Sweet Charles -

Sweet Charles — aka Charles Emanuel Sherrell (born March 8, 1943) — is an American soul singer from Nashville who released the 1974 album For Sweet People From Sweet Charles.

Background

Sweet Charles was born Charles Emanuel Sherrell on March 8, 1943, in Nashville, Tennessee.

Sherrell started music at school at age eight with trombone, trumpet, and drums. He studied music at Tennessee State University for one and a half years. He played drums in Nashville R&B settings with Jimi Hendrix and Billy Cox at Club Del-Mor-Roca on Jefferson Street. Curtis Mayfield taught him guitar during Impressions stops in Nashville after Sherrell washed Mayfield’s Jaguar for lessons.

Sherrell moved to bass when Aretha Franklin came to Nashville to hire a road band for dates with Jackie Wilson. Johnny Jones brought him into Johnny Jones & The King Kasuals Band after Sherrell bought a pawnshop bass and learned the instrument on short notice. Past Present Future issued “Bones to Bones” / “I Don’t Want to Go On Without You” on Mecca in 1967, with Sherrell credited for lead vocals on both sides.

James Brown hired Sherrell in August 1968 after hearing him with Franklin in New York. Sherrell replaced bassist Tim Drummond and entered Brown’s recording orbit during the King singles run, including “Say It Loud – I’m Black and I’m Proud,” “Give It Up or Turnit a Loose,” “The Popcorn,” and “Mother Popcorn.” He left Brown in January 1970 during the pay dispute that preceded Brown’s new Cincinnati band lineup. Sherrell returned during the People Records period and played on 1973–74 sides by James Brown, Fred Wesley & the J.B.’s, Lyn Collins, and Maceo & the Macks.

Polydor label president Jerry Schoenbaum heard Sherrell sing at Brown’s rehearsal hall in 1974 and initiated a solo album.

For Sweet People From Sweet Charles

Sweet Charles released his debut solo album, For Sweet People From Sweet Charles, in May 1974 on People.

The album presents a mix of orchestrated soul ballads and clipped rhythm-section numbers, sung by Charles Sherrell with arrangements by Dave Matthews and Fred Wesley. Sherrell places a close-miked tenor lead above low-register bass, brassy replies, string pads, and background-vocal refrains. Sweet People contains two Sherrell–Brown–Wesley songs, one Bobbit–Wesley–Bryant title, and six earlier outside songs.

“Soul Man” claps through its opening break and sets clipped vocal phrases against compact section punches. “Yes It’s You” glides from a sliding intro into a tight, low-lit refrain. “I Like It Like That” lopes on a repeated figure that holds the verse close to the rhythm track. “Why Can’t I Be Treated Like a Man” pleads through rough-edged lead lines and call-and-response pressure. “Dedicated to the One I Love,” “Give the Woman a Chance,” and “Outa Sight – Outa Mind” slow the record into string-lined balladry, with Sherrell’s vocal stretched over sustained arrangement detail.

A1. “Strangers in the Night” (3:32) – Kaempfert, Singleton, Snyder
A2. “Soul Man” (2:57) – Hayes, Porter
A3. “Dedicated to the One I Love” (3:55) – Pauling, Bass
A4. “I’ll Never Let You Break My Heart Again” (3:22) – Bobbit, Wesley, Bryant

B1. “Why Can’t I Be Treated Like a Man” (4:03) – Sherrell, Brown, Wesley
B2. “I Like It Like That” (3:18) – Toussaint, Kenner
B3. “Give the Woman a Chance” (3:33) – Sherrell, Brown, Wesley
B4. “Yes It’s You” (3:02) – Ertegun
B5. “Outa Sight – Outa Mind” (3:33) – Otis, Hunter

James Brown produced the album with engineer Bob Both. Matthews arranged six titles, and Wesley arranged “Soul Man,” “Yes It’s You,” and “Outa Sight – Outa Mind.”

For Sweet People From Sweet Charles appeared in a sleeve designed by Arthur Shardin with photography by David Krieger. The front cover places Sherrell’s black-and-white portrait inside a maroon heart of line-drawn figures around block lettering.

People lifted “Soul Man” as a May 1974 single (b/w “Why Can’t I Be Treated Like a Man”). “Dedicated to the One I Love” followed in 1974 (b/w “Give the Woman a Chance”). People also issued “I Won’t Last a Day Without You” in 1974 (b/w “I Never Let You Break My Heart”).

Discography: