Classic Country

There are numerous super-session musicians in Nashville, but very few with the longevity of Charlie McCoy. In addition to being a fixture in Nashville studios for 39 years, he also has his own recording career going full tilt (he recorded 28 albums in the last 32 years). He served as Musical Director for the long running syndicated television series, 'Hee-Haw'. Charlie McCoy began working sessions in the early '60s, one of the first being on Roy Orbison's Monument hit, 'Candy Man'. 'Forty-nine dollars', says McCoy. That's how much he was paid for that session back in 1961. 'It got Roy another hit and me a career, and for a 20 year-old to make $49 for three hours work back then, it was a dream.' Shortly after the release of 'Candy Man', Charlie McCoy became one of the in-demand session players in Nashville. His session credits are literally a who's who of country music, doing upwards of 400 sessions per year. Charlie has since cut his session appearances down in the last few years to provide more time to tour in Europe and Japan in addition to the U.S. In addition to his country sessions, Charlie McCoy was a mainstay on Elvis Presley recordings both in Nashville and Los Angeles. When Bob Dylan recorded 'Blond on Blond', 'Nashville Skyline' and 'John Wesley Harding' in Nashville, Charlie was one of the few Nashville session players on those dates. In his book 'Backstage Pass', Al Kooper described a typical Charlie McCoy incident which took place during the sessions for Dylan's 'Blond On Blond' Album. One song called for a trumpet part which should have been an easy overdub, except that Dylan didn't care for overdubs. So McCoy, while playing bass with his left hand, played trumpet with his right hand, without missing a beat. Kooper points out that Dylan stopped in the middle of the song, amazed. Charlie McCoy began recording for Monument Records in the late '60s and recorded 12 albums for the label, beginning in 1969 with 'The Real McCoy'. He has been nominated and received so many awards over the years that it's hard to keep up with them. However, he's won a Grammy Award, two Country Music Association Awards and eight Academy of Country Music Awards. Additionally, Charlie has won numerous awards provided by the three music industry trade publications, Billboard, Cash Box and Record World. Charlie tends to be a perpetual country instrumentalist nominee year after year. In addition to making his own recordings, Charlie was a member of two legendary Nashville bands, Area Code 615 and Barefoot Jerry. Both groups featured many of the top session players in Nashville. While Charlie McCoy is predominately known as a harmonica player (he endorses the Hohner brand of harmonica) his musical prowess encompasses most instruments including guitar, bass, drums, keyboards as well as a variety of wind and brass instruments. After the demise of Monument Records in 1982, Charlie was without any record company affiliation for about five years. He and his band recorded an album entitled 'One For the Road' in 1986. Charlie has had three albums released in the United States on Step One Records and a Gospel album on the Simitar label. Charlie has toured in Europe and Japan regularly since 1989, and has released albums with Danish, French, and German companies. Charlie served as the music director for the hit syndicated TV show, 'Hee Haw' for 19 years, in addition to directing music for the 'True Value Country Showdown', the 'Arthritis Telethon', and various oth