Charlie was born in Kansas on February 9, 1900.
He was educated at the University of Kansas and the Boston Conservatory of music and graduated with high honors. He played a variety of instruments, including violin, piano, banjo, saxophone, harmonica and guitar!
Charlie played classical, folk style and country, the latter being his true love. He went on the road and played through 31 states, and also into Nova Scotia with his own company. When he again crossed the border, he fell in love with a pretty school teacher and she made him promise to give up wandering, which he did. They were married and for their honeymoon walked from Boston to Topeka, Kansas that summer while Charlie carried a seventy pound pack on his back all the way!
In 1928 Charlie joined the NBC staff in San Francisco, forming a band there called “Charlie and His Mavericks.” They went back to perform for thirty days for the National Barn Dance and went over big with everyone there. The next forty-some years Charlie was on radio and TV. I might add that an old letter was found at that time which was written from Charlie to his mother. telling her he saw a young man in bib overalls doing some fine pickin’ and singin’ and he believed the kid would go places. That kid’s name was Red Foley! Charlie was the Singing Ranger on the “Death Valley Days” radio show. He worked with stars Jim Jordon, Fibber McGee and composer Meredith Wilson. Charlie knew more songs than any one I ever met. He sang eight songs a day on one radio show for one year and never did the same song twice! He worked for KFBK and was still working for KCTC at the time of his death.
Charlie always performed in Coloma during the “Gold Discovery Days”. He would be playing and singing his heart out at the old Sutter’s Mill and drawing a bigger and more enthused crowd than the governor making a speech across the street! Charlie’s mother lived to be one hundred and four years old. We played music for her at her at her one hundred-third birthday party. Delbert McGrath was the fiddler. She requested “Listen to the Mockingbird” and “Sally Gooden.” Charlie’s mother lived with him for many years in her later life and left this earth here in Sacramento. Charlie, Delbert and I would meet every Monday night to practice music, either at Charlie’s house or ours. He was always a fun person and a charmer – always natural and at ease. Charlie also played golf every day, rain or shine, and had done this for many years. The day before
his entering the hospital for the last time, we played eighteen holes of golf and he requested we play nine
more, but I, (being twenty years his junior) was ready to call it quits! Doctors did exploratory surgery on Charlie and found he had cancer. His death came twelve days after that diagnosis. His last words in this life were “Ros, don’t go and leave me here – take me home.” I was standing at the bedside when he passed away, and realized I had lost a good pickin’ buddy and a true friend. That was June 23, 1974.
(Biography submitted by Roscoe Keithley)
