Ezra Charles: Johnny and Edgar Winter 'hit the school like a bombshell'
Tonya Parker Morrison
March 30, 2007
Just like ZZ Top, fellow Texan Ezra Charles (a.k.a. Charles Helpinstill) is bad and nationwide.
In fact, for the multi-talented Beaumont native whose name is synonymous with Southern swing, the ties with one of rock music's most enduring acts are closely woven.
"That''s actually about the only song that I do that isn't mine," Charles said, referring to ZZ Top's"I'm Bad, I'm Nationwide."
"I spent about six months trying to remake it into something that was my own. A lot of times, when we play that one at shows, most people don't even realize what it is until we get to the chorus. That's how different it sounds when we do it." Tickling the ivories in pursuit of musical nirvana may sound like a dream job, but Charles knows it takes hard work to be the best at anything.
"It's a 24-hour-a-day job, honestly," he noted. "I think the key thing is to be organized, though. I have the agents, the musicians, the promotional people, and the publisher and of course my wife -- they all help me keep things running smoothly."
His wife, Susan, helps keep a lid on the insanity. She runs the Charles household, which includes their Jake and a daughter Chloe. The proud papa hates spending time away from his family, but such is the price of success. When he can be home, Charles relishes the opportunity to hear comments on his daughter's beauty and his son's ability.
"My son has been to quite a few shows," he laughed. "He's gonna be a far better musician than me. He actually plays drums- he has a real set we got him to use. He was always running in music stores and banging around in the drum department. We had to buy him an actual miniature set of real drums." Charles admitted his son's talent is enormous and unavoidable but still insisted that he would not expect the boy to follow in his footsteps.
"I'm gonna try to avoid pushing him in any direction at all. I grew up under the stigma of a family in which music was not viewed as an occupation, only as a hobby."
Charles has played for President Bush, and Saturday, Sept. 30, he will perform on the legendary "Live at the Liberty" program filmed at the Liberty Theater in Rosenberg. The venue, a converted movie theater built in 1917, housed the Rosenberg Opry before garnering an "Austin City Limits"-style audience for the live show. But despite all the professional successes that have come along since he first decided once and for all to pursue music at the age of 40, some of Charles' fondest memories are of junior high performances.
"Johnny and Edgar Winter were technically classified as handicapped because they were albinos and they have limited vision, so they went to James Bowie Junior High with me because it was only one floor. They had been going to special schools for the handicapped up until the year when they both entered junior high school. Johnny was in the ninth grade and Edgar was in the seventh grade. I was in the ninth grade as well; I'm the same age as Johnny Winter. They hit the school like a bombshell. They really moved out into the front because they were already skilled musicians." Recognizing a good thing when he saw it, Charles got a buddy of his who just happened to play drums for the brothers to get him an audition.
They played together for a year, filling in for prom bands on their breaks. Then it was time to move on. "After that year, I went to French High School and Johnny went to Beaumont High School. I didn't really see them again for years and years. Obviously, though, that experience had a big impact on my life." Charles replays that experience every time he hears one of his own tunes, "Beaumont Boys," which gives credit to the talented performers who have walked the same haunts as the singer-songwriter-musician himself. The Winter Brothers represent the '60s and '70~; trumpeter Harry James, the '40's; and the Big Bopper, the 50s.
In his earlier days, Charles took a degree in electrical engineering from Rice University and turned it into a stint at Texas Instruments, but then left after a few years because he had discovered his own inventions, including the "piano pickup," a microphone for his favorite instrument.
"I never really stopped playing in bands, but I wasn't really a full-time musician for the next 10 years or so. I started my own company and invented a bunch of stuff that has to do with pianos and got to hobnob with a lot of famous performers because of that. I was lucky enough to sell the I first one to Elton John. Then, it was just a matter of going around and saying, 'This is what Elton John uses; do you want one?'"
"This was a full, big business during the '70s. At the end of that decade, technology moved on, and I was more and more disappointed with the fact that even though I hobnobbed with stars, I wasn't accepted as one of them. I was a technician. So, I got out of that business and became a full-time musician in 1985 and adopted the name Ezra Charles." When he sold a pickup to Neil Young's band and the singer couldn't remember Charles' first name, although they used his last name to describe his new invention, Young had the answer.
"He said he believed my name was Ezra, which is probably just the most outrageous name he could think of. I knew that other people I'd admired had used their first names for last names and then taken on entirely new first names, so I decided to do that as well."
The genres he represents may have changed with the times from swing to techno and back agaln -- but Charles' determination to remain an entity in the music world never waivers. "It took years and years for my family.to realize I was serious about this and I was going to do it full time. Eventually, of course, they had to come around. Also, it's a lot more acceptable when you're successful. It erases a lot of doubts. If I was starving to death, they would tell me, 'See, I told you it wouldn't work!"
