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Charlie Rich. Born in Forrest City, Arkansas, on December 14, 1932. Died in Hammond, Louisiana, on July 25, 1995. Certainly, the guy to whom Sun Records founder would refer to as the best singer, writer and player he ever recorded, had everything necessary to succeed as a solo artist. Including a catchy name. A talented good-looking young man married to a woman who deeply believed in his musical potential, Rich had grown up on a farm near Colt, a small rural community located about 50 miles away from Memphis, Tennessee. There he developed a taste for Blues, Jazz, Gospel and Country music and was able to reflect that eclectic mixture in his piano skills, playing club gigs while serving in the Air Force during the early fifties. After his discharge, Charlie bought a five hundred acre farm and played the Memphis area circuit as much as his family duties allowed. According to the legend, one day around 1957 Rich’s wife took a demo tape they had recorded at home to Bill Justis, musical director at Sun Records, and soon Charlie became a writer and session musician for the label, providing songs or piano accompaniment for such artists as Ray Smith, Carl Mann, Johnny Cash, Barbara Pittman and Jerry Lee Lewis.