Editing Charlie Rich

{{Short description|American country singer (1932–1995)}}
{{Other people|Charles Rich}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2023}}
{{Infobox musical artist
| name            = Charlie Rich
| image           = Charlie Rich 1973.JPG
| caption         = Rich in 1973
| birth_name      = Charles Allan Rich
| alias           = Silver Fox
| birth_date      = {{birth date|1932|12|14}}
| birth_place     = [[Colt, Arkansas]], U.S.
| death_date      = {{death date and age|1995|7|25|1932|12|14}}
| death_place     = [[Hammond, Louisiana]], U.S.
| origin          =
| instrument      = Vocals, piano, guitar
| genre           = {{hlist|[[Country music|Country]]|[[rockabilly]]<ref>Johnny Cash - The Life in Lyrics, page 18</ref>}}
| occupation      = Singer-songwriter
| years_active    = 1958–1995
| label           = [[Sun Records|Sun]], [[Phillips International Records|Phillips]], [[Groove Records|Groove]] / [[RCA Records|RCA]], [[Smash Records]], [[Hi Records]], [[Epic Records|Epic]], [[United Artists Records|UA]], [[Elektra Records|Elektra]], [[Sire Records|Sire]]
| associated_acts = [[Roger Miller]], [[Janie Fricke]]
| website         = {{URL|charlierich.com}}
}}
'''Charles Allan Rich''' (December 14, 1932{{spaced ndash}}July 25, 1995) was an American [[Country music|country]] singer. His eclectic style of music also blended influences from [[rockabilly]], [[jazz]], [[blues]], [[soul music|soul]], and [[gospel music|gospel]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Charlie Rich Biography, Songs, & Albums |url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/charlie-rich-mn0000179730/biography |access-date=July 24, 2023 |website=[[AllMusic]]}}</ref>

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, "[[Behind Closed Doors (Charlie Rich song)|Behind Closed Doors]]" and "[[The Most Beautiful Girl]]", which topped the U.S. country singles charts as well as the [[Billboard Hot 100|''Billboard'' Hot 100]] pop singles charts and earned him two [[Grammy Award]]s. 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.<ref>{{Cite magazine|date=January 1, 2023|title=The 200 Greatest Singers of All Time|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/best-singers-all-time-1234642307/charlie-rich-5-1234642998/|access-date=May 8, 2023|magazine=Rolling Stone|language=en-US}}</ref>

==Early life==
Rich was born in [[Colt, Arkansas|Colt]], Arkansas, to rural cotton farmers.<ref name="Larkin">{{cite book |title=[[Encyclopedia of Popular Music|The Virgin Encyclopedia of Popular Music]] |date=1997 |publisher=[[Virgin Books]] |isbn=1-85227-745-9 |editor=Colin Larkin |editor-link=Colin Larkin (writer) |edition=Concise |pages=1010/1}}</ref> He graduated from Consolidated High School in [[Forrest City]], where he played saxophone in the band. He was strongly influenced by his parents, who were members of the Landmark Missionary Baptist Church; his mother, Helen Rich, played piano in church and his father sang in gospel quartets. A black sharecropper on the family land named C. J. Allen taught Rich blues piano. He enrolled at [[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.<ref name="Larkin"/>

He married Margaret Ann Greene in 1952. While stationed in [[Enid, Oklahoma|Enid]], Oklahoma, he formed "the Velvetones", playing jazz and blues and featuring his wife on vocals.<ref name="The Book of Golden Discs"/> When he left the military in 1956, the couple returned to the West Memphis area to farm 500 acres. He also began performing in clubs around the [[Memphis, Tennessee|Memphis]] area, playing both jazz and [[Rhythm and blues|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."<ref name="Larkin"/> In a 1992 interview with ''[[Fresh Air]]'' host [[Terry Gross]], Rich himself recalled [[Bill Justis]] telling Rich's wife those words.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.npr.org/templates/transcript/transcript.php?storyId=129612715 |title=Charlie Rich: The Silver Fox With A Big Country Sound |publisher=Npr.org |date=September 6, 2010 |access-date=August 18, 2015}}</ref>

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 (singer)|Warren Smith]], [[Billy Lee Riley]], [[Carl Mann]], and [[Ray Smith (rockabilly singer)|Ray Smith]].<ref name="Larkin"/> He also wrote several songs for Lewis, Cash, and others.<ref name="Larkin"/>

After he began recording for the Sun subsidiary [[Phillips International Records]], his third single was the 1960 Top 30 hit "Lonely Weekends",<ref name="Larkin"/> with [[Elvis Presley|Presley]]-like vocals. It sold more than one million copies and was awarded a [[music recording sales certification|gold disc]] by the [[Recording Industry Association of America]].<ref name="The Book of Golden Discs">{{cite book| first= Joseph| last= Murrells| year= 1978| title= The Book of Golden Discs| edition= 2nd| publisher= Barrie and Jenkins Ltd| location= London| page= [https://archive.org/details/bookofgoldendisc00murr/page/128 128]| isbn= 0-214-20512-6| url-access= registration| url= https://archive.org/details/bookofgoldendisc00murr/page/128}}</ref> 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".<ref name="Larkin"/> 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".

{{quote box|quote="Rich's jazzy chops and heartfelt polish transform [[Nashville sound|Nashville]]'s best [[wikt:schmaltz|chicken fat]] into high-quality mainstream pop—Arkansas's answer to [[Nat Cole]]. Cole was better at it, but I prefer Rich's homely subject matter and rock and roll roots."|source=–''[[Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies]]'' (1981)<ref name="CG">{{cite book|last=Christgau|first=Robert|author-link=Robert Christgau|year=1981|title=[[Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies]]|publisher=[[Ticknor & Fields]]|isbn=089919026X|chapter=Consumer Guide '70s: R|chapter-url=https://www.robertchristgau.com/get_chap.php?k=R&bk=70|access-date=March 10, 2019|via=robertchristgau.com}}</ref>|width=23%|align=right|style=padding:8px;}}

Rich's career then stalled and he left the struggling Sun label in 1963, signing with [[Groove Records|Groove]], a subsidiary of [[RCA Victor]].<ref name="Larkin"/> His first single for Groove, "Big Boss Man", was a minor hit, but once again, his [[Chet Atkins]]-produced follow-up records all failed. In 1965 he moved to [[Smash Records]], where his new producer, [[Jerry Kennedy]], encouraged him to emphasize his country and rock n' roll leanings, although Rich considered himself a jazz pianist and had not paid much attention to country music since childhood.<ref name="Larkin"/> His first single for Smash was "Mohair Sam", an R&B-inflected [[Novelty song|novelty]]-rock number written by [[Dallas Frazier]], which became a top 30 pop hit. It has been mentioned in thousands of articles as the song Elvis Presley   played on his jukebox during the Beatles' visit to his home on August 26, 1965. However, once more none of his follow-up singles were successful. Rich again changed labels, moving to [[Hi Records]], where he recorded [[blue-eyed soul]] music and straight country, but once more, none of his singles for Hi made a dent on the country or pop charts. One Hi Records track, "Love Is After Me" (1966), belatedly became a [[white soul]] favorite in the early 1970s.{{citation needed|date=May 2022}}

===Career peak in the 1970s===
Despite his lack of consistent commercial success, [[Epic Records]] signed Rich in 1967, mainly on the recommendation of producer [[Billy Sherrill]].<ref name="Larkin"/> Sherrill helped Rich refashion himself as a [[Nashville sound]] balladeer during an era when old rock 'n' roll artists like Jerry Lee Lewis and [[Conway Twitty]] were finding a new musical home in the country format. This new "[[countrypolitan]]" Rich sound paid off in the summer of 1972, when "I Take It on Home" went to number six on the country charts.<ref name="Larkin"/> The title track from his 1973 album ''Behind Closed Doors'' became a number-one country hit early in that year, then crossed over into the top 20 on the pop charts.<ref name="Larkin"/> This time, his follow-up single did not disappoint, as "[[The Most Beautiful Girl]]" spent three weeks at the top of the country charts and two weeks at the top of the pop charts.<ref name="Larkin"/> Now that he was established as a country music star, ''Behind Closed Doors'' won three awards from the [[Country Music Association]] that year: Best Male Vocalist, Album of the Year, and Single of the Year. The album was also certified [[Music recording sales certification|gold]]. Rich won a [[Grammy Award]] for Best Male Country Vocal Performance, and he took home four [[Academy of Country Music]] awards. One of [[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|date=May 2022}}

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:<ref name="Larkin"/> "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.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Singer Charlie Rich protests John Denver's big win at the CMA Awards |url=https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/singer-charlie-rich-protests-john-denvers-big-win-at-the-cma-awards |access-date=2024-05-24 |website=HISTORY |language=en}}</ref> In the same year he performed the Academy Award-nominated theme song "I Feel Love (Benji's Theme)" from the film ''[[Benji (1974 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.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Oliver |first=Myrna |date=1995-07-26 |title=Charlie Rich; Eclectic Country Singer |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1995-07-26-mn-27997-story.html |access-date=2024-05-24 |website=Los Angeles Times |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Charlie Rich |url=https://elpee.jp/artist/Charlie%20Rich/ |access-date=2024-05-24 |website=elpee.jp |language=en}}</ref>

==== CMA awards 1975 ====
Rich's problematic drinking famously culminated at the CMA awards ceremony for 1975,<ref name="Larkin"/> when he presented the award for Entertainer of the Year while visibly intoxicated.<ref name="charlierichjr.com" /> 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.<ref name="Larkin"/> He then announced the winner of the award as "My friend Mr. [[John Denver]]".<ref>{{cite web|author=Prachi Gupta |url=http://www.salon.com/2014/06/13/today_in_70s_nostalgia_watch_a_charlie_rich_burn_john_denver_at_the_1975_cmas/ |title=Today in '70s nostalgia: Watch Charlie Rich burn John Denver at the 1975 CMAs |work=Salon.com |date=June 13, 2014 |access-date=August 18, 2015}}</ref> 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".<ref name="charlierichjr.com" /> Many, including industry insiders, were outraged, and Rich's popularity took a dive.<ref name="Larkin"/>  <!-- Removed this as conflicting with following sections; perhaps this was his only subsequent top 10 *pop* single?: recording just one more top ten single with "Since I Fell for You" -->

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:<blockquote>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.&nbsp;... 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.&nbsp;... 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.<ref name="charlierichjr.com">{{cite web|url=http://www.charlierichjr.com/controversy/the_envelope_burning/ |title=The Envelope Burning |publisher=Charlie Rich Jr. |access-date=October 12, 2017}}</ref></blockquote>

The slump in Rich's career was exacerbated by the fact that his records began to sound increasingly similar: pop-inflected country ballads with [[overdub]]bed [[string instruments|strings]] and little jazz or blues. He did not have a top-10 hit again until "[[Rollin' With the Flow]]" went to number one on the country charts (as well as number 32 on the easy listening charts) in 1977.<ref name="Larkin"/> Early the following year, in 1978, he signed with [[United Artists Records]], and throughout that year, he had hits on both Epic and UA. His hits in 1978 included the top-10 hits "Beautiful Woman", "Puttin' In Overtime At Home", and his last number one with "[[On My Knees (1978 song)|On My Knees]]", a duet with [[Janie Fricke]].<ref name="Larkin"/>

===Decline in activity and semi-retirement===
{{More citations needed section|date=May 2022}}
In 1979, Rich had moderate success with his singles, his biggest hit being a version of "[[Spanish Eyes (1965 song)|Spanish Eyes]]" that entered the country top 20.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Greatest Country Hits of 1979 |url=http://www.severing.nu/music/c1979.html |access-date=2024-05-24 |website=www.severing.nu}}</ref> He appeared as himself in the 1978 [[Clint Eastwood]] movie ''[[Every Which Way but Loose (film)|Every Which Way but Loose]]'', performing "I'll Wake You Up When I Get Home".<ref name="Larkin"/> 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 (singer)|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 (film)|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]].<ref name="Larkin"/> 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.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2016-10-13 |title=Review: Charlie Rich tribute explores legend's Sun years |url=https://apnews.com/charlie-rich-tribute-music-abb293147541410494c0543a81c3ba08 |access-date=2024-05-24 |website=AP News |language=en}}</ref>  [[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 [[Freddy Fender]] at Lady Luck Casino in [[Natchez, Mississippi|Natchez]], Mississippi, when he experienced a bout of severe coughing.<ref>{{cite news|title=SOULFUL SILVER FOX – Sun original, country innovator dies|publisher=Memphis Commercial Appeal|date=July 26, 1995|ref=1}}</ref> After visiting a doctor in [[St. Francisville, Louisiana|St. Francisville]], Louisiana, and receiving [[antibiotics]], he continued traveling. They stopped for the night in a motel in [[Hammond, Louisiana|Hammond]], Louisiana, where Rich died in his sleep on July 25, 1995, at age 62.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1995/07/26/obituaries/charlie-rich-62-silver-fox-country-singer-and-songwriter.html|title=Charlie Rich, 62, 'Silver Fox,' Country Singer and Songwriter|author=Stephen Holden|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=July 26, 1995}}</ref> The cause of death was a [[pulmonary embolism]].<ref name="Larkin"/> He was buried in the [[Memorial Park Cemetery (Memphis, Tennessee)|Memorial Park Cemetery]] in Memphis, Tennessee.

