Lightnin’ Charlie Charming music lovers, singing his faith songs
L
egend has it that lightning precedes him wherever he goes, and the rolling thunder that follows is the sweet sound of music. After more than a quarter-century in the music business, “Lightnin’ Charlie” Dolinger is at the top of his craft and celebrating an overflowing cup of good fortune – a packed concert schedule, hot-selling CDs, a highly praised memoir in worldwide distribution, a home studio that allows him to refine his beloved art – his list is long, and growing. Most of all, this American music man gives thanks for a wife who loves him and three healthy children, and the good Lord watching over all of them. He says, simply, “I got my cake and get to eat it too. I’m the luckiest guy you’ll ever see.” Charlie admits he’s worked hard. “You hear this stuff about ‘overnight successes.’ I never knew one. Everybody I know of, or have read about in this business worked hard – very hard. Public notice of their work may have come fairly quickly, but they were all sweating it out to get there a long time before that.” And no one can deny that Charlie has sweat equity in his long and successful career. Amid a full concert schedule, he is writing songs, rehearsing and perfecting his singing and playing, preparing a new
album and teaching himself the modern studio process and the software to make it happen. In his spare time, he writes books and creates his own website. And this 21st-century Renaissance man will headline at the Kingsport Renaissance Center Thursday, March 31 beginning at 7 p.m. “The Roots Revival Tour – An American Music Odyssey” reunites Charlie with his popular band, the Upsetters. Together, they’ll take their audience on “a Journey Through 80 Years of American Music.” The show will open with Charlie on a stool, performing a Jimmie Rodgers song from the 1927 Bristol Sessions, the legendary “big bang” beginning of country music, then go on to showcase blues, jazz, gospel, bluegrass, rhythm and blues, rock ‘n’ roll and soul The journey will feature Charlie on vocals, guitar and piano; Ron Baisden on saxophone; Sam Burke on bass; Chuck Pearson on drums; and Charlie’s wife, Beth, on vocals.
American original” is thrilled that it’s tough to pigeonhole his music. The first time he heard Charlie perform, Levine couldn’t help but notice his prowess with six strings. In Charlie’s hands, a Stratocaster isn’t something to be mauled or manhandled. Rather, he touches his guitar the way Merle Travis’ fingers caressed his Gibson Super 400. Or the way Sonny James’ fingers would effortlessly fly over his big Martin. Or clamping the strings just right, the way Grady Martin did to make The Chord. “There are plenty of guitar slingers out there,” Levine said, but “what a voice.” Live or recorded, a listener never knows exactly what they’re going to get with Charlie. But the music lovers do. ‘What a voice’ They’ll hear a The list of Charlie’s musical influjump-and-boogie ences include Creedence Clearwater riff and a Johnny Revival, the legendary Sam Cooke, Rivers vibrato as the Beatles and one Elvis A. Presley. the tones go mellow “Elvis was the one who made the and low. They’ll impression on me, the singing and hear shades of the the voice. I share that feeling with Big O too, and millions of people even to this day. crisp-as-a-bell leads Whatever that X-factor of commuthat would have nication through music is, he had it. made Roy Orbison Totally. He seemed to be able to com- grin and growl. And municate, to where the listener felt he they’ll hear more than a little of the was singing right to you. I was just master himself, the Elvis of Sun Rebowled over by him.” cords, that once-in-a-lifetime musical Charlie has worked hard to “compurity that no studio could adequately bine several genres of American roots record, let alone hold. music styles – blues, country, rock ‘n’ But that barely scratches the surroll and gospel” – and the man “Har- face. The gentle electricity of Cooke. monica” Todd Levine, the Chicago The almost unrivaled vocal gift of blues harp master, calls “a genuine Marty Robbins. The late-night squall Page Two
of Chicago-baked blues. The rolling Mississippi blues, washing down from Memphis to the sea. Twirl-itas-you-walk-the-bass lines of Isaac Hayes. Mournful-to-glory harmonica accents by Levine that put him micto-mic with the masterful Charlie McCoy. They’re all in there, and more, when Lightnin’ Charlie walks to
center stage. And Charlie has a story about every one of them. He doesn’t mimic their music. He honors it, and makes it his own, his voice helping to keep theirs alive. A ‘ family affair’ According to “Lightnin’ Lore,” Cadillac had just streamlined its famous
Lightnin’ Charlie Charming music lovers, singing his faith songs
L
egend has it that lightning precedes him wherever he goes, and the rolling thunder that follows is the sweet sound of music. After more than a quarter-century in the music business, “Lightnin’ Charlie” Dolinger is at the top of his craft and celebrating an overflowing cup of good fortune – a packed concert schedule, hot-selling CDs, a highly praised memoir in worldwide distribution, a home studio that allows him to refine his beloved art – his list is long, and growing. Most of all, this American music man gives thanks for a wife who loves him and three healthy children, and the good Lord watching over all of them. He says, simply, “I got my cake and get to eat it too. I’m the luckiest guy you’ll ever see.” Charlie admits he’s worked hard. “You hear this stuff about ‘overnight successes.’ I never knew one. Everybody I know of, or have read about in this business worked hard – very hard. Public notice of their work may have come fairly quickly, but they were all sweating it out to get there a long time before that.” And no one can deny that Charlie has sweat equity in his long and successful career. Amid a full concert schedule, he is writing songs, rehearsing and perfecting his singing and playing, preparing a new
album and teaching himself the modern studio process and the software to make it happen. In his spare time, he writes books and creates his own website. And this 21st-century Renaissance man will headline at the Kingsport Renaissance Center Thursday, March 31 beginning at 7 p.m. “The Roots Revival Tour – An American Music Odyssey” reunites Charlie with his popular band, the Upsetters. Together, they’ll take their audience on “a Journey Through 80 Years of American Music.” The show will open with Charlie on a stool, performing a Jimmie Rodgers song from the 1927 Bristol Sessions, the legendary “big bang” beginning of country music, then go on to showcase blues, jazz, gospel, bluegrass, rhythm and blues, rock ‘n’ roll and soul The journey will feature Charlie on vocals, guitar and piano; Ron Baisden on saxophone; Sam Burke on bass; Chuck Pearson on drums; and Charlie’s wife, Beth, on vocals.
