Charlie Rich: 1932 - 1995

As I write this, I am listening to one of my lifetime favorite artists, Charlie Rich. Charlie and I go way back to the earliest days of my musical awakening.

I'm guessing I was around 10 or 11 years of age, and the year was 1972-73. My parents were devoted country music fans. The media of the day was the 8-track tape or the LP record, both of which have gone the way of the dinosaur. I began to show interest in their music collection, which happened to contain a good-sized helping of Charlie Rich. In 1973, Charlie was climbing to the zenith of his popularity. "Behind Closed Doors" was released in '73. He won a Grammy in 1974 for the single, "Behind Closed Doors", as well as three different awards that year from the Country Music Association for that same album.

Charlie quickly rose to the top as one of my favorites. Many have agreed about how his music is difficult to classify. Granted, his popularity was in the country realm, but he could have, at times, just as easily been classified as jazz, blues or even rock. His popular songs tended to cross charts, appealing to a broad section of folks. It was around this same time, I saw Charlie Rich perform at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo (either '74 or '75--he was there both years). Within a couple of years, Charlie had fallen from the top of my play list. I discovered rock music at about this time, precisely in the form of the Beatles and later Paul McCartney's solo work and his follow-up group, Wings.

Fast forward about 25 years: I read an article about Charlie in a magazine that I cannot recall by name at this time. The message I remember though. The writer talked glowingly about Charlie's career. He talked about how that Charlie, in spite of his season of popularity, was for the most part under appreciated for the talent he had. He also told about how he died in 1995 from a blood clot in his lung, having lived the latter years of his life out of the public eye for the most part. I remember being smitten with grief  when I learned of Charlie's passing.

It's hard for me to believe how intense an emotional reaction can be at the death of someone you never really knew and only appreciated from a distance. I have also felt the same for Warren Zevon, Bob Hope and Linda McCartney. I suppose it's just sorrow at the death of someone you admired for their talent or someone who played a part in your formative years. Surprisingly enough, I didn't feel this sense of loss when John Lennon died.
 
In recent years, I've reacquainted myself with Charlie's work. I have one "Greatest Hits" CD, but the best is the anthology referenced above, "Feel Like Going Home: The Essential Charlie Rich." It's chock full of great stuff and really showcases how talented a musician, vocalist and songwriter Charlie Rich was.