Who is Charlie Rich

At sixteen, I liked the music my peers liked. Three Dog Night, The Rolling Stones, and my favorite of all of those peer-related groups, Alice Cooper. But what stopped me in my own individual, teenage tracks was the music of Charlie Rich.

I would listen to his music for hours. My old eight-track player played his cassettes over and over as I lay on my stomach looking out our front door. There was a beauty in the music that I could not understand. I really don't understand, even today, why I was drawn to it at that young age. I just know that it gave me comfort like no other music has before or since.

As a songwriter, The Silver Fox, as Charlie Rich came to be known, wrote hits for stars such as Elvis, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Johnny Cash. But, the song written by his lovely wife, Margaret Ann, holds the most special place in my heart - A Field Of Yellow Daisies.

Charlie Rich never really fit inside of a country music box, or in any box, for that matter. Fortunately, for acquiring fans, his music was all over the place -- blues, jazz, rockabilly, gospel, soul - and country, for sure. Some folks seem to think not having a particular fit was a bad thing, but how could one expect to contain such a talent?