American original” is thrilled that it’s tough to pigeonhole his music. The first time he heard Charlie perform, Levine couldn’t help but notice his prowess with six strings. In Charlie’s hands, a Stratocaster isn’t something to be mauled or manhandled. Rather, he touches his guitar the way Merle Travis’ fingers caressed his Gibson Super 400. Or the way Sonny James’ fingers would effortlessly fly over his big Martin. Or clamping the strings just right, the way Grady Martin did to make The Chord. “There are plenty of guitar slingers out there,” Levine said, but “what a voice.” Live or recorded, a listener never knows exactly what they’re going to get with Charlie. But the music lovers do. ‘What a voice’ They’ll hear a The list of Charlie’s musical influjump-and-boogie ences include Creedence Clearwater riff and a Johnny Revival, the legendary Sam Cooke, Rivers vibrato as the Beatles and one Elvis A. Presley. the tones go mellow “Elvis was the one who made the and low. They’ll impression on me, the singing and hear shades of the the voice. I share that feeling with Big O too, and millions of people even to this day. crisp-as-a-bell leads Whatever that X-factor of commuthat would have nication through music is, he had it. made Roy Orbison Totally. He seemed to be able to com- grin and growl. And municate, to where the listener felt he they’ll hear more than a little of the was singing right to you. I was just master himself, the Elvis of Sun Rebowled over by him.” cords, that once-in-a-lifetime musical Charlie has worked hard to “compurity that no studio could adequately bine several genres of American roots record, let alone hold. music styles – blues, country, rock ‘n’ But that barely scratches the surroll and gospel” – and the man “Har- face. The gentle electricity of Cooke. monica” Todd Levine, the Chicago The almost unrivaled vocal gift of blues harp master, calls “a genuine Marty Robbins. The late-night squall Page Two
of Chicago-baked blues. The rolling Mississippi blues, washing down from Memphis to the sea. Twirl-itas-you-walk-the-bass lines of Isaac Hayes. Mournful-to-glory harmonica accents by Levine that put him micto-mic with the masterful Charlie McCoy. They’re all in there, and more, when Lightnin’ Charlie walks to
center stage. And Charlie has a story about every one of them. He doesn’t mimic their music. He honors it, and makes it his own, his voice helping to keep theirs alive. A ‘ family affair’ According to “Lightnin’ Lore,” Cadillac had just streamlined its famous
tailfins and made power windows standard when Charlie children of the ‘50s – we played ‘Name That Tune’ all the was born in Miami, “just about nine months after lighttime. ning struck the steeple of a church where a small wedding “I didn’t go out on dates. I’m there hanging out, playwas taking place.” ing cards with my uncles. Well, that means you’re going It simply had to be. His mother, Barbara Ann, played to grow up to be an artist, or a sociopath. But I repeat the piano and had toured extensively as a child evangelist myself,” he smiles, and chuckles. “But I was receiving an – she had her own radio show by age 11. His father, Sideducation that was going to serve me later.” ney, was a restauReaching rateur who loved an important to sing. It was milepost on his from his hands journey, Charlie that young Chargraduated from lie – then known high school and as Chip – took his lost his beloved first guitar when father to cancer. he was 9. He decided to “The first music head for the hills that really made an of his mother’s impression on me, native Tennessee. peering over the “If I had been top of my grandlike any other mother’s blondkid, it wouldn’t colored Magnavox have made sense console as the 45 for me to leave spun round and Miami. It’s still round was Jewel a mystery why I Akens’ ‘Let Me did it, but I was Tell You ‘Bout bound and deterthe Birds and the mined to come Bees.’ to Tennessee. I “My mother was led, and I’ve played the piano never been as and my father had sure of anything a nice voice, and before or since.” he sang around the Charlie came house. When she’d to East Tennessee have a neighbor State Univeror friend over for sity in 1979. “I dinner, sometimes never considered they’d get me out music as a career. Lightnin’ Charlie at the Cranberry Thistle in Jonesborough. to ‘entertain.’ So I was never in here I would come any bands, never out – you can see me standing there at age 3, singing played with anyone else. I came here to be a doctor. I was Dean Martin’s ‘Standing on the Corner,’ mimicking all very idealistic. I wanted to help people, heal them, ministhe gestures and slurs Dean did with his martini glass in ter to them as a doctor. That lasted about two years, until hand.” I came to the realization that I didn’t want to be in school It comes as no accident that Charlie is a walking encyfor 10 more years.” clopedia of music. “I loved music. I immersed myself in Charlie gravitated to microbiology and computer scimusic. There I was, hanging out with my uncles, and at ence in school, and to the stage in the evenings, becoming my grandmother’s house with my family – they were all a part of the “hard-core Chicago-style blues” band SouthPage Three
side Sheiks. And soon the musical phenomenon Lightnin’ Charlie was born as he broke out on his own, fronting his new band, the Upsetters. “I went to school again – the school of hard knocks – but we were getting noticed, paying those dues.” He traveled to the National Blues Talent Contest in Memphis, where a reviewer wrote that “Lightnin’ Charlie might be the hottest guitarist they’ve ever had. He’s got Stevie Ray Vaughan written all over him.”
