There are two artists known as Charlie McCoy:
#1 Charles "Papa Charl… Read Full Bio ↴There are two artists known as Charlie McCoy:
#1 Charles "Papa Charlie" McCoy (May 26, 1909 – July 26, 1950) was an African American delta blues musician and songwriter.
#2 Charles Ray "Charlie" McCoy (born March 28, 1941 in Oak Hill, West Virginia) is an American session musician noted for his work on a wide variety of instruments. In his career, McCoy has backed several notable musicians including Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash, Tom Astor, Elvis Presley and Ween. He has also recorded thirty-seven studio albums, including fourteen for Monument Records. Thirteen of his singles have entered the Billboard country charts. He was a member of Area Code 615 and Barefoot Jerry.
#1 Charlie McCoy was born in Jackson, Mississippi, he was best known by the nickname 'Papa Charlie'. He became one of the major blues accompanists of his time. A guitarist and mandolin player, he played in the Mississippi area with his band, The Mississippi Hot Footers.
McCoy recorded several sides with Bo Carter as the 'Mississippi Mud Steppers'. Among the tracks recorded with Carter were two variations of Cow Cow Davenport's "Cow Cow Blues" . The first, an instrumental, was released as "The Jackson Stomp". The second, with lyrics and vocals by McCoy, as "The Lonesome Train, That Took My Girl From Town". They also wrote and recorded "The Vicksburg Stomp" which was resurrected and recorded by Mike Compton, of O Brother, Where Art Thou? fame.
His nimble, sensitive guitar work enriched recordings from performers including Tommy Johnson and Ishman Bracey. He recorded regularly in the late 1920s, often alongside Walter Vincson. He dated blues singer and guitar player Geeshie Wiley around 1928. He also sat in with the Mississippi Sheiks, Rubin Lacy, Son Spand and the many other Delta bluesmen who passed through the Jackson area in the years that followed. He also backed his then sister-in-law, Memphis Minnie in the mid 1930s.
As a slide guitarist, McCoy recorded as under the name of Tampa Kid, and released "Keep On Trying".
McCoy also joined and performed with his brother (Kansas Joe McCoy) for many years, and they released records under the title of "The McCoy Brothers".
He eventually migrated to Chicago where he organized two bands, "Papa Charlie's Boys" and with his older brother Kansas Joe McCoy, the Harlem Hamfats, that performed and recorded during the second half of the 1930s. However, service with the United States Army during World War II cut short McCoy’s career.
In poor health, McCoy never returned to music after the war, and he died in Chicago, Illinois in 1950 from paralytic brain disease, only a few months after his brother had died. They are both buried in the Restvale Cemetery in Alsip, Illinois.
McCoy's composition, "Too Long" was recorded several times by both black and white artists.
#2 Charlie McCoy and his family moved to nearby Fayetteville when he was a boy and then to Miami, Florida. At age eight, he began playing the harmonica and the guitar and later, in his teens, he also learned to play the bass and trumpet. In high school in Miami his skills had developed to such an extent that he decided to pursue a career in music. He joined a local rock and roll band as guitarist and singer. When he was sixteen years old he reluctantly accompanied a friend to visit a country barn dance radio show in Miami called the "Old South Jamboree". Upon their arrival, McCoy's friend left him in the crowd and went to talk to Happy Harold, the host of the show, with the intention of coaxing McCoy up on stage to sing. McCoy's performance that night, along with the positive response from the show's audience, led to him and his rock band being signed to the Old South Jamboree. His band consisted of Donny Young, later known as Johnny Paycheck, on bass; Bill Johnson on steel-guitar; Charlie Justice on guitar; and Bill Phillips, vocal. About this time the band took part in a local rock and roll contest winning first prize. Following an invitation from Mel Tillis, the eighteen-year-old McCoy went to Nashville, Tennessee for a week's stay in 1959. During his stay in Nashville he visited numerous producers and record companies but all to no avail. Since his efforts to start a musical career in Nashville had failed he went back to Miami. He enrolled at the Miami University[citation needed] majoring in musical education. His goal was now to become a teacher. Meanwhile he continued to perform on the "Jamboree". When Miami faculty members discovered that he was playing rock and roll for a square dance they warned him to continue with this "lower forms of music". McCoy replied that he was willing to quit his work at the barn dance if they would give him a scholarship. The faculty rejected his request.
McCoy, who still wanted to make a career in music, applied for the vacant job as guitarist in John Ferguson's band. But when he arrived in Nashville, due to some misunderstanding, his job was already taken by guitarist Vance Bullock. After a short discussion Ferguson decided to hire McCoy as a drummer instead. McCoy bought a drum set and joined the band. John Ferguson's band was unsuccessful and shortly they disbanded. After a month of unemployment he joined Stonewall Jackson as a drummer. The job came to an end in the autumn that year. Then he received a call from the booking agent Jim Denney who informed him that Archie Bleyer of Cadence Records had listened to McCoy's tapes and wanted to sign him. McCoy cut his first single for the Cadence label and "Cherri Berri Wine" reached No. 99 in the Billboard chart. In Nashville, Denney gave him the advice to do demo sessions and to concentrate on the harmonica. Next, McCoy joined Wayne Moss as a bass player performing at Fort Campbell in Kentucky.
