In the late 1940s a rising demand for blues was driven by an increasing white teenage audience in the South which quickly spread north and west. Blues shouters got the attention, but also greatly influential was what writer Charles Keil dubbs "the postwar Texas clean-up movement in blues" led by stylists such as T-Bone Walker, Amos Milburn and Charles Brown. Their singing was lighter, more relaxed and they worked with bands and combos that had saxophone sections and used arrangements.
As a child Brown demonstrated his love of music and took classical piano lessons. Early on, Brown moved out to Los Angeles, where the great influx of blacks created an integrated nightclub scene in which black performers tended to minimize the rougher blues elements of their style. The blues club style of a light rhythm bass and right-hand tinkling of the piano and smooth vocals became popular, epitomized by the jazz piano of Nat King Cole. When Cole left Los Angeles to perform nationally, his place was taken by Johnny Moore's Three Blazers, featuring Charles Brown's gentle piano and vocals.
Brown signed with Aladdin Records and his 1945 recording on that label of the bestseller "Driftin' Blues" with a small combo was a typical club blues song. The single was on the R&B charts for six months, putting Brown at the forefront of a musical evolution that changed American musical performance. His style dominated the influential Southern California club scene on Central Avenue during that period and he influenced such performers as Floyd Dixon, Cecil Gant, Ivory Joe Hunter, Percy Mayfield, Johnny Ace and Ray Charles.
"Driftin'" was the first of several hits Brown subsequently released "Get Yourself Another Fool", "Black Night", "Hard Times" and "Trouble Blues", all major hits in the early 1950s on such labels as Modern Records as well as Alladin. He was unable to compete with the burgeoning rock and roll sound, though he maintained a small and devoted audience.
Brown's approach was too mellow to survive the transition to rock's harsher rhythms, and he faded from the national limelight. His Please Come Home for Christmas, a hit in 1960 on the King Records remained seasonally popular. During the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, he occasionally recorded and tried to regain some prominence. This continued until the 1980s, when Bonnie Raitt helped usher in a Charles Brown comeback tour.
He began a recording and performing career again, under the musical direction of guitarist Danny Caron, to greater success than he had achieved since the 1950s. Several records received Grammy Award nominations.
He is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and received both the National Endowment for the Arts' National Heritage Fellowship and the W. C. Handy Award.
Brown died in 1999 in Oakland, California.
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The Very Thought of You
Charles Brown Lyrics
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And I forget to do
Those little ordinary, ordinary things
That everyone ought to do
I'm living in a kind of daydream
I'm happy as a king and strange
As it may seem to me
The mere idea of you
The longing here for you
You'll never know
How slow the moments go
When I'm near so near to you
I see your face in every flower
You eyes in stars above
It's just the thought of you
The very thought of you my love
The very thought of you
And I forget to do
Those little ordinary, ordinary things
That everyone ought to do
I'm living in a kind of daydream
I'm happy as a king and strange
Though it may seem to me
That's everything
The mere idea of you
The longing here for you
Yes, you'll never know
How slow the moments go
Till I'm near to you
I see your face in every flower
You eyes in stars above
It's just the thought of you
The very thought of you my love
"The Very Thought Of You" is a romantic song that conveys the power of thoughts and imagination in shaping one's feelings and actions. The singer contemplates the overwhelming effect that the mere idea of their loved one has on them. The thought of their lover is so consuming that it causes them to forget about the mundanities of daily life, and they revel in the joy of the daydream. The singer notes that this may seem strange to others, but for them, it is everything.
The song reflects the idea that love is a force that can have an overwhelming impact on an individual's life. It emphasizes the importance of imagination and how it can keep the relationship alive even when the lovers are apart. The singer's attention to detail and the personification of nature conveys the depth of their passion for their beloved.
Line by Line Meaning
The very thought of you
The mere idea of you keeps me thinking about you all the time
And I forget to do
I get so lost thinking of you that I forget to do everyday things
Those little ordinary, ordinary things
I mean simple tasks that everyone should remember to do
That everyone ought to do
Things that are expected from anyone in their daily routines
I'm living in a kind of daydream
I am lost in my own thoughts, imagining how perfect it would be to be with you
I'm happy as a king and strange
I feel like royalty, on top of the world, but also a little strange, like it's too good to be true
As it may seem to me
Even though I know it seems crazy, I can't help my feelings for you
That's everything
This feeling, this thought of you, is all I need to be happy
The longing here for you
The yearning I have to be with you, to feel your presence
You'll never know
It's impossible for you to understand how much I think about you
How slow the moments go
Time feels like it's standing still when I'm waiting to be with you
When I'm near so near to you
When I'm in your presence, I feel like I'm exactly where I should be
I see your face in every flower
You're constantly on my mind, even when I'm surrounded by nature
You eyes in stars above
I look up at the stars and see your eyes looking back at me
The very thought of you my love
You hold such a special place in my heart, just the thought of you brings me joy
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, CARLIN AMERICA INC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Ray Noble
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind