Charles Levi Walker (November 2, 1926 – September 12, 2008) was an American country musician. His biggest success was with the song, " Pick Me Up on Your Way Down". He held membership in the

Grand Ole Opry The ''Grand Ole Opry'' is a regular live country music, country-music Radio broadcasting, radio broadcast originating from Nashville, Tennessee, Nashville, Tennessee, on WSM (AM), WSM, held between two and five nights per week, depending on the ...

from 1967, and was inducted into the Country Radio DJ Hall of Fame in 1981.

Career

He was born in Copeville, Texas, United States in 1926. In 1943, Walker joined Bill Boyd's Cowboy Ramblers, and during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, he served as a disc jockey for the

Armed Forces Radio Network The American Forces Network (AFN) is a government television and radio broadcast service the United States Armed Forces provides to soldiers stationed or assigned overseas, and is headquartered at Fort Meade in Maryland. AFN comprises two sub ...

. Walker worked as a disc jockey from 1951 until 1961 at KMAC and then from 1961 up to 1963 at KENS in

San Antonio San Antonio ( ; Spanish for " Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the third-largest metropolitan area in Texas and the 24th-largest metropolitan area in the ...

, Texas, before signing with

Decca Records Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis (Decca), Edward Lewis after his acquisition of a gramophone manufacturer, The Decca Gramophone Company. It set up an American subsidiary under the Decca name, which bec ...

. His first hit, "Only You, Only You" was co-written with Jack Newman and reached No. 9 on the country chart in January 1956. Walker later signed with

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American reco ...

and reached No. 2 with a

Harlan Howard Harlan Perry Howard (September 8, 1927 – March 3, 2002) was an American songwriter, principally in country music. In a career spanning six decades, Howard is credited with writing more than 4,000 songs, over 100 of which reached country mus ...

song, " Pick Me Up on Your Way Down". His other hits include "Who Will Buy the Wine", "Wild as a Wildcat", "Don't Squeeze My Sharmon", and "I Wouldn't Take Her To A Dogfight." Many of his records featured harmony vocals by Ray Price. His more popular recordings were of

honky-tonk A honky-tonk (also called honkatonk, honkey-tonk, honky tonk, or tonk) is either a bar that provides country music for the entertainment of its patrons or the style of music played in such establishments. It can also refer to the type of piano ...

numbers, such as "Close All the Honky Tonks", and " Honky Tonk Women". Walker played a minor role in the 1985

Patsy Cline Patsy Cline (born Virginia Patterson Hensley; September 8, 1932 – March 5, 1963) was an American singer. One of the most influential vocalists of the 20th century, she was known as one of the first country music artists to successfully Cross ...

biographical film, '' Sweet Dreams''. Walker died of

colon cancer Colorectal cancer (CRC), also known as bowel cancer, colon cancer, or rectal cancer, is the development of cancer from the colon or rectum (parts of the large intestine). Signs and symptoms may include blood in the stool, a change in bowel ...

in September 2008, at the age of 81 in

Hendersonville, Tennessee Hendersonville is the most populous city in Sumner County, Tennessee, on Old Hickory Lake. As of the 2020 census the city's population was 61,753. Hendersonville is the fourth-most populous city in the Nashville metropolitan area after Nas ...

Discography

Albums

Singles

References

Bibliography

Pugh, Ronnie (1998). "Charlie Walker". In ''The Encyclopedia of Country Music''. Paul Kingsbury, Editor. New York: Oxford University Press. p. 567.

External links

Charlie Walker's Grand Ole Opry member page
* 1926 births 2008 deaths People from Collin County, Texas Grand Ole Opry members American male singer-songwriters American country singer-songwriters Singer-songwriters from Texas Deaths from colorectal cancer in Tennessee 20th-century American singer-songwriters Country musicians from Texas 20th-century American male singers {{US-country-musician-stub