And, as Charlie absorbed the knocks of study in his new school, he encountered the woman who would become his life partner and best friend. Beth, his wife of 14 years, and Charlie now are bringing up their own family – Sam, 8; Sidney, 10; and Lily, 15 months – with love, and music. “I tell my children, ‘Find something you love, that you have the passion for, learn to be the best at it, until people will pay you to do it, and you’ll never work a day in your life. I want them to learn, and to enjoy music. A child that learns music, how to play an instrument, excels in every other educational endeavor. “So too with the language. It is a pathway to discipline. Of course, now that we’ve taken language to a whole other level – dropping so far,” he says with a shake of his head. “But I was raised with the parameters that words meant something. You find and use the right words. The same with the discipline of practice for music. You work hard, put your nose to stone, and fail over and over and over. And that’s nothing to be ashamed of. In fact, we should rejoice in it.” The perfect mix Charlie credits the late bassist George Hammonds, who died of a massive heart attack in 2007, with being one of the most important figures in his career. “George was an excellent musician, perfect for me and my style of music. The fact that I have a recording studio in my home, thanks mostly to him, means that I have a marvelous advantage. “If you are going into a recording studio, you are going to have a pathway. You cannot be aimlessly wandering with no destination – when you’re paying for a studio, you’re going to go in with a plan and execute it. But when you have your own space, that changes. “Failure doesn’t even have to be considered. It’s just a click of on the computer keyboard away from being gone, leaving a fresh slate for you to start again.” Charlie says his new gospel record, Trust in God, wouldn’t have happened in a professional recording studio. “There simply is no way to afford the time. But I could do it just because I was able to do these things in my home. George was the catalyst for all that.” Hammonds and Charlie only worked together for a spring and summer, getting the studio set up and organized. “It was a very short time, but we accomplished a lot together. It brought me back to the joy of creating for the sake of creating, and I’ll owe George that on every record I’ll ever make from now on.”
“Charlie and the Upsetters held court for over an hour and nearly burned down the house,” said the Memphis Music Monthly. The Carolina Blues Festival praised his “gutsy vocals, smokin’ guitar and high-energy showmanship.” The sound reached all the way to England, where Blues and Rhythm Magazine wrote that Charlie “imbues every track with the power and instinctive feeling of someone who has a natural rapport with the genre.” Page Four
tailfins and made power windows standard when Charlie children of the ‘50s – we played ‘Name That Tune’ all the was born in Miami, “just about nine months after lighttime. ning struck the steeple of a church where a small wedding “I didn’t go out on dates. I’m there hanging out, playwas taking place.” ing cards with my uncles. Well, that means you’re going It simply had to be. His mother, Barbara Ann, played to grow up to be an artist, or a sociopath. But I repeat the piano and had toured extensively as a child evangelist myself,” he smiles, and chuckles. “But I was receiving an – she had her own radio show by age 11. His father, Sideducation that was going to serve me later.” ney, was a restauReaching rateur who loved an important to sing. It was milepost on his from his hands journey, Charlie that young Chargraduated from lie – then known high school and as Chip – took his lost his beloved first guitar when father to cancer. he was 9. He decided to “The first music head for the hills that really made an of his mother’s impression on me, native Tennessee. peering over the “If I had been top of my grandlike any other mother’s blondkid, it wouldn’t colored Magnavox have made sense console as the 45 for me to leave spun round and Miami. It’s still round was Jewel a mystery why I Akens’ ‘Let Me did it, but I was Tell You ‘Bout bound and deterthe Birds and the mined to come Bees.’ to Tennessee. I “My mother was led, and I’ve played the piano never been as and my father had sure of anything a nice voice, and before or since.” he sang around the Charlie came house. When she’d to East Tennessee have a neighbor State Univeror friend over for sity in 1979. “I dinner, sometimes never considered they’d get me out music as a career. Lightnin’ Charlie at the Cranberry Thistle in Jonesborough. to ‘entertain.’ So I was never in here I would come any bands, never out – you can see me standing there at age 3, singing played with anyone else. I came here to be a doctor. I was Dean Martin’s ‘Standing on the Corner,’ mimicking all very idealistic. I wanted to help people, heal them, ministhe gestures and slurs Dean did with his martini glass in ter to them as a doctor. That lasted about two years, until hand.” I came to the realization that I didn’t want to be in school It comes as no accident that Charlie is a walking encyfor 10 more years.” clopedia of music. “I loved music. I immersed myself in Charlie gravitated to microbiology and computer scimusic. There I was, hanging out with my uncles, and at ence in school, and to the stage in the evenings, becoming my grandmother’s house with my family – they were all a part of the “hard-core Chicago-style blues” band SouthPage Three
side Sheiks. And soon the musical phenomenon Lightnin’ Charlie was born as he broke out on his own, fronting his new band, the Upsetters. “I went to school again – the school of hard knocks – but we were getting noticed, paying those dues.” He traveled to the National Blues Talent Contest in Memphis, where a reviewer wrote that “Lightnin’ Charlie might be the hottest guitarist they’ve ever had. He’s got Stevie Ray Vaughan written all over him.”