Chet Atkins heard one of McCoy's demo tapes and immediately hired him in May 1961. Thus, his first recording as a harmonica player was on a song, "I Just Don't Understand", by Ann-Margret for RCA. Fred Foster of Monument Records also heard about McCoy and hired him as harmonica player on Roy Orbison's song "Candy Man". It became a million-seller. McCoy's reputation as harmonica player and studio musician increased. McCoy continued to record for the Monument label without a written contract. Although some of his singles and albums at this time did not sell, Foster believed in McCoy's music. Tex Davis, the promotion manager of Monument Records, was persuaded by Charlie Dillard of WPFA to release "Today I Started Loving You Again" as a single. It had previously been released on McCoy's second LP. When the single came out in 1972 it sold 750 000 copies. The single went to No. 16 in the Billboard country charts. For his next album, "The Real McCoy", he won a grammy from the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. His album "Good Time Charlie" reached No. 1 in the Billboard country chart. In the 1970s, McCoy, as a studio musician, took part in more than 400 sessions a year. He has won 2 CMA Awards and 7 ACM Awards.
From there, he went on to play harmonica for other acts, Elvis Presley, Perry Como, Joan Baez, Johnny Cash, Buffy Sainte-Marie, Kris Kristofferson, Paul Simon, Ringo Starr, Barefoot Jerry, "Gene Summers In Nashville" LP and Ween. He also played guitar on Dylan's "Desolation Row", from the album Highway 61 Revisited, and "Sad Eyed Lady of the Lowlands", from the album Blonde on Blonde,) bass guitar (on all the tracks from Bob Dylan's John Wesley Harding,) keyboards, and drums plus on several wind and brass instruments. For 19 years McCoy worked as music director for the popular television show, Hee Haw, and was a member of the Million Dollar Band.
On May 17, 2009 Charlie was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame along with Roy Clark and Barbara Mandrell. He is also a member of the International Musicians' Hall of Fame, and the West Virginia Music Hall of Fame.
Charlie has two children with his first wife, and five grandchildren. All of his grandchildren have contributed to one of his albums in some way. His second granddaughter did the artwork for one of the albums covers (Somewhere Over The Rainbow) and sang on one of his Christmas CDs. His oldest granddaughter has played flute and sang on a few of his albums. All of the youngest three kids have sung on one of his albums, as has his son (Charlie, Jr.) and daughter (Ginger).
#1 Charles "Papa Charl… Read Full Bio ↴There are two artists known as Charlie McCoy:
#1 Charles "Papa Charlie" McCoy (May 26, 1909 – July 26, 1950) was an African American delta blues musician and songwriter.
#2 Charles Ray "Charlie" McCoy (born March 28, 1941 in Oak Hill, West Virginia) is an American session musician noted for his work on a wide variety of instruments. In his career, McCoy has backed several notable musicians including Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash, Tom Astor, Elvis Presley and Ween. He has also recorded thirty-seven studio albums, including fourteen for Monument Records. Thirteen of his singles have entered the Billboard country charts. He was a member of Area Code 615 and Barefoot Jerry.
#1 Charlie McCoy was born in Jackson, Mississippi, he was best known by the nickname 'Papa Charlie'. He became one of the major blues accompanists of his time. A guitarist and mandolin player, he played in the Mississippi area with his band, The Mississippi Hot Footers.
McCoy recorded several sides with Bo Carter as the 'Mississippi Mud Steppers'. Among the tracks recorded with Carter were two variations of Cow Cow Davenport's "Cow Cow Blues" . The first, an instrumental, was released as "The Jackson Stomp". The second, with lyrics and vocals by McCoy, as "The Lonesome Train, That Took My Girl From Town". They also wrote and recorded "The Vicksburg Stomp" which was resurrected and recorded by Mike Compton, of O Brother, Where Art Thou? fame.
His nimble, sensitive guitar work enriched recordings from performers including Tommy Johnson and Ishman Bracey. He recorded regularly in the late 1920s, often alongside Walter Vincson. He dated blues singer and guitar player Geeshie Wiley around 1928. He also sat in with the Mississippi Sheiks, Rubin Lacy, Son Spand and the many other Delta bluesmen who passed through the Jackson area in the years that followed. He also backed his then sister-in-law, Memphis Minnie in the mid 1930s.
As a slide guitarist, McCoy recorded as under the name of Tampa Kid, and released "Keep On Trying".
