Raised on gospel and blues, Charlie Rich grew up an Arkansas country boy. Joining the Air Force in the early ‘50s, Rich began playing the guitar, piano and saxophone. Stationed in Oklahoma, he organized the Velvetones, who performed jazz and blues tunes, and featured lead vocalist and Rich's fiancée Margaret Ann.After leaving the army in 1956, he worked as a session musician for Judd Records and wrote arrangements for Sun recording artist Bill Justis. He became a Sun Records regular, playing and singing with Sun artists like Johnny Cash, Warren Smith, Carl Mann and Ray Smith. He began writing his own material and found success when artists like Cash and Mann sang his songs.He began recording with Phillips International in 1958, but didn't see a hit until 1960 when his third single, "Lonely Weekends" became a Top 30 pop hit. Over the next few years, Rich found little commercial success with his releases and switched labels every few years until he signed with Epic in 1967. Modifying his sound, Rich finally found commercial success with the number six single "I Take It on Home," part of his 1973 album Behind Closed Doors. Long time producer and friend Billy Sherrill directed this Arkansas native toward success, with four albums debuting Rich into the country music scene along with several hit singles. Behind Closed Doors reached the Top 20 on the pop charts, and earned Rich three awards from the County Music Association. After the success of the first single, Rich continued to record more singles that topped country and pop charts alike until his alcohol addiction found the country boy criticized for his outlandish behavior.He moved into semiretirement within the next decade, and found only minor success in his next few albums. He died from a blood clot found in his lung in 1995.
