labelle & Gladys Knight)
References
"The 100 Greatest Singers of All Time". Rolling Stone (1066): 73. 27 November 2008.
See [1]
Natalie Cole broke Aretha's "Best Female R&B Vocal Performance" winning streak with her 1975 single, "This Will Be (An Everlasting Love)" (which, ironically, was originally offered to Franklin).
Aretha's "best-selling gospel album" status was later surpassed by Whitney Houston's, The Preacher's Wife.
Seelye, Katharine Q. (17 December 2008). "Obama Selects Evangelist for Invocation". New York Times.
"The Immortals: The First Fifty". Rolling Stone Issue 946. Rolling Stone.
The Billboard Hot 100 All-Time Top Artists
Aretha Franklin greatest singer in rock era: poll
External links
Aretha Franklin at Legacy Recordings
Aretha Franklin at the Internet Movie Database
Aretha Franklin at the Memorable Music Hall of Fame at Memorable TV
Aretha Franklin at Soulmusic.com
Aretha Franklin Recognizing New Title "Empress of Music"
Soul Covers by Michael Awkward featuring research and analysis on Aretha Franklin
Aretha Franklin Video and Audio at Boston.com Multimedia Archive
Aretha Franklin at Swingin' Chicks of the '60s
Aretha Franklin at BBC News
Aretha Franklin at RollingStone.com/artists/
Works by or about Aretha Franklin in libraries (WorldCat catalog)
Aretha Franklin images and facts gallery
Aretha Franklin at NPR Music
Details about PBS' 1988 'American Masters' television special about Aretha Franklin at http://www.thirteen.org/pressroom/release.php?get=1938 (show is available on DVD through http://vpt.org/tvscheds/pbsvids.html
Aretha Franklin is one of the giants of soul music, and indeed of American pop as a whole. More than any other performer, she epitomized soul at its most gospel-charged. Her astonishing run of late-'60s hits with Atlantic Records--"Respect," "I Never Loved a Man," "Chain of Fools," "Baby I Love You," "I Say a Little Prayer," "Think," "The House That Jack Built," and several others--earned her the title "Lady Soul," which she has worn uncontested ever since. Yet as much of an international institution as she's become, much of her work--outside of her recordings for Atlantic in the late '60s and early '70s--is erratic and only fitfully inspired, making discretion a necessity when collecting her records.
Franklin's roots in gospel ran extremely deep. With her sisters Carolyn and Erma (both of whom would also have recording careers), she sang at the Detroit church of her father, Reverend C.L. Franklin, while growing up in the 1950s. In fact, she made her first recordings as a gospel artist at the age of 14. It has also been reported that Motown was interested in signing Aretha back in the days when it was a tiny start-up. Ultimately, however, Franklin ended up with Columbia, to which she was signed by the renowned talent scout John Hammond.
Franklin would record for Columbia constantly throughout the first half of the '60s, notching occasional R&B hits (and one Top Forty single, "Rock-a-bye Your Baby with a Dixie Melody"), but never truly breaking out as a star. The Columbia period continues to generate considerable controversy among critics, many of whom feel that Aretha's true aspirations were being blunted by pop-oriented material and production. In fact there's a reasonable amount of fine items to be found on the Columbia sides, including the occasional song ("Lee Cross," "Soulville") where she belts out soul with real gusto. It's undeniably true, though, that her work at Columbia was considerably tamer than what was to follow, and suffered in general from a lack of direction and an apparent emphasis on trying to develop her as an all-around entertainer, rather than as an R&B/soul singer.
When Franklin left Columbia for Atlantic, producer Jerry Wexler was determined to bring out her most soulful, fiery traits. As part of that plan, he had her record her first single, "I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You)," at Muscle Shoals in Alabama with esteemed Southern R&B musicians. In fact, that was to be her only session actually at Muscle Shoals, but much of the remainder of her '60s work would be recorded with the Muscle Shoals Sound Rhythm Section, although the sessions would actually take place in New York City. The combination was one of those magic instances of musical alchemy in pop: the backup musicians provided a much grittier, soulful, and R&B-based accompaniment for Aretha's voice, which soared with a passion and intensity suggesting a spirit that had been allowed to fly loose for the first time.
In the late '60s, Franklin became one of the biggest international recording stars in all of pop. Many also saw Franklin as a symbol of Black America itself, reflecting the increased confidence and pride of African-Americans in the decade of the civil rights movements and other triumphs for he Black community. The chart statistics are impressive in and of themselves: ten Top Ten hits in a roughly 18-month span between early 1967 and late 1968, for instance, and a steady stream of solid mid-to-large-size hits for the next five years after that. Her Atlantic albums were also huge sellers, and far more consistent artistically than those of most soul stars of the era. Franklin was able to maintain creative momentum, in part, because of her eclectic choice of material, which encompassed first-class originals and gospel, blues, pop, and rock covers, from the Beatles and Simon & Garfunkel to Sam Cooke and the Drifters. She was also a fine, forceful, and somewhat underrated keyboardist.
Franklin's commercial and artistic success was unabated in the early '70s, during which she landed more huge hits with "Spanish Harlem," "Bridge Over Troubled Water," and "Day Dreaming." She also produced two of her most respected, and earthiest, album releases with Live at Fillmore West and Amazing Grace. The latter, a 1972 double LP, was a reinvestigation of her gospel roots, recorded with James Cleveland & the Southern California Community Choir. Remarkably, it made the Top Ten, counting as one of the greatest gospel-pop crossover smashes of all time.
Franklin had a few more hits over the next few years--"Angel" and the Stevie Wonder cover "Until You Come Back to Me"--being the most notable--but generally her artistic inspiration seemed to be tapering off, and her focus drifting toward more pop-oriented material. Her Atlantic contract ended at the end of the 1970s, and since then she's managed to get intermittent hits -- "Who's Zooming Who" and "Jump to It" are among the most famous -- without remaining anything like the superstar she was at her peak. Many of her successes were duets, or crafted with the assistance of newer, glossier-minded contemporaries such as Luther Vandross. There was also another return to gospel in 1987 with One Lord, One Faith, One Baptism.
Critically, as is the case with many '60s rock legends, there have been mixed responses to her later work. Some view it as little more than a magnificent voice wasted on mediocre material and production. Others seem to grasp for any excuse they can to praise her whenever there seems to be some kind of resurgence of her soul leanings. Most would agree that her post-mid-'70s recordings are fairly inconsequential when judged against her prime Atlantic era. The blame is often laid at the hands of unsuitable material, but it should also be remembered that -- like Elvis Presley and Ray Charles -- Franklin never thought of herself as confined to one genre. She always loved to sing straight pop songs, even if her early Atlantic records gave one the impression that her true home was earthy soul music. If for some reason she returned to straight soul shouting in the future, it's doubtful that the phase would last for more than an album or two. In the meantime, despite her lukewarm recent sales record, she's an institution, assured of the ability to draw live audiences and immense respect for the rest of her lifetime, regardless of whether there are any more triumphs on record in store.
Franklin was born in Memphis and grew up in Detroit, where her father, Rev. C.L. Franklin, served as pastor at the New Bethel Baptist Church. One of the best-known religious orators of the day, Rev. Franklin was a friend and colleague of Martin Luther King. Aretha began singing church music at an early age, and recorded her first album, The Gospel Sound of Aretha Franklin, at fourteen. Her greatest influence was her aunt, Clara Ward, a renowned singer of sacred music. Beyond her family, Franklin drew from masters of the blues (Billie Holiday), jazz (Sarah Vaughn) and gospel (Mahalia Jackson), forging a contemporary synthesis that spoke to the younger generation in the new language of soul.
Aretha signed with Columbia Records in 1960 after A&R man John Hammond heard a demo she cut in New York. She remained at Columbia for six years, cutting ten albums that failed to fully tap into her capabilities. Paired with pop-minded producers, she dabbled in a variety of styles without finding her voice. Franklin was never averse to the idea of crossover music, being a connoisseur of pop and show tunes, but she needed to interpret them in her own uncompromising way. In Hammond’s words, “I cherish the albums we made together, but Columbia was a white company who misunderstood her genius.”
Jerry Wexler was waiting in the wings to sign Franklin when her contract with Columbia expired. With her switch to Atlantic in 1966, Aretha proceeded to revolutionize soul music with some of the genre’s greatest recordings. Her most productive period ran from 1967 through 1972. The revelations began with her first Atlantic single, “I Never Loved a Man (the Way I Loved You),” a smoldering performance that unleashed the full force of Franklin’s mezzo-soprano. Offering call-and-response background vocals on this and other tracks were Carolyn and Erma Franklin (Aretha’s sisters) and Cissy Houston.
Franklin’s greatest triumph - and an enduring milestone in popular music - was “Respect.” Her fervent reworking of the Otis Redding-penned number can now be viewed as an early volley in the women’s movement. It was the opening track on I Never Loved a Man the Way I Loved You, her classic first album for Atlantic. Other memorable tracks from this pivotal release are “Do Right Woman - Do Right Man,” “Dr. Feelgood” and her cover of “A Change Is Gonna Come,” Sam Cooke’s civil rights-era anthem. (Cooke had been a frequent visitor to the Franklin family’s household when Aretha was growing up.) According to The Rolling Stone Album Guide, I Never Loved a Man the Way I Loved You “may stand as the greatest single soul album of all time.”
Working closely with producer Jerry Wexler, engineer Tom Dowd and arranger Arif Mardin, Franklin followed her triumphant first album with recordings that furthered her claim to the title “Queen of Soul.” Her next three albums - Aretha Arrives (1967), Lady Soul (1968) and Aretha Now (1968) - included “Chain of Fools,” “Think,” “Baby, I Love You,” “Since You’ve Been Gone (Sweet Sweet Baby),” and a soulful rendering of Carole King’s “A Natural Woman.”
The Seventies brought continued success to Franklin. In the early years of that decade, she released such critically acclaimed albums as Spirit in the Dark (1970); Young, Gifted and Black (1972); Live at Fillmore West (1971); and Amazing Grace. The first two of these tapped into themes of black pride and feminine empowerment, while the latter - a double album that found her accompanied by James Cleveland and the Southern California Community Choir - brought her back to the church.
Her lengthy tenure with Atlantic came to an end in 1979 after twelve years and nineteen albums. In the Eighties she recorded everything from gospel to dance music for Arista Records, finding the upper reaches of the charts with “Freeway of Love” and “Who’s Zoomin’ Who.” In 1987 Franklin had the second Number One hit of her career - “I Knew You Were Waiting (for Me),” a duet with George Michael - which came exactly twenty years after she topped the chart with “Respect.” Aretha teamed up with Rolling Stone Keith Richard in 1986 for a version of “Jumpin’ Jack Flash” that appeared in the Whoopi Goldberg movie of the same name. She struck gold again in 1989 with “Through the Storm,” a duet with Elton John. Proving her durability, Franklin scaled the charts in 1998 with “A Rose Is Still a Rose,” written and produced by Lauryn Hill.
As a measure of her impact, Aretha Franklin has charted more Top Forty singles - forty-five in all, since 1961 - than any other female performer. The basis of her success has been communication.
“Music is my way of communicating that part of me I can get out front and share,” she told Essence magazine in 1973. “It’s what I have to give; my way of saying let’s find one another.”
TIMELINE
March 25, 1942: Aretha Louise Franklin is born in Memphis, Tennessee.
1956: The Gospel Sound of Aretha Franklin is released on the Detroit-based JVB Records. Recorded in church at age fourteen, it would be reissued thirty years later as Aretha Gospel.
August 1, 1960: Aretha Franklin records four demos in New York City, which lead to a contract with Columbia Records.
October 1960: The Great Aretha Franklin, the singer’s first album for Columbia - produced by John Hammond, who signed her to the label - is released.
November 20, 1961: Aretha Franklin dents the Top Forty with an old Al Jolsen tune, “Rock-A-Bye Your Baby with a Dixie Melody.” It will be her only hit in a six-year run with Columbia Records.
October 1965: Aretha Franklin’s last recording session for Columbia Records paves the way for her signing to Atlantic Records in 1966.
January 24, 1967: Aretha Franklin records “I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You),” the hit title track from her first album for Atlantic Records, at Fame Studio in Muscle Shoals, Alabama.
March 10, 1967: I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You, by Aretha Franklin, is released. It will reach #2 and remain on Billboard’s album chart for 79 weeks.
June 3, 1967: “Respect,” Aretha Franklin’s definitive rendering of Otis Redding’s soul classic, tops both the pop chart for the first of two weeks and the R&B chart for the first of seven weeks.
August 4, 1967: Aretha Arrives, Aretha Franklin’s second album for Atlantic Records, is released.
January 2, 1968: Lady Soul, Aretha Franklin’s third album for Atlantic Records, is released.
February 29, 1968: Aretha Franklin wins a pair of Grammy Awards (her first) for “Respect.” That same month, her cover of Don Covay’s “Chain of Fools” goes to the top (#1 R&B, #2 pop).
April 27, 1971: Aretha Franklin’s gospel reworking of Simon and Garfunkel’s “Bridge Over Troubled Water” enters the charts. It will top the R&B chart for two weeks.
May 19, 1971: Aretha Franklin’s Live at the Fillmore, culled from a three-night stand at San Francisco’s Fillmore Auditorium, is released.
June 1, 1972: The release of Aretha Franklin’s Amazing Grace, recorded at the New Temple Missionary Baptist Church in Los Angeles, marks a return to the singer’s gospel roots.
March 1, 1975: Aretha Franklin’s version of “Ain’t Nothin’ Like the Real Thing” wins a Grammy Award in the “Best R&B Vocal Performance, Female” category. It is the tenth Grammy of her career.
September 6, 1979: La Diva, Aretha’s final album for Atlantic Records, is released, ending her twelve-year association with the label.
July 6, 1985: “Freeway of Love,” by Aretha Franklin, marks the soul diva’s return to the Top Ten for the first time in more than a decade.
January 21, 1987: Aretha Franklin is inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame at the second annual induction dinner. Keith Richard is her presenter.
April 18, 1987: Aretha Franklin hits Number One for the second time in her career with “I Knew You Were Waiting (for Me),” a duet with George Michael.
March 2, 1988: Aretha Franklin wins Grammy Awards for Aretha (Best R&B Vocal Performance, Female) and “I Knew You Were Waiting (for Me)” (Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal).
February 22, 1989: One Lord, One Faith, One Baptism, by Aretha Franklin, wins a Grammy Award in the “Best Soul Gospel Album, Female” category.
February 26, 1992: Aretha Franklin receives a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Rhythm & Blues Foundation’s third annual Pioneer Awards.
September 18, 1992: Queen of Soul: The Atlantic Recordings, a four-disc collection of Aretha Franklin’s best work, is released on Rhino Records.
December 4, 1994: Aretha Franklin becomes the youngest recipient of the Kennedy Center Honors at age fifty-two.
February 8, 1997: Aretha Franklin is inducted into the NAACP’s Hall of Fame at the annual Image Awards.
May 2, 1998: Peaking at #26, “A Rose Is Still a Rose” becomes a late-Nineties hit for Aretha Franklin, who’s now charted singles in four consecutive decades.
Sunday, February 8, 2009
ARETHA FRANKLIN
Saturday, February 7, 2009
CHARLIE BYRD
Byrd loved sailboating, and owned a twenty-six foot boat called "I'm Hip" that he sailed to various parts of the world.[13] Charlie Byrd died of lung cancer on November 30, 1999 at his home in Annapolis, Maryland. Byrd was married to Rebecca Byrd, and has two daughters from previous marriages. Carol Rose of Charlotte NC & Charlotte Byrd of Crownsville MD. Style Awards 
Charlie Lee Byrd (September 16, 1925 – November 30, 1999) was a famous American jazz and classical guitarist born in Suffolk, Virginia. Byrd collaborated on the famous 1962 album Jazz Samba with Stan Getz, a recording which pushed bossa nova into the mainstream of American music.
During the late 1950s he toured Europe with Woody Herman as part of a United States State Department "goodwill tour". Byrd also led his own groups that at times featured his own brother Joe Byrd. His earliest and strongest musical influence was Django Reinhardt, the famous gypsy guitarist.
Early life
Charlie Byrd was born in Suffolk, Virginia in 1925 and grew up in the town of Chuckatuck, Virginia. His father—a mandolin and guitar player—taught him how to play the acoustic steel guitar at age 10. He had three brothers, Oscar, Jack and one fellow musician, Joe Byrd. In 1942 he entered the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and played in the school orchestra there. By 1943 he had been drafted into the United States Army for World War II and subsequently saw combat, then was stationed in Paris in 1945 and played in an Army Special Services band. He returned to the United States and went to New York, where he studied composition and jazz theory at the Harnett National Music School in Manhattan, New York. During this time he began using a classical guitar. After moving to Washington, D.C. in 1950, he studied classical guitar with Sophocles Papos for several years. In 1954 and became a pupil of the Spanish classical guitarist Andres Segovia and spent time studying in Italy with "the Maestro." . Byrd's earliest influence was the gypsy guitarist Django Reinhardt, whom he saw perform in Paris.
Career
1950s
In 1957 Byrd met double bassist Keter Betts in a Washington, D.C. club called The Vineyard. The two began doing gigs together, and by October they were frequently performing at The Showboat. In 1959 the pair joined Woody Herman's band and toured Europe for 3 weeks as part of a United States State Department sponsored "goodwill" tour. The other members of the band were Vince Guaraldi, Bill Harris, Nat Adderley and drummer Jimmy Campbell.[4] During the late 1950s he also trained several guitar students at his home in D.C., each being required to 'audition' for him, before he decided they had potential enough to warrant his input.
1960s
Following a spring 1961 diplomatic tour of South America (i.e. Brazil) for the United States State Department, Charlie Byrd returned home and met with his friend Stan Getz at the Showboat Lounge. Byrd invited Getz back to his home to listen to some bossa nova recordings by João Gilberto and Antonio Carlos Jobim he had brought back. Getz liked what he heard and the two decided they wanted to make an album of the songs. The task of creating an authentic sound, however, proved much more challenging than either man had anticipated.
Getz convinced Creed Taylor at Verve Records to produce the album, and Byrd and he assembled a group of musicians they both knew to create the recordings. These early sessions did not turn out to either man's liking, so Byrd gathered a group of musicians that had been to Brazil with him previously and practised with them in Washington, D.C. until he felt they were ready to record. The group included his brother Gene Byrd, as well as Keter Betts, Bill Reichenbach and Buddy Deppenschmidt. Bill and Buddy were both drummers, and the combination made it easier to achieve authentic samba rhythms. Finally the group was deemed ready and Getz and Taylor arrived in Washington D.C. on February 13, 1962. They recorded in a building adjacent to All Souls Unitarian Church because of the excellent acoustics found there.
The recordings were released in April 1962 as the album Jazz Samba, and by September the recording had entered Billboard's pop album chart. By March of the following year the album had moved all the way to number one, igniting a bossa nova craze in the American jazz community as a result. It should be noted that the term bossa nova did not become used in reference to the music until later. The album remained on the charts for seventy weeks, and Getz soon beat John Coltrane in a Downbeat poll. One of the album's most popular tunes was a Jobim hit, titled "Desafinado".
In 1963 Byrd did a European tour with Les McCann and Zoot Sims, among others. Either in 1964 or 1965 Byrd appeared at the Newport Jazz Festival with Episcopal priest Malcolm Boyd, accompanying prayers from his book Are You Running With Me Jesus? with guitar.[8] In 1967 Byrd brought a lawsuit against Stan Getz and MGM, contending that he was unfairly paid for his contributions to the 1962 album Jazz Samba. The jury agreed with Byrd and awarded him half of all royalties from the album.
1970s
In 1973 Byrd moved to Annapolis, Maryland, and in September of that year he recorded an interesting album with Cal Tjader titled Tambú, the only recording the two would make together.[10] That same year Byrd joined guitarists Herb Ellis and Barney Kessel and formed the Great Guitars group, which also included drummer Johnny Rae. This article may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards.
Please improve this article if you can. (December 2007)
1980s
From 1980 through 1996, he released several of his arrangements to the jazz and classical guitar community through Guitarist's Forum (gfmusic.com) including Charlie Byrd's Christmas Guitar Solos, Mozart: Seven Waltzes For Classical Guitar, and The Charlie Byrd Library featuring the music of George Gershwin and Irving Berlin.
His earliest trios included bassist Keeter Betts and drummers Buddy Deppinschmidt and Bertel Knox. In the early 1960s Betts joined Ella Fitzgerald and Byrd's brother Gene H. (Joe) Byrd became bassist for the group. Joe Byrd played with his brother until Charlie Byrd's death in 1999 of cancer. Byrd's trios also included drummers Billy Reichenbach for over ten years, Wayne Phillips for several years and for the last 19 years Chuck Redd.
Charlie Byrd, Joe Byrd and Chuck Redd were also a part of the famous act called "The Great Guitars" with electric guitarists Herb Ellis and Barnie Kessel. This group toured and recorded albums in the 1980s. Byrd collaborated with many famous jazz players over his lengthly career. A jazz supper club in Georgetown, DC also bore his name, "Charlie's". When he died, he was "at home" in the King of France Tavern of the Maryland Inn. 
Other endeavors
Byrd played for several years at a jazz club in Silver Spring, Maryland called The Showboat II which was owned and managed by his manager Peter Lambros. He was also home-based at the King of France Tavern nightclub at the Maryland Inn in Annapolis from 1973 until his death in 1999. In 1992 the book "Jazz Cooks"—by Bob Young and Al Stankus—was published by Stewart, Tabori & Chang, a compilation of recipes that include a few recipes from Byrd.[12] He also authored the 1973 publication Charlie Byrd's Melodic Method for Guitar.
Personal life
1997 - deemed a "Maryland Art Treasure" by the Community Arts Alliance of Maryland 
Discography
First Flight 1957
Jazz Recital 1957
Blues for Night People 1957
Midnight Guitar 1957
Byrd's Word 1958
Mr. Guitar 1959
The Guitar Artistry of Charlie Byrd 1960
Charlie Byrd at the Village Vanguard 1961 live
Latin Impressions 1962
Bossa Nova Pelos Passaros 1962
Once More! Bossa Nova 1963
Guitar/Guitar 1963 In collaboration with Herb Ellis
Charlie Byrd Trio at the Village Gate 1964 live
Brazilian Byrd 1965
Travellin' Man 1965
The Touch of Gold 1965 label: Columbia
Byrd Song 1965
Solo Flight 1965
Byrdland 1966
Hollywood Byrd 1967
More Brazilian Byrd 1967
Christmas Carols for Solo Guitar 1967
Music for "Villa Lobos" 1967
Delicately 1968
Hit Trip 1968
The Great Byrd 1969
Let It Be 1970
For All We Know 1971
Crystal Silence 1973
The World of Charlie Byrd 1973 double album
The Stroke of Genius 1974
The New Wave (La Onda Nueva) 1974 In collaboration with venezuelan Aldemaro Romero. Label: Columbia Records
Byrd by the Sea 1974 live
Great Guitars 1974 live
Top Hat 1975
Charlie Byrd Swings Downtown 1976 live
Blue Byrd 1978
Sugarloaf Suite 1979 live
Great Guitars at the Winery 1980
Brazilville 1981
Brazilian Soul 1981-1983 with Laurindo Almeida
Latin Odyssey 1981-1983 with Laurindo Almeida
Charlie Byrd Christmas Album 1982
Isn't It Romantic 1984
Tango 1985
Byrd and Brass 1986 w/Annapolis Brass Quintet
It's a Wonderful World 1988
Christmas With Byrd and Brass 1989 w/Annapolis Brass Quintet
Tambu 1992
Rise and Shine 1992
The Washington Guitar Quintet 1992
Music to Dine By 1993
Aquarelle 1993
I've Got the World on a String 1994
Moments Like This 1994
Jazz & Samba 1995
Du Hot Club De Concord 1995
Great Guitars 2 1995
Live At Music Room 1996 live
Au Courant 1997
My Inspiration: Music of Brazil 1999
For Louis 2000
Charlie Byrd 2000 label: Delta
Byrd in the Wind 2002
Bamba Samba Bossa Nova 2005
Aquarius 2005
Byrd at the Gate: Charlie Byrd Trio at the Village Gate 2005 Extended CD Release, live
Everybody's Doin' the Bossa Nova 2005
Great Guitars Concord Jazz 2005 label: Concord Jazz, live
Let Go 2005
Lodovico Roncalli Suites 2005
Music of the Brazilian Masters 2005
World of Charlie Byrd 2005
References
Hurwitz, Tobias. "Fly Away Home". Retrieved on 2007-06-07.
a b Salon.com. "Jazz guitarist Charlie Byrd dies at 74". Retrieved on 2007-06-07.
norfolk.gov. "Charlie Byrd:Legends of Music". Retrieved on 2007-06-07.
Price, Suzi. "Legendary Bassist, Keter Betts". Retrieved on 2007-06-07.
a b c Gelly, Dave (2004). Stan Getz: Nobody Else But Me (A Musical Biography). Backbeat Books. p. 120. ISBN 0879307293.
Roberts, John Storm (1999). The Latin Tinge: The Impact of Latin American Music on the United States. Oxford University Press. p. 171. ISBN 0195121015.
Doerschuk, Robert L. (2001). 88: The Giants of Jazz Piano. Backbeat Books. p. 133. ISBN 0879306564.
Boyd, Malcolm (2001). Simple Grace: A Mentor's Guide to Growing Older. Westminster John Knox Press. p. 104. ISBN 0664223737.
Holley, Joe. "James Goding; Lawyer in Royalties Case". Retrieved on 2007-06-07.
a b Yanow, Scott (2000). Afro-Cuban Jazz. Backbeat Books. p. 144. ISBN 087930619X.
Sallis, James (1996). The Guitar in Jazz: An Anthology. University of Nebraska Press. p. 114. ISBN 0803242506.
Fabricant, Florence. "Jazz Makers Swing From Ham Hocks To Health Food". Retrieved on 2007-06-06.
"Jazz legend Byrd dies". Retrieved on 2007-06-07.
--------------- 
Charlie Byrd (1925 – 1999) began playing the guitar at an early age under the guidance of his father. In his teens he was playing plectrum guitar with local groups in Virginia and Washington. At the Polytechnic Institute in Virginia, he played guitar with the school band. During World War II he played with an Army band in Europe. After the war he settled in New York where he played with local jazz groups such as Joe Marsala and Freddie Slack.
Tasteful, low-key, and ingratiatingly melodic, Charlie Byrd had two notable accomplishments to his credit -- applying acoustic classical guitar techniques to jazz and popular music and helping to introduce Brazilian music to mass North American audiences. Born into a musical family, Byrd experienced his first brush with greatness while a teenager in France during World War II, playing with his idol Django Reinhardt. After some postwar gigs with Sol Yaged, Joe Marsala and Freddie Slack, Byrd temporarily abandoned jazz to study classical guitar with Sophocles Papas in 1950 and Andrés Segovia in 1954. However he re-emerged later in the decade gigging around the Washington D.C. area in jazz settings, often splitting his sets into distinct jazz and classical segments. He started recording for Savoy as a leader in 1957, and also recorded with the Woody Herman Band in 1958-59. A tour of South America under the aegis of the U.S. State Department in 1961, proved to be a revelation, for it was in Brazil that Byrd discovered the emerging bossa nova movement. Once back in D.C., he played some bossa nova tapes to Stan Getz, who then convinced Verve's Creed Taylor to record an album of Brazilian music with himself and Byrd. That album, Jazz Samba, became a pop hit in 1962 on the strength of the single "Desafinado" and launched the bossa nova wave in North America. Thanks to the bossa nova, several albums for Riverside followed, including the defining Bossa Nova Pelos Passaros, and he was able to land a major contract with Columbia, though the records from that association often consisted of watered-down easy listening pop. In 1973, he formed the group Great Guitars with Herb Ellis and Barney Kessel and also that year, wrote an instruction manual for the guitar that has become widely used. From 1974 onward, Byrd recorded for the Concord Jazz label in a variety of settings, including sessions with Laurindo Almeida and Bud Shank. He died December 2, 1999 after a long bout with cancer. ~ Richard S. Ginell, All Music Guide
In 1950 Charlie Byrd returned to the Washington DC area where he began studying the classical guitar. He had always had an interest in classical guitar and decided at this time to begin a serious study of the instrument. He studied guitar with Sophocles Papas and music theory with Thomas Simmons. In 1954 he went to Italy to study with Andres Segovia. It was shortly after that trip that he formed a jazz trio for the first time and began performing in local clubs. His instrument of choice for his trio was the concert guitar.
In the trio format Byrd’s found the perfect form for mixing his love of jazz and blues with classical music. The orientation of the music for the trio was jazz, but jazz infused with classical technique and sound. Between 1957 and 1960 his trio performed in and around Washington. During that time Charlie Byrd made some of his best recorded work In 1957 he released Jazz recital and Blues For Night Peopleand in 1958 Jazz at The Showboat and in 1959 Guitar in the Wind and in 1960 Charlie’s Choice also known under the title The Artistry of Charlie Byrd. In 1961 he released Charlie Byrd at The Village Vanguard. It was this recording that introduced Charlie to a broader audience than he had had in Washington DC.
In 1962 Charlie Byrd and his trio traveled to South America under the sponsorship of the State Department. When he returned to the US he made the landmark recording with Stan Getz Jazz Samba. Unlike the Laurindo Almeida and Bud Shank recordings of Brazilian music, this record caught on with the listening public and made Charlie Byrd a household name. 
Throughout the 1970’s 1980 and 1990’s Charlie Byrd continued to record and play. He made some exceptional recordings with Barney Kessel and Herb Ellis as The Great Guitars and dozens of recordings under his own name.
Charlie Byrd is best remembered for the work he did with Stan Getz, and for his work with Herb Ellis and Barney Kessel, as The Great Guitars. The significance of those two associations sometimes obscures the remarkably innovative work he did in the late 1950’s and 1960’s with his trio. Although Laurindo Almeida preceded him in the use of the concert guitar in a jazz setting, Byrd’s style and technique seemed a perfect fit for jazz. He brought to the concert guitar both a high degree of sophistication due to his classical training and a kind of down home quality that came through when he played blues and straight ahead jazz.
It was said he could play a Bach Cantata with the same ease as a Gershwin song, but he delivered each in its own unique way.
©Copyright 2005 Classic Jazz Guitar
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CHARLIE CHRISTIAN
Charlie Christian, (Charles Henry Christian) (29 July 1916 – 2 March 1942) was an American swing and bebop jazz guitarist. Craig R. McKinney, "Charles Christian: Musician" http://www3.nbnet.nb.ca/hansen/Charlie/ccbio.htm
Charlie Christian, (Charles Henry Christian) (29 July 1916 – 2 March 1942) was an American swing and bebop jazz guitarist.
Christian was an important early performer on the electric guitar, and is cited as a key figure in the development of bebop. In the liner notes to the 1972 Columbia album Solo Flight: The Genius of Charlie Christian, Gene Lees writes that "many critics and musicians consider that Christian was one of the founding fathers of bebop, or if not that, at least a precursor to it."
Christian was born in Bonham, Texas, but his family moved to Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, when he was a small child. Both of his parents were musicians and he had two brothers, Edward, born 1906, and Clarence, born 1911. All three sons were taught music by their father, Clarence Henry Christian. Clarence Henry was struck blind by fever, and in order to support the family he and the boys would work as buskers, on what the Christians called "busts." He would have them lead him into the better neighborhoods where they would perform for cash or goods. When Charles was old enough to go along he first entertained by dancing. Later he learned guitar, inheriting his father's instruments upon his death when Charles was 12.
The Gibson ES-150, the first electric guitar played by Charlie Christian, equipped with the pickup that would later be named after him.
He attended Douglass School in Oklahoma City, and was further encouraged in music by instructor Zelia Breaux. Charles wanted to play tenor saxophone in the school band, but she insisted he try trumpet instead. Because he believed playing the trumpet would disfigure his lip, he quit to pursue his interest in baseball, at which he excelled.
In a 1978 interview with Charlie Christian biographer Craig McKinney, Clarence Christian said that in the 1920s and 30s Edward Christian led a band in Oklahoma City as a pianist and had a shaky relationship with trumpeter James Simpson. After a rivalry with a certain girl, Simpson had the urge to get even with the egotistical Christian. Around 1931, he took guitarist "Bigfoot" Ralph Hamilton and began secretly schooling the younger Charles on jazz. They taught him to solo on three songs, "Rose Room," "Tea for Two," and "Sweet Georgia Brown." When the time was right they took him out to one of the many after-hours jam sessions along "Deep Deuce," Northeast Second Street in Oklahoma City. "Let Charles play one," they told Edward. "Ah, nobody wants to hear them old blues," Edward replied. After some encouragement, he allowed Charles to play. "What do you want to play?" he asked. All three of the songs were big in the early 1930s and Edward was surprised that Charles knew them. After two encores, Charles had played all three and "Deep Deuce" was in an uproar. He coolly dismissed himself from the jam session, and his mother had heard about it before he got home.
Charles soon was performing locally and on the road throughout the Midwest, as far away as North Dakota and Minnesota. By 1936, he was playing electric guitar and had become a regional attraction, and jammed with many of the big name performers traveling through Oklahoma City, among them Teddy Wilson and Art Tatum. It was Mary Lou Williams, pianist for Andy Kirk and His Clouds of Joy, who told John Hammond about him.
National fame
Benny Goodman
In 1939, he auditioned for record producer John Hammond, who recommended Christian to bandleader Benny Goodman. Goodman was the first white bandleader to feature black musicians — he hired Fletcher Henderson as arranger and Teddy Wilson on piano in 1935, and in 1936 added Lionel Hampton on vibraphone. Goodman hired Christian to play with the newly formed Goodman Sextet in 1939. It has been often stated that Goodman was initially uninterested in hiring Christian because electric guitar was a relatively new instrument. Goodman had been exposed to the instrument with Floyd Smith and Leonard Ware among others, none of whom had the ability of Charlie Christian. There is a report of Goodman unsuccessfully trying to buy out Floyd Smith's contract from Andy Kirk. However, Goodman was so impressed by Christian's playing that he hired him instead.
There are several versions of the first meeting of Christian and Goodman on August 16, 1939. Suffice to say the encounter that afternoon at the recording studio had not gone well. Charles recalled in a 1940 Metronome magazine article, "I guess neither one of us liked what I played," but Hammond decided to try again — without consulting Goodman (Christian says Goodman invited him to the show that evening, ibid.), he installed Christian on the bandstand for that night's set at the Victor Hugo restaurant in Los Angeles. Displeased at the surprise, Goodman called "Rose Room", a tune he assumed that Christian would be unfamiliar with. Unknown to Goodman, Charles had been reared on the tune, and he came in with his solo — which was to be the first of about twenty, all of them different, all unlike anything Goodman had heard before. That version of "Rose Room" lasted forty minutes; by its end, Christian was in the band. In the course of a few days, Christian went from making $2.50 a night to making $150 a week.
By February 1940, Christian dominated the jazz and swing guitar polls and was elected to the Metronome All Stars. In the spring of 1940, Goodman let most of his entourage go in a reorganization move. He made sure to retain Charlie Christian, and in the fall of that year Goodman led the Sextet with Charlie Christian, Count Basie, longtime Duke Ellington trumpeter Cootie Williams, and former Artie Shaw tenor saxophonist Georgie Auld, an all-star band in 1940 that dominated the jazz polls in 1941.
In 1966, years after his death, Christian was inducted into the Down Beat Jazz Hall of Fame.
