Charlie Rich

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For other people named Charles Rich, see Charles Rich (disambiguation).

Charlie Rich
Rich in 1973
Rich in 1973
Background information
Birth nameCharles Allan Rich
Also known asSilver Fox
Born(1932-12-14)December 14, 1932
Colt, Arkansas, U.S.
DiedJuly 25, 1995(1995-07-25) (aged 62)
Hammond, Louisiana, U.S.
Genres
Occupation(s)Singer-songwriter
Instrument(s)Vocals, piano, guitar
Years active1958–1995
LabelsSun, Phillips, Groove / RCA, Smash Records, Hi Records, Epic, UA, Elektra, Sire
Websitecharlierich.com

Charles Allan Rich (December 14, 1932 – July 25, 1995) was an American country singer. His eclectic style of music also blended influences from rockabilly, jazz, blues, soul, and gospel.[2]

In the later part of his life, Rich acquired the nickname the Silver Fox. He is perhaps best remembered for a pair of 1973 hits, "

Grammy Awards. Rich was inducted into the Memphis Music Hall of Fame in 2015. In 2023, Rolling Stone ranked Rich at number 120 on its list of the 200 Greatest Singers of All Time.[3]

Early life

Rich was born in

Arkansas State College on a football scholarship and then after an injury, transferred to the University of Arkansas as a music major. He left after one semester to join the United States Air Force in 1953.[4]

He married Margaret Ann Greene in 1952. While stationed in

R&B
, and began writing his own material.

Career

After recording some demonstration songs for Sam Phillips at Sun Records that Phillips considered "too jazzy" and insufficiently commercial, Rich was given a stack of Jerry Lee Lewis records and told: "Come back when you get that bad."[4] In a 1992 interview with Fresh Air host Terry Gross, Rich himself recalled Bill Justis telling Rich's wife those words.[6]

In 1958, Rich became a regular session musician for Sun Records, playing on a variety of records by Lewis, Johnny Cash, Bill Justis, Warren Smith, Billy Lee Riley, Carl Mann, and Ray Smith.[4] He also wrote several songs for Lewis, Cash, and others.[4]

After he began recording for the Sun subsidiary

gold disc by the Recording Industry Association of America.[5] None of his seven follow-up singles was a success, however, though several of the songs became staples in his live set, including "Who Will the Next Fool Be", "Sittin' and Thinkin'", and "No Headstone on My Grave".[4] These songs were often recorded by others to varying degrees of success, such as the Bobby Bland
version of "Who Will the Next Fool Be".

"Rich's jazzy chops and heartfelt polish transform

Nat Cole
. Cole was better at it, but I prefer Rich's homely subject matter and rock and roll roots."

–Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies (1981)[7]

Rich's career then stalled and he left the struggling Sun label in 1963, signing with

white soul favorite in the early 1970s.[citation needed
]

Career peak in the 1970s

Despite his lack of consistent commercial success,

RCA Victor's several resident songwriters, Marvin Walters, co-wrote for three years with Rich, producing four recordings including the popular "Set Me Free".[citation needed
]

After "The Most Beautiful Girl," number-one hits came quickly, five songs topping the country charts in 1974 and crossed over to the pop charts:[4] "There Won't Be Anymore" (pop number 18), "A Very Special Love Song" (pop number 11), "I Don't See Me In Your Eyes Anymore" (pop number 47), "I Love My Friend" (pop number 24), and "She Called Me Baby" (pop number 47). Both RCA Records and Mercury Records (Smash was a subsidiary of Mercury that was absorbed into the main company in 1970) also re-released his previously recorded material from the mid-1960s. All of this success led the CMA to name him Entertainer of the Year in 1974.[8] In the same year he performed the Academy Award-nominated theme song "I Feel Love (Benji's Theme)" from the film Benji. Rich had three more top-five hits in 1975, but though he was at the peak of his popularity, he began to drink heavily, causing considerable problems off-stage.[9][10]

CMA awards 1975

Rich's problematic drinking famously culminated at the CMA awards ceremony for 1975,[4] when he presented the award for Entertainer of the Year while visibly intoxicated.[11] After stumbling through the names of the nominees, he clumsily tore open the envelope, took out a cigarette lighter, and lit fire to the paper with the winner's name.[4] He then announced the winner of the award as "My friend Mr. John Denver".[12] Some considered it an act of rebellion against the Music Row-controlled Nashville Sound; others speculated that it was a protest against the award going to Denver, whose music Rich had considered too "pop" and not enough "country".[11] Many, including industry insiders, were outraged, and Rich's popularity took a dive.[4]

In a 2016 interview, former CMA Executive Director Jo Walker-Meador speculated that Rich's drunkenness may have been in part due to resentment over his being shut out of the nominations that year, after his success at the 1974 awards. His son Charlie, Jr., says on his website:

