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Charlie McCoy's Bio
There
are numerous super-session musicians in Nashville, but very few with the
longevity of Charlie McCoy. In addition to being a fixture in Nashville
studios for 39 years, he also has his own recording career going full
tilt (he recorded 28 albums in the last 32 years). He served as Musical
Director for the long running syndicated television series, "Hee-Haw".
Charlie
McCoy began working sessions in the early '60s, one of the first being
on Roy Orbison's Monument hit, "Candy Man". "Forty-nine
dollars", says McCoy. That's how much he was paid for that session
back in 1961. "It got Roy another hit and me a career, and for a
20 year-old to make $49 for three hours work back then, it was a dream."
Shortly after the release of "Candy Man", Charlie McCoy became
one of the in-demand session players in Nashville. His session credits
are literally a who's who of country music, doing upwards of 400 sessions
per year. Charlie has since cut his session appearances down in the last
few years to provide more time to tour in Europe and Japan in addition
to the U.S.
In addition
to his country sessions, Charlie McCoy was a mainstay on Elvis Presley
recordings both in Nashville and Los Angeles. When Bob Dylan recorded
"Blond on Blond", "Nashville Skyline" and "John
Wesley Harding" in Nashville, Charlie was one of the few Nashville
session players on those dates.
In his book
"Backstage Pass", Al Kooper described a typical Charlie McCoy
incident which took place during the sessions for Dylan's "Blond
On Blond" Album. One song called for a trumpet part which should
have been an easy overdub, except that Dylan didn't care for overdubs.
So McCoy, while playing bass with his left hand, played trumpet with his
right hand, without missing a beat. Kooper points out that Dylan stopped
in the middle of the song, amazed.
Charlie McCoy
began recording for Monument Records in the late '60s and recorded 12
albums for the label, beginning in 1969 with "The Real McCoy".
He has been nominated and received so many awards over the years that
it's hard to keep up with them. However, he's won a Grammy Award, two
Country Music Association Awards and eight Academy of Country Music Awards.
Additionally, Charlie has won numerous awards provided by the three music
industry trade publications, Billboard, Cash Box and Record World. Charlie
tends to be a perpetual country instrumentalist nominee year after year.
In addition
to making his own recordings, Charlie was a member of two legendary Nashville
bands, Area Code 615 and Barefoot Jerry. Both groups featured many of
the top session players in Nashville.
While Charlie
McCoy is predominately known as a harmonica player (he endorses the Hohner
brand of harmonica) his musical prowess encompasses most instruments including
guitar, bass, drums, keyboards as well as a variety of wind and brass
instruments.
After the demise of Monument Records in 1982, Charlie was without any
record company affiliation for about five years. He and his band recorded
an album entitled "One For the Road" in 1986. Charlie has had
three albums released in the United States on Step One Records and a Gospel
album on the Simitar label.
Charlie has
toured in Europe and Japan regularly since 1989, and has released albums
with Danish, French, and German companies.
Charlie served
as the music director for the hit syndicated TV show, "Hee Haw"
for 19 years, in addition to directing music for the "True Value
Country Showdown", the "Arthritis Telethon", and various
other television specials.
Charlie was
given the "Musician" award from R.O.P.E. in 1994, elected to
the German-American Country Music Federation Hall of Fame in 1998, and
to the Hall of Fame of the North American Country Music Association International
in 2000. In March 1995, Charlie joined the staff band of the "Music
City Tonight" show on TNN, and stayed until the show ended in December
of that year.
In addition
to his time- consuming music career, Charlie McCoy is a sports enthusiast,
supporting Nashville's professional football and hockey teams, as well
as college basketball.
A consummate
musician as well as a caring person, Charlie McCoy is still inspired and
still "harpin'".
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