Charlie Walker, an influential country music disc jockey who landed a Top 5 hit with “Pick Me Up on Your Way Down,” was born in Copeville, Texas, on this day in 1926.
Videos by American Songwriter
According to his Sun Records bio, Charlie Walker’s father, a cotton father, encouraged his teenage son to take up performing. And he did accept a singer-guitarist position with Bill Boyd’s Cowboy Ramblers in 1943. However, that gig was interrupted when Walker enlisted in the U.S. Army during World War II. His disc jockey career began during that military stint, when he served as a disc jockey for the American Forces Radio Network (formerly the Armed Forces Radio Network) while in Tokyo.
After his time in the Army came to an end, he returned to his home state, settling in San Antonio. There, he became known to local KMAC radio station listeners as “ol’ polk salad, cotton-picking, boll-pulling, corn-shucking, snuff-dipping Charlie Walker.”
Charlie Walker Recorded One of This Renowned Producer’s First Hits
Even as his radio career thrived, Charlie Walker continued to pursue country music. At first, he found only sporadic success, landing in the Top 10 with “Only You, Only You.”
At the same time Walker was trying to break into the industry, so, too, was a songwriter named Harlan Howard. Like Walker, Howard had spent time in the U.S. Army, serving four years. Moving to Los Angeles in 1955 to chase a songwriting career, he made ends meet as a forklift operator.
You’ve likely heard the country music adage “three chords and the truth,” and you can credit Howard for that phrase. The Michigan-born songwriter’s breakout hit was also Charlie Walker’s. In 1958, Walker reportedly won the battle for Howard’s song “Pick Me Up on Your Way Down,” beating out Ernest Tubb and Ray Price.
The song was both men’s ticket to the industry, with “Pick Me Up on Your Way Down” climbing to No. 2 on Billboard’s weekly country and western chart. Harlan Howard and Charlie Walker would see different results; as Howard would go on to pen more than 100 Top 10 country songs during his nearly four-decade career.
[RELATED: 4 Songs Written by Harlan Howard That Became Country Classics]
While Walker never replicated the success of his first hit, he did gain entry into the Grand Ole Opry in 1967. By this point, his work had veered into rougher territory, such as the 1967 novelty song “Don’t Squeeze My Sharmon.” He remained an active member of the vaunted institution until shortly before his death of colon dance in 2008. He was 81 years old.
Featured image courtesy of Sun Records
Leave a Reply
Only members can comment. Become a member. Already a member? Log in.