Style and influences
Christian's solos are frequently referred to as "horn-like", and in that sense he was more influenced by horn players such as Lester Young and Herschel Evans than by early acoustic guitarists like Eddie Lang and jazz/bluesman Lonnie Johnson, although they both had contributed to the expansion of the guitar's role from "rhythm section" instrument to a solo instrument. Christian admitted he wanted his guitar to sound like a tenor saxophone. Belgian gypsy jazz guitarist Django Reinhardt had little influence on Christian, but he was obviously familiar with some of his recordings. Guitarist Mary Osborne recalled hearing him play Django's solo on "St. Louis Blues" note for note, but then following it with his own ideas. By 1939 there had already been electric guitar soloists—Leonard Ware, George Barnes, trombonist/composer ("Topsy") Eddie Durham had recorded with Count Basie's Kansas City Six, Floyd Smith recorded "Floyd's Guitar Blues" with Andy Kirk in March 1939, using an amplified lap steel guitar, and Texas Swing pioneer Eldon Shamblin was using amplified electric guitar with Bob Wills. However, Charles Christian was the first great soloist on the amplified guitar.
Guitarists who followed Christian and who were to varying degrees influenced by him include Mary Osborne, Oscar Moore (Nat King Cole trio), Barney Kessel, Herb Ellis, Jimmy Raney, Tal Farlow, and—-a generation later—-Jim Hall. "Tiny" Grimes, who made several records with Art Tatum, can often be heard quoting Christian note-for-note.
Christian paved the way for the modern electric guitar sound that was followed by other pioneers, including T-Bone Walker, Les Paul, Grant Green, Kenny Burrell, Wes Montgomery, B.B. King, Chuck Berry and Jimi Hendrix. For this reason Christian was inducted in 1990 into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as an "Early Influence."
Christian's exposure was so great in the brief period he played with Goodman that he influenced not only guitarists, but other musicians as well. The influence he had on "Dizzy" Gillespie, Charlie Parker, Thelonious Monk and Don Byas can be heard on their early "bop" recordings "Blue'n Boogie" and "Salt Peanuts." Other musicians, such as trumpeter Miles Davis, cite Christian as an early influence. Indeed, Christian's "new" sound influenced jazz as a whole. He reigned supreme in the jazz guitar polls up to two years after his death.
Minton's Playhouse
Thelonious Monk, who played with Charlie Christian at Minton's Playhouse, developed a style similar to his.
Though known mainly for his influence on electric guitar, Christian was also an important figure in the development of bebop. His contributions at late night after-hours jam sessions at Minton's Playhouse in Harlem in New York City were landmarks in the evolution from the then-popular, radio-friendly, accessible swing music to the more experimental bebop. This transition is readily apparent in recordings of the partial Goodman Sextet made in March 1941. With Goodman and bassist Artie Bernstein absent, Christian and the rest of the Sextet recorded for nearly 20 minutes as the engineers tested equipment.
Two recordings were released from that session years later: "Blues in B" and "Waiting for Benny", which showed hints of bop jam sessions. The free flow of these sessions contrasts with the more formal swing music recorded after Goodman had arrived at the studio. Other Goodman Sextet records that foretell bop are "Seven Come Eleven" (1939) and "Air Mail Special" (1940 and 1941).
An even more striking example is a series of recordings made at Minton's on a portable disk recorder by a Columbia student, Jerry Newman, in 1941. Newman captured Christian, accompanied by Joe Guy on trumpet, Kenny Kersey on piano and Kenny Clarke on drums, stretching out far beyond what the confines of the 78 RPM record would allow. His work on "Swing to Bop", a later record company re-title of Eddie Durham's "Topsy," is a stunning example of what Christian was capable of creating
His use of tension and release, a technique employed by Lester Young and later bop musicians, is also present on "Stompin' at the Savoy", included among the Newman recordings. The collection also includes recordings made at Clark Monroe's Uptown House, another late-night jazz haunt in the Harlem of 1941. Kenny Clarke claimed that "Epistrophy" and "Rhythm-a-ning" were Charlie Christian compositions that Christian played with Clarke and Thelonious Monk at Minton's jam sessions. The "Rhythm-a-ning" line can be heard on "Down on Teddy's Hill" and behind the introduction on "Guy's Got To Go" from the Newman recordings, but it is also a line from Mary Lou Williams' "Walkin' and Swingin'". Clarke said Christian first showed him the chords to "Epistrophy" on a ukulele. These recordings have been packaged under a number of different titles, including "After Hours" and "The Immortal Charlie Christian." While the recording quality of these sessions is poor, they show Charlie stretching out much longer than he could on the Benny Goodman sides. On some of the Minton's recordings, Christian can be heard taking 12 or more choruses on a single tune, playing long stretches of melodic ideas with remarkable ease.
Death
There were many reports of Charlie staying out late at jam sessions and eating poorly. He was not known to be a drug addict, but did use marijuana and alcohol.[citation needed] Further, in the late 1930s Christian had contracted tuberculosis and in early 1940 was hospitalized for a short period in which the Goodman group was on hiatus due to Benny's back trouble. Goodman was hospitalized in the summer of 1940 after the band's brief stay at Santa Catalina Island, California, where the group stayed when on the west coast. Christian returned home to Oklahoma City, in late July 1940 before returning to New York City in September 1940. In early 1941, Christian resumed his hectic lifestyle, heading to Harlem for late-night jam sessions after finishing gigs with the Goodman Sextet and Orchestra in New York City. In June 1941 he was admitted to Seaview, a sanitarium on Staten Island in New York City. He was reported to be making progress, and Down Beat magazine reported in February 1942 that he and Cootie Williams were starting a band. After a visit that same month to the hospital by tap dancer and drummer Marion Joseph "Taps" Miller, who brought Charles some marijuana and a prostitute, Christian declined in health and died March 2, 1942. He was buried in an unmarked grave in Bonham, Texas, and a Texas State Historical Marker and headstone were placed in Gates Hill Cemetery in 1994.
Selected discography
As leader
Although Christian never recorded professionally as a leader, compilations have been released of his sessions as a sideman where he is a featured soloist, of practice and warm-up recordings for these sessions, and some lower-quality recordings of Christian's own groups performing in nightclubs, by amateur technicians. [5]
Solo Flight: The Genius of Charlie Christian (Columbia, 1972)
Solo Flight (live performances as member of the Benny Goodman Sextet, Vintage Jazz Classics, 2003)
Genius of the Electric Guitar (Columbia, 1939-1941 recordings)
Guitar Wizard (LeJazz, 1993 Charly Holdings Inc.)
Live At Minton's Playhouse 1941
As sideman
Appearances on recordings by Ida Cox, Benny Goodman, Lionel Hampton, Coleman Hawkins, Thelonious Monk, Ben Webster.
Notes
Christian was an important early performer on the electric guitar, and is cited as a key figure in the development of bebop. In the liner notes to the 1972 Columbia album Solo Flight: The Genius of Charlie Christian, Gene Lees writes that "many critics and musicians consider that Christian was one of the founding fathers of bebop, or if not that, at least a precursor to it."
Christian was born in Bonham, Texas, but his family moved to Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, when he was a small child. Both of his parents were musicians and he had two brothers, Edward, born 1906, and Clarence, born 1911. All three sons were taught music by their father, Clarence Henry Christian. Clarence Henry was struck blind by fever, and in order to support the family he and the boys would work as buskers, on what the Christians called "busts." He would have them lead him into the better neighborhoods where they would perform for cash or goods. When Charles was old enough to go along he first entertained by dancing. Later he learned guitar, inheriting his father's instruments upon his death when Charles was 12.
The Gibson ES-150, the first electric guitar played by Charlie Christian, equipped with the pickup that would later be named after him.
He attended Douglass School in Oklahoma City, and was further encouraged in music by instructor Zelia Breaux. Charles wanted to play tenor saxophone in the school band, but she insisted he try trumpet instead. Because he believed playing the trumpet would disfigure his lip, he quit to pursue his interest in baseball, at which he excelled.
In a 1978 interview with Charlie Christian biographer Craig McKinney, Clarence Christian said that in the 1920s and 30s Edward Christian led a band in Oklahoma City as a pianist and had a shaky relationship with trumpeter James Simpson. After a rivalry with a certain girl, Simpson had the urge to get even with the egotistical Christian. Around 1931, he took guitarist "Bigfoot" Ralph Hamilton and began secretly schooling the younger Charles on jazz. They taught him to solo on three songs, "Rose Room," "Tea for Two," and "Sweet Georgia Brown." When the time was right they took him out to one of the many after-hours jam sessions along "Deep Deuce," Northeast Second Street in Oklahoma City. "Let Charles play one," they told Edward. "Ah, nobody wants to hear them old blues," Edward replied. After some encouragement, he allowed Charles to play. "What do you want to play?" he asked. All three of the songs were big in the early 1930s and Edward was surprised that Charles knew them. After two encores, Charles had played all three and "Deep Deuce" was in an uproar. He coolly dismissed himself from the jam session, and his mother had heard about it before he got home.
Charles soon was performing locally and on the road throughout the Midwest, as far away as North Dakota and Minnesota. By 1936, he was playing electric guitar and had become a regional attraction, and jammed with many of the big name performers traveling through Oklahoma City, among them Teddy Wilson and Art Tatum. It was Mary Lou Williams, pianist for Andy Kirk and His Clouds of Joy, who told John Hammond about him.
National fame
Benny Goodman
In 1939, he auditioned for record producer John Hammond, who recommended Christian to bandleader Benny Goodman. Goodman was the first white bandleader to feature black musicians — he hired Fletcher Henderson as arranger and Teddy Wilson on piano in 1935, and in 1936 added Lionel Hampton on vibraphone. Goodman hired Christian to play with the newly formed Goodman Sextet in 1939. It has been often stated that Goodman was initially uninterested in hiring Christian because electric guitar was a relatively new instrument. Goodman had been exposed to the instrument with Floyd Smith and Leonard Ware among others, none of whom had the ability of Charlie Christian. There is a report of Goodman unsuccessfully trying to buy out Floyd Smith's contract from Andy Kirk. However, Goodman was so impressed by Christian's playing that he hired him instead.
There are several versions of the first meeting of Christian and Goodman on August 16, 1939. Suffice to say the encounter that afternoon at the recording studio had not gone well. Charles recalled in a 1940 Metronome magazine article, "I guess neither one of us liked what I played," but Hammond decided to try again — without consulting Goodman (Christian says Goodman invited him to the show that evening, ibid.), he installed Christian on the bandstand for that night's set at the Victor Hugo restaurant in Los Angeles. Displeased at the surprise, Goodman called "Rose Room", a tune he assumed that Christian would be unfamiliar with. Unknown to Goodman, Charles had been reared on the tune, and he came in with his solo — which was to be the first of about twenty, all of them different, all unlike anything Goodman had heard before. That version of "Rose Room" lasted forty minutes; by its end, Christian was in the band. In the course of a few days, Christian went from making $2.50 a night to making $150 a week.
By February 1940, Christian dominated the jazz and swing guitar polls and was elected to the Metronome All Stars. In the spring of 1940, Goodman let most of his entourage go in a reorganization move. He made sure to retain Charlie Christian, and in the fall of that year Goodman led the Sextet with Charlie Christian, Count Basie, longtime Duke Ellington trumpeter Cootie Williams, and former Artie Shaw tenor saxophonist Georgie Auld, an all-star band in 1940 that dominated the jazz polls in 1941.
In 1966, years after his death, Christian was inducted into the Down Beat Jazz Hall of Fame.
Style and influences
Christian's solos are frequently referred to as "horn-like", and in that sense he was more influenced by horn players such as Lester Young and Herschel Evans than by early acoustic guitarists like Eddie Lang and jazz/bluesman Lonnie Johnson, although they both had contributed to the expansion of the guitar's role from "rhythm section" instrument to a solo instrument. Christian admitted he wanted his guitar to sound like a tenor saxophone. Belgian gypsy jazz guitarist Django Reinhardt had little influence on Christian, but he was obviously familiar with some of his recordings. Guitarist Mary Osborne recalled hearing him play Django's solo on "St. Louis Blues" note for note, but then following it with his own ideas. By 1939 there had already been electric guitar soloists—Leonard Ware, George Barnes, trombonist/composer ("Topsy") Eddie Durham had recorded with Count Basie's Kansas City Six, Floyd Smith recorded "Floyd's Guitar Blues" with Andy Kirk in March 1939, using an amplified lap steel guitar, and Texas Swing pioneer Eldon Shamblin was using amplified electric guitar with Bob Wills. However, Charles Christian was the first great soloist on the amplified guitar.
Guitarists who followed Christian and who were to varying degrees influenced by him include Mary Osborne, Oscar Moore (Nat King Cole trio), Barney Kessel, Herb Ellis, Jimmy Raney, Tal Farlow, and—-a generation later—-Jim Hall. "Tiny" Grimes, who made several records with Art Tatum, can often be heard quoting Christian note-for-note.
Christian paved the way for the modern electric guitar sound that was followed by other pioneers, including T-Bone Walker, Les Paul, Grant Green, Kenny Burrell, Wes Montgomery, B.B. King, Chuck Berry and Jimi Hendrix. For this reason Christian was inducted in 1990 into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as an "Early Influence."
Christian's exposure was so great in the brief period he played with Goodman that he influenced not only guitarists, but other musicians as well. The influence he had on "Dizzy" Gillespie, Charlie Parker, Thelonious Monk and Don Byas can be heard on their early "bop" recordings "Blue'n Boogie" and "Salt Peanuts." Other musicians, such as trumpeter Miles Davis, cite Christian as an early influence. Indeed, Christian's "new" sound influenced jazz as a whole. He reigned supreme in the jazz guitar polls up to two years after his death.
Minton's Playhouse
Thelonious Monk, who played with Charlie Christian at Minton's Playhouse, developed a style similar to his.
Though known mainly for his influence on electric guitar, Christian was also an important figure in the development of bebop. His contributions at late night after-hours jam sessions at Minton's Playhouse in Harlem in New York City were landmarks in the evolution from the then-popular, radio-friendly, accessible swing music to the more experimental bebop. This transition is readily apparent in recordings of the partial Goodman Sextet made in March 1941. With Goodman and bassist Artie Bernstein absent, Christian and the rest of the Sextet recorded for nearly 20 minutes as the engineers tested equipment.
Two recordings were released from that session years later: "Blues in B" and "Waiting for Benny", which showed hints of bop jam sessions. The free flow of these sessions contrasts with the more formal swing music recorded after Goodman had arrived at the studio. Other Goodman Sextet records that foretell bop are "Seven Come Eleven" (1939) and "Air Mail Special" (1940 and 1941).
An even more striking example is a series of recordings made at Minton's on a portable disk recorder by a Columbia student, Jerry Newman, in 1941. Newman captured Christian, accompanied by Joe Guy on trumpet, Kenny Kersey on piano and Kenny Clarke on drums, stretching out far beyond what the confines of the 78 RPM record would allow. His work on "Swing to Bop", a later record company re-title of Eddie Durham's "Topsy," is a stunning example of what Christian was capable of creating
His use of tension and release, a technique employed by Lester Young and later bop musicians, is also present on "Stompin' at the Savoy", included among the Newman recordings. The collection also includes recordings made at Clark Monroe's Uptown House, another late-night jazz haunt in the Harlem of 1941. Kenny Clarke claimed that "Epistrophy" and "Rhythm-a-ning" were Charlie Christian compositions that Christian played with Clarke and Thelonious Monk at Minton's jam sessions. The "Rhythm-a-ning" line can be heard on "Down on Teddy's Hill" and behind the introduction on "Guy's Got To Go" from the Newman recordings, but it is also a line from Mary Lou Williams' "Walkin' and Swingin'". Clarke said Christian first showed him the chords to "Epistrophy" on a ukulele. These recordings have been packaged under a number of different titles, including "After Hours" and "The Immortal Charlie Christian." While the recording quality of these sessions is poor, they show Charlie stretching out much longer than he could on the Benny Goodman sides. On some of the Minton's recordings, Christian can be heard taking 12 or more choruses on a single tune, playing long stretches of melodic ideas with remarkable ease.
Death
There were many reports of Charlie staying out late at jam sessions and eating poorly. He was not known to be a drug addict, but did use marijuana and alcohol.[citation needed] Further, in the late 1930s Christian had contracted tuberculosis and in early 1940 was hospitalized for a short period in which the Goodman group was on hiatus due to Benny's back trouble. Goodman was hospitalized in the summer of 1940 after the band's brief stay at Santa Catalina Island, California, where the group stayed when on the west coast. Christian returned home to Oklahoma City, in late July 1940 before returning to New York City in September 1940. In early 1941, Christian resumed his hectic lifestyle, heading to Harlem for late-night jam sessions after finishing gigs with the Goodman Sextet and Orchestra in New York City. In June 1941 he was admitted to Seaview, a sanitarium on Staten Island in New York City. He was reported to be making progress, and Down Beat magazine reported in February 1942 that he and Cootie Williams were starting a band. After a visit that same month to the hospital by tap dancer and drummer Marion Joseph "Taps" Miller, who brought Charles some marijuana and a prostitute, Christian declined in health and died March 2, 1942. He was buried in an unmarked grave in Bonham, Texas, and a Texas State Historical Marker and headstone were placed in Gates Hill Cemetery in 1994.
Selected discography
As leader
Although Christian never recorded professionally as a leader, compilations have been released of his sessions as a sideman where he is a featured soloist, of practice and warm-up recordings for these sessions, and some lower-quality recordings of Christian's own groups performing in nightclubs, by amateur technicians. [5]
Solo Flight: The Genius of Charlie Christian (Columbia, 1972)
Solo Flight (live performances as member of the Benny Goodman Sextet, Vintage Jazz Classics, 2003)
Genius of the Electric Guitar (Columbia, 1939-1941 recordings)
Guitar Wizard (LeJazz, 1993 Charly Holdings Inc.)
Live At Minton's Playhouse 1941
As sideman
Appearances on recordings by Ida Cox, Benny Goodman, Lionel Hampton, Coleman Hawkins, Thelonious Monk, Ben Webster.
