Charles D. Lewis (born 1955) is a Barbadian

songwriter A songwriter is a musician who professionally composes musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music ...

recording artist A musician is a person who composes, conducts, or performs music. According to the United States Employment Service, "musician" is a general term used to designate one who follows music as a profession. Musicians include songwriters who w ...

, bassist,

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the limit ...

, and producer.

Career

Charles is best known for his writing and performance of " Soca Dance", released in

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in 1990. It was number one for seven weeks in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

and

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, gaining gold status in both countries. The song entered the charts in 22 other countries including the top 10 in

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, Switzerland and the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

and sold over 3 million copies worldwide, eventually becoming the 25th highest selling single on the

European Top 100 The European Top 100 Albums chart was the European adaptation of the ''Billboard'' 200 albums chart. It ran from March 1984 until December 2010. Also commonly referred to as Eurochart Top 100 Albums, the chart showcased the sales of an act in 19 E ...

Singles Chart in 1990. His album ''Do You Feel It'' also reached No. 1 in France and Belgium and was also awarded gold status and emerged as the 25th highest selling album on the European Top 100 Albums Chart in 1990. "Soca Dance" has subsequently been recorded around the world in many languages, by over 100 other artists including Latin singer

Chayanne Elmer Figueroa Arce (born June 28, 1968), better known under the stage name Chayanne, is a Puerto Rican Latin pop singer and actor. As a solo artist, Chayanne has released 21 albums and sold over 50 million records worldwide, making him one of ...

for

Sony Music Sony Music Entertainment (SME), also known as simply Sony Music, is an American multinational music company. Being owned by the parent conglomerate Sony Group Corporation, it is part of the Sony Music Group, which is owned by Sony Entertainme ...

. In November 1990, Lewis was granted The European Music & Media 'Diamond Award' and in February 1991 he received the

Ampex Golden Reel Award The Ampex Golden Reel Award was an international music award for studio albums and singles that were recorded and mixed entirely on Ampex audio tape, and which subsequently sold enough units to achieve gold record status in its country of ori ...

. Successes followed one after the other with his BMG Ariola releases "Another Friday Night" and the Christmas-release "Life Is Beautiful" which he wrote for his two sons, Raphael and Jamal. After completing a diploma in audio engineering at a college in Germany, Lewis returned to the Caribbean in his Barbados-based RaGaCha Studios. He has produced for several successful Caribbean artists including the Soca Ambassadors Square One. As a mastering engineer, Lewis's name appears on many albums, having given the final magic touch to many hit albums from some of the Caribbean's top artists including Square One, Krosfyah, Traffic, Boogsie Sharpe and Coalition, among others. In January 2006, Lewis became the first recipient of the Barbados Music Awards' "Lifetime Achievement Award". In 2007, Carib Disc Records released the compilation album ''All My Goodness'' which features a collection of hits from his ''Do You Feel It'' CD, along with several new and previously unreleased titles. After a short break, Lewis returned to the live stage in summer 2014. Since then he has been performing for concerts and TV shows across Europe. Appearances on TV shows like ''Patrick Sabastien'' and ''M6's Top 50'' have afforded him the pleasure of sharing the stage with some top international artists, including Seal, Morey Kante, the Weather Girls, Zouk Machine and Yannick Noah. In January 2015, Lewis, along with fellow Barbados and St. Lucia stars Red Plastic Bag, Wayne "Poonka" Willock, Anderson "Blood" Armstrong, Lennon "Blaze" Prospere, Sherwin "Dupes" Brice and Nicholas Brancker were invited to Berlin, Germany, to participate in a week long cultural exchange project (workshop and concert), receiving high accolades from both critics and the general public. Carib Disc Records released volume 2 of Lewis's popular songs, entitled ''More of My Goodness''.

References

External links

* https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T7HjlF_QzQ4 * https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F8wcku0zE2Y * https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gNz-m_r33xs {{DEFAULTSORT:Lewis, Charles D Barbadian soca musicians Living people 1955 births