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Charles Brown

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Vocalist

The Resume

    (September 13, 1922-January 21, 1999)
    Born in Texas City, Texas
    Birth name was Tony Russell Brown
    Blues singer and pianist
    Member of Johnny Moore’s Three Blazers (1944-48)
    Recorded the songs ‘Drifting Blues,’ ‘Trouble Blues,’ ‘In the Evening When the Sun Goes Down,’ ‘Homesick Blues,’ ‘Black Night,’ ‘Hard Times,’ ‘Merry Christmas, Baby,’ and ‘Please Come Home for Christmas’
    Inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame (1996)
    Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as an early influence (1999)

Why he might be annoying:

    Both his marriages ended in divorce.
    Except for re-releases and re-recordings of his two Christmas songs, his career faded in the mid-50s as uptempo rhythm and blues and rock and roll gained popularity.
    He retired from touring after he got into a dispute with his booking agency and was unable to afford his musicians’ union dues (1958).
    He died two months before the ceremony inducting him into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Why he might not be annoying:

    He was raised by his maternal grandparents after his mother died when he was six months old and his father was killed by a train when he was six years old.
    He was a high school chemistry teacher before becoming a professional singer.
    ’Trouble Blues’ was #1 on Billboard’s R&B chart for 15 weeks in 1949, while ‘Black Night’ was #1 for 14 weeks in 1951, both songs spending more time at the top of the chart than any other R&B single in those years.
    His ‘Please Come Home for Christmas’ appeared on Billboard’s Christmas Singles chart in nine holiday seasons, hitting #1 in 1972.
    He made a comeback touring with Bonnie Raitt in the 1980s.
    He received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Rhythm & Blues Foundation (1989) and a National Heritage Fellowship from the NEA (1997).

Credit: C. Fishel


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    For 2024, as of last weekly ranking, Out of 1 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2023, Out of 2 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 11 Votes: 45.45% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 11 Votes: 72.73% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 3 Votes: 33.33% Annoying