Notes
Craig R. McKinney, "Charles Christian: Musician" http://www3.nbnet.nb.ca/hansen/Charlie/ccbio.htm
Craig R. McKinney, "Charles Christian: Musician" http://www3.nbnet.nb.ca/hansen/Charlie/ccbio.htm
Laurie E. Jasinski, "Charles Henry Christian" The Handbook of Texas Online http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/CC/fch37.html
Liner notes from Columbia Records G 30779
Reference
Savage, William W., Jr. (1983) Singing Cowboys and All That Jazz: A Short History of Popular Music in Oklahoma University of Oklahoma Press, Norman, Oklahoma, pp. 48-51, ISBN 080611648X
Goins, Wayne E. and McKinney, Craig (2005) A Biography of Charlie Christian, Jazz Guitar's King of Swing ISBN 0-7734-6091-8
Lee, Amy (1940) "Charlie Christian Tried to Play Hot Tenor!" Metronome
Broadbent, Peter (2002) Charlie Christian, Solo Flight - The story of the Seminal Electric Guitarist ISBN-10:1872639216 ISBN-13:978-1872639215 Hal Leonard, pub.
Valdes, Leo (1997) Solo Flight: The Charlie Christian Newsletter Leo Valdes, pub.
---------------
by Craig R. McKinney
(Webmaster's note: Craig R. McKinny is co-author (along with Wayne Goins) of A Biography of Charlie Christian, Jazz Guitar's King of Swing. Lewiston, N.Y.: Mellen, 2005. Portions of this early draft served as source material for the book-length biography. )
25 years ago I sought to discover an accurate description of the character, life and times of Charlie Christian, and to record the same. I called my friend Clarence Christian to offer to come and share with him my rough draft. His wife answered and stunned me with "Why we buried Clarence yesterday."
I went to Oklahoma City anyway and asked Clarence Christian's widow what she thought. As she did not know Charlie, Mrs. Christian had no ideas on the subject.
Years later a call came out of the blue from a person working with the Oklahoma Arts Council. Apparently without my permission the copy of my rough draft had been given away.
A few years after learning this it became clear that others also had copies and were using the information. I then came to the conclusion that it would be in the best interests of Charlie Christian's memory to share that rough draft so the original source could be analysed for the historical record.
Here is that draft I came up with when I was 21. (Craig R. McKinney, Topeka, Kansas)
The Early Years
C harles Henry Christian was born July 29, 1916 in Bonham, Texas, a small community about 60 miles northeast of Dallas. His family lived in a part of town know as "tank town". The name "tank town" came from the water supply located here for the railroad. Charles' family and their neighbors were black. Bonham was also the hometown of Sam Rayburn, who in 1912 would be elected to Congress and would eventually become Speaker of the House, serving longer in that position than any other man. The Rayburns were white. Charles grandmother had worked in the Rayburn house before he was born. Charles' father worked as a waiter. An important part of his entertainment was baseball. He played on the black teams in the area surrounding Bonham. His wife was called Willie Mae Christian. She was a distinctly beautiful woman. Both were musicians. There were two boys born before Charles. He had no sisters. Edward was the e1dest, ten years older than Charles. Edward was born December 23, 1906. Clarence, Jr. was five years older than Charles, born on July 30, 1911. They too were musicians. The house where Charles was born still stands at 511 West Johnson Street in Bonham. 2
Charles was born into a family of musical tradition. Both his father and his mother were musicians. His grandmother on his mother's side was a musician. Two of his uncles on his mother's side were musicians, as were his older brothers.3
Before Charles' second birthday Clarence Christian, Sr. was struck by a mysterious illness. While at work as a waiter his vision in one eye began to fail him. First his left eye went dark, then over several months he lost his sight completely. Clarence Christian, Sr. now faced the problems of supporting a family as a blind man. Already an accomplished musician, Charles' father now turned to music to break the monotony of his tragic illness. It was music also that would support the family during the very hard times. Charles' father's favorite music was sacred music, chords played on string instruments, especially when performed late in the evening. Clarence Christian was an experienced musician; he could be heard to play a tune on about every instrument except the Scottish bagpipes. But he didn't turn immediately to music to support his young family. Two of Charles' uncles persuaded him to play what were called "busts" with them. They wanted Clarence to keep active, and not to lose himself in depression. "Busts" might be described as musical performances of the street. (More on "busts" is contained later). Even as a blind man Clarence Christian was determined to provide for his family.4
It was during Mr. Christian's first year of blindness that Charles Christian was first introduced to the guitar. Charles was about a year and a half in age; it was about the time he was beginning to walk. In the evenings when the boy was sleepy, his father would set him on his lap. In front of Charles lay the eleven string Symphony Harp guitar his father owned. Charles would reach for the strings, and run his fingers across them until he fell asleep. As he grew a bit older the guitar was replaced by the bass. There was something noticeably special about him even at this age.5
An important date for most living in the United States in 1918 was Armistice Day. The armistice was signed November 11. Edward rode his bicycle in the parade and celebration in Bonham. Two days later the family left Bonham for Oklahoma City. Charles' grand-mother was already living there. Clarence's opportunities for work had dried up in Bonham. Clarence Christian did what he could to provide for his family, but being subjected to racism it was very hard to find work. However, a sense of pride, dignity and necessity drove him. He found a job pumping valves by hand to unload railroad cars. It was a job that required enduring strength, and not the type often selected by a blind man. This move to Oklahoma City relocated his sons near North-east 2nd Street. North-east Second or "Deep Second" as it was called, was to be an important school of music education for Edward, Clarence, Jr. and Charles.6
C
harles' musical career began when he was quite young; he too was involved in "busts." His father had bought his two older sons musical instruments. Edward had a mandolin and Clarence, Jr. played the violin. To begin a series of "busts," they would walk downtown; and after an OK from the establishment's owner (usually these places were cafes and pool halls) they would play two or three pieces and pass a hat for tips. For the music people would maybe give a nickel, a dime, but a quarter was seldom seen. Edward didn't care much for this practice because he felt it was 'beneath his character'. It seemed to be too much like begging to him, but he continued to play. Most of the time they were in the downtown area, but sometimes on their way back home they would go through a white part of town. Here they would play music at homes. It was in this section of town they came to, because some people here had the little extra change for music. If the Christians knew someone liked music, they might approach their house, and quietly step up to the porch. Softly, they would begin to play their stringed instruments. People would come to the door; sometimes they might be given food, some gave a nickel or a dime, or perhaps a drink of whiskey. Although some wouldn't give anything, they might compliment the family on their playing. And then, others wouldn't. These were "busts." This is what the Christians wanted to do. Clarence Christian Jr. recalls, "We weren't all that great or nothing, but we had something to offer." When Charles grew old enough to join in, he was just a board beater; but he "could dance real good."
Charles Christian was raised in Oklahoma City. He attended Douglas school until the seventh grade. Here he met Mrs. Zelia N. Breaux. It was she who first encouraged Charles to play music. Mrs. Breaux at one time owned a musical theater on 2nd Street. Many big names appeared at her place including Ma Rainey, Bessie Smith, Ida Cox, Maimie Smith and King Oliver's band.8 Mrs. Breaux was the musical director for the black public schools for all grade levels. She encouraged Charles to begin with the trumpet; but this did not really appeal to him. The discoloration and corn that builds on a trumpeter's lip soon drove Charles away from the instrument.9 In a few years Charles would take up the instrument that was traditional as his father's favorite: guitar.
Part Two: Charles, don't nobody want to hear them old blues.
The Christians were a very close family. They found strength at home during many hard times. When Charles was ten, his father died. It should be mentioned here that although Clarence Christian loved and played the guitar, Charles did not begin to learn to play until after his father's death. His passing left Willie Mae Christian with her mother and three sons. Edward was about twenty years old at this time, so he and Charles weren't around each other too much while growing up. But Clarence, Jr. was only five years older than Charles, and these two were almost inseparable. "When you'd see one, you'd see the other." Mrs. Christian and her sons were very close. Her secret, according to her son Clarence, was that she was a "buddy." The Christians took good care of each other. The family was a strong institution here.10
Like his father, Charles had a passion for baseball. Much of his time as a youngster (and much of Oklahoma City) was spent playing the game; and according to friends, he probably would have become a professional ball player had he not turned to music.11 And some say if it had been the post-Jackie Robinson era, he probably had talent enough to have played in the major leagues.12 Jerry Jerome, who played music with Charles in 1939 and 1940 with Benny Goodman, noted this talent along with his music skills: "He also was an outstanding third baseman on our baseball team at Catalina Island." 13 But one factor in Charles' personality limited his future in this field. When Charles did something, he usually put all his energies into it. Charles was a pitcher, a good one; but he liked it so much he wanted to pitch every day. But his friends wouldn't let him wear himself out. They knew that physically the strain would be too much for any kid. So at this point Charles began to drop away from baseball (most likely he was 11 to 15 years old at this time, 1927-1931). It was at this time he turned seriously to music.14 He began to hang around with musicians. Two in particular began to teach Charles what they knew about music and the guitar. They were "Big Foot Chuck" Ralph Hamilton and James Simpson. Ralph Hamilton played the guitar; and James Simpson played the trumpet. These two musicians gave Charles much of his early formal education in music. Clarence Christian, Jr. recalls their efforts:
...the first thing they (Hamilton and Simpson) taught him, (was) 'Learn to read, then you won't have to take anyone's word for what's on that paper'. And the term they used was 'Learn how to pick them dots,' that's read notes. They taught Charles how to build chords, break down chords, transpose, and modulate, and read.15
Edward Christian first happened across Ralph Hamilton in Chickasha, Oklahoma. "Big Foot" Chuck, as he was called, was playing his guitar out in the streets. He was accompanying a blind man who played religious music on the washboard, with thimbles on his hands. Ralph Hamilton, it should be noted, played guitar, and Charles first wanted to play like him. Hamilton's style was characterized by his lead chord approach; and because of his knowledge and style, the familiar songs he played were easily recognized.16
At this time, Charles practically idolized Hamilton. After he quit playing steady baseball, he would be with musicians, especially Simpson and Hamilton. At this time Charles was known to say, " I want my guitar to sound like Chuck's." But even then he was different. One fundamental but derivative change from the style of Hamilton to the style of young Christian was Charles expressed himself by playing solo notes, and Chuck, of course, played lead chords. This too, is significant. Charles began playing solo long before most jazz groups featured the guitar as a primary instrument. And when he eventually was exposed to electric guitars, his solo style was already solid, and not merely an adaptation to the guitar's newly-found volume.
Not long after Charles became proficient on guitar (probably between 1929 and 1931) there was a jam session up at Honey's. Honey's was an after hours spot, run by Honey Murphy. It was an exciting place when the jamming started. When the jam sessions began "whole streets would just empty and go up to Honey's." Many bands came through town and when they came, they would jam at Honey's. On this night Don Redman's orchestra was there at Honey's. The jam session included Edward Christian on piano and Ralph "Big Foot Chuck" Hamilton on guitar. Young Charles Christian walked in with his brother, Clarence. Charles was anxious to participate. Charles went up to the rest of the active musicians and pressed his brother, "Let me play one".18 And Edward's reply was a classical, "Charles, don't nobody want to hear them old blues." Luckily Ralph Hamilton intervened on Charles' behalf. He convinced Edward he should let his youngest brother at least have a chance. There is an explanation for Edward's attitude. Edward didn't know Charles had learned to play. Charles was asked by the group what he wanted to play. He chose a tune that most of the crowd knew and was popular with the people. He selected "Sweet Georgia Brown". The choice was a surprise to Edward; but the band began to play with Edward setting the pace at piano. The song began with soloists each putting in their part. Then it was Charles' turn.19
"...so he licked his thumb, and gripped his pick the way he wanted it. And Chuck told him, 'Come on, Charlie, you can do it. Charles set there, and they encored him back for sixteen choruses, and every one was different. And my oldest brother like to went through the ceiling. 'Hey, hey man! This is my brother! This is my brother! Take another one, Charles. Take another one!' You know he was going out, you know..."20
His impromptu debut that evening was a surprise to many people. Charles' sixteen choruses were single note solos and this was "way before he started playin' professionally." Charles' brother, Edward, was very surprised, to say the least. Edward was unaware that Charles had been studying music and the guitar under Simpson and Hamilton. The simple reason for his ignorance was a difference that had come up between Simpson and himself. Both Edward and James Simpson were pursuing the same young lady. Because of this, very little was said between the two.21
After this first number at Honey's, everyone was quite excited and wanted to hear more of Charles on guitar. Charles was asked to choose another number. He politely and shrewdly explained he was not the leader of this session, he was just "sitting in" with the rest of the musicians. Actually Charles had only three songs he knew well, and wanted to play in front of others. He finally suggested they play "Tea for Two" and everyone agreed. Charles again electrified the awaiting crowd with his music. He exploded into his music, and the crowd reciprocated in appreciation.22
After "Tea for Two" Charles thanked the rest of the guys for letting him play, telling them he felt better now. But everyone wanted to hear more. Charles was very aware he had only one more tune he felt secure playing with this group of musicians. The others begged him to play once more. He consented to one more number, and he chose "Rose Room". The crowd was genuinely amazed by what it had heard that night, performed by a young, local musician. It was the talk of the neighborhood, and word spread fast. When Clarence and Charles arrived back home, their mother already 'knew all about what had happened. And the effect of the incident on Charles' eldest brother's opinion of his baby brother' talent was altered permanently.23
"...Edward learned that Charles had progressed so far over his head until they were like two peas in a pod from then on...So getting down to this one point. People talking about what they learned Charles, what they taught him. The principle ingredient there is Ralph Hamilton, James Simpson and his oldest brother, Edward."24
This was Charlie Christian's first public appearance on guitar. This sixteen solos display of his talent on guitar was not peculiar to this evening. Charles constantly revised; it was an essential and creatively demanding part of his approach and updated his music; it was a trademark of his style. (Incidentally, John Hammond who later "discovered" Christian, believed Charles had never heard "Rose Room" before he played with Benny. "Rose Room" was to figure prominently in Christian's first session with Benny Goodman, dubbed the "king of Swing".)25
Part Three: Deep Second
Oklahoma City doesn't appear to have been the backwater area or unexposed to New York and California music-wise, which seems to be what some works listing Christian seem to hint. Oklahoma City was a hub, a hot spot for jazz. New York and Los Angeles simply seem to have had little idea what was happening out in the Great Plains. On North East 2nd Street one could find all sorts of live music. This is the neighborhood where Charles lived. It was here he met musicians such as Lester Young. Lester reportedly had spoken of these days when he said, "We (he and Charlie) used to go out in the alley and jam."26 It was there on 2nd Street that Charlie heard and played with members of visiting territorial bands including Andy Kirk, Alphonso Trent, bands from Kansas City, and the Blue Devils, whose home base was Oklahoma City. The Blue Devils at one time included Count Basie, Lester Young and many other talented musicians. Musicians were Charles' kind of folks.
In the 1930's, not many musicians had the opportunity to play in mixed crowds meaning those groups including blacks and whites. One of the earliest instances (or the earliest) of this occurring in Oklahoma City involved Charles, his friends and two white brothers, the Selathias, and their friends. Their names were Merle and Doyle Selathia. The Selathias lived in the south part of Oklahoma City. Their father owned a dancehall called Selathia's Barn. Selathia's Barn at one time actually was a barn which the Selathia's had remodeled. Merle and Doyle had much in common with the Christians, because they too loved music. They accepted the Christians and their friends as musicians-as equals. Charles and his friends were never sent away here; or forced to enter through the kitchen. But the music itself wasn't exactly tame. They "had some wild jam sessions there." The Selathia's and their friends in turn came to 2nd Street to jam in the Christian's neighborhood at Bridges. Together, the two groups of musicians would play for hours, and there "was never a cross word" between them. Everybody would pass one bottle around for all to share; and no one disgraced the affair by wiping the bottle. Charles got along very well with this crowd. One of the other musicians with the Selathias also played a stringed instrument; and he and Charles would make music together for hours.27
Christian's style was unique. Often it is said by those who heard Charles' music for the first time, this music is different in some way than any they've heard before. He was different from most other guitarists of the day. To begin with, he started off playing solo, unlike Ralph Hamilton and most other guitarists involved in popular music. There were many blues singers who accompanied themselves with guitar but fewer played the guitar as if it had solo voice of its own. With a band, the guitar's function was rhythm more than lead. The guitar was difficult to hear otherwise."
Charles' brother, Clarence, doesn't attempt to explain his brother's genius, Charles was always different; but eventually he explained part of his approach to the instrument:
"...later on he revealed his secret, his interpretation of music. He said, 'I don't look at it as playing a guitar.' He said, 'I try to make my guitar sound like I think a saxophone should. ` So he had him a whole new ballgame there. In his mind he's doing what he thinks a sax player should do. So he picked up something. In other words, right there he went original, something no one else had offered.28
Abe Bolar, a musician and a good friend of Charles, supports evidence that his ability was recognized years before Charles went east or west. At one time, Abe was the bass player for the Blue Devils, an influential band around Oklahoma City and the region. Abe was older and began his music career before Charles, but they jammed many times. He affirms, "Charles always could play solo." He remembered Charles to be playing in 1931, and "He could play like hell in '34... He was just a natural... he improvised naturally." And Mr. Bolar claims Charles could play as well as a teenager as he ever did at a later age.29
Jay McShann, pianist and band leader, heard Charles in person only once. This was in 1937 in Kansas City at Wolf's Buffet. Charles was with Alphonso Trent and his group returning from the Dakotas. There was a jam session from eleven at night til five in the morning. The guys sounded so good McShann says he just wanted to listen. He says about Christian, "Charlie had that thing." Jay McShann agrees Charles had to have always had this special "thing". 30 In the liner notes of a Charlie Christian record album released around 1958, Al Avakian and Bob Prince claim "...Charlie Christian's Texas birthplace and Oklahoma home were areas relatively untouched by more sophisticated forms and expressions than the blues...." 31 Writer Ralph Ellison refuted these claims when they ware first made, and correctly so.32 But the blues definitely did have their impact on Christian: although he wanted more, the blues were all around.
