Charles Caldwell

About

Blues musician Charles Caldwell was born in Mississippi and is famous for playing his own style of electric country blues. For most of his adult years, Caldwell worked a blue-collar job at an industrial plant and he only performed his music at local parties and juke joints in his hometown of Coffeeville. He began playing blues when he was a teenager, though his music flew under the radar until he met Matthew Johnson from Fat Possum Records in 2002. Caldwell impressed Johnson with his natural charisma and talent, prompting Johnson to set up a recording session for him. The recordings feature Caldwell's vocals, electric guitar and drums in a raw blend of electric country and blues. During the recording of his future debut album, Caldwell was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer but persisted through the recording process. He died at the age of 60 in 2003, one year prior to the release of his only album, Remember Me. The 2004 posthumous release drew comparisons to the works of legends John Lee Hooker and Muddy Waters.