(by: George Davidson)
Twenty-five years ago I went looking for Charles King’s shop, because he was the best saxophone repairman in the area. The small cottage in back of his home became an exotic salon of sorts for me. There I met lots of horn players, some local, some just passing through. I imagine most of them only knew Charles as a repairman too. It was quite a while before I came to realize that Charles’ life is steeped crazy deep in music, much less that he is a wizard on guitar. Tumbling to all that, well, it’s now a quarter century and ticking. Charles shares his story reluctantly, but if you hang around long enough and are patient, he eventually opens up. I’m going to tell you a little about him “Dragnet” style – as in “Just the facts...”
Born in Atlanta, Georgia in 1944, Charles grew up in a musical family. His father, Eddie King, worked for RCA and Columbia records from 1913 until 1928. He is credited as producer on more than 80 sides for RCA; he produced many more on Columbia as well. He also signed jazz legends, Louis Armstrong and Fats Waller, to their first recording contracts. After leaving Columbia in 1928, Eddie toured and performed for the next fifteen years with Roy Rogers and Gene Autry, who along with Bob Wills, Patsy Montana, Milton Brown and Charlie Bowman, were among the creators of Western Swing.
By the time Charles was born, his family was living in Atlanta. He grew up there working in his father’s music store where he got to know some of the era’s most famous musicians. He began playing guitar as a child. By the time he was a young man he was playing in his father’s big bands and combos. On his first bandstand date, Buddy Rich was the drummer. While still a teenager, Charles jammed with some of the top musicians of the day and was accepted by them as one of their own. He listened widely to jazz, blues, country and rock n’ roll, and studied the techniques of his favorite players among whom were Barney Kessel, Howard Roberts, Johnny Smith, Gatemouth Brown and Freddie King.
Today Charles gives much credit to his early mentors and teachers, Jimmy Atkins, Chet’s nephew, Dean Byrum, and Perry Bechtel. Though not widely known, Byrum and Bechtel were two of modern jazz guitar’s originators. Byrum can be heard to great effect as the guitarist on most of Jimmie “The Singing Brakeman” Rogers’ sides for RCA records. Charles recalls going to Dean’s house for many jam sessions, which often were attended by top musicians such as Gene Krupa and others. Bechtel, also known as “The Man with 10,000 Fingers,” for his incredible fluency on the banjo, was also a tremendous jazz guitarist. His legendary 1958 RCA LP with Chet Atkins achieved is considered a classic among banjoists worldwide. Bechtel is also remembered as the man who persuaded C.F. Martin to modify his famous guitars so that the neck joined the body at the 14th fret (the OM models).
By his late teens, Charles was teaching guitar lessons alongside Byrum and Bechtel. When not playing or teaching, Charles was likely to be found checking out the best guitarists from the area – Joe South, Jerry Reed, Roy Lee Johnson, Lee Moses, Wade Craiger, Jesse Rainwater and others. He studied their techniques and always came away with some new chord form, riff or scale.
In 1963, Charles began seriously writing and recording songs. From the beginning he was interested in original material – not cover songs. He recorded numerous instrumentals and collaborated with lyricists, all the while working on his own sound. During this period, Charles played in many blues, rock and jazz combos of his own. He also played with many well-known touring acts such, as Hank Ballard and the Midnighters, and opened for Chicago, the Manfred Mann Earth Band and others. In the late 60’s, he played guitar on Jim Croce’s first tour and shared the stage with McCoy Tyner and Mose Allison. In the 70’s he worked with Bruce Hampton, Billy McPherson and others at the Midtown Jazz Pub.
Since that time, Charles has continued to play, write, and record. Recently he and collaborator, Laura Lockie, have been working with a wonderful producer and engineer, Jimmy Byrd, and some top musicians to produce their new CD called “The Second Half.”
The
title is most appropriate for two artists who’ve
spent the entire “first half” perfecting their
chops and living the experiences and stories that
now ring true as the “second half” begins.
Laura Lockie Biography
Laura was born in N.Y., and
raised in Brooklyn. She had a tremendous
interest in music as far back as she can
remember. She wrote her first song at 5 years
old. She was in the N.Y. All City Chorus, and
performed at Carnegie Hall with Dizzy Galespie.
She studied voice with several famed voice
coaches in N.Y. in her pre teens and teens, and
continued into her early 20s. She performed at
many venues in the City, and performed with
several famous performers. She started recording
in her late teens and early 20s. She had to put
her music career on hold to raise her three
sons, the youngest is now 9. She never lost
interest in her music, and three years started
her career again when we started working
together. We started writing two years ago and
then started recording our CD.
Music exists as a force in
the Universe independent of human involvement.
Playing music is nothing more than producing
vibrational frequencies in relationships that
sound good to our ears. Music is truth, and
when we sing the songs passed along to us to our
children, we tell the truth, that cannot be
denied. Laura Lockie tells the truth with her
music. That includes place, here in the South
where music vibrates in the heat of the sun
radiating back up from the ground and also from
her roots in the Urban Vibage of New York. She
sings the things she knows about, love, loss,
struggle and acceptance with a voice seasoned by
life's trials, but not above a girlish squeal of
laughter. She feels entirely blessed to have
come across Charles King and honored to be able
to make music with him.