"....Of course, he'd been around blues all his life, 'cause we strictly lived in a blue environment. "Cause along then when Charles just started out trying to play guitar every-body sat down to the piano, everybody picked up a guitar, mandolin, a little fiddle; it was blues. And Charlie really didn't like blues. But for his kind of playing, his kind of music, his type of music style, there wasn' t enough action in blues. I don't mean to say this boastfully, but when you sit down to listen to Charles play there is never a pause. He's always doing something. He's digging in everything. But in motion, you know, that continuous something. You look for a pause, and he's putting something in there....33
"Deep Second" was extremely fertile ground for a budding musician such as Charles Christian. Without having to leave town, or even his neighborhood, he acquired experience playing at the many sessions on Northeast 2nd Street. The places he jammed with the other musicians were pool halls, and after hours joints: places where a man could get a drink. Frequented often were Honey's (mentioned earlier), Deep Deuce, Band Box, The Hole and Ruby's Grill. Honey Murphy's and Hally Richardson's were two of the important centers for musicians in this area. Hally Richardson owned a "shining parlor," and Honey Murphy ran the upstairs, this part of the building overflowed with people during the day. Ruby's was built as a ballroom which tended for better use for crowds. The 'Hole was run by Big bridges was located in a basement, and above it on the first floor was the 'Band Box' which began as a pool hall.
Charles' musical ability did not go unnoticed in Oklahoma City. Although many dates are often cited indicating when Charles first left home to play with a traveling band, this author's research has found no conclusive evidence for precision. He first left probably sometime between 1931 and 1937. At any rate, he was very young. Although both of Charles' brothers also had had earlier offers to leave Oklahoma City for musical careers, only Charles received his mother's OK. Edward had his chance to go with Buster Moten. And Clarence, Jr. also had a chance to do musical work in California. But their mother wouldn't allow it in these two cases. When Charles' chance came, Clarence, Jr. helped convince his mother that she should let her youngest give it a try. He persuaded her this was the time to let him go because with their two jobs they would be financially capable of bringing Charles home if things went sour on the road, as many times just so happened. Also, Clarence convinced her that at this early date Charles would still have the necessary moral support needed to keep him in the right track.
Alphonso Trent was the leader and organizer of one of the popular traveling orchestras in the midwest. He had heard of Charles and came to Oklahoma City to hear him. Trent's bands had a very good reputation musically, in the area; and Alphonso asked Charles to play with his band. Charles had to practically beg his mother to let him go. She understandably didn't want her youngest to leave. But Mr. Trent promised her he would take care of Charles. So after Charles made all of his promises to his family concerning what he would and would not do, he left with Trent. 36
Alphonso promised to take care of Charles, but there were a few dangers. At first, Charles played the guitar for the band, but because of the kinds of places they were playing and the hazards, this did not continue. The jobs the band held were north of Oklahoma in Deadwood, South Dakota, Bismark, North Dakota and Casper, Wyoming. Most of the mail his family received bore postmarks from Deadwood and Bismark. The clientele at these places were miners, not always the crowd easiest to please. The band wasn't paid much of a salary for each of the engagements; so most of their revenue was tips from the audience. But here lay the danger. Paper money was very scarce in the area at this time; all that was usually to be found was coin. Usually, the men would just throw their money at the bandstand, and this was very hazardous for the musicians. "Some guys come in there they'd get to feeling good, he'd bust up your instrument, your head, (and) anything else." 37 So to keep part of the flying coin from doing too much damage, a net was set up in front of the bandstand to protect the musicians. Charles was very worried about his new guitar. Before he left Oklahoma he had bought himself a new guitar. Since he was making payments on the guitar, he didn't want it to be broken or ruined. So he started playing bass fiddle instead.38
A young school girl home on vacation also had the opportunity to see this electric guitarist while he was with Alphonso Trent. The place was Bismark, North Dakota. The time was September, 1938. The band was a swinging sextet she recalls. She walked in after hearing about this guitarist. She heard Charles playing, but it was new, different and she didn't even know what instrument was making this music. Then she saw him. Later in the evening he played "St. Louis Blues." She was familiar with Django Reinhardt's version. Mary Osborne claims Charles played Django's version exactly. This is an example of his approach. Charles loved music and musicians, and when it came to music education, he knew songs and musicians' styles that no one even expected to hear. Charles was full of surprises when it came to his knowledge of music and musicians. Django was an important pre-Christian solo jazz guitarist. He was known as the Belgian Gypsy Mary Osborne met Charles the next evening. She describes him as "very nice, exceptionally nice." 39
The places where Charles and the rest of the group would stay were "average." But usually the crowds were rough; and Charles was unhappy with his role on bass fiddle. He wanted to play his guitar. So after about a year or a little more with Alphonso Trent, he returned to Oklahoma City.40
Part Four: Who the hell wants to hear an electric-guitar player?
After an undetermined length of time back home, Charles again had an opportunity to travel with a band. Charles' mother was no more pleased about him leaving this time than she was the first. This time Charles went with a orchestra headed by Anna Mae Winburn. Charles again went north, playing places in Kansas City, Chicago and other cities. It has been claimed that he toured the southwest with Anna Mae, but it appears this is not true. He was not touring Texas and the southwest with Trent and Winburn; he was exploring north. But fate did not smile on this orchestra; the band became stranded. The bus that they traveled in was taken back into the "hands of the receivers." Luckily, Charles' family had enough money to bring him back home safely.41
Charles Christian was a respected musician around Oklahoma City and his ability was known to many local musicians. For an undetermined period of time, over a year possibly, Charles was back home in Oklahoma City. Here he played music on 2nd Street with many musicians in town, and also with those passing through town. Two of the local bands were popular, their leaders were Leslie Sheffield and Edward Christian. Charles would play with one for a month or so, then with the other. Everyone in both these groups gave Charles plenty of solo time.42 He was acquiring a reputation as a wizard on the guitar throughout the area.
Charles' nickname around the area gives one indication of his reputation. His nickname was Charles Christian "The Great." In jam sessions if one musician outplayed the next, they were said to have "cut his head." "So Charles cut every head come here carrying a guitar."43 Soon, Charles' name was put in front of a band's, such was his popularity with the public. When Andy Kirk's group came to town, below the advertisement for this nationally known group was another smaller announcement:
....Every Thursday, Saturday and Sunday nights will be regular attraction nights with music on Sunday by Charles Christian's band. No extra charges will be added for service in the "Lyons Den." 44
It seems natural that Charles Christian turned to the electric guitar; his solo approach was mature and ready to be heard along side horns and the rest of the band. Charles started off playing a loud unamplified guitar, an acoustic Epiphone. It was this guitar that allowed his solos to be heard before he was able to acquire the newly developed electric guitar. When he played a piece with a group, the rest of the band would play softly so he could be heard. Sometime before he was "discovered" Charles acquired one himself. A woman in Oklahoma City told Charles about a place where he could get one. He went down and bought his first electric from Lee Thaggart who owned a music shop in Oklahoma City. He made payments he could afford to finance the purchase. Later, with his first check from John Hammond, to go to Los Angeles, he paid off the balance. His next electric guitars were furnished after he joined Benny Goodman. The second was a beautiful, big white Gibson guitar (Charlie preferred Gibsons). This guitar was cherished by his family who kept it after he died, but in the 1950s it was stolen from their home. 45
In the summer of 1939 Charles Christian was swept away from Oklahoma to New York and Los Angeles and the expanding mass media network--the national scene. This included appearances, radio performances and records. In astoundingly little time, a few months, Charles would be in the center of the popular jazz of that day via Benny Goodman.
It was pianist-arranger Mary Lou Williams who first brought Charles to the attention of New York and John Hammond. Mary Lou Williams was the pianist-arranger for Andy Kirk and his Clouds of Joy. They had both toured the mid-west and recorded in New York.46 John Hammond, on the other hand, had just recently gone to work for Columbia Records, Inc., a new enterprise owned by CBS network. His position was that of associate recording director. He came into this job after and as a result of his successful production of The 1938 "Spirituals to Swing" concert featuring black artists from all over the United States.47 Hammond was also responsible for recording Benny Goodman's groups at this time; and was intimately involved with finding new personnel for Benny.
John Hammond was not looking for a guitarist in particular at this time, but he was out trying to find the best musicians. Weeks before John Hammond had ever heard of Christian, Andy Kirk and his Clouds of Joy were playing at the Trianon Ballroom in Oklahoma City. This was July 10, 1939. Included in Kirk's band was Mary Lou Williams on piano, and Floyd Smith on guitar. The performance was to be a benefit dance; proceeds would go to the entertainment committee of the local Negro Business League. Advance tickets were 56 cents, while at the door the charge would be 78 cents.48 Mary Lou may have heard Charles a few years before, but it was probably this encounter that was fresh in her mind at a recording session in New York a few weeks later. In Oklahoma City, at this appearance or afterwards, a jam session took place.
According to Mary Lou, everyone wanted Charles to bring Kirk's guitarist down a bit, even the members of Kirk's band. First Charles played. Everyone encouraged him to do his bit, to show the other guitarist up. But Charles wouldn't, yet. Then the other guitarist played. He tried very hard to do his best. Then Charles played again, much stronger than the first time. Charles was too good. The other guitarist would not tolerate it and walked out.49
Mary Lou and the band were soon back in New York. but she had not forgotten what she had heard. The band was playing the Apollo, and also making recordings. At the recording session Hammond heard a guitarist who played "the Hawaiian guitar sound ." After speaking with Mary Lou, and telling her he cared very little for this guitar music, he jarred Mary Lou's memory.50
Hammond remembers Mary Lou saying, "If you really want to hear an electric guitar played like an acoustic guitar....you 've got to go to Oklahoma City, where Charlie Christian works. He's the greatest electric-guitar player I've ever heard."51
Hammond was already planning to go to Los Angeles to begin recordings for Goodman on Columbia. He decided to stop and give Charles an audition. 52 Mr. Hammond subsequently wrote Charles inquiring about an audition. Charles wrote back inviting him to stop and hear.
Clarence Christian, Jr. remembers this same period:
....Truly, John Hammond did come here. And to show you what kind of life we were living, we didn't have a car, didn't have a bicycle. So Charles went to a friend of his -- the musicians' friend, Hally Richardson. He had housed, clothed and fed a many musician. Charles went and explained to Hally what he had going for him. So Hally told him, "Say well now, I got an old Plymouth down there." He said, "We'll just go to the airport and meet him." 53
As was mentioned earlier, Charles was working at Ruby's Grill and the Lyons Den owned by Ruby Lyons. At the first meeting between Christian and Hammond, Ruby and Hally were there also. They talked for awhile, and Hammond asked if there were more good musicians in the area. Charles hadn't auditioned yet, so Hammond suggested the following evening. First, he needed a hotel room and asked Charles about it. Charles suggested the Huckins Hotel where his mother worked. This is where Hammond stayed.54
So Hammond told Charles to gather up the good musicians he knew, and asked him to meet the next evening at 8 o'clock. The next evening at 8 o'clock sharp the band started their theme song and Hammond walked in. He listened to four or five numbers, and then he got up to leave. He provided the musicians drinks for the night for everyone that wanted them. Plus, at this time he said, "You'll hear from me in a few days." Then he left.55
Hammond saw Christian's connection with the horn players. He saw a Texas influence, and he notes that Christian was "endlessly inventive." What surprised Hammond, he wrote, was like all the greats he "discovered," why hadn't anyone heard it before?
I knew immediately, for instance, that Charlie Christian belonged in the Goodman small group. I was on my way to join Benny; what could I tell him that would convince him? I called California. "I've just heard the greatest guitar player since Eddie Lang," I told him. "He plays electric guitar and..."
"Who the hell wants to hear an electric-guitar player?" Benny interrupted.
"I don't know," I admitted, "but you won't believe him until you hear him."56
Hammond convinced Goodman to allow Christian to be brought out on the budget allowed by the Camel Cigarette sponsors. The Camel Company supported a radio program and Benny had a contract with them for regular national radio appearances.
After Hammond left Oklahoma, Charles was left with no idea of what Hammond had thought of him. About ten days after the event Charles received a telegram. It read something close to this: "Come at once. Have position with Benny Goodman."
Clarence recalls what Charles' reaction was:
And Charles set down and laughed. I said, "Charles, what are you laughing about?"
He said, "Man, that man's in Los Angeles."
I said, "I know it."
"How in the hell am I going to make it to Los Angeles if I ain't got cab fare down town?"57
Charles didn't have any money. So his brother, Clarence, and his friends, policeman Ernest Jones and Hally Richardson raised enough money between themselves to send Charles off. But before they had a chance to present Charles with this money, he had found his own way of solving the problem. Charles wired Hammond back; and in return Hammond sent $300. This was accompanied by a second telegram which said, "If this is not enough, will wire more. See you."58
Benny Goodman was tremendously popular at this time, and it was a boost for most musicians to just be part of his orchestra. Charles still hadn't met the leader, and his new boss hadn't heard him play. His position was to play with the orchestra according to the local report from the Black Dispatch. It described the event as "one of the biggest breaks ever received by a local musician." With the three hundred dollars Hammond had sent him Charles completed the payments on his electric guitar. A party was given at Ruby's Grill on Sunday, August 13, 1939, for Charles. The next afternoon he left town by train.59 The possibilities ahead for this young musician were unknown. Benny certainly had made few plans, probably none, for this new musician he had never heard.
Charles Christian's thoughts about this world usually were not broadcast. Charles was "soft-spoken, shy like" in conversation. His answers to friends' questions many times were not words, but grunts. So to understand him meant one had to know Charlie pretty good. He did not complain much. One of the few times he did express worry was to his family just before he left to join Benny Goodman. He was working moving cabinets inside a building when one of his fingers was mashed between a wall and the cabinet. He was very worried this would hinder his playing, and he had not yet been heard by Goodman. By the time he left, although sore, the finger was well enough for Charles to play.60
Persons who knew and heard Charles before he went with Goodman agree Charles' style was developed before he ever met Benny Goodman. It was mentioned earlier that Charles was taught to play and read music by Ralph Hamilton, James Simpson and Edward Christian. But Charles quickly progressed. There was something unique about his ability even as a baby. And in his first jam session his ever-changing improvisations surprised much of the neighborhood, not to mention other musicians present. So where did he get it? First of all, it should be remembered Charles was a very agreeable and likable person. He would borrow from any musician he came in contact with or any kind of music. He would use the blues, folk songs, jazz classics, popular tunes, hillbilly music and he even surprised a few with his knowledge of classical music. Charles would use stuff no one else would try.61
Charles Christian did hear a saxophone inside his head. As a solo guitarist he was unusual because he played on his guitar lines he thought a saxophonist should play.62
His music was constantly changing. For example, he was known to play a beautiful solo. Then when asked to repeat it after his efforts, he would say, "What?" He wasn't being snobbish at these times, or really meek. It is just the ideas he had the moment before were gone and new sounds were filling his head. He was constantly revising.63
When critics attempt to explain where Charlie Christian came from, one should remember Charles' own words. He was a quiet man, but he told his brother, Clarence, his philosophy many times. Although Charles didn't talk much, he did give his brother this piece of philosophy:
"Don't never try to be like somebody else. Let somebody else try to be like you. Because when you start being a copycat, they are a dime a dozen." 64
This approach put him in the same category as the top line soloists, while not losing the function of the guitar as a rhythm instrument. Charles' favorite bands when he left Oklahoma City were Duke Ellington's and Count Basie's. But "he was strictly a Duke man" (which questions the theory that Charles' style was taken from Lester Young). He would not rate musicians as to who was better than whom; he would not categorize his fellow musicians. His philosophy was that those that were playing had to be good to be up there. Charles eventually played with some of the biggest names in jazz in his day, but it didn't matter to him who he was playing with, just as long as he had a chance "to unbutton himself." Playing with Benny or Count Basie or whoever, Charles Christian just seemed to always want to add to what was going down as he was able. He could play anywhere.65
Part Five: From one good thing to another
Charles first played with Benny Goodman in Beverly Hills, California at the Victor Hugo restaurant. It was not Benny's intentions to have Charlie as part of his small group, but it must have proved to Goodman that he needed Christian. At least Christian proved he was too skilled to be left in the background.
