DESCRIPTION:
My own personal interpretation of Charlie Gracie's hit, "Butterfly, comin' up. Cut in the late '70s and never released (WHAT??). In fact, the backing and vocal was recorded at the same session that brought "Last Night" to life, although there's not a synth in sight on this one. Same 'problem' with a drowned vocal though, which makes me realise that I probably had turned my ears into crumbled cookies from too much headphone volume, making my hearing 'a bit dimmed', ha, ha! Anyway, the melody has a nice ring to it so I hope you like it...
TRIVIA:
Charlie Gracie was born Charles Anthony Graci on May 14, 1936, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. His father encouraged him to play the guitar. Gracie's musical career started at the age of 14 when he appeared on the Paul Whiteman television show.
The owner of Cadillac Records, Graham Prince, heard one of Gracie's early radio performances, contacted the young musician and signed him to a recording contract. This association yielded the single "Boogie Woogie Blues" backed with "I'm Gonna Sit Right Down And Write Myself A Letter". The record led to Charlie's first appearance on Bob Horn's American Bandstand television program. (This was four years before Dick Clark became the host). After cutting two more singles for Cadillac, including one called "Rockin´ ´n´ Rollin´" in 1952, Charlie moved on to 20th Century Records, where he put out another four sides.
By 1956, Philadelphia had given birth to the new Cameo record label. Its founders, in search of a strong talent, signed Gracie later that year. With a $600 budget, this new union went into the recording studio to record "Butterfly" backed with "Ninety Nine Ways". It became a hit record, reaching the #5 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Gracie received a gold disc for the two million plus sales. His only other Top 40 hit was with a song entitled "Fabulous" the same year, which reached #16.
Gracie's personal appearances grew until he performed and headlined some of the biggest venues of that time. He also appeared in the 1957 film Jamboree and toured with Chuck Berry, The Everly Brothers, Bo Diddley and his close friend Eddie Cochran.
Gracie became only the second American rock and roller to bring this new art form to the British concert stage. His two extensive tours in 1957 and 1958 were topped off by headlining the Palladium and the Hippodrome in London.
According to the documentary film Wages of Spin, Gracie sued Cameo Records for unpaid royalties and in retaliation was blacklisted from the radio and American Bandstand. Per the film, Bandstand host Dick Clark had a relationship with the record company and was paid $14,000 for services related to Gracie's song "Butterfly".
Gracie moved on to other record labels such as Coral, Roulette, Felsted, and Diamond, performing more of the R&B he preferred. Even as success slowed, he continued to perform in clubs, theaters, and resorts, from the 1960s through the 1990s. He still enjoys a loyal following in the United Kingdom, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, France, and the Netherlands.
During the late 1990s, he was introduced to Quentin Jones, a guitarist, studio owner and label head. Jones had a strong background in roots music, having played in a rockabilly band produced by The Stray Cats' bassist Lee Rocker. He also played lead guitar on Robert Gordon's 1996 self titled CD. Gracie decided to record an album together with Jones acting as producer.
Contributing their musical talents on his latest CD were Tommy Conwell, whose guitar playing is featured on "Still 19", Graham Nash contributed vocals to the song "A little Too Soon To Tell".
Gracie's pioneering contribution to the genre has been recognized by the Rockabilly Hall of Fame.
In 2007, a documentary film about Charlie Gracie, Fabulous, was aired on PBS stations.
In 2011, ABKCO released the CD For The Love Of Charlie produced by Al Kooper, with guest artists Graham Nash, Peter Noone, Jimmy Vivino, Craig Ross, and Dennis Diken, with Gracie singing some of his own songs and some covers.