And, as Charlie absorbed the knocks of study in his new school, he encountered the woman who would become his life partner and best friend. Beth, his wife of 14 years, and Charlie now are bringing up their own family – Sam, 8; Sidney, 10; and Lily, 15 months – with love, and music. “I tell my children, ‘Find something you love, that you have the passion for, learn to be the best at it, until people will pay you to do it, and you’ll never work a day in your life. I want them to learn, and to enjoy music. A child that learns music, how to play an instrument, excels in every other educational endeavor. “So too with the language. It is a pathway to discipline. Of course, now that we’ve taken language to a whole other level – dropping so far,” he says with a shake of his head. “But I was raised with the parameters that words meant something. You find and use the right words. The same with the discipline of practice for music. You work hard, put your nose to stone, and fail over and over and over. And that’s nothing to be ashamed of. In fact, we should rejoice in it.” The perfect mix Charlie credits the late bassist George Hammonds, who died of a massive heart attack in 2007, with being one of the most important figures in his career. “George was an excellent musician, perfect for me and my style of music. The fact that I have a recording studio in my home, thanks mostly to him, means that I have a marvelous advantage. “If you are going into a recording studio, you are going to have a pathway. You cannot be aimlessly wandering with no destination – when you’re paying for a studio, you’re going to go in with a plan and execute it. But when you have your own space, that changes. “Failure doesn’t even have to be considered. It’s just a click of on the computer keyboard away from being gone, leaving a fresh slate for you to start again.” Charlie says his new gospel record, Trust in God, wouldn’t have happened in a professional recording studio. “There simply is no way to afford the time. But I could do it just because I was able to do these things in my home. George was the catalyst for all that.” Hammonds and Charlie only worked together for a spring and summer, getting the studio set up and organized. “It was a very short time, but we accomplished a lot together. It brought me back to the joy of creating for the sake of creating, and I’ll owe George that on every record I’ll ever make from now on.”
“Charlie and the Upsetters held court for over an hour and nearly burned down the house,” said the Memphis Music Monthly. The Carolina Blues Festival praised his “gutsy vocals, smokin’ guitar and high-energy showmanship.” The sound reached all the way to England, where Blues and Rhythm Magazine wrote that Charlie “imbues every track with the power and instinctive feeling of someone who has a natural rapport with the genre.” Page Four
Power in the pen Songwriter Charlie grew up enchanted by the works of great writers. “As a kid, you wouldn’t necessarily consider Jerome Kern, or Rodgers and Hart, or something. For me, it was Lennon and McCartney.” The powerhouse duo of the Fab Four penned one hit after another for the Beatles, and made young Chip take notice. “I was trying to impress my mother and father, which I continue to do on a daily basis. I went to my room to try and write a song. You know, I can play chords on a guitar and sing all these songs in my bedroom. I’ve conquered that. Now I must climb the songwriting mountain. “I remember going out and playing it, and getting little or no response – a ‘that’s nice,’ or something. I was so hurt by that. I knew the problem must not be with me, it must be with them. They’re just not hearing what I’m doing. “So I went back in and wrote down the lyrics to Paul McCartney’s ‘Yesterday.’ I took it to my mother and father, and they said, ‘that’s really nice,’ and went on with cooking the meal, going through the mail or whatever. “I just shook my head,” Charlie says, the growing laughter almost drowning out his story. “I mean, if they didn’t ‘get’ Lennon-McCartney...” Charlie was convinced he was “not fit nor able to write a gospel song. I can’t even consider myself doing that. I would sit and, finally, a couple of little, simple tunes came, but nothing really worthy. Now, you want to get humble really quickly, just look at the great hymns.” One sad morning, the restless troubadour was up early, awaiting
the funeral of his grandfather-in-law. “I sat down and began to write ‘Harvest Time.’ It came like a poem. It wasn’t even a song. I didn’t even think it could have a melody. “And then I saw the direction I should take. I didn’t have to change the direction of the music I was doing. Rock ‘n’ roll, blues, soul – all had a common ancestor: gospel music, and the church. “I’m not talking about taking a secular song and ‘gospelizing’ it. For example, when Ray Charles is singing ‘I Got A Woman,’ he got that from ‘I Got A Savior.’ He changed the subject from spiritual love to romantic love, and soul music was invented. “I finally had the realization that I could go back to the
Page Five
source. This music I’ve been playing my whole life came from the church.” Perseverance paid off. Charlie has written “probably 20 or so songs that I’ve recorded. I ended up writing about 16 songs for an upcoming gospel album, tentatively entitled Good News.” Also, Songbook, the second volume of the family album series that began with Trust in God, is in the works, featuring folk and secular music by Charlie and his family. A third CD is planned, Live in ‘95, a much-requested live performance of Charlie and the Upsetters. After the initial writing comes what Jim Reeves called “living with a song.” Charlie has lived with his new crop of gospel music, “listening to them again and again. I think they are solid. They’re going to hold up. “Writing any song is a risk for a performer. If the public becomes attached to it, it can be almost like a cross to bear. So often with great performers, the least of their doings is their legacy. “We’ve played these songs in churches. Beth and I have listened to them over and over. It is typical of any artist to think that their most recent work is their best – they’re excited about ‘the new baby.’ But I am convinced it is unquestionably the best work I’ve produced as a songwriter. “I have just been blessed with the floodgates opening. It is just amazing what God will do. Like Moses stammering ‘I c-c-c-can’t go to the P-P-Pharoah, Lord.’ And the Lord replied, ‘Oh, yes, you can.’” Charlie is confident “fans will like it because it sounds like the blues and the rock ‘n’ roll they know. The believer will say it
