[Harp-L] 50 Cents & A Boxtop

[Gary Lehmann]

I love that joke, "the four stages of celebrity".

A celebrity, BTW, is someone who's famous for being well known.

On Sun, Jan 7, 2018 at 5:16 AM, The Iceman via Harp-L <harp-l at xxxxx>
wrote:

> I got to work with Charlie in a few professional situations - hosting him
> and his band at SPAH a few times in the 90's and also promoting a show that
> I produced at an Orlando location - Charlie had a close group of musicians
> he enjoyed working with as The Charlie McCoy Band (his "these dogs can
> hunt!" picks). At this show, I watched his afternoon rehearsal - have never
> seen a more focused band leader put his people through the paces quickly,
> and watched as the side men responded. Charlie wasn't the Hee Haw Musical
> Director for nothing, ya know! After the show, the audience remarked that
> it was just like a night at the Grand Ol' Opry.
>
>
> Sadly, at least in the US, Charlie was touring the retirement villages and
> RV Parks, using local pick up musicians as he went when he wasn't given a
> produced show like the one in Orlando. However, every year he would do a
> tour in France in which he was hailed as the musical hero that he truly is.
>
>
> I'll always remember what he told me about the Nashville Scene from when
> he first started out until now....it was a 4 stage recreation of his
> experience...
> Producers would say...
>          1. "Who is Charlie McCoy?" (at first)
> then  2. "Get me Charlie McCoy"
> next  3. "Get me a younger Charlie McCoy"
> and finally
>          4. "Who is Charlie McCoy?"
>
>
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Greg Jones <greg at xxxxx>
> To: Harp-L <harp-l at xxxxx>
> Sent: Sat, Jan 6, 2018 9:32 pm
> Subject: [Harp-L] 50 Cents & A Boxtop
>
> A good friend and great harmonica player recently gave me the book:
> *50 Cents and a Boxtop.. The creative life of Charlie McCoy. *
>
> It was a very interesting book that gives the reader a window shot of
> Nashville in the 60 and 70s.  I learned a lot about Charlie that I never
> really knew previously.
>
> He owes much of his musical success to periods in his childhood growing up
> in Miami. No doubt that life in West Virginia influenced him, but it was in
> Miami where he joined several rock bands and it was in a Florida high
> school that he studied music theory.
>
> The story weaves in and out of his early musical experiences, but it is
> pretty clear that Charlie McCoy the musician was a worker and probably
> pushed harder with every success, never sitting back.  Clearly one of the
> top old school Nashville session men, he played far more than just
> harmonica and it was likely his multi-instrumentalist skills that put him
> on the 1st call.
>
> Although he didn't really invent the Nashville Numbering System, he
> certainly had a hand in promoting its use and his understanding of it was
> due significantly to musical education.
>
> If you want to learn a little more about the music business and one of our
> favorite harmonica players, grab a copy.  It moves quickly and if you are
> over 50, you will certainly have a connection to much of what is discussed
>
> *Greg Jones*
> *16:23 Harmonicas*
> Web Site:        1623customharmonicas.com
>
>