AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Charles Brown

Artist:Charles Brown

Song:Black Night

Album:The Charles Brown Collection 1947-57

Singer songwriter and pianist Charles Brown was an important bridge between the blues and R&B in the early 50s. I'm sure most folks have heard his Christmas classic Merry Christmas Baby as as it is still played on radio today. Of course there's more to him than that and many experts consider Brown to be very influential. He was born Tony Russell Brown Sept. 13, 1922 in Texas City, TX. His mom died shortly after his birth so he was raised by his grandparents. Brown took piano lessons as a child. After graduating from high school, he earned a degree in chemistry at Prairie View A&M College in 1942. He worked as a chemistry teacher, a mustard gas worker and an apprentice electrician before moving to Los Angeles in 1943. At the time, a lot of blacks were moving to Los Angeles. And there was a need for clubs to entertain them. Nat King Cole started out performing in Los Angeles clubs. When he began to tour nationally, he was replaced by Johnny Moore's Three Blazers featuring Brown on piano and vocals. The Three Blazers signed with Exclusive Records and the 1945 single Drifting Blues was on the Billboard R&B chart for six months. The problem was Moore refused to sign an exclusive contract with anyone and records were released by Exclusive, Philo and Modern. The Three Blazers had some success but it was limited by not having an exclusive record deal. So Brown left the band and signed with Aladdin Records (formerly Philo). Brown's trio was with Eddie Williams on bass and Charles Norris on guitar. Brown immediately had success on the R&B charts with hits like Trouble Blues in 1949 and Black Night in 1951. Black Night topped the Billboard R&B chart for 14 weeks. The songwriting is credited to Jessie Mae Robinson. But most experts believe Brown wrote the song. It was not unusual in those days for songwriting credits to be hidden to avoid declaring it as income. Jessie Mae Robinson was a legit songwriter. Brown continued to have chart success until Rock 'n' Roll became popular in the mid 50s. Brown continued to play clubs. But he didn't want to perform Rock 'n' Roll. This 2CD comp from the British reissue label Acrobat has all his Aladdin hits. Brown recorded for Imperial and King and continued to perform until the 90s. But he never charted again. But his influence looms large. Charles Brown died on Jan. 21, 1999 at age 76. Here's Charles Brown performing Black Night in the 90s.