Tag: Charlie Rich

Charlie Rich – Midnight Blues

When I was growing up, I remember watching music shows from Nashville, and I saw this white haired man constantly. That white haired guy was Charlie Rich. I never knew much about his older music, but I am really getting into it.

After a stint in the Air Force, Rich started writing his own songs and playing around Memphis, the city that ended up shaping him more than anything else. Memphis in the 1950s was a blend of blues, country, gospel, and early rock and roll, and Rich fit right into the middle. He wasn’t a purist of any genre; he was a blender, and that would become his signature for the rest of his career.

His big break came when he walked into Sun Records, though it wasn’t exactly instant stardom. Sam Phillips didn’t quite know what to do with him because Rich didn’t fit the Sun mold. He wasn’t a raw rocker like Jerry Lee Lewis, and he wasn’t a rockabilly guy like Carl Perkins. He was smoother, jazzier, more complicated.

Before he became the “Silver Fox” singing Behind Closed Doors, he was a studio guy down in Memphis, searching for the sound that matched his style. Midnight Blues, recorded in 1960 for Sun, captures that in-between phase perfectly, smoky, late-night melancholy set to a subtle shuffle.

Some singers have a pain in their voice, such as Richard Manuel of the Band. Charlie Rich’s early Sun Records is like that as well. What always blows me away with Rich is that he could sound both heartbroken and confident at the same time. This song has a little bit of everything in it. He had one of those voices that could blend into anything, from country to soul, jazz, or blues.

He would go on to have nine country number ones in the 1970s. Lonely Weekends was his first US hit. It hit #27 on Cash Box in 1960.

Midnight Blues

Midnite, you know you’re doing me wrongMidnite, doing me wrongKeeping me up all night longAll night, all night longEverytime I feel a little bit freeI hear those blues, midnite bluesCommence to calling meMidnite, why don’t you leave me aloneLeave me, leave me aloneI’m trying my best to make a happy homeHappy, happy homeEverytime I feel a little bit freeI hear those blues, midnite bluesCommence to calling meI just can’t help to feel a little bit ashamedEverytime I hear you call my nameI’m blaming you for all the bad things I’ve doneBlame you for what I’ve doneStill I will admit that every once in a while it was fun

Yeah but midnite, don’t keep me running aroundDon’t keep running aroundI made up my mind, I’m gonna settle downAh ha, settle downEverytime I feel a little bit freeI hear those blues, midnite bluesBlues, midnite bluesI hear those blues, midnite bluesCommence to calling meThat blues is a calling meMidnite blues is a calling me

…

Charlie Rich – Mohair Sam

It’s a song by Charlie Rich who is more known as a country artist and his 1970s hits “Behind Closed Doors” and “The Most Beautiful Girl” off of his album Behind Closed Doors. This is not like Rich’s other hits but it’s a good song.

I first heard about this song when I read The Beatles were listening to this song when they met Elvis and Elvis had it on his jukebox when they all met. The song peaked at #21 in the Billboard 100 in 1966. The song became a hit, ending up in the top 30 on the pop charts.

Charlie played piano on Sun Records in the late 1950s and early 1960s, and then signed with Grove records…after that, he signed with Smash records and this was his first release on that label.

The song was written by Dallas Frazier who also wrote “Elvira”…the song that the Oak Ridge Boys made famous.

Mohair Sam

Well – who is the hippie that’s happenin’ all over our town?
Tearin’ up chicks with the message that he lays down
Who is the coolest guy, what is, what am?
That’s fast-talkin’ – slow walkin’ – good-lookin’ Mohair Sam
Chicks are making reservations for his lovin’ so fine (so fine)
Screamin’ and shoutin’ he’s got ’em all waitin’ in line
Who is the coolest guy, what is, what am?
That’s fast-talkin’ – slow walkin’ – good-lookin’ Mohair Sam
Who is the hippie that’s happenin’ all over our town?
Tearin’ up chicks with the message that he lays down
Who is the coolest guy, what is, what am?
That’s fast-talkin’ – slow walkin’ – good-lookin’ Mohair Sam