Interviewing The Legends: Charles Wright interview

C H A R L E S

W R I G H T

LEGENDARY R&B SINGER & SONGWRITER

RELEASING BRAND-NEW ALBUM!

WROTE THE MEGA HIT

"EXPRESS YOURSELF"

PERFORMED BY CHARLES WRIGHT

AND THE WATTS 103RD STREET RHYTHM BAND

ZOOM TV SPECIAL EVENT

on INTERVIEWING THE LEGENDS

Charles Wright was born in Clarksdale Mississippi, where he grew up and was musically inclined by playing the guitar and singing in several doo-wop groups, including, The Twilighters, The Shield, and The Gallahads.

Wright briefly worked as A&R Director for Del-Fi Records and was responsible for the hit recording of "Those Oldies But Goodies (Remind Me of You)" by Little Caesar and the Romans in 1961. By 1964, Wright formed his own band called Charles Wright & the Wright Sounds, which included John Raynford, and Daryl Dragon, the "Captain" of Captain & Tennille. Wright added more members to the group, and they became known as the Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band, and they played in several venues across Los Angeles. In the 1970s the band was best known for their world-renowned hit, "Express Yourself.” It was written by Wright and distributed by Warner Bros. TM, where it would hit #3 and #12 on the R&B and Pop charts, respectively.

Another hit record under Wright's reign was Do Your Thing, which set the stage for a 1970s pornographic study of Boogie Nights. To date, Wright's songs have been covered by legendary artists around the globe, including Ray Charles, Les McCann, Della Reese, Roger Troutman & Zapp, The Ohio Players, and the Swiss Lon Genes Symphony Orchestra. During the rise of Hip-Hop in the 1980s, many rap artists sampled chunks of funk from Wright's wax, including N.W.A. and their smash track, "Express Yourself" Brand Nubian Funk, Naughty By Nature, Gang Starr, and Sean "P. Diddy" Combs also gleaned inspiration from Wright's work.

Charles will be releasing a brand new album very soon!

WATCH FOR THE BRAND-NEW ALBUM

BY CHARLES WRIGHT

'A LITTLE BIT OF EVERYTHING'

COMING SOON!

PURCHASE

THE RECENT RELEASE

CHARLES

WRIGHT

‘TAKING

BACK’

at amazon.com

Also

Charles best-selling book

From where we've come

AN EVENTFUL JOURNEY

Charles Wright

amazon.com

"UP" contains historical moments, where the reader will experience inserts of the author's life long before he gained his status as a musical legend. And like his music, Wrights' story is a historical account of events that could only be told in his own personal and unique style.

Wright’s book is about a young boy and his family's trials and tribulations on a cotton plantation owned by a cruel sharecropper named Edward Miles, who was born with an unfair advantage, which he uses to dominate his subjects. At the critical age of eight, the boy's father demanded he pick no less than a hundred pounds a day, which according to the author, he has yet to be able to deliver. But any time he failed, he faced yet another one of his father’s vicious whippings. His father was involved with the cruel hearted landowner, who owned four hundred acres of fertile land, which he and his family were obligated to work 40 acres of. This, of course, called for an oversized family, which at that time was a sharecropper's dream.

The beatings continued practically on a daily basis and continued even after the family relocated to California due to the fact that his father had developed a habit of taking his personal frustrations out on the boy.

During the late forties and early fifties, his parents decided to opt out of the cotton business for good, but soon realized Mr. Miles was not so willing to let go. They plotted a scheme and leaving the plantation, they moved into Clarksdale, but only to realize how relentless the old sharecropper actually was. So in an effort to subdue the family, Mr. Miles used his influence among other white southerners to deny the boy's father employment.

Their saga continued due to one incident after another until finally, the child's mother sought help from her oldest daughter, who'd already moved out of state. The rest is history. His story takes too many twists and turns to explain in a brief synopsis, yet in the end it has a surprisingly pleasant way of resolving itself.

FOR MORE INFORMATION

ABOUT

CHARLES WRIGHT

VISIT

https://expressyourself.net/

Official website

www.facebook.com/charleswrightmusic

FACEBOOK

www.youtube.com/user/charleswrightz1

YouTube

https://open.spotify.com/artist/6fN2KrVTKQmaJPNWfIiIuh?si=6yf8nhONRXC296guwV128w&nd=1

Spotify

Discography

CHARLES WRIGHT

Singles

Act Title Release Year

Charlie Wright "Help Yourself" / "Number One" (1966)

Charles Wright "(I'm Living On) Borrowed Time" / "Keep Saying (You Don't Love Nobody)" (1966)

Charles Wright "Soul Train" / "Run Jody Run" (1972)

Charles Wright "You Gotta Know Whatcha Doin'" / "Here Comes the Sun" (1972)

Charles Wright "(Well I'm) Doin' What Cums Naturally" Part 1 / "(Well I'm) Doin' What Cums Naturally" Part 2 (1973)

Charles Wright "You Threw It All Away" / "The Weight Of Hate" (1973)

