Gracie Charlie - Rock & rolls hidden giant : the story of rock pioneer Charlie Gracie

Praise for Charlie Gracie

When we were starting out with The Beatles, the music coming over from America was magical to usand one of the artists who epitomized this magic was Charlie Gracie. The spirit of the times was captured beautifully by one of his big hit songs Fabulous, and I loved it so much that I used to perform it live with the boys. For me, those were times which were indeed truly fabulous!

Sir Paul McCartney

Charlie Gracie is one of the first in rock & rolland the first rock & roll singer to come out of Philadelphia! He started it and made it possible for all the rest of us!

Chubby Checker

It was his big electric slap-echo sound that was brilliant.

George Harrison

When one wants to know about the history of rockabilly and rock & roll, one has to get back to the beginning of the music that changed our lives. Charlie Gracie was there at the start. His concerts in the late 50s in Manchester, England helped me to become who I am today. My sister Elaine and I watched him perform with wide-open eyes. She still has the cigarette butt that he discarded when we got his autograph after the show. Musical magic indeed.

Graham Nash

There is one man I know that is dedicated to his craft...sweet, kind, and undoubtedly one of the finest guitarists and singers Ive ever known! Thank you, sugar, for blessing me and the world with your talent.

Dee Dee Sharp

Charlie[s] talent is unbelievable! [He] can play anything: rock blues, swing...Ill name it, [he] can do it! Anyone who meets [him] becomes an instant friend. Im glad I was one of those people.

Freddy Boom Boom Cannon

Charlie Gracie is a rarity in the music business. An accomplished musician, skillful guitar player, true entertainer, and above all, a man of integrity. Through all the ups and downs of the music business, and his personal trials and tribulations, Charlies passion and love for the music and his audience never wavered. I am proud to say its been an honour working with him over the years.

Jody H. Klein (CEO, ABKCO)

ROCK & ROLLS HIDDEN GIANT

The Story of Rock Pioneer Charlie Gracie

Los Angeles

To my wife, Joan, the love of my life and constant companion.

To my son, Charlie, Jr., daughter, Angela, and daughter-in-law,
Kim, for their love and devotion.

To my parents, Sam and Mary Gracie, who had the vision
to see a future for me as a musician and showmanand
the belief and determination to make it happen.

To my loving brothers Frank and Robert.

Copyright 2014 CHARLIE GRACIE and
JOHN JACKSON

All rights reserved.

Produced by Alfred Music.

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Library of Congress Control Number: 2014951462

No part of this book shall be reproduced, arranged, adapted, recorded, publicly performed, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without written permission from the publisher. In order to comply with copyright laws, please apply for such written permission and/or license by contacting the publisher at alfred.com/permissions .

Cover photograph Victoria and Albert Museum, London

Back cover photograph by Teri Landi.

All interior photographs from the Charlie Gracie archives unless otherwise noted.

Acknowledgments

My sincere thanks to John A. Jackson, my talented cowriter and now a dear friend, for his expertise, hard work, and dedication to this project; to my son Charlie Gracie, Jr., who worked tirelessly on this project, devoting much of his time to this as well as numerous endeavors of mine; to Laurie Hawkins, my diligent literary agent, who believed in the importance of my story and encouraged me to tell it; and to Ronald Sklar, whose extensive Pop Entertainment article was the springboard for this book.

Thank you to Paul Barrett, my U.K. agent and dear friend of 35 years, and to the late Bernie Rothbard, my agent for 36 years and a father figure to me.

My deepest appreciation to the folks at ABKCO Music and Records: Jody Klein, president of the company, for his continued support and affirmation; Teri Landi, gifted sound engineer and archivist; and Joe Parker, vice president of sales and distribution. Also to Link Harnsberger, vice president and editor-in-chief at Alfred Music, for the great honor of this publication.

Special recognition to Nancy Bragin, for providing vital contact information for this undertaking; to actor and author James Rosin for his support and counsel; and Paul Russo and J. Paul Simeone for their creative energy and assistance with preparing the photographs for this book.

Also to Joe Harnett, broadcaster and producer of my weekly radio program, A Fabulous Hour with Charlie Gracie (Cruisin 92.1 FM WVLT); Quentin Jones, president of Lanark Records, talented musician, and skilled music director; Fred Kahn and Terry Bortman, loyal and talented musicians, and dear friends with whom Ive shared many local and regional stages; Gary Lefkowith, talented musician and musical director; George Manney, filmmaker and Philadelphia pop music historian; Father Matthew Phelan, O. de M. and his religious community for their prayerful support and friendship; and Shawn Swords, skilled film producer and director who created my life story in a documentary for public television.

And finally, thank you to my legions of fans around the world, without whom none of this would have been possible.

Charlie Gracie, 2014

Ialong with millions of other people around the worldfirst discovered Charlie Gracie in 1957. That was the year I reverently added his orange-labeled Cameo recording of Butterfly to my nascent record collection.

I first communicated with Charlie in 1992, while writing my book American Bandstand. I telephoned him to ask for an interview. Charlie was unassuming and knowledgeable during the couple of hours we spent on the phone. I thought I came away with a slam-dunk interview. That is, until I played the tape back and heard nothing but my voice asking questions, followed by long gaps of silence. A sickening feeling overcame me as I realized Id incorrectly hooked up my new-fangled telephone recorder device. My God! I thought. How can I call this man and ask him to repeat a two-hour interview after squandering his valuable time because of my ineptness? Of course, I knew I had to do just that. After mustering up enough moxie, I called Charlie again, anxiously confessed my bungled interview attempt, apologized profuselyand then held my breath. Geez, thats a shame, Charlie responded in a most empathetic manner. When do you want to do it again? Just call me back and let me know. I exhaled in relief. When I did get back to Charlie, he handled our second interview as if it was the first.

Thats Charlie Gracie in a nutshelltremendously talented, amiable, and genuine. Following that interview, I spent the next two decades feeling as if I owed himbig time! Charlies life story is an affirmation of the maxim do what you love and you cant go wrong. It has been an inspirational and rewarding experience assisting him in documenting it.

Charlie, I hope Ive repaid my 20-year debt to you.

John A. Jackson, 2014

Other Books by John A. Jackson

Big Beat Heat: Alan Freed and the Early Years of Rock and Roll

American Bandstand: Dick Clark and the
Making of a Rock n Roll Empire

A House on Fire: The Rise and Fall of Philadelphia Soul

Foreword

Everyone has a story to tell. No one who succeeds in the recording world has done it easily. We just seem to appear overnight, doing our thing, and fame looks easy to come by.

I heard Butterfly and Fabulous on the radio, and the DJ said it was Charlie Gracie. I went out, after saving up my pocket money, and I bought them! So there he was, famous, and in my record collection.