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Charlie Louvin

The term "living legend" gets thrown around quite a bit, but it actually applies to Country Music Hall of Fame star Charlie Louvin.

The magical harmonies and depth of feeling found on Louvin Brothers recordings of the 50's and 60's inspired a new generation of musicians, firmly establishing the Louvins' stature as one of the most influential duos in country music history.

Charlie was born in 1927 in Henager, Alabama. He and his older brother Ira worked as field hands on the family farm. In the evening, they would listen to the country hits of the day on their father's Victrola. The brothers began developing a distinctive style called "shape note singing" based on gospel harmonies learned in church.

The Louvins scored their first record deal with Apollo in 1947. Shifting from gospel to secular material, the Louvins’ commercial breakthrough came in 1955 with the top ten hit "When I Stop Dreaming." The same year, they toured with Elvis Presley as their opening act, and became members of the Grand Ole Opry. Over the next several years, they churned out 12 hits on the country chart, including "I Don't Believe You've Met My Baby," "You're Running Wild," "Cash On The Barrelhead" and "Knoxville Girl."

The Louvin Brothers parted ways musically in 1963 and Ira died in a car crash two years later. Charlie's solo career had begun in 1964 with the top five hit "I Don't Love You Anymore," and he followed it with six charting singles.

In the late 60's, a renewed interest in the music of the Louvin Brothers began to take shape, attributed largely to Gram Parsons. His versions of Louvins’ classics "The Christian Life" and "Cash on the Barrelhead" serve as the blueprint for so much "alt-country" that was to follow. Emmylou Harris' first hit was the Louvins' "If I Could Only Win Your Love." Uncle Tupelo covered "Great Atomic Power" on their third album.

2003 saw the release of “Livin', Lovin' Losin': Songs of the Louvin Brothers,” a tribute album featuring James Taylor, Merle Haggard, Dolly Parton, and Johnny Cash among others. The collection won two Grammy Awards and helped spark a career renaissance for Charlie Louvin.

In 2007, the Tompkins Square label release Charlie’s first new studio album in over ten years. They enlisted Mark Nevers, who engineered sessions for many top country artists. Guests on the album include Elvis Costello, George Jones, Jeff Tweedy, Will Oldham, Tom T. Hall, Tift Merritt, Marty Stuart and Bobby Bare Sr.