Charles Wright Bio

Returning to his Mississippi roots, Charles Wright recently recorded his first Blues CD entitled, “High Maintenance Woman.” Since his father never allowed him to listen to the Blues in his formative years, Charles rarely heard Blues music while he was growing up. He had his first affair with the genre as a teenager listening to the Hunter Hancock radio show, and became totally fascinated by the music. To his misfortune, the Blues was in the process of being phased, out by urban radio, so instead of embarking upon a career as such, Wright sat out to create his own brand of funky music.

In the interim he joined several successful vocal groups, The Twilighters, who recorded (“Eternally,”) then The Shields whose “You Cheated” peaked at #12 on the Billboard top hundred and finally The Galahads who peaked at #62 with “Lonely Guy.” He then rode the Doo-wop trend until it became passé, then after a stint with Delphi Records as A&R director he founded the historical Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band.

Today Charles and his band’s version of “Express Yourself,” sell Nike shoes, Rhodes Furniture, Burger King Whoppers, Red Lobster dinners, Gatorade and Hanes underwear throughout the United States. In addition, they sell Bit Burger Beer and Algida Ice Cream across the European continent.

The dynamic performer and prolific songwriter has been covered or sampled by Silk Da Shocker, Ray Charles, N.W.A., Musiq Soul Child, Naughty By Nature, Solo, Zapp/Roger, Junior, A Tribe Called Quest, Della Reese, Les Mcann, Custard, Gang Starr, Courtship, and KSR.

Charles Wright & The Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band’s popularity sprang from a string of 60’s and 70’s innovative top forty tunes comprising of “Express Yourself,” “Loveland,” “Do Your Thang.” “Your Love,” (means everything to me) “Doing What Comes Naturally,” “You’re So Beautiful,” “Till You Get Enough,” and the underground classics “Ninety Day Cycle People,” and “Solution for Pollution.”

The Los Angeles Lakers features “Express Yourself,” at their startup games, and the NBA used it in their 2004 “I Love This Game” television campaign. Kinko’s and The Jenny Jones Show also use the tune as a part of their international marketing strategy. “Express Yourself,” was also a featured component of the Democratic National Convention and the 2004 Olympics.

Charles and the band’s music enjoy an unusual measure of motion picture soundtracks credits: Cops & Robberson, The People vs. Larry Flint, Cotton Comes to Harlem, The Boogie Nights, Panther, Addams Family Values, Never Die Alone, Stander, The Dinner Party and others. Yet, Charles continues his never ending quest for creative excellence.

He is presently concentrating on “High Maintenance Woman,” which imparts his usual “Played by Human Beings, Not Machines” slogan.
His current CD of authentic Delta flavored Blues is currently #3 on the American Blues Network.

Fans will undoubtedly be pleasantly surprised by the talent displayed on, his first Blues CD, for he sings with the flair of a veteran Blues man, who has yet to relinquish his Southern credentials. The CD is a perfect illustration of how well rounded an entertainer Charles Wright is with or without his band. However, Charles Wright & the Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band still put on some of the greatest performances, yet known to mankind. According to the author and musical historian Ricky Vincent (Circa 2002,) “Pioneering rhythm master, Charles Wright & his band constitutes a truly legendary phenomenon in the history of modern American folklore,”