On August 16, 1939 Charles met Benny for the first time. On that date, two days after he had left Oklahoma by train, Charles walked into the studio where the band was recording. John Hammond noted that Benny was anxious about his opening night, and not very interested when he first met Christian.66
At this point Charles left with the black members of the band to go to Watts. Hammond told Christian before they left to meet back at the kitchen of the Victor Hugo later that evening. This first audition was followed up by a second and more public one that evening. A plan was hatched to give Charles another chance. Hammond called musician friends of his in the area, and told them not to miss the show that evening. Hammond and Benny Goodman's bass player, Artie Bernstein, secretly set up Charlie's amplifier on stage, and the scene was set. Unknown to the "King of Swing," Charles would be part of the Benny Goodman Sextet that evening, and subsequently important to Benny Goodman's organization for the next two years.67
It was opening night that evening. Benny Goodman and his Quintet took to the stage. Los Angeles was segregated, as was much of the United States, and through the kitchen door appeared Charles Christian. Charles walked up to the stage. Benny was not too pleased with this last minute surprise. He chose to play "Rose room" which seemed to Hammond to be Benny's revenge. "I am reasonably certain Christian had never heard `Rose Room' before, because it was a West Coast song not in the repertoire of most black bands."68 Actually, this is one of the only three songs that Charles wanted to put before the public back in the original jam session with Don Redman's Orchestra years before.69 The number began. Between Benny Goodman and Lionel Hampton riffs began to pass; then Charles would come in with his parts, improvising in a way that was part of his trademark. He played at least twenty solos, all of them different.70
Before long the crowd was screaming with amazement. "Rose room" continued for more than three quarters of an hour and Goodman received an ovation unlike any even he had before. No one present will ever forget it, least of all Benny.71
So Charles was now standing on the inside with Benny Goodman. He was accepted by Goodman, and was instructed to get acquainted with each of the other bandmembers and their styles over the next week. Charles was even surprised to receive a check at the end of this first week.72 He was reportedly paid $150 a week.73 But Charles quickly made friends with the group, and pleased Benny Goodman also.74
It has been said that Charles and Benny didn't interest each other much personally, but apparently both were very interested in what the other was doing. Part of the beginnings of a stronger bond between the two came when Charles in these early days of the new Sextet was calling the other band members "Mister" as a sign of respect. Clarence Christian remembered what Charles told him about the occasion. It bugged Benny that he was calling his fellow musicians by this title. Swiftly, Benny corrected Charlie. He explained to Charles that in his band there were no whites or blacks, Misters or Mrs. The band was to be one unit, and Charles could just call him Benny. Charles was impressed. Benny did suggest at this time that "Charles" was too formal for the public. From then on he was known not as Charles, but as "Charlie Christian."75
D. Russell Connor, author of two bio-discographies entitled B.G. off the record and BG on the Record, also agrees that Charles did interest Benny very much, especially as a musician. He wrote in 1978:
I think it quite likely it is true...that Charlie was someone special to Benny. Benny realized that Charlie was young and unsophisticated when he first joined the band. In addition to that, Benny recognized (and said at the time) that Charlie's was a great and unique talent; and no one respects talent more than Benny Goodman.76
In fact, Benny apparently liked Charles, and Charles liked Benny. He told his family he had "never met a more down to earth person." Benny always had a good word for Charlie, while at the same time he watched out for Charlie. Because of Charles' inexperience Benny kept an eye on him and when they played engagements on the road Goodman would ask Charles to stay with him in his room. Within weeks of their initial meeting Charlie Christian was incorporated into the Goodman program. His duties were to be vital to the new Benny Goodman Sextet, Goodman's feature group.77 In contrast to this, Charles was not obscured in his orchestra. Charles' position was right at the front, just as John Hammond had hoped.
The rest of Goodman's performances and records featured the orchestra. But Charles played here only occasionally since Goodman had two other guitarists. The guitar chair here was held by either Arnold Covarrubias or Mike Bryan. The Sextet was to perform before the full orchestra's appearance, and between intermission and the second half of the program.78 Charles was definitely new and unique. The electric guitar itself would be presented for the first time to mass audiences across the nation by live radio broadcasts, performances and by record. By being featured with Benny Goodman,79 Charlie was no longer the unknown musician, the legend of the Great Plains. There was probably no quicker road to national exposure than to play with Goodman. 
Charles was now making more money than ever before. When he first received his instructions he was amazed by the amount of his paycheck and the short duration of his appearance. His salary was reportedly $150 a week. "Now Charles looked at that and at his salary and said, `Well good! But this can't last.'"80
Every check that Charles received, his family received part of it. Times were still not easy for the black community in Oklahoma City. Charles wanted badly to help his family. What he wanted most to be done with his new-found wealth was to buy a house for his grandmother. But the area of town Charles decided on was too far from downtown. His grandmother wanted to be closer to the city. This problem plus Charles' unexpected illness laid these plans to rest. "But Charlie, he went from one good thing to another."81
The band left California not long after Charles joined the organization. They were playing engagements while also doing a weekly performance for the "Camel Caravan" show. Charles flew to Atlantic City, Detroit, and then on to the New York World's Fair on September 6. Charles gradually became acquainted with others in the Goodman band. During a Camel Caravan broadcast from Detroit on September 2, Benny told the crowd that one of the first numbers he heard performed by Charles was "Stardust" and that he was very impressed. The crowd was then given a glimpse of Charles; and "Stardust" was the only song performed by the Sextet that evening. Recordings of this are available.82
Early in his career with Goodman Charles had a request by mail from his mother. She wanted him to play a song for her. But Charles had to explain to her that he just could not do that, even though they did take some requests from the public.
And he finally answered and told her that the audience was so vast and demanding, he couldn't just single her out because she was his mother. He said, `But I have a piece, regardless of where I am or who I'm playing for, this one particular piece is always dedicated to you from..."Stardust" And he turns loose something in "Stardust" that he don't seem to turn loose in no other record.83
References
2 Clarence Christian, Jr., older brother of Charles, but younger than Edward Christian, personal interview at Clarence Christian's home, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, 7 January, 1978. Present were Clarence Jr., Ella Mae Christian, Kevin and Patty Centlivre and the author.
3. Ibid.
4. Ibid. plus Clarence Christian, Jr., personal interview with Kevin Centlivre and the author at Clarence Christian's home, Oklahoma City, 24 March, 1978.
5. Christian, op. cit., 7 January, 1978.
6. Christian, op. cit., 7 January, 1978 and 24 March, 1978.
7. Christian, op. cit., 7 January, 1978.
8. Blesh, Combo: USA (New York: Chilton Book Company, 1971), pp. 163-164.
9. Christian, op. cit., 7 January, 1978 and 24 March, 1978.
10 Christian, op. cit., 7 January, 1978.
12 Blesh, Combo: USA, p. 165
13 Jerry Jerome, Sarasota, Florida, letter, 24 March 1978, to the author.
14 Christian, op. cit., 7 January, 1978.
15 Ibid.
16 Ibid.
17 Ibid.
18 Ibid.
19 Ibid.
20 Ibid.
21 Ibid.
22 Ibid.
23 Ibid.
24 Ibid.
25 John Hammond, John Hammond On Record (New York: Ridge Press).
26 Nat Hentoff, "Lester Young," in The Jazz Makers, eds. Nat Shapiro and Nat Hentoff (Westport, connecticut: Greenwood Press Publishers, 1957), p. 247.
27 Christian, op. cit., 7 January and 24 March, 1978.
28 Christian, op. cit., 7 January, 1978.
29 Abe Bolar, musician, bass player, friend of Charles, and a former member of the "Blue Devils," personal interview with Kevin Centlivre and the author at home of clarence Christian, Jr., Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, 18 March, 1978.
30 Jay McShann, bandleader and pianist, personal interview with the author, Paul Gray's Jazz Place, Lawrence, Kansas, December, 1978.
31 Al Avakian and Bob Prince, Charlie Christian with the Benny Goodman Sextet and Orchestra (sound recording) CL 652.
32 Ralph Ellison, "The Charlie Christian Story," in Saturday Review, May 17, 1958, pp. 42, 43, 46.
33 Christian, op. cit., 7 January, 1978.
34 Christian, op. cit., 24 March, 1978.
35 Christian, op. cit., 7 January, 1978.
36 Christian, op. cit., 7 January and 24 March, 1978.
37 Christian, op. cit., 7 January, 1978.
38 Ibid.
39 Mary Osborne, guitarist, telephone interview with the author, September, 1978.
40 Christian, op. cit., 24 March, 1978.
41 Christian, op. cit., 24 March, 1978.
42 Ibid.
43 Christian, op. cit., 7 January, 1978.
44 The Black Dispatch (Oklahoma City), July 1, 1939.
45 Christian, op. cit., 7 January, 1978.
47 John Hammond, "Random Notes on the Spirituals to Swing Recordings" from the liner notes of From Spirituals to Swing, VSD 47/48 (record).
48 The Black Dispatch (Oklahoma City), July 1 and 8, 1939.
49 Mary Lou Williams, pianist, telephone interview with the author, 31 August, 1978.
50 Hammond, John Hammond On Record, p. 223.
51 Ibid.
52 Ibid.
53 Christian, op. cit., 7 January, 1978.
54 Ibid.
55 Ibid.
56 Hammond, John Hammond On Record, p. 224-25.
57 Christian, op. cit., 7 January, 1978.
58 Ibid.
59 The Black Dispatch (Oklahoma City), 19 August, 1939.
66 Hammond, John Hammond on Record, p. 225.
67 Hammond, John Hammond on Record, p. 226.
68 Ibid.
69 Christian, op. cit., 7 January, 1978.
70 Hammond, John Hammond on Record, p. 226.
71 Hammond, John Hammond on Record, p. 226.
72 Christian, op. cit., 7 January, 1978.
73 Bill Simon, "Charlie Christian," in The Jazz Makers, eds. Nat Shapiro and Nat Hentoff (Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press Publishers, 1957), p. 323.
74 Christian, op. cit., 7 January, 1978.
75 Ibid.
76 D. Russell Connor, Philadelphia, PA., letter to the author in return for letter mailed to Benny Goodman, 27 March, 1978.
77 Christian, op. cit., 7 January, 1978.
78 Ibid.
79 Tom and Mary Evans, Guitars: Music, History, Construction and Players (New York: Paddington Press Ltd., 1977) p. 389.
80 Christian, op. cit., 7 January, 1978.
81 Ibid.
82 D. Russell Connor and Warren W. Hicks, BG On the Record (New York: Arlington House, 1969) pp. 259-260.
83 Christian, op. cit., 7 January, 1978.
60 Christian, op. cit., 7 January, 1978.
61 Ibid.
62 Ibid.
63 Ibid.
64 Ibid.
65 Ibid.
Craig R. McKinney, "Charles Christian: Musician" http://www3.nbnet.nb.ca/hansen/Charlie/ccbio.htm
Craig R. McKinney, "Charles Christian: Musician" http://www3.nbnet.nb.ca/hansen/Charlie/ccbio.htm
Laurie E. Jasinski, "Charles Henry Christian" The Handbook of Texas Online http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/CC/fch37.html
Liner notes from Columbia Records G 30779
Reference
Savage, William W., Jr. (1983) Singing Cowboys and All That Jazz: A Short History of Popular Music in Oklahoma University of Oklahoma Press, Norman, Oklahoma, pp. 48-51, ISBN 080611648X
Goins, Wayne E. and McKinney, Craig (2005) A Biography of Charlie Christian, Jazz Guitar's King of Swing ISBN 0-7734-6091-8
Lee, Amy (1940) "Charlie Christian Tried to Play Hot Tenor!" Metronome
Broadbent, Peter (2002) Charlie Christian, Solo Flight - The story of the Seminal Electric Guitarist ISBN-10:1872639216 ISBN-13:978-1872639215 Hal Leonard, pub.
Valdes, Leo (1997) Solo Flight: The Charlie Christian Newsletter Leo Valdes, pub.
---------------
by Craig R. McKinney
(Webmaster's note: Craig R. McKinny is co-author (along with Wayne Goins) of A Biography of Charlie Christian, Jazz Guitar's King of Swing. Lewiston, N.Y.: Mellen, 2005. Portions of this early draft served as source material for the book-length biography. )
25 years ago I sought to discover an accurate description of the character, life and times of Charlie Christian, and to record the same. I called my friend Clarence Christian to offer to come and share with him my rough draft. His wife answered and stunned me with "Why we buried Clarence yesterday."
I went to Oklahoma City anyway and asked Clarence Christian's widow what she thought. As she did not know Charlie, Mrs. Christian had no ideas on the subject.
Years later a call came out of the blue from a person working with the Oklahoma Arts Council. Apparently without my permission the copy of my rough draft had been given away.
A few years after learning this it became clear that others also had copies and were using the information. I then came to the conclusion that it would be in the best interests of Charlie Christian's memory to share that rough draft so the original source could be analysed for the historical record.
Here is that draft I came up with when I was 21. (Craig R. McKinney, Topeka, Kansas)
The Early Years
C harles Henry Christian was born July 29, 1916 in Bonham, Texas, a small community about 60 miles northeast of Dallas. His family lived in a part of town know as "tank town". The name "tank town" came from the water supply located here for the railroad. Charles' family and their neighbors were black. Bonham was also the hometown of Sam Rayburn, who in 1912 would be elected to Congress and would eventually become Speaker of the House, serving longer in that position than any other man. The Rayburns were white. Charles grandmother had worked in the Rayburn house before he was born. Charles' father worked as a waiter. An important part of his entertainment was baseball. He played on the black teams in the area surrounding Bonham. His wife was called Willie Mae Christian. She was a distinctly beautiful woman. Both were musicians. There were two boys born before Charles. He had no sisters. Edward was the e1dest, ten years older than Charles. Edward was born December 23, 1906. Clarence, Jr. was five years older than Charles, born on July 30, 1911. They too were musicians. The house where Charles was born still stands at 511 West Johnson Street in Bonham. 2
Charles was born into a family of musical tradition. Both his father and his mother were musicians. His grandmother on his mother's side was a musician. Two of his uncles on his mother's side were musicians, as were his older brothers.3
Before Charles' second birthday Clarence Christian, Sr. was struck by a mysterious illness. While at work as a waiter his vision in one eye began to fail him. First his left eye went dark, then over several months he lost his sight completely. Clarence Christian, Sr. now faced the problems of supporting a family as a blind man. Already an accomplished musician, Charles' father now turned to music to break the monotony of his tragic illness. It was music also that would support the family during the very hard times. Charles' father's favorite music was sacred music, chords played on string instruments, especially when performed late in the evening. Clarence Christian was an experienced musician; he could be heard to play a tune on about every instrument except the Scottish bagpipes. But he didn't turn immediately to music to support his young family. Two of Charles' uncles persuaded him to play what were called "busts" with them. They wanted Clarence to keep active, and not to lose himself in depression. "Busts" might be described as musical performances of the street. (More on "busts" is contained later). Even as a blind man Clarence Christian was determined to provide for his family.4
It was during Mr. Christian's first year of blindness that Charles Christian was first introduced to the guitar. Charles was about a year and a half in age; it was about the time he was beginning to walk. In the evenings when the boy was sleepy, his father would set him on his lap. In front of Charles lay the eleven string Symphony Harp guitar his father owned. Charles would reach for the strings, and run his fingers across them until he fell asleep. As he grew a bit older the guitar was replaced by the bass. There was something noticeably special about him even at this age.5
An important date for most living in the United States in 1918 was Armistice Day. The armistice was signed November 11. Edward rode his bicycle in the parade and celebration in Bonham. Two days later the family left Bonham for Oklahoma City. Charles' grand-mother was already living there. Clarence's opportunities for work had dried up in Bonham. Clarence Christian did what he could to provide for his family, but being subjected to racism it was very hard to find work. However, a sense of pride, dignity and necessity drove him. He found a job pumping valves by hand to unload railroad cars. It was a job that required enduring strength, and not the type often selected by a blind man. This move to Oklahoma City relocated his sons near North-east 2nd Street. North-east Second or "Deep Second" as it was called, was to be an important school of music education for Edward, Clarence, Jr. and Charles.6
Charles' musical career began when he was quite young; he too was involved in "busts." His father had bought his two older sons musical instruments. Edward had a mandolin and Clarence, Jr. played the violin. To begin a series of "busts," they would walk downtown; and after an OK from the establishment's owner (usually these places were cafes and pool halls) they would play two or three pieces and pass a hat for tips. For the music people would maybe give a nickel, a dime, but a quarter was seldom seen. Edward didn't care much for this practice because he felt it was 'beneath his character'. It seemed to be too much like begging to him, but he continued to play. Most of the time they were in the downtown area, but sometimes on their way back home they would go through a white part of town. Here they would play music at homes. It was in this section of town they came to, because some people here had the little extra change for music. If the Christians knew someone liked music, they might approach their house, and quietly step up to the porch. Softly, they would begin to play their stringed instruments. People would come to the door; sometimes they might be given food, some gave a nickel or a dime, or perhaps a drink of whiskey. Although some wouldn't give anything, they might compliment the family on their playing. And then, others wouldn't. These were "busts." This is what the Christians wanted to do. Clarence Christian Jr. recalls, "We weren't all that great or nothing, but we had something to offer." When Charles grew old enough to join in, he was just a board beater; but he "could dance real good."
Charles Christian was raised in Oklahoma City. He attended Douglas school until the seventh grade. Here he met Mrs. Zelia N. Breaux. It was she who first encouraged Charles to play music. Mrs. Breaux at one time owned a musical theater on 2nd Street. Many big names appeared at her place including Ma Rainey, Bessie Smith, Ida Cox, Maimie Smith and King Oliver's band.8 Mrs. Breaux was the musical director for the black public schools for all grade levels. She encouraged Charles to begin with the trumpet; but this did not really appeal to him. The discoloration and corn that builds on a trumpeter's lip soon drove Charles away from the instrument.9 In a few years Charles would take up the instrument that was traditional as his father's favorite: guitar.
Part Two: Charles, don't nobody want to hear them old blues.
The Christians were a very close family. They found strength at home during many hard times. When Charles was ten, his father died. It should be mentioned here that although Clarence Christian loved and played the guitar, Charles did not begin to learn to play until after his father's death. His passing left Willie Mae Christian with her mother and three sons. Edward was about twenty years old at this time, so he and Charles weren't around each other too much while growing up. But Clarence, Jr. was only five years older than Charles, and these two were almost inseparable. "When you'd see one, you'd see the other." Mrs. Christian and her sons were very close. Her secret, according to her son Clarence, was that she was a "buddy." The Christians took good care of each other. The family was a strong institution here.10
Like his father, Charles had a passion for baseball. Much of his time as a youngster (and much of Oklahoma City) was spent playing the game; and according to friends, he probably would have become a professional ball player had he not turned to music.11 And some say if it had been the post-Jackie Robinson era, he probably had talent enough to have played in the major leagues.12 Jerry Jerome, who played music with Charles in 1939 and 1940 with Benny Goodman, noted this talent along with his music skills: "He also was an outstanding third baseman on our baseball team at Catalina Island." 13 But one factor in Charles' personality limited his future in this field. When Charles did something, he usually put all his energies into it. Charles was a pitcher, a good one; but he liked it so much he wanted to pitch every day. But his friends wouldn't let him wear himself out. They knew that physically the strain would be too much for any kid. So at this point Charles began to drop away from baseball (most likely he was 11 to 15 years old at this time, 1927-1931). It was at this time he turned seriously to music.14 He began to hang around with musicians. Two in particular began to teach Charles what they knew about music and the guitar. They were "Big Foot Chuck" Ralph Hamilton and James Simpson. Ralph Hamilton played the guitar; and James Simpson played the trumpet. These two musicians gave Charles much of his early formal education in music. Clarence Christian, Jr. recalls their efforts:
...the first thing they (Hamilton and Simpson) taught him, (was) 'Learn to read, then you won't have to take anyone's word for what's on that paper'. And the term they used was 'Learn how to pick them dots,' that's read notes. They taught Charles how to build chords, break down chords, transpose, and modulate, and read.15
Edward Christian first happened across Ralph Hamilton in Chickasha, Oklahoma. "Big Foot" Chuck, as he was called, was playing his guitar out in the streets. He was accompanying a blind man who played religious music on the washboard, with thimbles on his hands. Ralph Hamilton, it should be noted, played guitar, and Charles first wanted to play like him. Hamilton's style was characterized by his lead chord approach; and because of his knowledge and style, the familiar songs he played were easily recognized.16
At this time, Charles practically idolized Hamilton. After he quit playing steady baseball, he would be with musicians, especially Simpson and Hamilton. At this time Charles was known to say, " I want my guitar to sound like Chuck's." But even then he was different. One fundamental but derivative change from the style of Hamilton to the style of young Christian was Charles expressed himself by playing solo notes, and Chuck, of course, played lead chords. This too, is significant. Charles began playing solo long before most jazz groups featured the guitar as a primary instrument. And when he eventually was exposed to electric guitars, his solo style was already solid, and not merely an adaptation to the guitar's newly-found volume.
