Charlie McCoy
A member of the Country Music Hall Of Fame
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 48 years, he also has his own recording career going full tilt. (He has recorded 35 solo albums.) He served as the music director for eightteen years for the syndicated television series, “Hee Haw”.
Charlie McCoy began working sessions in the early 60s, one of the first being “Candy Man” by Roy Orbison. “Forty nine dollars”, says Charlie. That’s how much I was paid for that session back in 1961. “It got Roy another hit and me a career. For a twenty year old to make $49 for three hours work back then, it was a dream.
Shortly after the release of “Candy Man”, Charlie became one of the in-demand session players in Nashville. His session credits are literally a who’s who of country music. For a fifteen year stretch, he did more than 400 sessions a year. A grand total would number more than 12,000. (and he’s still going) In the last twenty years, he has been touring more with many appearances in Europe and Japan.
In addition to country sessions, Charlie was a mainstay on Elvis Presley recordings both in Nashville and Los Angeles. When Bob Dylan recorded “Highway 61”, “Blond On Blond”, “John Wesley Harding”, and “Nashville Skyline”, Charlie was there, playing on these land-mark recordings. He was also heard on Simon and Garfunkle’s “The Boxer” in addition to many hits from genres other than country music.
Charlie McCoy began recording for Monument Records in the late 60s and recorded 14 albums for the label, beginning with “The World Of Charlie McCoy”. He won the Grammy in 1972 for his album, “The Real McCoy”. He won CMA’s “Instrumentalist Of The Year” two times and the Academy Of Country Music’s “Specialty Instrument Award” seven times. He is a member of the “International Musician’s Hall Of Fame” and the “West Virginia Music Hall Of Fame”.
On Feb. 4, 2009, it was announced that Charlie would be inducted into the Country Music Hall Of Fame along with Roy Clark and Barbara Mandrell.
If you need a harp on your record, Charlie is “Still Harpin’”
