Charlie has had his hands on Hammond organs as far back as he can remember. Whether it was his father’s Hammond chord organ growing up in Wichita Falls, Texas, or touring the country with his B-V in the popular Texas band Baby, sharing bills with Sly and The Family Stone, The Grassroots, Bloodrock, Journey, Blues Image and The Five Man Electrical Band in the 1960s. Charlie has been playing with The Texas Blues Runners since 2010 and utilizes a vintage B-3 and Leslie 122 on their debut album, “Somebody Bring Me Some Water.” Charlie has also used an SK-2 and XK3c dual manual with a Leslie 3000, which he also uses with the popular South Texas rock and roll revival band, PA Rockers. Charlie credits his parents for his love of music. It was important to them that he was exposed to all kinds of music at a very young age, including opera, symphonic orchestras and classical piano. This led to a lifelong fascination with European pipe organs. As a child, Charlie studied classical piano for eight years, but everything changed when he saw a band playing rock and roll at his junior high school. Charlie’s musical path was set. Playing music professionally was his life’s passion and he would only accept nothing less than a Hammond. That has never changed. Just ask him about his brand new SK-Pro.
