Charlie Louvin

 Louvin began singing professionally with his brother Ira as a teenager on local radio programs in Chattanooga, Tennessee. The boys sang Traditional and Gospel Music in the harmony style they had learned while performing in their church’s choir.

After Charlie left the act briefly in 1945 to serve in the Army Air Forces during World War II, the brothers moved first to Knoxville and later to Memphis, working as postal clerks by day, while making appearances in the evening. Another brief disbandment due to Charlie’s service in the Korean War led to the brothers’ relocation to Birmingham, Alabama.

Primarily known as Gospel artists, the Louvins were convinced by a sponsor, “you can’t sell tobacco with Gospel Music,” and began adding secular music to their repertoire. They began making appearances on the famed Grand Ole Opry during the 1950s, becoming official members in 1955. The Louvin Brothers released numerous singles, such as “When I Stop Dreaming”, with over 20 recordings reaching the Country Music charts. Their rich harmonies served as an influence for later artists, such as Emmylou Harris, Gram Parsons, and The Byrds.

By the 1960s, Charlie and Ira’s popularity had waned and the brothers split up in 1963. In 1965, Ira was killed in a car accident. Charlie continued to perform solo, making numerous appearances on the Grand Ole Opry and in later years acting as an elder statesman for Country Music.

In 2001, the Louvin Brothers were inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame.

As of 2003, Louvin lived in Manchester, Tennessee. He closed his Louvin Brothers museum in Nashville and was looking to open another one in Monteagle, Tennessee, near Chattanooga.

After his July 2010 cancer surgery, Louvin made his first public appearance, and second to last, at Nashville’s Americana Music Conference, Sept. 10th. He performed with Emmylou Harris and longtime Harris and Gram Parsons accompanist Al Perkins on steel guitar.

Louvin made one final public appearance on The Marty Stuart Show, alongside his son, Sonny Louvin. He performed “See the Big Man Cry”, after which Country Music icon Connie Smith spoke of her admiration for Louvin, before performing “I Don’t Love You Anymore”. Leroy Troy, alongside Lester Armistead and Dan Kelly, then performed “Bald Knob, Arkansas”, which was written by Charlie’s brother, Ira Louvin. Marty Stuart and his Fabulous Superlatives then performed the Louvin Brothers Gospel song “The Family Who Prays”. The show then closed with Louvin singing the Tom T. Hall song “Back When We Were Young”, with Stuart accompanying him on mandolin. The show aired on January 29, 2011, three days after Louvin’s death. The show ended with a memorial message: “This episode was taped on December 2, 2010. It was to be Mr. Louvin’s last televised performance.”

Ultimate Collection
Country’s Family Reunion Nashville
Bluegrass: Grassroots to Bluegrass
Country’s Family Reunion Grassroots to Bluegrass
Country’s Family Reunion Celebration Episode 1
Country’s Family Reunion Gospel Episode 1
Grassroots To Bluegrass Episode 1
Country’s Family Reunion Nashville Episode 1
2010 Episode 1
Lookin’ Back Episode 1
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