McCoy also joined and performed with his brother (Kansas Joe McCoy) for many years, and they released records under the title of "The McCoy Brothers".
He eventually migrated to Chicago where he organized two bands, "Papa Charlie's Boys" and with his older brother Kansas Joe McCoy, the Harlem Hamfats, that performed and recorded during the second half of the 1930s. However, service with the United States Army during World War II cut short McCoy’s career.
In poor health, McCoy never returned to music after the war, and he died in Chicago, Illinois in 1950 from paralytic brain disease, only a few months after his brother had died. They are both buried in the Restvale Cemetery in Alsip, Illinois.
McCoy's composition, "Too Long" was recorded several times by both black and white artists.
#2 Charlie McCoy and his family moved to nearby Fayetteville when he was a boy and then to Miami, Florida. At age eight, he began playing the harmonica and the guitar and later, in his teens, he also learned to play the bass and trumpet. In high school in Miami his skills had developed to such an extent that he decided to pursue a career in music. He joined a local rock and roll band as guitarist and singer. When he was sixteen years old he reluctantly accompanied a friend to visit a country barn dance radio show in Miami called the "Old South Jamboree". Upon their arrival, McCoy's friend left him in the crowd and went to talk to Happy Harold, the host of the show, with the intention of coaxing McCoy up on stage to sing. McCoy's performance that night, along with the positive response from the show's audience, led to him and his rock band being signed to the Old South Jamboree. His band consisted of Donny Young, later known as Johnny Paycheck, on bass; Bill Johnson on steel-guitar; Charlie Justice on guitar; and Bill Phillips, vocal. About this time the band took part in a local rock and roll contest winning first prize. Following an invitation from Mel Tillis, the eighteen-year-old McCoy went to Nashville, Tennessee for a week's stay in 1959. During his stay in Nashville he visited numerous producers and record companies but all to no avail. Since his efforts to start a musical career in Nashville had failed he went back to Miami. He enrolled at the Miami University[citation needed] majoring in musical education. His goal was now to become a teacher. Meanwhile he continued to perform on the "Jamboree". When Miami faculty members discovered that he was playing rock and roll for a square dance they warned him to continue with this "lower forms of music". McCoy replied that he was willing to quit his work at the barn dance if they would give him a scholarship. The faculty rejected his request.
McCoy, who still wanted to make a career in music, applied for the vacant job as guitarist in John Ferguson's band. But when he arrived in Nashville, due to some misunderstanding, his job was already taken by guitarist Vance Bullock. After a short discussion Ferguson decided to hire McCoy as a drummer instead. McCoy bought a drum set and joined the band. John Ferguson's band was unsuccessful and shortly they disbanded. After a month of unemployment he joined Stonewall Jackson as a drummer. The job came to an end in the autumn that year. Then he received a call from the booking agent Jim Denney who informed him that Archie Bleyer of Cadence Records had listened to McCoy's tapes and wanted to sign him. McCoy cut his first single for the Cadence label and "Cherri Berri Wine" reached No. 99 in the Billboard chart. In Nashville, Denney gave him the advice to do demo sessions and to concentrate on the harmonica. Next, McCoy joined Wayne Moss as a bass player performing at Fort Campbell in Kentucky.
Chet Atkins heard one of McCoy's demo tapes and immediately hired him in May 1961. Thus, his first recording as a harmonica player was on a song, "I Just Don't Understand", by Ann-Margret for RCA. Fred Foster of Monument Records also heard about McCoy and hired him as harmonica player on Roy Orbison's song "Candy Man". It became a million-seller. McCoy's reputation as harmonica player and studio musician increased. McCoy continued to record for the Monument label without a written contract. Although some of his singles and albums at this time did not sell, Foster believed in McCoy's music. Tex Davis, the promotion manager of Monument Records, was persuaded by Charlie Dillard of WPFA to release "Today I Started Loving You Again" as a single. It had previously been released on McCoy's second LP. When the single came out in 1972 it sold 750 000 copies. The single went to No. 16 in the Billboard country charts. For his next album, "The Real McCoy", he won a grammy from the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. His album "Good Time Charlie" reached No. 1 in the Billboard country chart. In the 1970s, McCoy, as a studio musician, took part in more than 400 sessions a year. He has won 2 CMA Awards and 7 ACM Awards.
From there, he went on to play harmonica for other acts, Elvis Presley, Perry Como, Joan Baez, Johnny Cash, Buffy Sainte-Marie, Kris Kristofferson, Paul Simon, Ringo Starr, Barefoot Jerry, "Gene Summers In Nashville" LP and Ween. He also played guitar on Dylan's "Desolation Row", from the album Highway 61 Revisited, and "Sad Eyed Lady of the Lowlands", from the album Blonde on Blonde,) bass guitar (on all the tracks from Bob Dylan's John Wesley Harding,) keyboards, and drums plus on several wind and brass instruments. For 19 years McCoy worked as music director for the popular television show, Hee Haw, and was a member of the Million Dollar Band.
