Charles Arthur "Charlie" Feathers (June 12, 1932 – August 29, 1998) was an … Read Full Bio ↴Charles Arthur "Charlie" Feathers (June 12, 1932 – August 29, 1998) was an influential American rockabilly and country music performer.

Feathers was born in Holly Springs, Mississippi, and recorded a string of popular singles like "Peepin' Eyes," "Defrost Your Heart," "Tongue-Tied Jill," and "Bottle to the Baby" on Sun Records, Meteor and King Records in the 1950s.
Feathers was known for being a master of shifting emotional and sonic dynamics in his songs. His theatrical, hiccup-styled, energetic, rockabilly vocal style inspired a later generation of rock vocalists, including Lux Interior of The Cramps.
He studied and recorded several songs with Junior Kimbrough, whom he called "the beginning and end of all music". His childhood influences were reflected in his later music of the 1970s and 1980s, which had an easy-paced, sometimes sinister, country-blues tempo, as opposed to the frenetic fast-paced style favored by some of his rockabilly colleagues of the 1950s.
He started out as a session musician at Sun Studios, playing any side instrument he could in the hopes of someday making his own music there. He eventually played on a small label started by Sam Phillips called Flip records which got him enough attention to record a couple singles for Sun Records and Holiday Inn Records. By all accounts the singer was not held in much regard by Phillips, but Feathers often made the audacious claim that he had arranged "That's All Right" and "Blue Moon of Kentucky" for Elvis Presley and recorded "Good Rockin' Tonight" months before Presley. He also claimed that his "We're Getting Closer (To Being Apart)" had been intended to be Elvis' sixth single for Sun. He did, however, get his name on one of Elvis' Sun records, "I Forgot To Remember To Forget" when the writer Stan Kesler asked him to record a demo of the song.
He then moved on to Meteor Records and then King Records where he recorded his best-known work. When his King contract ran out he still continued to perform, although Feathers—perhaps typically—thought there was a conspiracy to keep his music from gaining the popularity it deserved.
In the mid-1980s, he performed at times at new music nightclubs like the Antenna Club in Memphis, Tennessee, sharing the bill with rock-and-roll bands like Tav Falco's Panther Burns, who, as devoted fans of Feathers, had introduced him to their label's president. During this time, rockabilly icon Colonel Robert Morris played drums for Charlie. Charlie said "Robert tore up a brand new set of drums, but the crowd was dancing on the tables".
He released his New Jungle Fever album in 1987 and Honkey Tonk Man in 1988, featuring the lead guitar work of his son, Bubba Feathers. These later albums of original songs penned by Feathers were released on the French label New Rose Records, whose other 1980s releases included albums by cult music heroes like Johnny Thunders, Alex Chilton, Roky Erickson, The Cramps, The Gun Club, and others.
Charlie Feathers died on August 29, 1998.

Feathers' song, "That Certain Female" was featured on the soundtrack to Quentin Tarantino's 2003 film, Kill Bill Vol. 1. His "Can't Hardly Stand It" was featured on the follow-up Kill Bill Vol. 2 soundtrack.
Charlie Feathers' pioneering contribution to the genre has been recognized by the Rockabilly Hall of Fame. Bob Dylan has featured Charlie Feathers on the second season of his XM satellite radio show Theme Time Radio Hour, playing Feathers' records "One Hand Loose" (on the "Countdown" show, Dec. 12, 2007) and "Defrost Your Heart" (on the "Cold" show, April 2, 2008).

Wild Wild Party
Charlie Feathers Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Ye-hey, uh-huh, uh-huh, uh-huh -huh-a
Now let me tell you bout' a wild wild party
I was there last n-i-g-h-t-
Everybody went there all dressed up
And when they left they was a sight
All my laughter's that I had
Suddenly turned to fright
Ye-hey, uh-huh, uh-huh, uh-huh - huh

Woooooo!

They were runnin' and a hollerin'
And a shootin' and a fussin'
And a snatchin' and a scratchin'
And all of this a happened at the
S-aa-m-e time
It was a wild wild party, now I know
We were lucky to be alive
Yeah-boy!