Not long after Charles became proficient on guitar (probably between 1929 and 1931) there was a jam session up at Honey's. Honey's was an after hours spot, run by Honey Murphy. It was an exciting place when the jamming started. When the jam sessions began "whole streets would just empty and go up to Honey's." Many bands came through town and when they came, they would jam at Honey's. On this night Don Redman's orchestra was there at Honey's. The jam session included Edward Christian on piano and Ralph "Big Foot Chuck" Hamilton on guitar. Young Charles Christian walked in with his brother, Clarence. Charles was anxious to participate. Charles went up to the rest of the active musicians and pressed his brother, "Let me play one".18 And Edward's reply was a classical, "Charles, don't nobody want to hear them old blues." Luckily Ralph Hamilton intervened on Charles' behalf. He convinced Edward he should let his youngest brother at least have a chance. There is an explanation for Edward's attitude. Edward didn't know Charles had learned to play. Charles was asked by the group what he wanted to play. He chose a tune that most of the crowd knew and was popular with the people. He selected "Sweet Georgia Brown". The choice was a surprise to Edward; but the band began to play with Edward setting the pace at piano. The song began with soloists each putting in their part. Then it was Charles' turn.19
"...so he licked his thumb, and gripped his pick the way he wanted it. And Chuck told him, 'Come on, Charlie, you can do it. Charles set there, and they encored him back for sixteen choruses, and every one was different. And my oldest brother like to went through the ceiling. 'Hey, hey man! This is my brother! This is my brother! Take another one, Charles. Take another one!' You know he was going out, you know..."20
His impromptu debut that evening was a surprise to many people. Charles' sixteen choruses were single note solos and this was "way before he started playin' professionally." Charles' brother, Edward, was very surprised, to say the least. Edward was unaware that Charles had been studying music and the guitar under Simpson and Hamilton. The simple reason for his ignorance was a difference that had come up between Simpson and himself. Both Edward and James Simpson were pursuing the same young lady. Because of this, very little was said between the two.21
After this first number at Honey's, everyone was quite excited and wanted to hear more of Charles on guitar. Charles was asked to choose another number. He politely and shrewdly explained he was not the leader of this session, he was just "sitting in" with the rest of the musicians. Actually Charles had only three songs he knew well, and wanted to play in front of others. He finally suggested they play "Tea for Two" and everyone agreed. Charles again electrified the awaiting crowd with his music. He exploded into his music, and the crowd reciprocated in appreciation.22
After "Tea for Two" Charles thanked the rest of the guys for letting him play, telling them he felt better now. But everyone wanted to hear more. Charles was very aware he had only one more tune he felt secure playing with this group of musicians. The others begged him to play once more. He consented to one more number, and he chose "Rose Room". The crowd was genuinely amazed by what it had heard that night, performed by a young, local musician. It was the talk of the neighborhood, and word spread fast. When Clarence and Charles arrived back home, their mother already 'knew all about what had happened. And the effect of the incident on Charles' eldest brother's opinion of his baby brother' talent was altered permanently.23
"...Edward learned that Charles had progressed so far over his head until they were like two peas in a pod from then on...So getting down to this one point. People talking about what they learned Charles, what they taught him. The principle ingredient there is Ralph Hamilton, James Simpson and his oldest brother, Edward."24
This was Charlie Christian's first public appearance on guitar. This sixteen solos display of his talent on guitar was not peculiar to this evening. Charles constantly revised; it was an essential and creatively demanding part of his approach and updated his music; it was a trademark of his style. (Incidentally, John Hammond who later "discovered" Christian, believed Charles had never heard "Rose Room" before he played with Benny. "Rose Room" was to figure prominently in Christian's first session with Benny Goodman, dubbed the "king of Swing".)25
Part Three: Deep Second
Oklahoma City doesn't appear to have been the backwater area or unexposed to New York and California music-wise, which seems to be what some works listing Christian seem to hint. Oklahoma City was a hub, a hot spot for jazz. New York and Los Angeles simply seem to have had little idea what was happening out in the Great Plains. On North East 2nd Street one could find all sorts of live music. This is the neighborhood where Charles lived. It was here he met musicians such as Lester Young. Lester reportedly had spoken of these days when he said, "We (he and Charlie) used to go out in the alley and jam."26 It was there on 2nd Street that Charlie heard and played with members of visiting territorial bands including Andy Kirk, Alphonso Trent, bands from Kansas City, and the Blue Devils, whose home base was Oklahoma City. The Blue Devils at one time included Count Basie, Lester Young and many other talented musicians. Musicians were Charles' kind of folks.
In the 1930's, not many musicians had the opportunity to play in mixed crowds meaning those groups including blacks and whites. One of the earliest instances (or the earliest) of this occurring in Oklahoma City involved Charles, his friends and two white brothers, the Selathias, and their friends. Their names were Merle and Doyle Selathia. The Selathias lived in the south part of Oklahoma City. Their father owned a dancehall called Selathia's Barn. Selathia's Barn at one time actually was a barn which the Selathia's had remodeled. Merle and Doyle had much in common with the Christians, because they too loved music. They accepted the Christians and their friends as musicians-as equals. Charles and his friends were never sent away here; or forced to enter through the kitchen. But the music itself wasn't exactly tame. They "had some wild jam sessions there." The Selathia's and their friends in turn came to 2nd Street to jam in the Christian's neighborhood at Bridges. Together, the two groups of musicians would play for hours, and there "was never a cross word" between them. Everybody would pass one bottle around for all to share; and no one disgraced the affair by wiping the bottle. Charles got along very well with this crowd. One of the other musicians with the Selathias also played a stringed instrument; and he and Charles would make music together for hours.27
Christian's style was unique. Often it is said by those who heard Charles' music for the first time, this music is different in some way than any they've heard before. He was different from most other guitarists of the day. To begin with, he started off playing solo, unlike Ralph Hamilton and most other guitarists involved in popular music. There were many blues singers who accompanied themselves with guitar but fewer played the guitar as if it had solo voice of its own. With a band, the guitar's function was rhythm more than lead. The guitar was difficult to hear otherwise."
Charles' brother, Clarence, doesn't attempt to explain his brother's genius, Charles was always different; but eventually he explained part of his approach to the instrument:
"...later on he revealed his secret, his interpretation of music. He said, 'I don't look at it as playing a guitar.' He said, 'I try to make my guitar sound like I think a saxophone should. ` So he had him a whole new ballgame there. In his mind he's doing what he thinks a sax player should do. So he picked up something. In other words, right there he went original, something no one else had offered.28
Abe Bolar, a musician and a good friend of Charles, supports evidence that his ability was recognized years before Charles went east or west. At one time, Abe was the bass player for the Blue Devils, an influential band around Oklahoma City and the region. Abe was older and began his music career before Charles, but they jammed many times. He affirms, "Charles always could play solo." He remembered Charles to be playing in 1931, and "He could play like hell in '34... He was just a natural... he improvised naturally." And Mr. Bolar claims Charles could play as well as a teenager as he ever did at a later age.29
Jay McShann, pianist and band leader, heard Charles in person only once. This was in 1937 in Kansas City at Wolf's Buffet. Charles was with Alphonso Trent and his group returning from the Dakotas. There was a jam session from eleven at night til five in the morning. The guys sounded so good McShann says he just wanted to listen. He says about Christian, "Charlie had that thing." Jay McShann agrees Charles had to have always had this special "thing". 30 In the liner notes of a Charlie Christian record album released around 1958, Al Avakian and Bob Prince claim "...Charlie Christian's Texas birthplace and Oklahoma home were areas relatively untouched by more sophisticated forms and expressions than the blues...." 31 Writer Ralph Ellison refuted these claims when they ware first made, and correctly so.32 But the blues definitely did have their impact on Christian: although he wanted more, the blues were all around.
"....Of course, he'd been around blues all his life, 'cause we strictly lived in a blue environment. "Cause along then when Charles just started out trying to play guitar every-body sat down to the piano, everybody picked up a guitar, mandolin, a little fiddle; it was blues. And Charlie really didn't like blues. But for his kind of playing, his kind of music, his type of music style, there wasn' t enough action in blues. I don't mean to say this boastfully, but when you sit down to listen to Charles play there is never a pause. He's always doing something. He's digging in everything. But in motion, you know, that continuous something. You look for a pause, and he's putting something in there....33
"Deep Second" was extremely fertile ground for a budding musician such as Charles Christian. Without having to leave town, or even his neighborhood, he acquired experience playing at the many sessions on Northeast 2nd Street. The places he jammed with the other musicians were pool halls, and after hours joints: places where a man could get a drink. Frequented often were Honey's (mentioned earlier), Deep Deuce, Band Box, The Hole and Ruby's Grill. Honey Murphy's and Hally Richardson's were two of the important centers for musicians in this area. Hally Richardson owned a "shining parlor," and Honey Murphy ran the upstairs, this part of the building overflowed with people during the day. Ruby's was built as a ballroom which tended for better use for crowds. The 'Hole was run by Big bridges was located in a basement, and above it on the first floor was the 'Band Box' which began as a pool hall.
Charles' musical ability did not go unnoticed in Oklahoma City. Although many dates are often cited indicating when Charles first left home to play with a traveling band, this author's research has found no conclusive evidence for precision. He first left probably sometime between 1931 and 1937. At any rate, he was very young. Although both of Charles' brothers also had had earlier offers to leave Oklahoma City for musical careers, only Charles received his mother's OK. Edward had his chance to go with Buster Moten. And Clarence, Jr. also had a chance to do musical work in California. But their mother wouldn't allow it in these two cases. When Charles' chance came, Clarence, Jr. helped convince his mother that she should let her youngest give it a try. He persuaded her this was the time to let him go because with their two jobs they would be financially capable of bringing Charles home if things went sour on the road, as many times just so happened. Also, Clarence convinced her that at this early date Charles would still have the necessary moral support needed to keep him in the right track.
Alphonso Trent was the leader and organizer of one of the popular traveling orchestras in the midwest. He had heard of Charles and came to Oklahoma City to hear him. Trent's bands had a very good reputation musically, in the area; and Alphonso asked Charles to play with his band. Charles had to practically beg his mother to let him go. She understandably didn't want her youngest to leave. But Mr. Trent promised her he would take care of Charles. So after Charles made all of his promises to his family concerning what he would and would not do, he left with Trent. 36
Alphonso promised to take care of Charles, but there were a few dangers. At first, Charles played the guitar for the band, but because of the kinds of places they were playing and the hazards, this did not continue. The jobs the band held were north of Oklahoma in Deadwood, South Dakota, Bismark, North Dakota and Casper, Wyoming. Most of the mail his family received bore postmarks from Deadwood and Bismark. The clientele at these places were miners, not always the crowd easiest to please. The band wasn't paid much of a salary for each of the engagements; so most of their revenue was tips from the audience. But here lay the danger. Paper money was very scarce in the area at this time; all that was usually to be found was coin. Usually, the men would just throw their money at the bandstand, and this was very hazardous for the musicians. "Some guys come in there they'd get to feeling good, he'd bust up your instrument, your head, (and) anything else." 37 So to keep part of the flying coin from doing too much damage, a net was set up in front of the bandstand to protect the musicians. Charles was very worried about his new guitar. Before he left Oklahoma he had bought himself a new guitar. Since he was making payments on the guitar, he didn't want it to be broken or ruined. So he started playing bass fiddle instead.38
A young school girl home on vacation also had the opportunity to see this electric guitarist while he was with Alphonso Trent. The place was Bismark, North Dakota. The time was September, 1938. The band was a swinging sextet she recalls. She walked in after hearing about this guitarist. She heard Charles playing, but it was new, different and she didn't even know what instrument was making this music. Then she saw him. Later in the evening he played "St. Louis Blues." She was familiar with Django Reinhardt's version. Mary Osborne claims Charles played Django's version exactly. This is an example of his approach. Charles loved music and musicians, and when it came to music education, he knew songs and musicians' styles that no one even expected to hear. Charles was full of surprises when it came to his knowledge of music and musicians. Django was an important pre-Christian solo jazz guitarist. He was known as the Belgian Gypsy Mary Osborne met Charles the next evening. She describes him as "very nice, exceptionally nice." 39
The places where Charles and the rest of the group would stay were "average." But usually the crowds were rough; and Charles was unhappy with his role on bass fiddle. He wanted to play his guitar. So after about a year or a little more with Alphonso Trent, he returned to Oklahoma City.40
Part Four: Who the hell wants to hear an electric-guitar player?
After an undetermined length of time back home, Charles again had an opportunity to travel with a band. Charles' mother was no more pleased about him leaving this time than she was the first. This time Charles went with a orchestra headed by Anna Mae Winburn. Charles again went north, playing places in Kansas City, Chicago and other cities. It has been claimed that he toured the southwest with Anna Mae, but it appears this is not true. He was not touring Texas and the southwest with Trent and Winburn; he was exploring north. But fate did not smile on this orchestra; the band became stranded. The bus that they traveled in was taken back into the "hands of the receivers." Luckily, Charles' family had enough money to bring him back home safely.41
Charles Christian was a respected musician around Oklahoma City and his ability was known to many local musicians. For an undetermined period of time, over a year possibly, Charles was back home in Oklahoma City. Here he played music on 2nd Street with many musicians in town, and also with those passing through town. Two of the local bands were popular, their leaders were Leslie Sheffield and Edward Christian. Charles would play with one for a month or so, then with the other. Everyone in both these groups gave Charles plenty of solo time.42 He was acquiring a reputation as a wizard on the guitar throughout the area. 
Charles' nickname around the area gives one indication of his reputation. His nickname was Charles Christian "The Great." In jam sessions if one musician outplayed the next, they were said to have "cut his head." "So Charles cut every head come here carrying a guitar."43 Soon, Charles' name was put in front of a band's, such was his popularity with the public. When Andy Kirk's group came to town, below the advertisement for this nationally known group was another smaller announcement:
....Every Thursday, Saturday and Sunday nights will be regular attraction nights with music on Sunday by Charles Christian's band. No extra charges will be added for service in the "Lyons Den." 44
It seems natural that Charles Christian turned to the electric guitar; his solo approach was mature and ready to be heard along side horns and the rest of the band. Charles started off playing a loud unamplified guitar, an acoustic Epiphone. It was this guitar that allowed his solos to be heard before he was able to acquire the newly developed electric guitar. When he played a piece with a group, the rest of the band would play softly so he could be heard. Sometime before he was "discovered" Charles acquired one himself. A woman in Oklahoma City told Charles about a place where he could get one. He went down and bought his first electric from Lee Thaggart who owned a music shop in Oklahoma City. He made payments he could afford to finance the purchase. Later, with his first check from John Hammond, to go to Los Angeles, he paid off the balance. His next electric guitars were furnished after he joined Benny Goodman. The second was a beautiful, big white Gibson guitar (Charlie preferred Gibsons). This guitar was cherished by his family who kept it after he died, but in the 1950s it was stolen from their home. 45
In the summer of 1939 Charles Christian was swept away from Oklahoma to New York and Los Angeles and the expanding mass media network--the national scene. This included appearances, radio performances and records. In astoundingly little time, a few months, Charles would be in the center of the popular jazz of that day via Benny Goodman.
It was pianist-arranger Mary Lou Williams who first brought Charles to the attention of New York and John Hammond. Mary Lou Williams was the pianist-arranger for Andy Kirk and his Clouds of Joy. They had both toured the mid-west and recorded in New York.46 John Hammond, on the other hand, had just recently gone to work for Columbia Records, Inc., a new enterprise owned by CBS network. His position was that of associate recording director. He came into this job after and as a result of his successful production of The 1938 "Spirituals to Swing" concert featuring black artists from all over the United States.47 Hammond was also responsible for recording Benny Goodman's groups at this time; and was intimately involved with finding new personnel for Benny.
John Hammond was not looking for a guitarist in particular at this time, but he was out trying to find the best musicians. Weeks before John Hammond had ever heard of Christian, Andy Kirk and his Clouds of Joy were playing at the Trianon Ballroom in Oklahoma City. This was July 10, 1939. Included in Kirk's band was Mary Lou Williams on piano, and Floyd Smith on guitar. The performance was to be a benefit dance; proceeds would go to the entertainment committee of the local Negro Business League. Advance tickets were 56 cents, while at the door the charge would be 78 cents.48 Mary Lou may have heard Charles a few years before, but it was probably this encounter that was fresh in her mind at a recording session in New York a few weeks later. In Oklahoma City, at this appearance or afterwards, a jam session took place.
