Charlie Walker (musician)
Charlie Walker | |
---|---|
Background information | |
Birth name | Charles Levi Walker |
Born | Copeville, Texas,U.S. | November 2, 1926
Died | September 12, 2008 Hendersonville, Tennessee,U.S. | (aged 81)
Genres | Country |
Occupation(s) | Singer-songwriter |
Instrument(s) | Guitar |
Years active | 1952–1979 |
Charles Levi Walker(November 2, 1926 – September 12, 2008)[1]was an American country musician. His biggest success was with the song, "Pick Me Up on Your Way Down".
He held membership in theGrand Ole Opryfrom 1967,[2]and was inducted into the Country Radio DJ Hall of Fame in 1981.[3]
Career[edit]
He was born inCopeville, Texas,United States in 1926.[2]In 1943, Walker joinedBill Boyd's Cowboy Ramblers, and duringWorld War II,he served as a disc jockey for theArmed Forces Radio Network.[2]
Walker worked as a disc jockey from 1951 until 1961 atKMACand then from 1961 up to 1963 atKENSinSan Antonio,Texas, before signing withDecca Records.[2]His first hit, "Only You, Only You" was co-written with Jack Newman and reached No. 9 on the country chart in January 1956.[2]Walker later signed withColumbia Recordsand reached No. 2 with aHarlan Howardsong, "Pick Me Up on Your Way Down".[2]His other hits include "Who Will Buy the Wine", "Wild as a Wildcat", "Don't Squeeze My Sharmon", and "I Wouldn't Take Her To A Dogfight."[2]Many of his records featured harmony vocals byRay Price.His more popular recordings were ofhonky-tonknumbers, such as "Close All the Honky Tonks", and "Honky Tonk Women".[2]Walker played a minor role in the 1985Patsy Clinebiographical film,Sweet Dreams.[3]
Walker died ofcolon cancerin September 2008, at the age of 81 inHendersonville, Tennessee.[3][4]
Discography[edit]
Albums[edit]
Year | Album | US Country | Label |
---|---|---|---|
1961 | Greatest Hits | Columbia | |
1965 | Close All the Honky Tonks | Epic | |
1966 | Born to Lose | ||
Wine, Women and Walker | |||
1967 | Don't Squeeze My Sharmon | 16 | |
1968 | Greatest Hits | ||
Country Style | Vocalion | ||
1969 | He Is My Everything | Epic | |
Recorded Live in Dallas, Texas | |||
1971 | Honky Tonkin' | ||
1972 | I Don't Mind Goin' Under | RCA Victor | |
1973 | Break Out the Bottle / Bring On the Music | ||
1978 | Golden Hits | Plantation | |
1979 | Texas Gold |
Singles[edit]
Year | Single | Chart Positions | Album | |
---|---|---|---|---|
US Country | CAN Country | |||
1952 | "I'm Looking for Another You" | singles only | ||
"Flaming Jewels" | ||||
"Out of My Arms" | ||||
1953 | "Flock of Memories" | |||
"Stay Away from My Heart" | ||||
1954 | "Tell Her Lies and Feed Her Candy" | |||
"When You Know You Have Lost" | ||||
1955 | "Chocolate Song" | |||
1956 | "Only You, Only You" | 9 | ||
"Stand Still" | ||||
1957 | "Cheaters Never Win" | |||
"Dancing Mexican Girl" | ||||
"Take My Hand" | ||||
1958 | "Pick Me Up on Your Way Down" | 2 | Greatest Hits | |
1959 | "I'll Catch You When You Fall" | 16 | ||
"When My Conscience Hurts the Most" | 22 | |||
1960 | "Who Will Buy the Wine" | 11 | ||
1961 | "Facing the Wall" | 25 | ||
"Right Back at Your Door" | ||||
"Louisiana Belle" | singles only | |||
1962 | "Life Goes On (I Wonder Why)" | |||
"One in Every Crowd" | ||||
1963 | "That's Where Katie Waits" | |||
1964 | "Close All the Honky Tonks" | 17 | Close All the Honky Tonks | |
1965 | "Pick Me Up on Your Way Down" | |||
"Wild as a Wildcat" | 8 | single only | ||
1966 | "He's a Jolly Good Fellow" | 39 | Wine, Women and Walker | |
"The Man in the Little White Suit" | 37 | |||
"Little Old Wine Drinker" | ||||
"Daddy's Coming Home (Next Week)" | 56 | singles only | ||
"I'm Gonna Hang Up My Gloves" | 65 | |||
1967 | "The Town That Never Sleeps" | 38 | ||
"Don't Squeeze My Sharmon" | 8 | Don't Squeeze My Sharmon | ||
"I Wouldn't Take Her to a Dogfight" | 33 | |||
1968 | "Truck Drivin' Cat with Nine Wives" | 54 | singles only | |
"San Diego" | 31 | 28 | ||
1969 | "Honky-Tonk Season" | 52 | Recorded Live in Dallas, Texas | |
"Moffett, Oklahoma" | 44 | |||
1970 | "Honky Tonk Women" | 56 | Honky Tonkin' | |
"Let's Go Fishin' Boys (The Girls Are Bitin')" | 52 | |||
"God Save the Queen (Of the Honky Tonks)" | ||||
1971 | "My Baby Used to Be That Way" | 71 | ||
"Wild Women" | single only | |||
1972 | "I Don't Mind Goin' Under (If It'll Get Me Over You)" | 74 | I Don't Mind Goin' Under | |
1973 | "Soft Lips and Hard Liquor" | 65 | 81 | Break Out the Bottle / Bring On the Music |
"Gonna Drink Milwaukee Dry" | ||||
1974 | "Wanting My Women Again" | singles only | ||
"Odds and Ends (Bits and Pieces)" | 66 | |||
1975 | "Say You're Gone" | |||
1977 | "Deep Water" | |||
"I've Had a Beautiful Time" | ||||
1978 | "T for Texas" | |||
"Red Skies Over Georgia" | ||||
"My Shoes Keep Walkin' Back to You" | ||||
1979 | "Don't Sing a Song About Texas" | Texas Gold |
References[edit]
- ^"Grand Ole Opry Member Charlie Walker Dies at Age 81".Cmt.com.September 1, 2008. Archived fromthe originalon September 16, 2008.RetrievedMay 17,2009.
- ^abcdefghColin Larkin,ed. (1993).The Guinness Who's Who of Country Music(First ed.).Guinness Publishing.p. 432.ISBN0-85112-726-6.
- ^abc"CMT: Charlie Walker: Biography".Archived fromthe originalon October 19, 2012.RetrievedSeptember 13,2008.
- ^"Charlie Walker: Honky-tonk singer of 'Pick Me Up On Your Way Down'".The Independent.October 23, 2011.RetrievedAugust 11,2021.
Bibliography[edit]
Pugh, Ronnie (1998). "Charlie Walker". InThe Encyclopedia of Country Music.Paul Kingsbury, Editor. New York: Oxford University Press. p. 567.ISBN978-0195395631
External links[edit]
- 1926 births
- 2008 deaths
- People from Collin County, Texas
- Grand Ole Opry members
- American male singer-songwriters
- American country singer-songwriters
- Singer-songwriters from Texas
- Deaths from colorectal cancer in the United States
- Deaths from cancer in Tennessee
- 20th-century American singer-songwriters
- Country musicians from Texas
- 20th-century American male singers
- American country musician stubs