Charlie Hodge (guitarist)
| Charlie Hodge | |
|---|---|
| Born |
Charles Franklin Hodge December 14, 1934 Decatur, Alabama, U.S. |
| Died | March 3, 2006 (aged 71) Knoxville, Tennessee, U.S. |
| Occupation | singer, guitarist, pianist, actor |
| Years active | 1954–2006 |
| Spouse(s) | Jennifer Hodge |
Charles Franklin Hodge (December 14, 1934–March 3, 2006), better known as Charlie Hodge, was an American singer, vocal coach and musician who was a confidant and associate of Elvis Presley.
Born in Decatur, Alabama, Hodge began his musical career at age 17 in a gospel quartet, The Path Finders, with Bill Gaither. At 5'3", the tenor singer used an empty Coke crate to stand on as a comedy routine while singing with the quartet. Hodge then joined The Foggy River Boys, and first met Presley in 1955 when Presley came backstage after the group performed in Memphis, Tennessee while visiting to promote ABC-TV's Ozark Jubilee. Before Elvis became a national success he commented to Hodge that he listened to him and his group on the radio. At that time The Foggy River Boys were the number one gospel quartet in the country. As a part of Ozark Jubilee, Hodge was also on network television before Presley.
After meeting again in 1958, when both men were in the U.S. Army at Fort Hood, Texas, the two became friends; and the tenor singer subsequently became part of Presley's entourage, referred to as the "Memphis Mafia."
Hodge is said to have been with Presley in Germany when the latter met his future wife, Priscilla. Hodge would later be the stage manager and a musician of The Elvis Presley Show, when Presley returned to live performances after Elvis, his 1968 comeback special. During Presley's movie making years Charlie would sometimes perform with singer/musician Jimmy Wakely in Reno. He also performed with the famous singing cowboy Roy Rogers. He became known by the public for singing harmony for Elvis, handing Presley water and scarves onstage, but had many other tasks, such as laying out the song list Presley was to perform, and sometimes holding the microphone when Presley was playing the piano or guitar. Presley also put him in charge of presenting songs directly to Presley that he might want to record or perform, and many were recorded. Music companies contracted to give Elvis songs to record would refer to Charlie Hodge and bodyguard Red West, also a musician and songwriter, as "The Imperial Council" because Elvis would look to them for their advice on songs presented for possible recording. Hodge was the only male singer to have recorded a duet with Elvis in 1960 entitled "I Will Be Home Again". Hodge can also be heard playing the piano in the recording, "Suppose". Hodge received a songwriting credit for the song "You'll Be Gone" which he co-wrote with Elvis Presley and Red West in 1962. He changed the orchestration to that of a Spanish style.
...
Wikipedia