Charlie Rich - It Ain't Gonna Be That Way - The Complete Smash Sessions Charlie Rich

Thick-set and with a shock of silver hair, Charlie Rich always looked like an archetype of country music. When we included his original version of Isaac Hayes and David Porter’s ‘When Something Is Wrong With My Baby’ on the “Take Me To The River” southern soul box set, we were taken to task for it in some quarters, but one listen to that performance and you couldn’t fail to recognise a voice steeped in soul. His love of jazz and R&B and his rich voice proved a hindrance to him finding widespread popular success until he was well into the second decade of his career. Until then he lived off an occasional hit, one of which was the wonderful ‘Mohair Sam’, which kick-started his time working with producer Jerry Kennedy at Mercury Records’ Smash subsidiary. Over his 18 months there he recorded some of the best music of his entire career and in Kennedy found a producer who was willing to give him the freedom to express himself.