Charlie Owen and Friends

Vocalist Charlie Owen grew up in Washington D.C., where he started his music career.  Charlie was a member of the house band at the Stardust Lounge in Maryland, which was a stopping place for many national acts during his tenure in the 1970s.  In 1981 he headed off for the San Francisco area where he fronted the Dynatones and was the singer for the house band at Larry Blake’s Rathskeller in Berkeley.

His recent album Worth the Wait celebrates the heyday of American rhythm and blues, and it includes 15 covers that are mostly from the 1960s and 1970s.  The album starts off with Sam Cooke’s ”I Sowed Love and Reaped a Heartache.”  The spirit of the 1968 version is maintained, and there is a lot going on in this song.  There are horns, synthetic strings, a rolling bass line, and a pair of backing vocalists (Cary Sheldon and Kathy Kennedy).  This all does a great job of supporting Owen’s vocals, and you will find that all those years of performing have not gone to waste.  He has the perfect voice for vintage R&B – just a little rough on the edges and full of soul.