ROCKIE CHARLES "Born For You" (1996)

"Fifty-four-year-old Louisiana Native Rockie Charles emerges from the fen-sucked fog of obscurity on 'Born for You.' A singer/songwriter/guitarist known as 'The President of Soul,' he backed soul legends like Little Johnny Taylor, Percy Sledge, O.V. Wright and Otis Redding in the 1960s when he was based in Nashville. This unpretentious album of original Southern soul owes more to the music of Al Green and O.V. Wright then to blues or even 'Nawlins R&B. The five ballads suggest the influence of Percy Sledge. His sparse, clean guitar work reminds me of Stax-era Steve Cropper as it fits in perfectly with the organ and horns." - Thomas J. Cullen III, Blues Review

Although a longtime veteran of the music industry, singer/guitarist Rockie Charles and his soulful blues sound only began attracting attention during the mid-'90s. Born Charles Merick in Boothville, LA on November 14, 1942, he first emerged during the early '60s in a series of New Orleans R&B bands, taking inspiration from Earl King and Chuck Berry; auditions for the Minit and Imperial labels went nowhere, but during the middle of the decade, Charles cut a handful of sides for Black Patch, including "Sinking Like a Ship." He soon relocated to Nashville, where he backed performers including O.V. Wright, Little Johnny Taylor, and Roscoe Shelton. Upon returning to New Orleans in 1970, Charles established his own label, Soulgate, scoring a local hit with the single "The President of Soul"; however, with the rise of disco, his fortunes dwindled, and he spent the better part of the next two decades working as a tugboat captain and oyster fisherman. In 1994, however, Orleans Records producer Carlo Ditta responded to an advertisement Charles had placed in a local entertainment magazine, and two years later, the singer finally released his debut solo LP, Born for You. (jason Ankeny, Allmusic)

trax:
01 Born For You 02 Old Black Joel 03 Oh My Darling Look What You're Doing To Me 04 Festis Believe In Justice 05 Please Tell Me It Ain't For You 06 Something Is Wrong With Our Love 07 I Need Your Love So Bad, I'm About To Lose My Mind 08 Don't Let Me Go 09 I Just Called To Wish You A Merry Christmas 10 I Like To Make Love When It's Pouring Down Rain 11 There's A Rainbow Hanging Over My Shoulder
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