Shindig Archives - chimesfreedom

Many people mainly remember Charlie Rich for his 1970s hits “Behind Closed Doors” and “The Most Beautiful Girl” off of his album Behind Closed Doors (1973). And if you look on YouTube, most of the live performance videos of this great artist are of those two songs. But most of Rich’s best work took place both before and after that album, and Rich remains one of my favorite singers because of that other work. Rich consistently did outstanding work, even if fans did not always buy his songs the way they did for his hits.

Having played piano and sang for Sun Records in the late 1950s and early 1960s, and following a brief stint at Groove, Charlie Rich — who was born on December 14, 1932 -– signed with Smash Records in 1965. His first single for Smash Records was a novelty song “Mohair Sam,” written by Dallas Frazier.

The song became a hit, ending up in the top 30 on the pop charts. Below, Rich performs “Mohair Sam” on the October 7, 1965 episode of ABC-TV’s show Shindig! Check it out.

Even at the time, “Mohair Sam” sounded like a song from an earlier era. Songs on the radio in 1965 included Bob Dylan’s “Like a Rolling Stone,” Otis Redding’s “Respect,” and Simon & Garfunkel’s “The Sound of Silence.”

Rich would continue to have ups and downs in his careers. As he did many times during his career, despite continuing to make quality music, Charlie Rich would have to reinvent himself before finding success again in the early 1970s. Then, after a period of semi-retirement through the 1980s, he released a wonderful jazzy album Pictures and Paintings in 1992 before passing away on July 25, 1995.

What is your favorite Charlie Rich song? Leave your two cents in the comments.

Charlie Rich’s Journey Through Many Record Companies: Where to Begin with His Music?

Charlie Rich: I Feel Like Going Home

Charlie Rich Sets Fire to CMA Entertainer of the Year Announcement

Johnny Cash Imitating Elvis

Whatever Happened to Mike Ireland & Holler?

Howlin’ Wolf on Shindig! on May 20, 1965

(Some related Chimesfreedom posts.)

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In the thirteenth Oxford American Annual Southern Music issue, author Peter Guralnick wrote an excellent essay about Howlin’ Wolf, “What is the Soul of Man?” In the essay, Gualnick, who has written definitive biographies of great artists such as Elvis Presley and Sam Cooke, recounts how the greatest moment on television for him was Howlin’ Wolf’s appearance on Shindig! taped on May 20, 1965.

On that Thursday night, The Rolling Stones were the headliners on the show, and Wolf for some reason was listed on the show under the name “Chester Burnett,” as his given name was Chester Arthur Burnett. But when he took the stage and began his first hit, “How Many More Years,” the 6’3″ Wolf made it so “[e]very moment was larger than life.”

In this clip from the show, the Stones talk of their admiration for Howlin’ Wolf. Then Wolf took the stage and wiggled and leapt, as Guralink described, “with The Stones sitting at his feet, as if not just the stage but the entire world would shake.”