For more information on Ezra Charles, go to: www.ezracharles.com
Photo courtesy of www.ezracharles.com
In fact, for the multi-talented Beaumont native whose name is synonymous with Southern swing, the ties with one of rock music's most enduring acts are closely woven.
"That''s actually about the only song that I do that isn't mine," Charles said, referring to ZZ Top's"I'm Bad, I'm Nationwide."
"I spent about six months trying to remake it into something that was my own. A lot of times, when we play that one at shows, most people don't even realize what it is until we get to the chorus. That's how different it sounds when we do it." Tickling the ivories in pursuit of musical nirvana may sound like a dream job, but Charles knows it takes hard work to be the best at anything.
"It's a 24-hour-a-day job, honestly," he noted. "I think the key thing is to be organized, though. I have the agents, the musicians, the promotional people, and the publisher and of course my wife -- they all help me keep things running smoothly."
His wife, Susan, helps keep a lid on the insanity. She runs the Charles household, which includes their Jake and a daughter Chloe. The proud papa hates spending time away from his family, but such is the price of success. When he can be home, Charles relishes the opportunity to hear comments on his daughter's beauty and his son's ability.
"My son has been to quite a few shows," he laughed. "He's gonna be a far better musician than me. He actually plays drums- he has a real set we got him to use. He was always running in music stores and banging around in the drum department. We had to buy him an actual miniature set of real drums." Charles admitted his son's talent is enormous and unavoidable but still insisted that he would not expect the boy to follow in his footsteps.
"I'm gonna try to avoid pushing him in any direction at all. I grew up under the stigma of a family in which music was not viewed as an occupation, only as a hobby."
Charles has played for President Bush, and Saturday, Sept. 30, he will perform on the legendary "Live at the Liberty" program filmed at the Liberty Theater in Rosenberg. The venue, a converted movie theater built in 1917, housed the Rosenberg Opry before garnering an "Austin City Limits"-style audience for the live show. But despite all the professional successes that have come along since he first decided once and for all to pursue music at the age of 40, some of Charles' fondest memories are of junior high performances.
"Johnny and Edgar Winter were technically classified as handicapped because they were albinos and they have limited vision, so they went to James Bowie Junior High with me because it was only one floor. They had been going to special schools for the handicapped up until the year when they both entered junior high school. Johnny was in the ninth grade and Edgar was in the seventh grade. I was in the ninth grade as well; I'm the same age as Johnny Winter. They hit the school like a bombshell. They really moved out into the front because they were already skilled musicians." Recognizing a good thing when he saw it, Charles got a buddy of his who just happened to play drums for the brothers to get him an audition.
They played together for a year, filling in for prom bands on their breaks. Then it was time to move on. "After that year, I went to French High School and Johnny went to Beaumont High School. I didn't really see them again for years and years. Obviously, though, that experience had a big impact on my life." Charles replays that experience every time he hears one of his own tunes, "Beaumont Boys," which gives credit to the talented performers who have walked the same haunts as the singer-songwriter-musician himself. The Winter Brothers represent the '60s and '70~; trumpeter Harry James, the '40's; and the Big Bopper, the 50s.
In his earlier days, Charles took a degree in electrical engineering from Rice University and turned it into a stint at Texas Instruments, but then left after a few years because he had discovered his own inventions, including the "piano pickup," a microphone for his favorite instrument.
"I never really stopped playing in bands, but I wasn't really a full-time musician for the next 10 years or so. I started my own company and invented a bunch of stuff that has to do with pianos and got to hobnob with a lot of famous performers because of that. I was lucky enough to sell the I first one to Elton John. Then, it was just a matter of going around and saying, 'This is what Elton John uses; do you want one?'"
"This was a full, big business during the '70s. At the end of that decade, technology moved on, and I was more and more disappointed with the fact that even though I hobnobbed with stars, I wasn't accepted as one of them. I was a technician. So, I got out of that business and became a full-time musician in 1985 and adopted the name Ezra Charles." When he sold a pickup to Neil Young's band and the singer couldn't remember Charles' first name, although they used his last name to describe his new invention, Young had the answer.
"He said he believed my name was Ezra, which is probably just the most outrageous name he could think of. I knew that other people I'd admired had used their first names for last names and then taken on entirely new first names, so I decided to do that as well."
The genres he represents may have changed with the times from swing to techno and back agaln -- but Charles' determination to remain an entity in the music world never waivers. "It took years and years for my family.to realize I was serious about this and I was going to do it full time. Eventually, of course, they had to come around. Also, it's a lot more acceptable when you're successful. It erases a lot of doubts. If I was starving to death, they would tell me, 'See, I told you it wouldn't work!"
For more information on Ezra Charles, go to: www.ezracharles.com
Photo courtesy of www.ezracharles.com