Wooooo-wooo-wooo

Now Jeanie had a jacket that belonged to Judy
And Jimmy was a-huntin' high-igh-igh-a
Oh, Lucy was a-lookin' tryin' to find her lover
And we left at a quarter to five
It was a wild wild party and now I know
We were lucky to be alive
Yea-hey, uh-huh, uh-huh, uh-huh, huh
Wooooo!

They were runnin' and a hollerin'
And a shootin' and a fussin'
And a snatchin' and a scratchin'
And all of this a happened at the
S-a-m-e time
It was a wild wild party and now I know
We were lucky to be alive
Yea-hey, uh-huh,-uh-huh, uh-huh

Walk-it, yeah!

Wooooooo, ooo-oo-oo-oo-oo-oo

Now that Judy had a jacket that belongs to Jimmy
And a Lucy was a-huntin' his tie
Ohhhh
It was a wild wild party and now I know

We were lucky to be alive
Yeah-hey, ah-ha, ah-ha, ah-ha

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to Charlie Feathers's song "Wild Wild Party" describe a chaotic and eventful party, where everything seems to go wrong. The singer was there and watched as everyone arrived dressed up, but when they left, they were a mess. Laughter turned to fright as all the chaos unfolded, with people running, hollering, shooting, fussing, snatching and scratching all at the same time. Despite all of this, the singer and everyone else were lucky to be alive.

The verses give us a glimpse into some of the wild events of the party. For example, Jeanie had a jacket that belonged to Judy, and Jimmy was hunting for it high and low. Lucy was also looking for her lover, and the partygoers left at a quarter to five. The lyrics don't explain the cause of the chaos but suggest that it was a mixture of different factors that led to a rather wild party.

Line by Line Meaning

Ye-hey, uh-huh, uh-huh, uh-huh -huh-a
An enthusiastic start to the song.

Now let me tell you bout' a wild wild party
The singer is going to narrate a story about a very wild party.

I was there last n-i-g-h-t-
The singer personally attended the party he's going to describe.

Everybody went there all dressed up
All attendees came in their best attire.

And when they left they was a sight
People looked different when they left the party than they did when they arrived.

All my laughter's that I had
The singer's joy and good mood disappeared.

Suddenly turned to fright
The wildness of the party turned the singer's enjoyment into fear.

They were runnin' and a hollerin'
People were running and shouting.

And a shootin' and a fussin'
People were firing guns and creating disturbances.

And a snatchin' and a scratchin'
People were stealing and fighting with each other.

And all of this a happened at the S-aa-m-e time
All these wild activities happened simultaneously.

It was a wild wild party, now I know
The party was undeniably wild and had unforeseen consequences.

We were lucky to be alive
The party was so chaotic, that it felt like surviving it was a matter of luck.

Now Jeanie had a jacket that belonged to Judy
Jeanie took Judy's jacket.

And Jimmy was a-huntin' high-igh-igh-a
Jimmy was looking for something very important to him.

Oh, Lucy was a-lookin' tryin' to find her lover
Lucy was searching for her significant other.

And we left at a quarter to five
The artist and his pals left the party early, around 4:45 am.

Walk-it, yeah!
The singer encourages listeners to enjoy the song.

Now that Judy had a jacket that belongs to Jimmy
Judy took Jimmy's jacket.

And a Lucy was a-huntin' his tie
Lucy was searching for her significant other's tie or the tie he had left behind.

It was a wild wild party and now I know
The party was so out of control that it made a lasting impression.

We were lucky to be alive
The party was so chaotic, that it felt like surviving it was a matter of luck.

Yeah-hey, ah-ha, ah-ha, ah-ha
A final enthusiastic end to the song.

Contributed by Mason J. Suggest a correction in the comments below.

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Comments from YouTube:

@robmcc3819

I just love this clip!! I don't know how many times I've seen it and never fail to catch something new, wacky and strange. Blake Edwards did something similar to this in his movie "The Party". also. Good job Sir Basil. 😵😲