Margaret Rich died in [[Germantown, Tennessee|Germantown]], Tennessee, on July 22, 2010, at age 76, and was buried alongside her husband. <ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/commercialappeal/name/margaret-rich-obituary?pid=144231546|title=MARGARET ANN RICH Obituary (2010) The Commercial Appeal|website=Legacy.com|access-date=August 9, 2021}}</ref>

==Discography==
{{main|Charlie Rich discography}}

==Awards==
'''[[Academy of Country Music]]'''
*[[Academy of Country Music|1973 Album of the Year]] – ''[[Behind Closed Doors (Charlie Rich album)|Behind Closed Doors]]''
*[[Academy of Country Music|1973 Single of the Year]] – "[[Behind Closed Doors (Charlie Rich song)|Behind Closed Doors]]"
*[[Academy of Country Music|1973 Top Male Vocalist]]

'''[[American Music Awards]]'''
*[[American Music Award for Favorite Country Single|1974 Favorite Country Single]] – "Behind Closed Doors"
*[[American Music Award for Favorite Country Male Artist|1975 Favorite Country Male Artist]]
*[[American Music Award for Favorite Country Single|1975 Favorite Country Single]] – "[[The Most Beautiful Girl]]"

'''[[Country Music Association]]'''
*[[Country Music Association Awards|1973 Album of the Year]] – ''Behind Closed Doors''
*[[Country Music Association Awards|1973 Single of the Year]] – "Behind Closed Doors"
*[[Country Music Association Awards|1973 Male Vocalist of the Year]]
*[[Country Music Association Awards|1974 Album of the Year]] – "A Very Special Love Song"
*[[Country Music Association Awards|1974 Entertainer of the Year]]

'''[[Grammy Awards]]'''
*[[Grammy Award for Best Male Country Vocal Performance|1974 Best Country Vocal Performance, Male]] – "Behind Closed Doors"
*[[Grammy Hall of Fame Award|1998 Grammy Hall of Fame Award]] – "Behind Closed Doors"

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Other sources==
*{{cite web|url=http://www.cmt.com/artists/charlie-rich/biography/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140116091919/http://www.cmt.com/artists/charlie-rich/biography/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=January 16, 2014 |title=Charlie Rich Bio |publisher=CMT |access-date=August 18, 2015}}

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

==External links==
{{Portal|Biography}}
*[http://www.charlierich.com/ Official website]
*[http://www.allmusic.com/artist/charlie-rich-mn0000179730 AllMusic]
*[http://www.charlierichjr.com/fox/ Biography on Charlie Rich, Jr.'s website]
*[https://archive.today/20130104114427/http://rcs-discography.com/rcs/artists/r/rich1000.htm An early discography with sound checks]
*{{Find a Grave|22323}}

{{Charlie Rich}}
{{Navboxes
|title = Awards for Charlie Rich
|list =
{{American Music Award for Favorite Country Male Artist}}
{{American Music Award for Favorite Country Song}}
{{CMA Album of the Year}}
{{CMA Entertainer of the Year}}
{{CMA Male Vocalist of the Year}}
}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rich, Charlie}}
[[Category:1932 births]]
[[Category:1995 deaths]]
[[Category:Deaths from pulmonary embolism]]
[[Category:American country singer-songwriters]]
[[Category:American male singer-songwriters]]
[[Category:American country pianists]]
[[Category:American male pianists]]
[[Category:Countrypolitan musicians]]
[[Category:Singer-songwriters from Arkansas]]
[[Category:Sun Records artists]]
[[Category:Phillips International Records artists]]
[[Category:Groove Records artists]]
[[Category:RCA Victor artists]]
[[Category:Charly Records artists]]
[[Category:Epic Records artists]]
[[Category:Smash Records artists]]
[[Category:Grammy Award winners]]
[[Category:People from Benton, Arkansas]]
[[Category:People from St. Francis County, Arkansas]]
[[Category:Progressive country musicians]]
[[Category:Rockabilly musicians]]
[[Category:20th-century American singer-songwriters]]
[[Category:20th-century American pianists]]
[[Category:Country musicians from Arkansas]]
[[Category:20th-century American male singers]]
[[Category:Burials at Memorial Park Cemetery (Memphis, Tennessee)]]