According to Mary Lou, everyone wanted Charles to bring Kirk's guitarist down a bit, even the members of Kirk's band. First Charles played. Everyone encouraged him to do his bit, to show the other guitarist up. But Charles wouldn't, yet. Then the other guitarist played. He tried very hard to do his best. Then Charles played again, much stronger than the first time. Charles was too good. The other guitarist would not tolerate it and walked out.49
Mary Lou and the band were soon back in New York. but she had not forgotten what she had heard. The band was playing the Apollo, and also making recordings. At the recording session Hammond heard a guitarist who played "the Hawaiian guitar sound ." After speaking with Mary Lou, and telling her he cared very little for this guitar music, he jarred Mary Lou's memory.50
Hammond remembers Mary Lou saying, "If you really want to hear an electric guitar played like an acoustic guitar....you 've got to go to Oklahoma City, where Charlie Christian works. He's the greatest electric-guitar player I've ever heard."51
Hammond was already planning to go to Los Angeles to begin recordings for Goodman on Columbia. He decided to stop and give Charles an audition. 52 Mr. Hammond subsequently wrote Charles inquiring about an audition. Charles wrote back inviting him to stop and hear.
Clarence Christian, Jr. remembers this same period:
....Truly, John Hammond did come here. And to show you what kind of life we were living, we didn't have a car, didn't have a bicycle. So Charles went to a friend of his -- the musicians' friend, Hally Richardson. He had housed, clothed and fed a many musician. Charles went and explained to Hally what he had going for him. So Hally told him, "Say well now, I got an old Plymouth down there." He said, "We'll just go to the airport and meet him." 53
As was mentioned earlier, Charles was working at Ruby's Grill and the Lyons Den owned by Ruby Lyons. At the first meeting between Christian and Hammond, Ruby and Hally were there also. They talked for awhile, and Hammond asked if there were more good musicians in the area. Charles hadn't auditioned yet, so Hammond suggested the following evening. First, he needed a hotel room and asked Charles about it. Charles suggested the Huckins Hotel where his mother worked. This is where Hammond stayed.54
So Hammond told Charles to gather up the good musicians he knew, and asked him to meet the next evening at 8 o'clock. The next evening at 8 o'clock sharp the band started their theme song and Hammond walked in. He listened to four or five numbers, and then he got up to leave. He provided the musicians drinks for the night for everyone that wanted them. Plus, at this time he said, "You'll hear from me in a few days." Then he left.55
Hammond saw Christian's connection with the horn players. He saw a Texas influence, and he notes that Christian was "endlessly inventive." What surprised Hammond, he wrote, was like all the greats he "discovered," why hadn't anyone heard it before?
I knew immediately, for instance, that Charlie Christian belonged in the Goodman small group. I was on my way to join Benny; what could I tell him that would convince him? I called California. "I've just heard the greatest guitar player since Eddie Lang," I told him. "He plays electric guitar and..."
"Who the hell wants to hear an electric-guitar player?" Benny interrupted.
"I don't know," I admitted, "but you won't believe him until you hear him."56
Hammond convinced Goodman to allow Christian to be brought out on the budget allowed by the Camel Cigarette sponsors. The Camel Company supported a radio program and Benny had a contract with them for regular national radio appearances.
After Hammond left Oklahoma, Charles was left with no idea of what Hammond had thought of him. About ten days after the event Charles received a telegram. It read something close to this: "Come at once. Have position with Benny Goodman."
Clarence recalls what Charles' reaction was:
And Charles set down and laughed. I said, "Charles, what are you laughing about?"
He said, "Man, that man's in Los Angeles."
I said, "I know it."
"How in the hell am I going to make it to Los Angeles if I ain't got cab fare down town?"57
Charles didn't have any money. So his brother, Clarence, and his friends, policeman Ernest Jones and Hally Richardson raised enough money between themselves to send Charles off. But before they had a chance to present Charles with this money, he had found his own way of solving the problem. Charles wired Hammond back; and in return Hammond sent $300. This was accompanied by a second telegram which said, "If this is not enough, will wire more. See you."58
Benny Goodman was tremendously popular at this time, and it was a boost for most musicians to just be part of his orchestra. Charles still hadn't met the leader, and his new boss hadn't heard him play. His position was to play with the orchestra according to the local report from the Black Dispatch. It described the event as "one of the biggest breaks ever received by a local musician." With the three hundred dollars Hammond had sent him Charles completed the payments on his electric guitar. A party was given at Ruby's Grill on Sunday, August 13, 1939, for Charles. The next afternoon he left town by train.59 The possibilities ahead for this young musician were unknown. Benny certainly had made few plans, probably none, for this new musician he had never heard.
Charles Christian's thoughts about this world usually were not broadcast. Charles was "soft-spoken, shy like" in conversation. His answers to friends' questions many times were not words, but grunts. So to understand him meant one had to know Charlie pretty good. He did not complain much. One of the few times he did express worry was to his family just before he left to join Benny Goodman. He was working moving cabinets inside a building when one of his fingers was mashed between a wall and the cabinet. He was very worried this would hinder his playing, and he had not yet been heard by Goodman. By the time he left, although sore, the finger was well enough for Charles to play.60
Persons who knew and heard Charles before he went with Goodman agree Charles' style was developed before he ever met Benny Goodman. It was mentioned earlier that Charles was taught to play and read music by Ralph Hamilton, James Simpson and Edward Christian. But Charles quickly progressed. There was something unique about his ability even as a baby. And in his first jam session his ever-changing improvisations surprised much of the neighborhood, not to mention other musicians present. So where did he get it? First of all, it should be remembered Charles was a very agreeable and likable person. He would borrow from any musician he came in contact with or any kind of music. He would use the blues, folk songs, jazz classics, popular tunes, hillbilly music and he even surprised a few with his knowledge of classical music. Charles would use stuff no one else would try.61
Charles Christian did hear a saxophone inside his head. As a solo guitarist he was unusual because he played on his guitar lines he thought a saxophonist should play.62
His music was constantly changing. For example, he was known to play a beautiful solo. Then when asked to repeat it after his efforts, he would say, "What?" He wasn't being snobbish at these times, or really meek. It is just the ideas he had the moment before were gone and new sounds were filling his head. He was constantly revising.63
When critics attempt to explain where Charlie Christian came from, one should remember Charles' own words. He was a quiet man, but he told his brother, Clarence, his philosophy many times. Although Charles didn't talk much, he did give his brother this piece of philosophy:
"Don't never try to be like somebody else. Let somebody else try to be like you. Because when you start being a copycat, they are a dime a dozen." 64
This approach put him in the same category as the top line soloists, while not losing the function of the guitar as a rhythm instrument. Charles' favorite bands when he left Oklahoma City were Duke Ellington's and Count Basie's. But "he was strictly a Duke man" (which questions the theory that Charles' style was taken from Lester Young). He would not rate musicians as to who was better than whom; he would not categorize his fellow musicians. His philosophy was that those that were playing had to be good to be up there. Charles eventually played with some of the biggest names in jazz in his day, but it didn't matter to him who he was playing with, just as long as he had a chance "to unbutton himself." Playing with Benny or Count Basie or whoever, Charles Christian just seemed to always want to add to what was going down as he was able. He could play anywhere.65
Part Five: From one good thing to another
Charles first played with Benny Goodman in Beverly Hills, California at the Victor Hugo restaurant. It was not Benny's intentions to have Charlie as part of his small group, but it must have proved to Goodman that he needed Christian. At least Christian proved he was too skilled to be left in the background.
On August 16, 1939 Charles met Benny for the first time. On that date, two days after he had left Oklahoma by train, Charles walked into the studio where the band was recording. John Hammond noted that Benny was anxious about his opening night, and not very interested when he first met Christian.66
At this point Charles left with the black members of the band to go to Watts. Hammond told Christian before they left to meet back at the kitchen of the Victor Hugo later that evening. This first audition was followed up by a second and more public one that evening. A plan was hatched to give Charles another chance. Hammond called musician friends of his in the area, and told them not to miss the show that evening. Hammond and Benny Goodman's bass player, Artie Bernstein, secretly set up Charlie's amplifier on stage, and the scene was set. Unknown to the "King of Swing," Charles would be part of the Benny Goodman Sextet that evening, and subsequently important to Benny Goodman's organization for the next two years.67
It was opening night that evening. Benny Goodman and his Quintet took to the stage. Los Angeles was segregated, as was much of the United States, and through the kitchen door appeared Charles Christian. Charles walked up to the stage. Benny was not too pleased with this last minute surprise. He chose to play "Rose room" which seemed to Hammond to be Benny's revenge. "I am reasonably certain Christian had never heard `Rose Room' before, because it was a West Coast song not in the repertoire of most black bands."68 Actually, this is one of the only three songs that Charles wanted to put before the public back in the original jam session with Don Redman's Orchestra years before.69 The number began. Between Benny Goodman and Lionel Hampton riffs began to pass; then Charles would come in with his parts, improvising in a way that was part of his trademark. He played at least twenty solos, all of them different.70
Before long the crowd was screaming with amazement. "Rose room" continued for more than three quarters of an hour and Goodman received an ovation unlike any even he had before. No one present will ever forget it, least of all Benny.71
So Charles was now standing on the inside with Benny Goodman. He was accepted by Goodman, and was instructed to get acquainted with each of the other bandmembers and their styles over the next week. Charles was even surprised to receive a check at the end of this first week.72 He was reportedly paid $150 a week.73 But Charles quickly made friends with the group, and pleased Benny Goodman also.74
It has been said that Charles and Benny didn't interest each other much personally, but apparently both were very interested in what the other was doing. Part of the beginnings of a stronger bond between the two came when Charles in these early days of the new Sextet was calling the other band members "Mister" as a sign of respect. Clarence Christian remembered what Charles told him about the occasion. It bugged Benny that he was calling his fellow musicians by this title. Swiftly, Benny corrected Charlie. He explained to Charles that in his band there were no whites or blacks, Misters or Mrs. The band was to be one unit, and Charles could just call him Benny. Charles was impressed. Benny did suggest at this time that "Charles" was too formal for the public. From then on he was known not as Charles, but as "Charlie Christian."75
D. Russell Connor, author of two bio-discographies entitled B.G. off the record and BG on the Record, also agrees that Charles did interest Benny very much, especially as a musician. He wrote in 1978:
I think it quite likely it is true...that Charlie was someone special to Benny. Benny realized that Charlie was young and unsophisticated when he first joined the band. In addition to that, Benny recognized (and said at the time) that Charlie's was a great and unique talent; and no one respects talent more than Benny Goodman.76
In fact, Benny apparently liked Charles, and Charles liked Benny. He told his family he had "never met a more down to earth person." Benny always had a good word for Charlie, while at the same time he watched out for Charlie. Because of Charles' inexperience Benny kept an eye on him and when they played engagements on the road Goodman would ask Charles to stay with him in his room. Within weeks of their initial meeting Charlie Christian was incorporated into the Goodman program. His duties were to be vital to the new Benny Goodman Sextet, Goodman's feature group.77 In contrast to this, Charles was not obscured in his orchestra. Charles' position was right at the front, just as John Hammond had hoped.
The rest of Goodman's performances and records featured the orchestra. But Charles played here only occasionally since Goodman had two other guitarists. The guitar chair here was held by either Arnold Covarrubias or Mike Bryan. The Sextet was to perform before the full orchestra's appearance, and between intermission and the second half of the program.78 Charles was definitely new and unique. The electric guitar itself would be presented for the first time to mass audiences across the nation by live radio broadcasts, performances and by record. By being featured with Benny Goodman,79 Charlie was no longer the unknown musician, the legend of the Great Plains. There was probably no quicker road to national exposure than to play with Goodman.
Charles was now making more money than ever before. When he first received his instructions he was amazed by the amount of his paycheck and the short duration of his appearance. His salary was reportedly $150 a week. "Now Charles looked at that and at his salary and said, `Well good! But this can't last.'"80
Every check that Charles received, his family received part of it. Times were still not easy for the black community in Oklahoma City. Charles wanted badly to help his family. What he wanted most to be done with his new-found wealth was to buy a house for his grandmother. But the area of town Charles decided on was too far from downtown. His grandmother wanted to be closer to the city. This problem plus Charles' unexpected illness laid these plans to rest. "But Charlie, he went from one good thing to another."81
The band left California not long after Charles joined the organization. They were playing engagements while also doing a weekly performance for the "Camel Caravan" show. Charles flew to Atlantic City, Detroit, and then on to the New York World's Fair on September 6. Charles gradually became acquainted with others in the Goodman band. During a Camel Caravan broadcast from Detroit on September 2, Benny told the crowd that one of the first numbers he heard performed by Charles was "Stardust" and that he was very impressed. The crowd was then given a glimpse of Charles; and "Stardust" was the only song performed by the Sextet that evening. Recordings of this are available.82
Early in his career with Goodman Charles had a request by mail from his mother. She wanted him to play a song for her. But Charles had to explain to her that he just could not do that, even though they did take some requests from the public.
And he finally answered and told her that the audience was so vast and demanding, he couldn't just single her out because she was his mother. He said, `But I have a piece, regardless of where I am or who I'm playing for, this one particular piece is always dedicated to you from..."Stardust" And he turns loose something in "Stardust" that he don't seem to turn loose in no other record.83
References
2 Clarence Christian, Jr., older brother of Charles, but younger than Edward Christian, personal interview at Clarence Christian's home, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, 7 January, 1978. Present were Clarence Jr., Ella Mae Christian, Kevin and Patty Centlivre and the author.
3. Ibid.
4. Ibid. plus Clarence Christian, Jr., personal interview with Kevin Centlivre and the author at Clarence Christian's home, Oklahoma City, 24 March, 1978.
5. Christian, op. cit., 7 January, 1978.
6. Christian, op. cit., 7 January, 1978 and 24 March, 1978. 
7. Christian, op. cit., 7 January, 1978.
8. Blesh, Combo: USA (New York: Chilton Book Company, 1971), pp. 163-164.
9. Christian, op. cit., 7 January, 1978 and 24 March, 1978.
10 Christian, op. cit., 7 January, 1978.
12 Blesh, Combo: USA, p. 165
13 Jerry Jerome, Sarasota, Florida, letter, 24 March 1978, to the author.
14 Christian, op. cit., 7 January, 1978.
15 Ibid.
16 Ibid.
17 Ibid.
18 Ibid.
19 Ibid.
20 Ibid.
21 Ibid.
22 Ibid.
23 Ibid.
24 Ibid.
25 John Hammond, John Hammond On Record (New York: Ridge Press).
26 Nat Hentoff, "Lester Young," in The Jazz Makers, eds. Nat Shapiro and Nat Hentoff (Westport, connecticut: Greenwood Press Publishers, 1957), p. 247.
27 Christian, op. cit., 7 January and 24 March, 1978.
28 Christian, op. cit., 7 January, 1978.
29 Abe Bolar, musician, bass player, friend of Charles, and a former member of the "Blue Devils," personal interview with Kevin Centlivre and the author at home of clarence Christian, Jr., Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, 18 March, 1978.
30 Jay McShann, bandleader and pianist, personal interview with the author, Paul Gray's Jazz Place, Lawrence, Kansas, December, 1978.
31 Al Avakian and Bob Prince, Charlie Christian with the Benny Goodman Sextet and Orchestra (sound recording) CL 652.
32 Ralph Ellison, "The Charlie Christian Story," in Saturday Review, May 17, 1958, pp. 42, 43, 46.
33 Christian, op. cit., 7 January, 1978.
34 Christian, op. cit., 24 March, 1978.
35 Christian, op. cit., 7 January, 1978.
36 Christian, op. cit., 7 January and 24 March, 1978.
37 Christian, op. cit., 7 January, 1978.
38 Ibid.
39 Mary Osborne, guitarist, telephone interview with the author, September, 1978.
40 Christian, op. cit., 24 March, 1978.
41 Christian, op. cit., 24 March, 1978.
42 Ibid.
43 Christian, op. cit., 7 January, 1978.
44 The Black Dispatch (Oklahoma City), July 1, 1939.
45 Christian, op. cit., 7 January, 1978.
47 John Hammond, "Random Notes on the Spirituals to Swing Recordings" from the liner notes of From Spirituals to Swing, VSD 47/48 (record).
48 The Black Dispatch (Oklahoma City), July 1 and 8, 1939.
49 Mary Lou Williams, pianist, telephone interview with the author, 31 August, 1978.
50 Hammond, John Hammond On Record, p. 223.
51 Ibid.
52 Ibid.
53 Christian, op. cit., 7 January, 1978.
54 Ibid.
55 Ibid.
56 Hammond, John Hammond On Record, p. 224-25.
57 Christian, op. cit., 7 January, 1978.
58 Ibid.
59 The Black Dispatch (Oklahoma City), 19 August, 1939.
66 Hammond, John Hammond on Record, p. 225.
67 Hammond, John Hammond on Record, p. 226.
68 Ibid.
69 Christian, op. cit., 7 January, 1978.
70 Hammond, John Hammond on Record, p. 226.
71 Hammond, John Hammond on Record, p. 226.
72 Christian, op. cit., 7 January, 1978.
73 Bill Simon, "Charlie Christian," in The Jazz Makers, eds. Nat Shapiro and Nat Hentoff (Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press Publishers, 1957), p. 323.
74 Christian, op. cit., 7 January, 1978.
75 Ibid.
76 D. Russell Connor, Philadelphia, PA., letter to the author in return for letter mailed to Benny Goodman, 27 March, 1978.
77 Christian, op. cit., 7 January, 1978.
78 Ibid.
79 Tom and Mary Evans, Guitars: Music, History, Construction and Players (New York: Paddington Press Ltd., 1977) p. 389.
80 Christian, op. cit., 7 January, 1978.
81 Ibid.
82 D. Russell Connor and Warren W. Hicks, BG On the Record (New York: Arlington House, 1969) pp. 259-260.
83 Christian, op. cit., 7 January, 1978.
60 Christian, op. cit., 7 January, 1978.
61 Ibid.
62 Ibid.
63 Ibid.
64 Ibid.
65 Ibid.
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