Charles Henry Christian
Posted by: 
Dawgies
N 33° 34.014 W 096° 10.814
14S E 761754 N 3717699
Texas Histroical Marker 1994 - Grave of Charles Henry Christian - Your music will never be forgotten
Waymark Code: WMETB
Location: Texas, United States
Date Posted: 06/13/2006
Views: 61
CHRISTIAN, CHARLES HENRY (1916-1942). Charles Henry (Charlie) Christian, musician, son of Clarence and Willie Mae Christian, was born on July 29, 1916, in Bonham, Texas. He spent much of his youth in Oklahoma City, where he played bass and guitar in various small groups. He made his first experiments with an amplified guitar in 1937. When music critic John Hammond heard him in 1939, he persuaded Benny Goodman to employ Christian. Despite his youth, Christian immediately became known among professional jazzmen for his new sounds and new ideas. Only one other electric guitar had been recorded on jazz records when the first Christian-Goodman records were issued. After that, his large creative contribution to modern jazz was widely recognized. Christian featured a down-stroke technique almost exclusively. His single-string solos, with altered chords, new melodic lines, rows of even beats, and contrasting dramatic aspects became the base from which musicians constructed an entirely new approach to jazz. Christian won Down Beat polls from 1939 through 1941 and in the Encyclopedia Year Book poll of 1956 was chosen "Greatest Ever." Always in delicate health, he died of tuberculosis in a Staten Island sanitarium on March 2, 1942, leaving behind a contribution that belies the brevity of his career. He was buried in Bonham.
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Description:
As a child Bonham native Charles (Charlie) Christian was exposed to the guitar artistry and soprano solos of his parents, Clarence and Willie Mae Christian.
Though taught in the guitar chord technique, he developed a unique single-string style that made his reputation and earned him a place in music great Benny Goodman's band in 1939.
A jazz guitar prodigy, he played with Goodman, Count Basie, and at Carnegie Hall before dying ot tubercilosis at the age of 25.
Date of birth: 07/29/1916
Date of death: 03/02/1942
Area of notoriety: Entertainment
Marker Type: Headstone
Setting: Outdoor
Fee required?: No
Web site: [Web Link]
Visiting Hours/Restrictions: Not listed
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