On May 17, 2009 Charlie was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame along with Roy Clark and Barbara Mandrell. He is also a member of the International Musicians' Hall of Fame, and the West Virginia Music Hall of Fame.
Charlie has two children with his first wife, and five grandchildren. All of his grandchildren have contributed to one of his albums in some way. His second granddaughter did the artwork for one of the albums covers (Somewhere Over The Rainbow) and sang on one of his Christmas CDs. His oldest granddaughter has played flute and sang on a few of his albums. All of the youngest three kids have sung on one of his albums, as has his son (Charlie, Jr.) and daughter (Ginger).
Help Me
Charlie McCoy Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Take the ribbon from your hair
Shake it loose and let it fall
Layin' soft upon my skin
Like the shadows on the wall
Come and lay down by my side
Till the early mornin' light
All I'm takin' is your time
Help me make it through the night
I don't care who's right or wrong
I don't try to understand
Let the devil take tomorrow
Lord tonight I need a friend
Yesterday is dead and gone
And tomorrow's out of sight
And it's sad to be alone
Shake it loose and let it fall
Layin' soft upon my skin
Like the shadows on the wall
Come and lay down by my side
Till the early mornin' light
All I'm takin' is your time
I don't care who's right or wrong
I don't try to understand
Let the devil take tomorrow
Lord tonight I need a friend
Yesterday is dead and gone
And tomorrow's out of sight
And it's sad to be alone
The song "Help Me Make It Through The Night" was written by Kris Kristofferson and popularized by Charlie McCoy in 1970. The lyrics are a plea from a lonely lover for the company of their partner. The first verse urges the partner to untie the ribbon in her hair and lay her hair down by his side like the shadows on the wall. The lover then asks the partner to stay with him until the early morning light as all he is asking for is her time. The second verse is about how the lover is not worried about who is right or wrong in their relationship and is not trying to understand the complexities of their relationship. The lover then goes on to say that they will let the devil take tomorrow and that they just need a friend for the night.
The lyrics of the song express the intense longing and passion of the lover who is willing to let go of the past and the future in order to be with their partner for just one night. The song also speaks to the sadness of being alone and the need for companionship, even if it is just for one evening.
Line by Line Meaning
Take the ribbon from your hair
Remove your adornments or disguises
Shake it loose and let it fall
Liberate yourself from restrictions, relax and let loose
Layin' soft upon my skin
Physical touch brings comfort and intimacy
Like the shadows on the wall
Comfort of darkness and deepening of intimacy
Come and lay down by my side
Stay with me for the night, seeking companionship
Till the early mornin' light
Stay together until the brightness of the next day
All I'm takin' is your time
My only possession is the time that you spare
Help me make it through the night
I need you to help me through this lonely, difficult period
I don't care who's right or wrong
The problem is beyond blame or right/wrong assessment
I don't try to understand
It is something I cannot explain or comprehend
Let the devil take tomorrow
Leave the uncertainties to the future and the unknown
Lord tonight I need a friend
I need someone who can offer me consolation and camaraderie
Yesterday is dead and gone
The past is irreversible and irrelevant now
And tomorrow's out of sight
The future is uncertain and unpredictable
And it's sad to be alone
It is distressing and unhappy to be by oneself
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Kris Kristofferson
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
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Marianne Menon
Thank you so much Steve for your kind words!...Glad you liked it my friend! Just Lovely are the right words for this tune!!! :) ~Marianne...
Marianne Menon
:) :) Yes I do Ellen and am so glad you do too!! Thank you so much for your lovely words!!! TC... ~Marianne...
Jack Adams
You hit the nail right on the head Marianne ..let the younguns blow their heart out....lol
Marianne Menon
Thank you so very much :) and you're very welcome!! You too have a Happy Day!!! ~Marianne...
Marianne Menon
I agree with you Mr Jack!! It is simply beautiful!! I think you best leave the harmonica in the box and on the shelf and only sing and strum for us!!I We'll let Virginia do the blowing...:) :) she's a bit younger than us!!! :) Thanks Mr Jack :)
Jack Adams
So beautiful Marianne .... damn everytime I hear a harmonica I say to myself ...self get back on it.. but just don't have the wind anymore... bugger... Have a great evening.
IWASBLINDCANTUC
Just Lovely. !!!! best regards Steve in York UK,
Marianne Menon
:) I certainly would have loved to make a comment on your reply to Mr Jack Virginia but I have to behave myself right? !!! :) Glad you enjoyed the tune!!!!! :) :)
Marianne Menon
:) :) :)
Jack Adams
All you would see it two eyes bugging out lol