Charlie Sayles

about

Charlie Sayles performs a unique and diverse repetoire of American roots music, tailoring sets to the audience and venue. The band plays Jump, Chicago, Memphis, Delta and Country Blues as well as New Orleans' R&B. Charlie's originals are startling unique stories of real trouble and real ife. At the core of the music are his soulful and fiery blues harmonica and vocals and the solid dance groove of a veteran blues band. Although life hasn't been easy for Sayles, he seems to have come through the traumas okay. They started in his childhood, when he was shifted from his broken home to a long procession of foster homes. He ended up joining the Army in the late 1960s and was promptly shipped to South Vietnam. His tour of duty ended in 1971, and he came back to Massachusetts for a time. Sayles picked up the blues harp while he was in Vietnam and made a slow adjustment back to civilized society upon his return from three years in the infantry. He discovered the music of Sonny Boy Williamson (Rice Miller) after he returned home and learned all he could from those recordings. Sayles began to make trips to New York City, Atlanta, St. Louis and other cities, playing on the streets for tips from passersby in 1974 and for several years thereafter. He worked when he needed money as a day laborer. He hasn't had a real day job since then, patiently plying his craft in clubs, on street corners and more recently, at blues festivals. What shows in Sayles' playing are the long periods of ti

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