Sonny Charles

Sonny Charles (born Charles Hemphill, 4 September 1940)Joel Whitburn, "The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits". 7th edn, 2000] is an American soul singer from Fort Wayne, Indiana. He was the lead singer of Checkmates, Ltd. in the 1960s and 1970s, and it is his vocals that are heard out front on their 1969 hit, "Black Pearl." Charles launched a solo career in the early 1970s, and after a brief reunion with The Checkmates, again in the 1980s. Thereafter, he toured with another member of the Checkmates LTD, Marvin "Sweet Louie" Smith, under the Checkmate name.

Charles' 1982 album, "The Sun Still Shines", recorded on Highrise Records, hit #136 on the Billboard Hot 200 chart and #14 on the U.S. Black Albums chart [ [http://wm04.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:gpfoxqw5ld0e~T5 Billboard] , Allmusic.com] on the strength of the single "Put it in a Magazine", which went to #2 on the R&B Singles chart [http://wm04.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:gpfoxqw5ld0e~T1 Biography] , Allmusic.com] and #40 on the Billboard Pop Singles chart in 1983. The follow-up single, "Always on My Mind", peaked at #53, but Charles quickly fell from view.

In 2008 Sonny Charles joined the Steve Miller band and toured with them. [www.jsonline.com June 30, 2008]

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