Sonny Charles (born Charles Hemphill, September 4, 1940)Joel Whitburn, ''The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits''. 7th edn, 2000 is an American

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun ''soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest attes ...

singer Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

born to a sharecropping family at

Blytheville, Arkansas Blytheville is the county seat and the largest city in Mississippi County, Arkansas, United States. It is approximately north of West Memphis. The population was 13,406 at the 2020 census, down from 15,620 in 2010. History Blytheville was found ...

. At the age of 10. he moved with his parents and six sisters to Fort Wayne, Indiana. He was the lead singer of the

Checkmates, Ltd. The Checkmates, Ltd. were an United States, American Rhythm and blues, R&B group from Fort Wayne, Indiana, Fort Wayne, Indiana. The group, discovered by Nancy Wilson (jazz singer), Nancy Wilson, included both black people, black and white people, wh ...

in the 1960s and 1970s, and it is his vocals that are heard out front on their 1969

Phil Spector Harvey Phillip Spector (born Harvey Philip Spector; December 26, 1939January 16, 2021) was an American record producer and songwriter, best known for his innovative recording practices and entrepreneurship in the 1960s, followed decades later by ...

-produced hit, "

Black Pearl The ''Black Pearl'' (formerly known as the ''Wicked Wench'') is a fictional ship in the ''Pirates of the Caribbean'' film series. In the screenplay, the ''Black Pearl'' is easily recognized by her distinctive black hull and sails. Captained by ...

". Charles launched a

solo Solo or SOLO may refer to: Arts and entertainment Comics * ''Solo'' (DC Comics), a DC comics series * Solo, a 1996 mini-series from Dark Horse Comics Characters * Han Solo, a ''Star Wars'' character * Jacen Solo, a Jedi in the non-canonical ''S ...

career in the early 1970s, and had a brief reunion with the Checkmates during the 1980s. Thereafter, from the mid- to late 1990s, he toured with another member of the Checkmates, Ltd., Marvin "Sweet Louie" Smith, under the Checkmates name.

Albums and musical career

Charles' 1982

album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

, ''The Sun Still Shines'', recorded on Highrise Records, hit #136 on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' album chart and #14 on the U.S. Black Albums chart on the strength of the single "Put It in a Magazine". Written by Charles with producer Bobby Paris, the song went to #2 on the R&B Singles chart Allmusic ((( Sonny Charles > Biography )))/ref> and reached #40 on the ''Billboard''

Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streaming ...

in early 1983. The follow-up single, "Always on My Mind", peaked at #53, but Charles quickly fell from view.

Steve Miller Band

Charles joined the

Steve Miller Band The Steve Miller Band is an American rock music, rock band formed in 1966 in San Francisco, California. The band is led by Steve Miller (musician), Steve Miller on guitar and lead vocals. The group had a string of mid- to late-1970s hit singles t ...

in 2008, toured with them, and left in 2012.Steve Miller Band Celebrates 40 Years With 'Live' DVD , Billboard.com
/ref>

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Charles, Sonny 1940 births Living people Musicians from Fort Wayne, Indiana American male singers American soul musicians American rhythm and blues singers Steve Miller Band members

External links

Sonny Charles talks about his period with Phil Spector and solo recordings