Arts

Music

Charlie Christian

Charlie Christian was one of the first well known and recorded electric guitarists. He played for the prominent Benny Goodman band. Charlie’s father was a band leader. Charlie didn’t have a lot of interest in music. He was more interested in baseball and had big dreams of becoming a professional player. When he was a teenager his father got sick with a mysterious fever that disabled and blinded him. He lost his job as band leader and to bring money into the household he would go to a down town street corner with his kids and play for pocket change.

That’s where Charlie learned to play guitar. He would have much rather played a clarinet but since a guitar is what they had that’s what he played. During that time Benny Goodman was it. He was a band leader of not just one but several bands and was the most prominent name in music at the time. Since so many great musicians where clamoring to be in his band he would periodically fire everybody and bring in new, and hungry, talent.

Guitar was starting to make a splash at that time and wanting to be cutting edge Benny was thinking of adding a guitarist. He was talking to an acquaintance that just happened to be a friend of the Christian family. That friend convinced Benny that there was this kid guitar player who was so great he would have to hear him. So when Benny stated having auditions he invited Charlie to come try out. Charlie blew the audition big time. He was nervous and had never played with a band before and totally laid back. Benny said thank you but no thanks.

The friend, being the friend he was and knowing what happened, dragged Charlie to the next Benny Goodman orchestra rehearsal and insisted Benny give him one more listen. Benny’s initial reaction was to be angered and insist they get out but the friend stuck by his guns and refused to leave until he heard Charlie again. Benny gave in and let him play along with the next song on the rehearsal list. Charlie pulled out all the stops and blew Benny away. Benny hired him but at a meager $2.95 a day as he still wasn’t sure of him. Within weeks Charlie was the talk of the music industry and Benny increased his pay to $300 a week.

He is still considered to be the most influential jazz guitarist of all time. Unfortunately joining the Benny Goodman band also introduced him to drinking and drugs and the party life which took a serious toll on his health. After partying and jamming all night long one night in a Harlem club a friend dropped him off at a hospital as he wasn’t looking too good. He was very ill. His health continued to decline until he died a few weeks later. He was 27.