Charlie Waller (American musician)

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Charlie Waller (Charles Otis Waller, January 19, 1935 – August 18, 2004) was an American bluegrass singer and guitarist. He was the lead singer and guitarist for The Country Gentlemen, the bluegrass band he helped keep together for decades.

Early life
Waller was born in Joinerville, Texas. When he was 2, his family moved to Lake Charles, Louisiana. He started playing guitar at age 10 and later moved with his mother to Baltimore, Maryland.

Career
In 1952, Waller joined Earl Taylor’s bluegrass group, the Stoney Mountain Boys. In 1956 he played with Buzz Busby and the Bayou Boys in Louisiana, making several TV appearances. In 1957 he moved to the Washington, D.C. area and met mandolinist John Duffey and banjo player Bill Emerson. After Busby was injured in July 1957, Emerson formed a temporary group with Waller and Duffey to fill bookings. That temporary group became The Country Gentlemen, a band that would last for many years. The Country Gentlemen gained fame across the United States and abroad, including a tour of Japan in 1971. Waller was known for his strong singing and his rhythm guitar, though he sometimes played lead on several songs.

Legacy
The Country Gentlemen released many songs, including “Legend of the Rebel Soldier,” “Two Little Boys,” and “House of the Rising Sun.” The band released the album Songs of the American Spirit in September 2004. Waller remained in the group for its entire history.

Honors
Waller was inducted into the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Honor in 1996 and into the Southern Gospel Museum and Hall of Fame in 2009.

Death
Charlie Waller died on August 18, 2004, in Gordonsville, Virginia, at age 69 after suffering a heart attack. An autopsy later showed he was in the early stages of liver cancer at the time of his death.