- Bobby Charles
Bobby Charles, born Robert Charles Guidry on
February 21 ,1938 , inAbbeville, Louisiana , is a singer and songwriter.An ethnic
Cajun , Charles grew up listening toCajun music and the country and western music ofHank Williams, Sr. At age 15, however, he heard a performance byFats Domino , an event that "changed my life forever," he recalled.Charles helped to pioneer the south Louisiana musical genre known as
swamp pop . His compositions include the hits "See You Later, Alligator ," which he initially recorded himself as "Later Alligator" but which is best known from the version byBill Haley & His Comets , and "Walking to New Orleans ", written forFats Domino .Because of his south Louisiana-influenced
rhythm and blues vocal style, Charles has often been referred to as black, when in fact he is white.On November 26th, 1976, Charles was invited to play with
The Band at their farewell concert,The Last Waltz . Charles played 'Down South in New Orleans', with the help ofDr. John and The Band. The performance of 'Down South in New Orleans' was not captured on film, however, and did not appear in the film based on the concert with Charles only appearing briefly in the concert's final song 'I Shall Be Released'. The song, sung by Charles with drummerLevon Helm and bassistRick Danko , was recorded and later released on a box set of 'The Last Waltz' concert performances.Charles has continued to compose and record (he was based out of
Woodstock, New York , for a time) and in the 1990s he recorded a duet of "Walking to New Orleans" with Fats Domino.In September 2007, The Louisiana Music Hall Of Fame honored Bobby Charles for his contributions to Louisiana music by inducting him into The Louisiana Music Hall Of Fame.
External links
* [http://www.nola.com/timespic/stories/index.ssf?/base/library-124/117773963746310.xml&coll=1 "Lost Legend," "New Orleans Times Picayune", 28 April 2007.]
* [http://www.answers.com/topic/bobby-charles Bobby Charles on answers.com]
* [http://theband.hiof.no/albums/bobby_charles.html Bobby Charles page on The Band web site]
* [http://www.geocities.jp/hideki_wtnb/bc.html Bobby Charles fan site]
* [http://www.bluesartstudio.com/NeueSeiten/BobbyCharles.html Article on Charles] and his recent activities
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