How many blues artists remained at the absolute top of their game after more than a half-century of performing? One immediately leaps to mind: Charles Brown. His incredible piano skills and laid-back vocal delivery remained every bit as mesmerizing at the end of his life as they were way back in 1945, when his groundbreaking waxing of "Drifting Blues" with guitarist Johnny Moore's Three Blazers invented an entirely new blues genre for sophisticated postwar revelers: an ultra-mellow, jazz-inflected sound perfect for sipping a late-night libation in some hip after-hours joint. Brown's smooth trio format was tremendously influential to a host of high-profile disciples -- Ray Charles, Amos Milburn, and Floyd Dixon, for starters.
Classically trained on the ivories, Brown earned a degree in chemistry before moving to Los Angeles in 1943. He soon hooked up with the Blazers (Moore and bassist Eddie Williams), who modeled themselves after Nat "King" Cole's trio but retained a bluesier tone within their ballad-heavy repertoire. With Brown installed as their vocalist and pianist, the Blazers' "Drifting Blues" for Philo Records remained on Billboard's R&B charts for 23 weeks, peaking at number two. Follow-ups for Exclusive and Modern (including "Sunny Road," "So Long," "New Orleans Blues," and their immortal 1947 Yuletide classic "Merry Christmas Baby") kept the Blazers around the top of the R&B listings from 1946 through 1948, until Brown opted to go solo.
If anything, Brown was even more successful on his own. Signing with Eddie Mesner's Aladdin logo, he visited the R&B Top Ten no less than ten times from 1949 to 1952, retaining his mournful, sparsely arranged sound for the smashes "Get Yourself Another Fool," the chart-topping "Trouble Blues" and "Black Night," and "Hard Times." Despite a 1956 jaunt to New Orleans to record with the Cosimo's studio band, Brown's mellow approach failed to make the transition to rock's brasher rhythms, and he soon faded from national prominence (other than when his second holiday perennial, "Please Come Home for Christmas," hit in 1960 on the King label). Occasionally recording without causing much of a stir during the '60s and '70s, Brown began to regroup by the mid-'80s. One More for the Road, a set cut in 1986 for the short-lived Blue Side logo, announced to anyone within earshot that Brown's talents hadn't diminished at all while he was gone (the set later re-emerged on Alligator). Bonnie Raitt took an encouraging interest in Brown's comeback bid, bringing him on tour with her as her opening act (thus introducing the blues vet to a whole new generation or two of fans). His recording career took off too, with a series of albums for Bullseye Blues (the first entry, 1990's All My Life, is especially pleasing), and more recently, a disc for Verve.
In his last years, Brown finally received at least a portion of the recognition he deserved for so long as a genuine rhythm and blues pioneer. But the suave, elegant Brown was by no means a relic, as anyone who witnessed his thundering boogie piano style will gladly attest; he returned in 1998 with So Goes Love before dying on January 21, 1999.
from Wikipedia:
Charlie Brown is the principal character in the comic strip Peanuts.
