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Charlie Rich was a deeply spiritual performer. |
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Anyone who listens to much of Charlie’s music soon realizes that there’s a spiritual side to Charlie that’s inescapable. That’s because, for Charlie, there was no denying the spiritual upbringing provided by his parents. His parents raised him and his two sisters in a fundamental Missionary Baptist church in rural Arkansas. That was back in the hard scrabble depression years of the 1930s. Some of Charlie’s earliest memories were of his parents practicing at night for their gospel quartet. His mother played piano while his father and two or three friends sang. They would perform in the churches and on local radio broadcasts. Charlie’s wife, Margaret Ann, relates that the music "had a deep emotional effect on Charlie. He used to listen to it and then go into his room and cry." His mother also gave young Charlie piano lessons, using gospel standards for instruction. As the years rolled on, Charlie took to playing blues and other secular music forms. "I was an embarrassment to my mom and dad," said Charlie. "I had been brought up to believe that dancing, R&B music and drinking were sinful. They had high hopes for me and were not happy with the direction I was taking." |
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