Charles Brown
b. 13 September 1922, Texas City, Texas, USA. Despite learning piano while a child, Brown became a teacher of chemistry. In 1943, living in Los Angeles, he realized that he could earn more money working as a pianist-singer. At that time, the top small group in Los Angeles was the Nat King Cole Trio, but when Cole moved on, the Three Blazers, led by Johnny Moore (guitarist brother of Oscar Moore ) and whom Brown had just joined, moved into the top spot. By 1946 the band was a national favourite, with hit records, including Driftin' Blues, and appearances at New York's Apollo Theatre. In 1948 the group broke up although Moore continued to lead a band with the same name. Brown was now on his own and virtually unknown as a solo performer. In the early '50s a string of successful records, many featuring his own compositions, boosted his career. Additionally, his work was recorded by such artists as B.B. King, Ray Charles, Sam Cooke, Amos Milburn and Fats Domino, with whom Brown recorded I'll Always Be In Love With You and Please Believe Me. He was heavily influenced by Robert Johnson, Louis Jordan, and especially by Pha Terrell, the singer with the Andy Kirk band. Brown's singing evolved into a highly melodic ballad style which still showed signs of his blues roots. He aptly defined himself as a ‘blue ballad singer’. In a sense he has the velvety sound of Cole, encrusted with the tough cynicism of Leroy Carr and Lonnie Johnson. Unlike Cole, Brown's star waned, although he had successful records with songs such as Christmas Comes But Once A Year. One follower was Ray Charles, who, early in his career, modelled his singing on an amalgam of Brown and Cole's style. By the end of the '60s Brown was working in comparative obscurity at Los Angeles nightspots. An appearance at the 1976 San Francisco Blues Festival boosted his reputation, but his pattern remained pretty much unaltered into the '80s and early '90s. He can still be found constantly touring the US and Europe, providing superb live entertainment, backed by outstanding guitar player/musical director Danny Caron.