Charlie or Charles Brown may also refer to:
People
Athletes
Charlie Brown (Scottish footballer), Scottish footballer who played for Queen of the SouthCharlie Brown (footballer) (1898–1979), English footballer with Southampton and Queens Park RangersCharles Brown (roque player) (1867–1937), American roque player and Olympic bronze medalistCharlie Brown (Australian footballer) (born 1896), Australian footballerCharlie Brown (defensive back) (born 1942), American Football League playerCharlie Brown (running back) (born 1945), National Football League playerCharlie Brown (wide receiver) (born 1958), National Football League playerCharles Brown (offensive lineman) (born 1987), American college football playerCharles Edwin Brown (born 1936), college and professional American football playerCharles Brown (boxer) (born 1939), Olympic boxer and bronze medalistCharlie Brown (boxer) (born 1958), former boxing championCharlie Brown (baseball) (1871–1938), 19th-century baseball playerCharles Brown (water polo), former water polo representative from New ZealandCharlie Brown (wrestler)Charles Edward Brown (1928–2007), American football quarterback and punter in the National Football LeagueCharlie H. Brown, see List of Carlton Football Club players
Clergymen
Charles John Brown (born 1959), American Catholic Archbishop and Apostolic Nuncio to IrelandCharles Reynolds Brown (born 1862), American Congregational clergyman and educatorCharles Rufus Brown (1849–1914), American Baptist clergyman and Semitic scholar
Entertainers
Charles Brown (actor) (1946–2004), Tony Award-nominated performer with Negro Ensemble CompanyCharles Brown (composer) (1898–1988), French classical composerCharles Brown (musician) (1922–1999), blues singerCharles D. Brown (1887–1948), American stage and film actorCharles E. Brown (1863–1924), founder of BBC/Asea Brown BoveriCarlinhos Brown (Portuguese for Charlie Brown, born 1962), Brazilian musicianCharlie Brown Jr., a Brazilian rock bandCharlie Brown, member of Leaders of the New SchoolCharlie Brown (DJ), host of "On the Beach" on WVCO and other stationsChuck Brown (born 1934), African-American jazz guitaristChuck Brown (New Age musician) (born 1957), American singer, songwriter, and solo pianist
Military people
Charles Brown (commodore) (died 1753), Royal Navy officerCharles Brown (soldier) (1841–1919), American Civil War soldier and Medal of Honor recipientCharles Brown (Medal of Honor) (1849–?), American 1871 Korean Expedition sailor and Medal of Honor recipientCharlie Brown of the Charlie Brown and Franz Stigler incident, American World War II pilot whose heavily damaged bomber was not shot down by a Luftwaffe pilotCharles R. Brown, a United States Navy four-star admiral
Politicians
Charles Brown (California politician) (born 1949), retired U.S. Air Force lieutenant colonel, candidate for Congress for CaliforniaCharles Brown (Labour politician) (1884–1940), British Labour Party Member of Parliament for Mansfield (1929–1940)Charles Brown (Taranaki) (1820–1901), New Zealand politician from TaranakiCharlie Brown (Indiana politician) (born 1938), Indiana State RepresentativeCharles Brown (congressman) (1797–1883), U.S. Representative from PennsylvaniaCharles E. Brown (congressman) (1834–1904), U.S. Representative from OhioCharles Harrison Brown (1920–2003), U.S. Representative from MissouriCharles Hunter Brown (1825–1898), New Zealand politician from CanterburyCharles Brown (Australian politician) (1895–1970), Australian politician from QueenslandCharles M. Brown (1903–1995), Atlanta politician for whom the airport Charlie Brown Field is namedCharles Brown (mayor) (1873–1943), Mayor of Murray, Utah from 1906–1909Charles Brown (American politician)
Writers
Charles Farrar Browne (1834–1867), U.S. humor writer better known under his pen name, Artemus WardCharles Brockden Brown (1771–1810), U.S. novelistCharles Armitage Brown (1787–1842), friend of poet John KeatsCharles N. Brown (1937–2009), founder of the Science Fiction and Fantasy industry magazine LocusCharles Phillip Brown (1798–1884), Telugu writer
Other
Charles E. Brown (photographer) (1896–1982), commercial aviation photographerCharles Brown, aka Kite Man, minor villain in Batman comic books
Music
"Charlie Brown" (song), a 1959 hit song written by Leiber and Stoller"Charlie Brown" (Coldplay song), a 2012 song from Coldplay's fifth album, Mylo Xyloto"Charlie Brown," a 1975 song by Two Man SoundA dance move used in the Cha Cha Slide
Other uses
Charlie Brown, the callsign of Apollo 10's Command ModuleCharlie Brown's Steakhouse, a regional United States chain with locations in New Jersey, New York and PennsylvaniaCharles E. Brown Middle School, a public junior high school in Newton, Massachusetts
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