I'll tell you why I thought he did it. #1 He thought it would be funny. He set it up by talking about how the potential winners were probably nervous, as he had been the previous year. #2 Bad judgement. He had recently broken his foot in a freak accident at his home in Memphis. ... So...Due to the pain, he took pain medication the night of the show: Bad idea! Secondly, he and another country star got to drinking gin and tonics while waiting in the dressing room. The show was long, so by the time Dad was supposed to go on, the drinks on top of the medication got him buzzed. ... Primarily he thought it would be funny. I know the last thing my father would have wanted to do was set himself up as judge of another musician. He felt badly that people thought it was a statement against John Denver.[11]

The slump in Rich's career was exacerbated by the fact that his records began to sound increasingly similar: pop-inflected country ballads with

On My Knees", a duet with Janie Fricke.[4]

Decline in activity and semi-retirement

In 1979, Rich had moderate success with his singles, his biggest hit being a version of "

Every Which Way but Loose, performing "I'll Wake You Up When I Get Home".[4] This song hit number three on the country charts in 1979 and was the last top-10 country single of his career. In 1980, he switched labels again to Elektra Records and that fall released a number-12 country single, "A Man Just Don't Know What a Woman Goes Through". One more top-40 hit followed, the Gary Stewart song "Are We Dreamin' the Same Dream" early in 1981. Also in 1981, he had a bit part in the movie Take This Job and Shove It
, which yielded his last charted single, "You Made It Beautiful". Rich decided to remove himself from the spotlight, and for over a decade he lived off his investments in semi-retirement, only playing occasional concerts.

In 1992, Rich emerged from his semi-retirement to release on Sire Records Pictures and Paintings, a jazzy album produced by journalist Peter Guralnick.[4] It received positive critical reviews and restored Rich's reputation as a musician, but it was his last album. In 2016, a tribute album entitled Feel Like Going Home: The Songs of Charlie Rich was released by Memphis International Records.[14] Tom Waits, who was an opening act for Rich in the 1970s, mentions him in the song "Putnam County" from his album Nighthawks at the Diner with the lyric: "The radio's spitting out Charlie Rich... He sure can sing, that son of a bitch."

Death

Charlie Rich and his wife were driving to Florida for a vacation after seeing their son Allan perform with

antibiotics, he continued traveling. They stopped for the night in a motel in Hammond, Louisiana, where Rich died in his sleep on July 25, 1995, at age 62.[16] The cause of death was a pulmonary embolism.[4] He was buried in the Memorial Park Cemetery
in Memphis, Tennessee.

Margaret Rich died in Germantown, Tennessee, on July 22, 2010, at age 76, and was buried alongside her husband. [17]

Discography

Main article: Charlie Rich discography

Awards

Academy of Country Music

American Music Awards

Country Music Association

Grammy Awards

References

  1. ^ Johnny Cash - The Life in Lyrics, page 18
  2. ^ "Charlie Rich Biography, Songs, & Albums". AllMusic. Retrieved July 24, 2023.
  3. ^ "The 200 Greatest Singers of All Time". Rolling Stone. January 1, 2023. Retrieved May 8, 2023.
  4. ^
    ISBN 1-85227-745-9
    .
  5. ^
    ISBN 0-214-20512-6
    .
  6. ^ "Charlie Rich: The Silver Fox With A Big Country Sound". Npr.org. September 6, 2010. Retrieved August 18, 2015.
  7. ISBN 089919026X
    . Retrieved March 10, 2019 – via robertchristgau.com.
  8. ^ "Singer Charlie Rich protests John Denver's big win at the CMA Awards". HISTORY. Retrieved May 24, 2024.
  9. ^ Oliver, Myrna (July 26, 1995). "Charlie Rich; Eclectic Country Singer". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved May 24, 2024.
  10. ^ "Charlie Rich". elpee.jp. Retrieved May 24, 2024.
  11. ^ a b c "The Envelope Burning". Charlie Rich Jr. Retrieved October 12, 2017.
  12. ^ Prachi Gupta (June 13, 2014). "Today in '70s nostalgia: Watch Charlie Rich burn John Denver at the 1975 CMAs". Salon.com. Retrieved August 18, 2015.
  13. ^ "The Greatest Country Hits of 1979". www.severing.nu. Retrieved May 24, 2024.
  14. ^ "Review: Charlie Rich tribute explores legend's Sun years". AP News. October 13, 2016. Retrieved May 24, 2024.
  15. ^ "SOULFUL SILVER FOX – Sun original, country innovator dies". Memphis Commercial Appeal. July 26, 1995.
  16. ^ Stephen Holden (July 26, 1995). "Charlie Rich, 62, 'Silver Fox,' Country Singer and Songwriter". The New York Times.
  17. ^ "MARGARET ANN RICH Obituary (2010) The Commercial Appeal". Legacy.com. Retrieved August 9, 2021.

Other sources

Further reading

  • Escott, Colin. (1997). "Charlie Rich". In The Encyclopedia of Country Music. Paul Kingsbury, Editor. New York: Oxford University Press. pp. 442–43
  • Guralnick, Peter [1971] (1994). Feel Like Going Home: Portraits in Blues & Rock n Roll. New York: HarperCollins.

External links

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