Biography of Charlie Rich

It is doubtful that any artist in the All Music Guide presents more of a challenge to pigeonhole than Charlie Rich. Rich, who would have initially been happy arranging and playing piano for Stan Kenton's band, spent his first professional years in the late '50s as a singer, songwriter, and session pianist at Sun Records. His gospel-rock hit "Lonely Weekends" (1960) remains a classic of the genre. Following Sun, Rich moved to RCA where he recorded persuasively in a variety of styles ranging from country to blues and pop/jazz. If you can survive "River Stay Away from My Door," you're probably immune to Rich's brand of hybrid soul. He next recorded two highly acclaimed R&B albums for Smash, which included the hit single "Mohair Sam" (1965). A brief tenure with the Memphis Hi label yielded, among other things, some startlingly good White soul music. It wasn't until Rich joined forces with Sun alumnus Billy Sherrill at Epic Records that country hits like "Behind Closed Doors" (1973) started to occur. But, a procession of albums for Epic and UA became increasingly formulaic and tepid, until Rich was virtually phoning in his vocals and all but his bedrock fans had departed.Charlie Rich currently lives in semi-obscurity in Memphis. Periodic rumors surface about a definitive Charlie Rich album worthy of his talent. The man has never been captured at his soulful, hybrid best for an entire album, although there are glimpses here and there, and they are stunning to say the least.Charlie Rich epitomizes Memphis music. His roots stretch across racial boundaries and genres in a totally unselfconscious way. When his voice and piano are on, there is no finer and more impassioned Memphis artist. Whether the music is country, soul, R&B, or jazz is strictly academic.The listener who has never sampled beyond Rich's slick country hits is strongly encouraged to dig more deeply into the early roots of this formidable and reclusive talent. ~ Hank Davis