sounds great because it sounds like the gospel.” He quotes Randy Travis: “I like my feet being on the rock, my name being on the roll.” A New Leaf “Although I had been a Christian – in the sense that I believed that God sent His only Son, resurrected on the third day – at the same time I was living a very worldly life, and lifestyle. “I wasn’t like a guy who was just a wild heathen and then, one day, on the road to Damascus, was struck blind until I came to my senses. The time came that I made a leap of faith and surrendered my lifestyle and my career to the Lord. “In 2005, ironically A New Leaf had just been released. I had been playing in the lounge at a large hotel and convention center in Bristol four hours a night, five nights a week, for four years. It paid the bills and allowed me to get back on my feet, and for that I am grateful. But the gig itself had gotten so bad, what I was having to deal with…” his voice trails off. “I’ve played biker bars, strip clubs, ‘cut-and-stabs’ all over the country. Sometimes it’s an upscale place, and you’d think there’s not going to be any crazy stuff going on here. Of course, in a bar, where there is alcohol and alcoholics, and people doing drugs, all of that is amplified to the point of insanity. “But I was still singing gospel songs and giving testimony of what Jesus Christ had done in my life, onstage, hoping against hope that someone would listen, and hear. “It got to a point where it was just killing me. I had two babies. My wife was working full-time. I was traveling about 90 miles a day. Looking back, I was beaten down. I had done that full-time for 20 years and I just couldn’t do it anymore. I left out of
there on a night in March, never to go back. “When I got home, I told my wife what I had done. You know, in this business, when you say you’re not going to work the bars anymore, that’s akin to a plumber saying he’s not going to work with water anymore. You’re booked months in advance. So I look down and I’ve got a book that’s blank for the rest of the year. I have nothing. But, as usual, she was completely supportive of me. “We said, ‘the same God that puts the stars in the skies can find me a gig, if He wills it.’ If not, I’ll just do something else.” In short order, Charlie played a nursing home in Bris- tol. Soon “one became two, two became four and, in a matter of months, I was playing 20-30 facilities. I had myself a full-time gig playing good music for good people. “At the same time, the album was very good to me. It opened up a new echelon, for booking, and for creating. Not cutting corners and compromising. Talk about a turnaround. That was like the Red Sea parting for me.” Charlie’s new leaf sheltered a blossom that has fully bloomed into an Page Six
astounding 250 shows every year, from festivals to charity work, from concert halls to private parties, and from television to churches. “Now I’m getting the opportunity to occasionally co-host Daytime Tri-Cities. Just look what God has done for me.” His favorite venues are senior centers and nursing homes, “musically mentoring to members of the Great-
est Generation, and trying to make a real difference in the lives of others.” He quotes Frederick Buechner: “You know you’re doing God’s will when your greatest joy and the world’s greatest need meet.” I mean, He gave both the need and the joy to us in the first place, for a reason. “When I go into these senior facilities, they are getting what they need, which isn’t me, but the ministry of
Power in the pen Songwriter Charlie grew up enchanted by the works of great writers. “As a kid, you wouldn’t necessarily consider Jerome Kern, or Rodgers and Hart, or something. For me, it was Lennon and McCartney.” The powerhouse duo of the Fab Four penned one hit after another for the Beatles, and made young Chip take notice. “I was trying to impress my mother and father, which I continue to do on a daily basis. I went to my room to try and write a song. You know, I can play chords on a guitar and sing all these songs in my bedroom. I’ve conquered that. Now I must climb the songwriting mountain. “I remember going out and playing it, and getting little or no response – a ‘that’s nice,’ or something. I was so hurt by that. I knew the problem must not be with me, it must be with them. They’re just not hearing what I’m doing. “So I went back in and wrote down the lyrics to Paul McCartney’s ‘Yesterday.’ I took it to my mother and father, and they said, ‘that’s really nice,’ and went on with cooking the meal, going through the mail or whatever. “I just shook my head,” Charlie says, the growing laughter almost drowning out his story. “I mean, if they didn’t ‘get’ Lennon-McCartney...” Charlie was convinced he was “not fit nor able to write a gospel song. I can’t even consider myself doing that. I would sit and, finally, a couple of little, simple tunes came, but nothing really worthy. Now, you want to get humble really quickly, just look at the great hymns.” One sad morning, the restless troubadour was up early, awaiting
the funeral of his grandfather-in-law. “I sat down and began to write ‘Harvest Time.’ It came like a poem. It wasn’t even a song. I didn’t even think it could have a melody. “And then I saw the direction I should take. I didn’t have to change the direction of the music I was doing. Rock ‘n’ roll, blues, soul – all had a common ancestor: gospel music, and the church. “I’m not talking about taking a secular song and ‘gospelizing’ it. For example, when Ray Charles is singing ‘I Got A Woman,’ he got that from ‘I Got A Savior.’ He changed the subject from spiritual love to romantic love, and soul music was invented. “I finally had the realization that I could go back to the
Page Five
