Charles Otis Waller (January 19, 1935 – August 18, 2004) was the lead singer and guitarist for the bluegrass band

The Country Gentlemen The Country Gentlemen was a progressive bluegrass band that originated during the 1950s in the area of Washington, D.C., United States, and recorded and toured with various members until the death in 2004 of Charlie Waller (American musician), C ...

. Waller was involved with The Country Gentlemen for 47 years. As a member of The Country Gentlemen, Waller was inducted into the

International Bluegrass Music Hall of Honor Induction to the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame, called the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Honor from its creation in 1991 through 2006, is managed by the International Bluegrass Music Association, and the Hall itself is mainta ...

in 1996 and the

Southern Gospel Museum and Hall of Fame The Southern Gospel Music Association (''SGMA'') is a non-profit corporation formed as an association of southern gospel music singers, songwriters, fans, and industry workers. Membership is acquired and maintained through payment of annual dues. T ...

in 2009.

Biography

Waller was born in

Joinerville, Texas Joinerville is an unincorporated community in East Texas. It is located in western Rusk County, Texas, United States. Joinerville is seven miles west of the city of Henderson, Texas. It was originally called Cyril, and then Miller or Miller Sch ...

and moved to

Lake Charles, Louisiana Lake Charles (French: ''Lac Charles'') is the fifth-largest incorporated city in the U.S. state of Louisiana, and the parish seat of Calcasieu Parish, located on Lake Charles, Prien Lake, and the Calcasieu River. Founded in 1861 in Calcasieu ...

at the age of 2 with his family. He began to play guitar at the age of 10 and moved with his mother to

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

. In 1952, Waller joined Earl Taylor's bluegrass band, the Stoney Mountain Boys. He returned to Louisiana in 1956 as a guitar player with

Buzz Busby and the Bayou Boys Bernarr Graham Busbice (September 6, 1933 – January 5, 2003), known professionally as Buzz Busby, was an American bluegrass musician, known for his mandolin style and high tenor voice. He was nicknamed the "Father of Washington, D.C. Bluegra ...

, making appearances on television. In 1957 he and Busby returned to the Washington, D.C. area, where Waller met

mandolinist A mandolin ( it, mandolino ; literally "small mandola") is a stringed musical instrument in the lute family and is generally plucked with a pick. It most commonly has four courses of doubled strings tuned in unison, thus giving a total of 8 ...

John Duffey John Humbird Duffey Jr. (March 4, 1934 – December 10, 1996) was a Washington D.C. based bluegrass musician. Duffey was born in Washington, D.C., and lived nearly all his life in the Washington D.C. area. He graduated from Bethesda-Chevy Cha ...

and

banjo The banjo is a stringed instrument with a thin membrane stretched over a frame or cavity to form a resonator. The membrane is typically circular, and usually made of plastic, or occasionally animal skin. Early forms of the instrument were fashi ...

player

Bill Emerson Norvell William Emerson (January 1, 1938 – June 22, 1996) was an American politician. He served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from Missouri from 1981 until his death from lung cancer in Bethesda, Maryland in 19 ...

. When Busby was injured in an auto accident in July 1957, Emerson formed a temporary band with Waller and Duffey to fulfill Busby's bookings. The temporary band soon became permanent, and

would continue for more than fifty years. The Country Gentlemen achieved fame across the United States and internationally even touring Japan in 1971. While more than 100 musicians have been members at one time, Waller was always an original member of the group and has many famous songs to his credit. Waller was held in high regard for his singing ability especially on songs like Legend of the Rebel Soldier,

Two Little Boys "Two Little Boys" is a song written by American composer Theodore F. Morse and lyricist Edward Madden. It was written in 1902 and became a popular music hall song of the time, especially by Scottish singer Harry Lauder. It describes the story of ...

House of the Rising Sun A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condi ...

and many others. Though Charlie usually played rhythm guitar, he flatpicked lead on some songs such as Under the Double Eagle,

Spanish Two Step "New Spanish Two Step" is a Western swing standard based on a traditional fiddle tune, "Spanish Two Step". Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys recorded the latter on September 23, 1935, and released it on Vocalion 03230 in 1936. Ten years later, Will ...

and Electricity among others. The band released a new album, ''

Songs of the American Spirit ''Songs of the American Spirit'' is the last studio album by the progressive bluegrass Bluegrass music is a genre of American roots music that developed in the 1940s in the Appalachian region of the United States. The genre derives its name ...

'', in September 2004. On August 18, 2004 Charlie Waller suffered a massive heart attack at his

Gordonsville, Virginia Gordonsville is a town in Orange County, Virginia, Orange County in the U.S. state, Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. Located about 19 miles northeast of Charlottesville, Virginia, Charlottesville and 65 miles northwest of Richmond, V ...

home. A month before his death Charlie Waller told his bus driver, Kenny Wurzburger, that he had a pain in his liver. An autopsy would reveal that Charlie was in the early stages of liver cancer at the time of his death.

References

1935 births 2004 deaths 20th-century American guitarists 20th-century American musicians American bluegrass guitarists American male guitarists The Country Gentlemen members Guitarists from Texas People from Gordonsville, Virginia People from Rusk County, Texas 20th-century American male musicians {{US-country-musician-stub