Charles Wright "Is It Real?" / "Don't Rush Tomorrow" (1975)

Charles Wright "You Gotta Know Whatcha Doin" / "Here Comes The Sun"

Happiness (2014)

Just Fine (2020)

CHARLES WRIGHT

Albums

Act Title Year

Charles Wright Rhythm And Poetry (1972)

Charles Wright Doing What Comes Naturally (1973)

Charles Wright Ninety Day Cycle People (1974)

Charles Wright A Lil' Encouragement (1975)

Charles Wright of The Watts 103rd St. Rhythm Band Going To The Party (1997)

Charles Wright Music For The Times We Live In (2002)

Charles Wright of The Watts 103rd St. Rhythm Band High Maintenance Woman (2003)

Charles Wright of The Watts 103rd St. Rhythm Band with The Gallahads My Love Affair With Doo-Wop (2004)

Charles Wright Finally Got It... Wright (2007)

Music For The Times We Live In (2007)

Rhythm and Poetry (Remastered & Expanded) (2007)

Something to Make You Feel Good (2016)

Taking It Back (2021)

A Little Bit of Everything (2023) Coming soon!

As Charles Wright

and the Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band

Album Year

Express Yourself (1970)

You're So Beautiful (1971)

CHARLES WRIGHT

APPEARS WEEK OF

MAY 9TH 2023

ON INTERVIEWING THE LEGENDS

WITH RAY SHASHO

ORDER NOW

WHILE SUPPLIES LAST!

RAY’S BEST-SELLING BOOK

ENTITLED

THE ROCK STAR CHRONICLES

SERIES ONE

CHRONICLES,TRUTHS

CONFESSIONS AND WISDOM

FROM THE MUSIC LEGENDS

THAT SET US FREE!

BY MUSIC JOURNALIST ...TALK SHOW HOST...

AUTHOR ... TV SITCOM SCRIPT WRITER

RAY SHASHO

…Order yours today on (Collector edition) Hardcover or E-book at bookbaby.com and amazon.com

Featuring over 45 intimate conversations with some of the greatest rock legends the world will ever know.

CHRIS SQUIRE... DR. JOHN... GREG LAKE... HENRY MCCULLOUGH... JACK BRUCE … JOE LALA… JOHNNY WINTER... KEITH EMERSON... PAUL KANTNER... RAY THOMAS... RONNIE MONTROSE... TONY JOE WHITE... DAVID CLAYTON-THOMAS… MIKE LOVE... TOMMY ROE... BARRY HAY... CHRIS THOMPSON... JESSE COLIN YOUNG... JOHN KAY... JULIAN LENNON... MARK LINDSAY... MICKY DOLENZ… PETER RIVERA ...TOMMY JAMES… TODD RUNDGREN... DAVE MASON... EDGAR WINTER... FRANK MARINO... GREGG ROLIE... IAN ANDERSON... JIM “DANDY” MANGRUM... JON ANDERSON... LOU GRAMM... MICK BOX... RANDY BACHMAN… ROBIN TROWER... ROGER FISHER... STEVE HACKETT... ANNIE HASLAM… ‘MELANIE’ SAFKA... PETULA CLARK... SUZI QUATRO... COLIN BLUNSTONE… DAVE DAVIES... JIM McCARTY... PETE BEST

THE ROCK STAR CHRONICLES

BOOK TRAILER

BOOK REVIEW

-By Literary Titan (5) STARS

The Rock Star Chronicles by Ray Shasho, is a splendid book written by a music enthusiast who has poured their heart and soul into it. It’s a story of a boy who loved rock music, and his obsessive passion of it earned himself the name Rock Raymond. He went to school but instead was schooled in all matters of music while his peers were buried chin-deep in coursework. He then became a radio DJ and has now compiled a book on all interviews he held with Rock gods who raided the airwaves back in the 70s and 80s. It’s a compilation of interviews with outstanding vocalists, legendary guitarists and crazy drummers in the rock music scene. Each interview gives a reader an in-depth view into their personal lives and the philosophies that guide their lives which all serve to humanize these great icons. For readers who are old enough to call themselves baby boomers this book will bring old memories back to life. Millennials, on the other hand, may think of this book as a literal work of the Carpool Karaoke show.

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Ray Shasho masterfully gets the interviewees talking. He smartly coaxes answers from them with crafty questions designed to get a story rolling out of them. The artists talk about diverse issues ranging from music, politics, and their social engagements. Having been on the music seen all his life, Ray Shasho knows the buttons to press, how to get them comfortable about talking about their lives.

The book’s cover is befitting of its subject matter with the leather look offering a royal background to the golden letter print. It speaks to how high a level rock music holds in the pecking order- arguably, modern music as we know it has originated from blues and rock music. The second noteworthy thing is the use of high-definition pictures to reference the musician being interviewed in every sub-chapter. This ensures that the book is for both original rock and roll lovers and aspiring new ones. Together is makes for a refreshing and consistently enjoyable read.

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https://literarytitan.com/2020/05/03/literary-titan-book-awards-may-2020/

Gold Award Winner