source. This music I’ve been playing my whole life came from the church.” Perseverance paid off. Charlie has written “probably 20 or so songs that I’ve recorded. I ended up writing about 16 songs for an upcoming gospel album, tentatively entitled Good News.” Also, Songbook, the second volume of the family album series that began with Trust in God, is in the works, featuring folk and secular music by Charlie and his family. A third CD is planned, Live in ‘95, a much-requested live performance of Charlie and the Upsetters. After the initial writing comes what Jim Reeves called “living with a song.” Charlie has lived with his new crop of gospel music, “listening to them again and again. I think they are solid. They’re going to hold up. “Writing any song is a risk for a performer. If the public becomes attached to it, it can be almost like a cross to bear. So often with great performers, the least of their doings is their legacy. “We’ve played these songs in churches. Beth and I have listened to them over and over. It is typical of any artist to think that their most recent work is their best – they’re excited about ‘the new baby.’ But I am convinced it is unquestionably the best work I’ve produced as a songwriter. “I have just been blessed with the floodgates opening. It is just amazing what God will do. Like Moses stammering ‘I c-c-c-can’t go to the P-P-Pharoah, Lord.’ And the Lord replied, ‘Oh, yes, you can.’” Charlie is confident “fans will like it because it sounds like the blues and the rock ‘n’ roll they know. The believer will say it
sounds great because it sounds like the gospel.” He quotes Randy Travis: “I like my feet being on the rock, my name being on the roll.” A New Leaf “Although I had been a Christian – in the sense that I believed that God sent His only Son, resurrected on the third day – at the same time I was living a very worldly life, and lifestyle. “I wasn’t like a guy who was just a wild heathen and then, one day, on the road to Damascus, was struck blind until I came to my senses. The time came that I made a leap of faith and surrendered my lifestyle and my career to the Lord. “In 2005, ironically A New Leaf had just been released. I had been playing in the lounge at a large hotel and convention center in Bristol four hours a night, five nights a week, for four years. It paid the bills and allowed me to get back on my feet, and for that I am grateful. But the gig itself had gotten so bad, what I was having to deal with…” his voice trails off. “I’ve played biker bars, strip clubs, ‘cut-and-stabs’ all over the country. Sometimes it’s an upscale place, and you’d think there’s not going to be any crazy stuff going on here. Of course, in a bar, where there is alcohol and alcoholics, and people doing drugs, all of that is amplified to the point of insanity. “But I was still singing gospel songs and giving testimony of what Jesus Christ had done in my life, onstage, hoping against hope that someone would listen, and hear. “It got to a point where it was just killing me. I had two babies. My wife was working full-time. I was traveling about 90 miles a day. Looking back, I was beaten down. I had done that full-time for 20 years and I just couldn’t do it anymore. I left out of
there on a night in March, never to go back. “When I got home, I told my wife what I had done. You know, in this business, when you say you’re not going to work the bars anymore, that’s akin to a plumber saying he’s not going to work with water anymore. You’re booked months in advance. So I look down and I’ve got a book that’s blank for the rest of the year. I have nothing. But, as usual, she was completely supportive of me. “We said, ‘the same God that puts the stars in the skies can find me a gig, if He wills it.’ If not, I’ll just do something else.” In short order, Charlie played a nursing home in Bris- tol. Soon “one became two, two became four and, in a matter of months, I was playing 20-30 facilities. I had myself a full-time gig playing good music for good people. “At the same time, the album was very good to me. It opened up a new echelon, for booking, and for creating. Not cutting corners and compromising. Talk about a turnaround. That was like the Red Sea parting for me.” Charlie’s new leaf sheltered a blossom that has fully bloomed into an Page Six
astounding 250 shows every year, from festivals to charity work, from concert halls to private parties, and from television to churches. “Now I’m getting the opportunity to occasionally co-host Daytime Tri-Cities. Just look what God has done for me.” His favorite venues are senior centers and nursing homes, “musically mentoring to members of the Great-
est Generation, and trying to make a real difference in the lives of others.” He quotes Frederick Buechner: “You know you’re doing God’s will when your greatest joy and the world’s greatest need meet.” I mean, He gave both the need and the joy to us in the first place, for a reason. “When I go into these senior facilities, they are getting what they need, which isn’t me, but the ministry of
music. Those shows are a testament to Proverbs 17:22 – ‘A merry heart doeth good like a medicine.’ I am going to put that verse on the front of the guitar I use in those shows. I see that 4,000-year-old statement ring true daily.” ‘Let go and let God’ The fun-loving, goodtime Charlie has a serious side. “I don’t take any of this for granted because I remember what the old days were like.” The night he learned he was going to be a father, Charlie screwed the cap on his favored Jack Daniel’s bourbon for the last time, never to open it again. “It can be so very difficult for addicts, and addictive personalities, to escape from the clutches of drugs or alcohol, to put away the cigarettes and the bourbon. I know that, and I have great sympathy with those who struggle. “It was not that hard for me. I just made my decision and that was it. The only thing I had to bring to the table was surrender. Now, where I struggle is in remembering to ‘bless those who curse you.’ The sin of pride or moral superiority is dangerous and difficult. “Especially when people throw stones constantly, some of them not knowing, but some of them knowing the truth. I have to deal with that in a way like I think God would want, and that’s very difficult. “I don’t represent just Charlie anymore. I represent the Lord of all lords. I cannot be a stumbling block, because of something I do, or something stupid I say. There is the misconception that Christians set themselves up as superior. Oh, there are those who do but, as a rule, it is not so! Why, they don’t know God if they do.
