Charlie Feathers was born in the state of Mississippi, not very far from Slayden & Holly Springs, Mississippi in Marshall County. On June 12th, 1932, Leonard and Lucy Feathers were blessed with the birth of a boy whom they named Arthur Lyndbergh Feathers (a.k.a.Charlie Feathers).

By the age of nine, Feathers had become an adept guitarist: One field hand in particular, Junior Kimbrough introduced Charlie to the acoustic guitar, providing him with valuable lessons, which he eagerly absorbed:

Charlie left school after the third grade, which would account for his illiteracy, and then during either 1948 or 1949, since he could not find full-time employment in Memphis, packed his grip and travelled to Cairo, Illinois to work the oil pipelines with his Father. This work later took him to Texas where Charlie, guitar in hand, hit the honky-tonks and juke joints in his spare time, providing him with valuable experience in playing the live circuit.

It was not until the early fifties that he made his final move to Memphis, Tennessee. Charlie married Rosemary Hardy at the age of eighteen, May 19, 1951, and soon took up work at a local box manufacturing factory. Soon after, he contacted spinal meningitis which kept him out of the Army. His stay in the hospital naturally gave him lots of free time and between the white sheets he got to think about all the wonderful songs people like Jimmie Rodgers and especially Hank Williams had written. It was during Charlie's stay in the hospital that 'Peepin' Eyes' (a fast country ballad with more than just a few Hank Williams influences) was born.

Backed by Quinton Claunch and Bill Cantrell, along with Sun all rounder Stan Kesler on steel guitar and Marcus Van Storey plucking the string bass, Charlie cut his debut record for Sam Phillips on February 17th, 1955..........................

Coupling a rendition of the Johnny Burnette Trio's "Tear It Up" with a "Tongue Tied Jill" spin-off, "Stutterin' Cindy," Charlie's Philwood single was fervently snatched up by his English fans, who considered his records to be the equivalent of gold. In 1974, he began playing gigs with a band that now featured his daughter Wanda and his son, Bubba as lead guitarist. It was also during this period that the pilgrimage of his European fans to Memphis commenced, an occurrence that Charlie was not entirely comfortable with at first:
"One night these two Frenchmen came in. Now I'm up there singin', and each of these guys pulls down one of my socks and starts kissin' my feet on the ankles, so I start kickin' 'em! Hell, I thought they was queers 'cept I come to find out later, I was their hero, and that was their way of honorin' me!"
Charlie must have been gratified by his achievements, though. The prosperity that he found during the seventies had long been due to him.
Over the next few years, Feathers continued to record and perform prolifically. One of the best Charlie Feathers' stories dates back to 1974: On his first trip to the West Coast, he recorded a single for Rockin' Ronnie Weiser's Rollin' Rock label. After spending most of the day working on one song, Weiser reminded Feathers that they needed another song and asked for something a little hotter. Feathers promptly grabbed a bass and slapped out "That Certain Female." Three minutes of powerful, unrestrained rockabilly madness, illustrating just how simple it could be for him to produce a classic.
Charlie extended his new found and much belated fame to an American audience when he performed on NBC-TV's Little Old Show in 1979. Charlie's appearance on the program, as released on the Lunar label, became the catalyst by which he finally received the respect and admiration of his fellow countrymen, an adoration that had eluded him since he made his first recordings for Sun over twenty years previously.
During the eighties and nineties, Feathers' career proceeded unabated. Records were issued on his Feathers label and after battling a diabetes- related disease, he cut a disc for the major label, Elektra in 1990. The release of this album, simply titled Charlie Feathers, was a turning point in Charlie's life. He was determined to set the history books straight when he sang "We Can't Seem to Remember to Forget," a tune that he probably included on the album out of stubbornness and more than just a pinch of malice towards his critics. As important as it was, the Elektra disc met a quiet reception, as did a Billy Poore produced album released by Sunjay a few years later.
Charlie's own story, rich with consummate acts that needed no embellishment, came to a sudden close on August 25th, 1998 when he suffered a stroke and was admitted to St. Francis I.C.U. in Memphis. Falling into a coma a day later, his condition deteriorated, and he passed away on August 29th.

He said it best when he said:

"I don't copy when I sing. I'm Charlie Feathers, and I guess
I'll be singing like that until the day I die."
Charlie, you will never be forgotten, and may you rest in peace.

Charlie is survived by his lovely wife, Rosemary
and his three prized children:
Wanda, Bubba, and Ricky.

This information is taken from the Charlie Feathers website

Reproduced with the kind permission of Wanda Feathers