Charley Lincoln (born Charlie Hicks, Jr., March 11, 1900 – September 28, 1963), also known as Laughing Charley, was an early

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

country blues Country blues (also folk blues, rural blues, backwoods blues, or downhome blues) is one of the earliest forms of blues music. The mainly solo vocal with acoustic fingerstyle guitar accompaniment developed in the rural Southern United States in t ...

musician. He often recorded with his brother Robert Hicks, who was billed as

Barbecue Bob Robert Hicks, better known as Barbecue Bob (September 11, 1902 – October 21, 1931), was an early American Piedmont blues musician. His nickname was derived from his working as a cook in a barbecue restaurant. One of the three extant photograph ...

Life and career

Hicks was born in

Lithonia, Georgia Lithonia (, ; AAVE: ) is a city in eastern DeKalb County, Georgia, United States. The city's population was 2,662 at the 2020 census. Lithonia is in the Atlanta metropolitan area. "Lithonia" means "city/town of stone". Lithonia is in the heart ...

. In his teens he was taught to play the guitar by Savannah Weaver, the mother of

Curley Weaver Curley James Weaver (March 25, 1906 – September 20, 1962) was an American blues musician, also known as Slim Gordon. Biography Early years Weaver was born in Covington, Georgia, and raised on a farm near Porterdale. His mother, Savannah "Dip" ...

, and performed in the Lithonia area until 1920.Harris 1994, p. 226. He moved to

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

, and worked outside the field of music, occasionally performing with his brother. He recorded with his brother for

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music, Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese Conglomerate (company), conglomerate Sony. It was founded on Janua ...

from 1927 to 1930. An example is the

duet A duet is a musical composition for two performers in which the performers have equal importance to the piece, often a composition involving two singers or two pianists. It differs from a harmony, as the performers take turns performing a solo ...

"It Won't Be Long Now", with crosstalk, which the brothers recorded in Atlanta on November 5, 1927. After Robert's early death in 1931, Charley continued to perform into the 1950s, as Charley Lincoln. From 1955 to 1963 he was imprisoned for murder in

Cairo, Georgia Cairo () is a city in Grady County, Georgia, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 10,179. The city is the county seat of Grady County. History Cairo was founded in 1835. It was incorporated as a town in 1870 and as ...

, where he became a prisoner trustee. He died there of a

cerebral hemorrhage Intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH), also known as cerebral bleed, intraparenchymal bleed, and hemorrhagic stroke, or haemorrhagic stroke, is a sudden bleeding into the tissues of the brain, into its ventricles, or into both. It is one kind of bleed ...

on September 28, 1963.

References

Sources

* Harris, Sheldon (1994). ''Blues Who's Who''. Rev ed. New York: Da Capo Press. . {{DEFAULTSORT:Lincoln, Charley 1900 births 1963 deaths African-American guitarists Country blues singers American blues guitarists American male guitarists Country blues musicians Piedmont blues musicians Singers from Georgia (U.S. state) People from Lithonia, Georgia 20th-century American guitarists Guitarists from Georgia (U.S. state) 20th-century African-American male singers

Life and career

See also

References

Sources