“Sometimes it is lonely, and hard. We all have our perceptions and burdens.” Charlie said he thinks of the legendary Thomas A. Dorsey, who himself turned from a worldly life to pen some of the most beloved inspirational music ever written. “Dorsey, who coined the term ‘gospel music,’ once said, ‘You’d think, with a man trying to do that work, that the church would do something to try and help him. To encourage him, support him.’ “But the church of that time was
you have no idea how lucky I feel to be here, doing what I love, and having my family be a part of it. “I don’t have to travel all the time, day in and day out. I’m able to be home and tuck my children in bed and kiss my wife goodnight.” To his wife, Charlie dedicated Off The Record – The Trials and Tribulations of a Travelin’ Troubadour, a 328-page oversized paperback filled with rich stories of a musician’s life. He didn’t intend to write a book, rather to keep pace with the times
concerned that some of his music had a beat. And they turned away. How sad that is. But none of that stuff amounts to anything. God is the standard. I always try to remember to tell my audience, ‘if it blesses you, thank the Lord. If it’s awful, blame me.’” He likes to say, “Lightnin’ Charlie is what I do but child of God, husband and father is what I am. “You’ll hear people say, ‘You ought to be in Nashville or New York,’ and they mean that as a compliment. But Page Seven
and offer an anecdotal journal, or weblog for fans – his beloved “Lightnin’ Bugs” – on his internet site. Over time, his series of “rants” grew in popularity and the musician realized that, as he wrote in the introduction: “These stories, my story, are part of the body of Christ, and the Greatest Story Ever Told… I felt that it was my duty, to my Lord, to tell of the horrible and hellish situations I’ve been in, that He’s delivered me from, and show others that He’ll
deliver them too, no matter what their circumstances, if they’ll let go and let God. Through many dangers, toils, and snares, I have already come. And it’s Grace that brought me through.” His tales run the emotional gamut. Levine wrote that Charlie is “painfully honest and tenderly compassionate” and that his book is “laughout-loud funny.” “Through all the adventures, it’s really a testimony – my testimony as a born-again Christian,” Charlie says. Off The Record is now in more than 17,000 bookstores worldwide. There are parts of any career that cause difficulty and even distress. “I saw James Taylor on Charlie Rose’s PBS program. And JT talked about what an ‘unnatural life’ that show business or celebrity life is. He remarked how unnatural it is to be so self-centered, and that ‘normal people’ didn’t live their lives at all this way. “He made the point by say-
ing that the conversation they were having – James Taylor talking about himself – was an unnatural and totally self-centered discussion. I have wrestled with that for my whole career. “For, to be self-promoting, but not boastful is an impossibility. Bob Wills said, ‘I have to be modest – if I told you how good I really am, you’d call me a liar.’ But the rub is if he didn’t tell how great he was, he would be a liar,” Charlie adds the emphasis, “and he would not be true to the ‘product’ that was ‘Bob Wills.’ “You know the Bible says not to boast, but if you must boast, boast on the Lord. Well this is the paradox of being in my situation – the necessity of self-promotion – and the impossibility of doing it with proper humility. “There’s no room for humility when selling a product. It’s got to be the best and there’s no place for ‘aw shucks’ in the realm of promotion or sales of a product. And of course, in this case, the ‘product’ is ‘Lightnin’ Charlie’ and his music. And they are – in the eyes of the public – the same entity. Me and
Page Eight
my music are one and the same.” The humble Florida boy who wanted to become a doctor in order that he might minister to the afflicted has succeeded beyond his wildest dreams, using music to heal and lift souls that will listen. The man who has been, for five straight years, voted “Favorite Artist in the Mountain South” in Marquee Magazine, remains rooted like a tree planted by the water. He returns each first Saturday night to the Cranberry Thistle in Jonesborough, where he once filled in for a no-show. “Just listen to that,” says Thistle owner Nancy Colburn, shaking her head in awe. “How could you not love that? And they do,” she says, gesturing toward the packed house. “Would I change things?” Charlie asks rhetorically. “Sure. All of us would. But I don’t regret that which has made me. It’s all for a reason. And it is suffering that tills the soul’s bed for upward growth.” With that, the troubadour grins broadly, secures his guitar strap and steps onto the stage to the clamor of adoring applause and whistles. And Lightnin’ strikes once more, doing what he was born to do. (Lightnin’ Charlie performs widely, and throughout Northeast Tennessee, including each first Saturday night monthly at the Cranberry Thistle in Jonesborough. For more information about the artist, his recordings and book, or his upcoming concerts, visit his website: www.lightnincharlie.com. Tickets for the “Journey Through 80 Years of American Music” are $10 for adults and $8 for seniors and students, and can be obtained by contacting the Kingsport Cultural Arts Division at 423-3928414 or online at www.kingsportarts. org)
music. Those shows are a testament to Proverbs 17:22 – ‘A merry heart doeth good like a medicine.’ I am going to put that verse on the front of the guitar I use in those shows. I see that 4,000-year-old statement ring true daily.” ‘Let go and let God’ The fun-loving, goodtime Charlie has a serious side. “I don’t take any of this for granted because I remember what the old days were like.” The night he learned he was going to be a father, Charlie screwed the cap on his favored Jack Daniel’s bourbon for the last time, never to open it again. “It can be so very difficult for addicts, and addictive personalities, to escape from the clutches of drugs or alcohol, to put away the cigarettes and the bourbon. I know that, and I have great sympathy with those who struggle. “It was not that hard for me. I just made my decision and that was it. The only thing I had to bring to the table was surrender. Now, where I struggle is in remembering to ‘bless those who curse you.’ The sin of pride or moral superiority is dangerous and difficult. “Especially when people throw stones constantly, some of them not knowing, but some of them knowing the truth. I have to deal with that in a way like I think God would want, and that’s very difficult. “I don’t represent just Charlie anymore. I represent the Lord of all lords. I cannot be a stumbling block, because of something I do, or something stupid I say. There is the misconception that Christians set themselves up as superior. Oh, there are those who do but, as a rule, it is not so! Why, they don’t know God if they do.
