Don Charles: Difference between revisions
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==Life and career== |
==Life and career== |
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He was born in 1920 and he was a soldier! |
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He was born '''Walter Stanley Scuffham''' in [[Kingston upon Hull]], [[East Yorkshire]], [[England]].<ref name="AMG"/><ref name="Dead"/> His father died when the youngster was aged four, and using his childhood [[nickname]] of Don he later adopted his stepfather's surname, becoming for a while '''Don Bennett'''.<ref name="Obit"/> |
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He spent ten years in the [[Royal Navy]], leaving at 25 years old with ambitions to become a professional singer.<ref name="AMG"/> By 1960, after settling in London, he was signed to [[Parlophone]] by [[George Martin]] who [[record producer|produced]] his debut [[Single (music)|single]], "Paintbox Lover".<ref name="AMG"/> His stay with the label was short-lived, and he was signed by Joe Meek to [[Decca Records|Decca]] in 1961. He was renamed '''Don Charles''' to avoid potential confusion with [[Tony Bennett]], and released his biggest seller "Walk With Me My Angel" in January 1962. Written by [[Geoff Goddard]], and produced by Meek, the [[Single (music)|single]] just made the [[Top 40]] in the [[UK Singles Chart]].<ref name="Obit"/><ref name="AMG"/><ref name="British Hit Singles & Albums"/> Not that he knew it at the time, but lack of further [[record chart|chart]] activity, would leave Charles with the [[one-hit wonder]] tag. He appeared on several teen based [[television program]]mes, and released a [[cover version]] of [[Ben E. King]]'s [[hit record|hit]] "The Hermit of Misty Mountain" in 1962, and the [[country music]] influenced novelty "It's My Way of Loving You" the same year.<ref name="AMG"/> |
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Ill fortune followed when the [[BBC]] refused to play his 1963 follow-up "Angel of Love". This was because of the 'death song' styled [[lyric]], ''"Everyone has an angel of love/Way up in the heavens above"''. This, combined with the all-pervading appearance of [[The Beatles]], dealt a hammer blow to his career.<ref name="Obit"/> The hastily released "Heart's Ice Cold" failed to find any buyers, and when Meek fell out with Decca, he took Charles with him to [[His Master's Voice|HMV]].<ref name="AMG"/> |
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Charles released seven singles for HMV between 1963 and 1966, which included "Tower Tall", "Big Talk from a Little Man" (written by [[Alan Klein]]) and "Dream On Little Dreamer", but commercial success continued to elude him.<ref name="Obit"/> In 1965, Charles produced The Tornados' numbers, "Space Walk" and "Goodbye Joe".<ref name="AMG"/> In an unusual move Charles returned to Parlophone in 1967, and released the [[Northern soul]] favourite, "Bring Your Love to Me", and several other unsuccessful singles.<ref name="Obit"/> He then retired from the [[music industry]], and jointly bought a [[nightclub]] in [[Malta]] with [[Rolf Harris]].<ref name="Obit"/> When that venture fell flat, Charles became a used car salesman and, in 1989, he penned a successful book based upon his experiences, entitled ''How to Buy a Used Car (And Save Money)''.<ref name="AMG"/> |
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Four times married with five daughters,<ref name="Obit"/> Charles died in December 2005, in [[Herstmonceux]], [[East Sussex]], less than a week away from his 72nd birthday.<ref name="Dead"/> |
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He is not to be confused with another Don Charles, a [[Scandinavia]]n based record producer behind the musical recording project, [[The Singing Dogs]]. |
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==Discography== |
==Discography== |
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Revision as of 19:50, 17 February 2011
Don Charles |
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Don Charles (10 December 1933 – 4 December 2005)[1][2] was a popular English ballad singer, and record producer, and later in his life, a writer of a self-help book.[3] He is best known for his recordings of "Walk With Me My Angel" and "Bring Your Love to Me". He also produced several of The Tornados' tracks including "Space Walk" and "Goodbye Joe". The latter title referred his original mentor and producer, Joe Meek.[3] Meek regarded Charles highly. "You are my only legit artist", Meek once informed Charles. "All the others are yugga-dugs".[1] Standing at 6 feet 4 inches (1.93 m), and weighing around seventeen stone (108 kilograms), Charles stood out in more ways than one from his fellow performers.[2]
Life and career
He was born in 1920 and he was a soldier!
Discography
Singles
| Year | A-side | B-side | UK Singles Chart[4] | Label / Catalogue reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1961 | "Paintbox Lover" † | "Teach Me Tonight" † | - | Parlophone R4811 |
| 1962 | "Walk With Me My Angel" | "Crazy Man" | #39 | Decca F11424 |
| 1962 | "The Hermit of Misty Mountain" | "Moonlight Rendezvous" | - | Decca F11464 |
| 1962 | "It's My Way of Loving You" | "Guess That's the Way It Goes" | - | Decca F11528 |
| 1963 | "Angel of Love" | "Lucky Star" | - | Decca F11602 |
| 1963 | "Heart's Ice Cold" | "Daybreak" | - | Decca F11645 |
| 1963 | "Tower Tall" | "Look Before You Love" | - | HMV POP 1271 |
| 1964 | "Big Talk from a Little Man" | "She's Mine" | - | HMV POP 1332 |
| 1964 | "If You Don't Know I Ain't Gonna Tell Ya" | "Voice On The Phone" | - | HMV POP 1307 |
| 1965 | "Forgetting Me, Loving Him" | "A Long Time Ago" | - | HMV POP 1382 |
| 1965 | "Dream On Little Dreamer" | "We Only Live Once" | - | HMV POP 1420 |
| 1965 | "I Could Conquer The World" | "Time Will Tell" | - | HMV POP 1478 |
| 1966 | "Out Of This Cold" | "From The Beginning" | - | HMV POP 1542 |
| 1967 | "Bring Your Love to Me" | "So Let It Be" | - | Parlophone R5564 |
| 1967 | "Have I Told You Lately" | "Time Waits For Nobody" | - | Parlophone R5596 |
| 1968 | "If I Had The Chance" | "(I've Got Everything) I've Got You" | - | Parlophone R5659 |
| 1968 | "The Drifter" | "Great To Be Livin'" | - | Parlophone R5688 |
| 1968 | "Your Name is on My Heart" | "How Can I" | - | Parlophone R5712 |
† Billed as Don Bennett
EPs
| Release date | Title | Label |
|---|---|---|
| June 1963 | Don Charles | Decca |
Bibliography
- How to Buy a Used Car (And Save Money) (1989) - ISBN 1872539009[8]
References
- ^ a b Allmusic.com biography
- ^ a b Spencer Leigh (9 December 2005). "Don Charles: Joe Meek's 'only legit artist'". The Independent. Retrieved 8 February 2011.
- ^ a b Thedeadrockstarsclub.com - accessed February 2011
- ^ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 100. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
- ^ Globaldogprodctions.info
- ^ Yahoo.com
- ^ Album discography at Allmusic.com
- ^ Paperbackswap.com - accessed February 2011