Good Rockin’ Charles

Harpist Great Rockin’ Charles is best-known for any single he didn’t play. Experiencing a poor case of studio room fright, Charles chickened from playing on guitarist Jimmy Rogers’ 1956 Chess waxing of “Strolling without any help” — departing the entranceway wide-open for Big Walter Horton to blow a galvanic single that prices among his absolute best. Charles’ home solo discography includes one nice recording for Steve Wisner’s short-lived Mr. Blues logo design in 1975. Influenced by both Sonny Kids and Small Walter, Charles Edwards started playing harp soon after striking Chicago in 1949. He used various regional luminaries — Johnny Youthful, Lee Jackson, Arthur Spires, Smokey Smothers — before becoming a member of Rogers’s combo in 1955. Cobra Information also attempted and didn’t corral him for any program in 1957. Bassist Hayes Ware was instrumental in finally convincing the elusive Great Rockin’ right into a studio room for Mr. Blues, where he shook the wall space with revivals of classics by both Sonny Kids, Rogers, and Jay McShann. Regrettably, it would show the extent from the mysterious harpist’s documented legacy.