“Sometimes it is lonely, and hard. We all have our perceptions and burdens.” Charlie said he thinks of the legendary Thomas A. Dorsey, who himself turned from a worldly life to pen some of the most beloved inspirational music ever written. “Dorsey, who coined the term ‘gospel music,’ once said, ‘You’d think, with a man trying to do that work, that the church would do something to try and help him. To encourage him, support him.’ “But the church of that time was
you have no idea how lucky I feel to be here, doing what I love, and having my family be a part of it. “I don’t have to travel all the time, day in and day out. I’m able to be home and tuck my children in bed and kiss my wife goodnight.” To his wife, Charlie dedicated Off The Record – The Trials and Tribulations of a Travelin’ Troubadour, a 328-page oversized paperback filled with rich stories of a musician’s life. He didn’t intend to write a book, rather to keep pace with the times
concerned that some of his music had a beat. And they turned away. How sad that is. But none of that stuff amounts to anything. God is the standard. I always try to remember to tell my audience, ‘if it blesses you, thank the Lord. If it’s awful, blame me.’” He likes to say, “Lightnin’ Charlie is what I do but child of God, husband and father is what I am. “You’ll hear people say, ‘You ought to be in Nashville or New York,’ and they mean that as a compliment. But Page Seven
and offer an anecdotal journal, or weblog for fans – his beloved “Lightnin’ Bugs” – on his internet site. Over time, his series of “rants” grew in popularity and the musician realized that, as he wrote in the introduction: “These stories, my story, are part of the body of Christ, and the Greatest Story Ever Told… I felt that it was my duty, to my Lord, to tell of the horrible and hellish situations I’ve been in, that He’s delivered me from, and show others that He’ll
deliver them too, no matter what their circumstances, if they’ll let go and let God. Through many dangers, toils, and snares, I have already come. And it’s Grace that brought me through.” His tales run the emotional gamut. Levine wrote that Charlie is “painfully honest and tenderly compassionate” and that his book is “laughout-loud funny.” “Through all the adventures, it’s really a testimony – my testimony as a born-again Christian,” Charlie says. Off The Record is now in more than 17,000 bookstores worldwide. There are parts of any career that cause difficulty and even distress. “I saw James Taylor on Charlie Rose’s PBS program. And JT talked about what an ‘unnatural life’ that show business or celebrity life is. He remarked how unnatural it is to be so self-centered, and that ‘normal people’ didn’t live their lives at all this way. “He made the point by say-
ing that the conversation they were having – James Taylor talking about himself – was an unnatural and totally self-centered discussion. I have wrestled with that for my whole career. “For, to be self-promoting, but not boastful is an impossibility. Bob Wills said, ‘I have to be modest – if I told you how good I really am, you’d call me a liar.’ But the rub is if he didn’t tell how great he was, he would be a liar,” Charlie adds the emphasis, “and he would not be true to the ‘product’ that was ‘Bob Wills.’ “You know the Bible says not to boast, but if you must boast, boast on the Lord. Well this is the paradox of being in my situation – the necessity of self-promotion – and the impossibility of doing it with proper humility. “There’s no room for humility when selling a product. It’s got to be the best and there’s no place for ‘aw shucks’ in the realm of promotion or sales of a product. And of course, in this case, the ‘product’ is ‘Lightnin’ Charlie’ and his music. And they are – in the eyes of the public – the same entity. Me and
Page Eight
my music are one and the same.” The humble Florida boy who wanted to become a doctor in order that he might minister to the afflicted has succeeded beyond his wildest dreams, using music to heal and lift souls that will listen. The man who has been, for five straight years, voted “Favorite Artist in the Mountain South” in Marquee Magazine, remains rooted like a tree planted by the water. He returns each first Saturday night to the Cranberry Thistle in Jonesborough, where he once filled in for a no-show. “Just listen to that,” says Thistle owner Nancy Colburn, shaking her head in awe. “How could you not love that? And they do,” she says, gesturing toward the packed house. “Would I change things?” Charlie asks rhetorically. “Sure. All of us would. But I don’t regret that which has made me. It’s all for a reason. And it is suffering that tills the soul’s bed for upward growth.” With that, the troubadour grins broadly, secures his guitar strap and steps onto the stage to the clamor of adoring applause and whistles. And Lightnin’ strikes once more, doing what he was born to do. (Lightnin’ Charlie performs widely, and throughout Northeast Tennessee, including each first Saturday night monthly at the Cranberry Thistle in Jonesborough. For more information about the artist, his recordings and book, or his upcoming concerts, visit his website: www.lightnincharlie.com. Tickets for the “Journey Through 80 Years of American Music” are $10 for adults and $8 for seniors and students, and can be obtained by contacting the Kingsport Cultural Arts Division at 423-3928414 or online at www.kingsportarts. org)