Charlie Feathers
b. Charles Arthur Feathers, 12 June 1932, Holly Springs, Mississippi, USA. The work of rockabilly legend Feathers becomes more elevated during each revival of interest in the genre. Feathers is now an enigmatic superstar, although in reality his influence totally overshadows his commercial success. His upbringing on a farm, being taught guitar by a cotton picking black bluesman and leaving home to work on an oil field gave Feathers a wealth of material for his compositions. In the early '50s, together with Jody Chastain and Jerry Huffman, he performed as the Musical Warriors. He was an early signing to Sam Phillips’ Sun Records. He recorded his first song Defrost Your Heart in 1955, and claimed to have co-written Elvis Presley's debut Blue Moon Of Kentucky. He did however co-write Presley's first hit I Forgot To Remember To Forget. Over the years he has continued to record for a number of labels, still unable to break through the barrier between ‘cult’ and ‘star’. But among his early rockabilly sides was One Hand Loose on King, regarded by many collectors as one of the finest examples of its kind. His highly applauded performance at London's famous Rainbow theatre in 1977 gave his career a significant boost and brought him a new audience; notably the fans who were following Dave Edmunds and his crusade for ‘rockabilly’. Feathers recent recordings have suffered from the problem of being helped out by younger musicians who are merely in awe of his work and his best material is from the '50s. Influential but spartan, full of whoops and growls but irresistible country/rock, Feathers ‘light comedy’ style has been an ‘invisible influence’ over many decades, from Big Bopper in the '50s to Hank Wangford in the '80s. His 1991 release contained a reworked version of his classic I Forgot To Remember To Forget. He now performs with his son and daughter on guitar and vocals respectively. His best work will endure.