Misplaced Pages

Charles & Eddie
Charles Pettigrew (left) and Eddie Chacon
Background information
Origin	New York City, U.S.
Genres	Soul, neo soul, R&B
Years active	1990–1997
Labels	Capitol Records
Past members	Charles Pettigrew Eddie Chacon

Charles & Eddie were an American soul music duo composed of Charles Pettigrew and Eddie Chacon. Their single "Would I Lie to You?", taken from their 1992 debut album, Duophonic, won Ivor Novello Awards in 1993 in the Best Contemporary Song, Best-Selling Song and International Hit of the Year categories. From 1992 to 1995 they hit the top 40 three more times in the UK.

Career as a duo

Pettigrew and Chacon were said to have met on the New York City Subway in 1990, on the C train; according to Chacon, one of them was carrying a vinyl copy of the Marvin Gaye album Trouble Man. They released their debut album, Duophonic, on Capitol Records in 1992. It includes the singles "Would I Lie to You?", "N.Y.C." and "House Is Not a Home", and was influenced by classic soul music.

Their second and final album, Chocolate Milk, included "Wounded Bird", which was written and recorded for the film True Romance. It was released in 1995. The duo split amicably in 1997.

Members

Charles Pettigrew

Pettigrew was born and raised in Philadelphia. He studied jazz singing at Berklee College of Music in Boston, and was lead singer of the band Down Avenue, who won WBCN's 1985 "Rock 'n Roll Rumble".

In 1998, Pettigrew toured with Tom Tom Club (featuring Chris Frantz and Tina Weymouth from Talking Heads) and went on to join the group, co-writing and singing on several songs until he became too ill to perform.

In the late 1990s, Pettigrew was diagnosed with cancer. He died from the disease on April 6, 2001, at the age of 37.

Eddie Chacon

A Hispanic, Chacon was raised in Hayward and Castro Valley, California. He started his first band at age 12 with neighborhood friends Cliff Burton (later of Metallica) and Mike Bordin (later of Faith No More). In his early 20s, Chacon worked as a songwriter for CBS Songs. He made albums for Columbia and Luther Campbell of 2 Live Crew, both of which went unreleased, along with demos made with the Dust Brothers. After splitting with Pettigrew, he worked as a photographer and creative director.

On May 29, 2020, The Fader announced Chacon's return to music after two decades of silence as a singer, referring to him as a "low-key R&B legend". Chacon released the single "My Mind Is Out of Its Mind" from his then forthcoming album, Pleasure, Joy and Happiness on Day End Records. The project was produced and co-written by Solange collaborator John Carroll Kirby and distributed by Light in the Attic Records. On July 15 2020, KCRW premiered the album's second single, "Trouble". They wrote: "Eddie Chacon's R & B pop exploits are both influential and legendary." On July 29 2020, The New York Times said: "The album avoids the trappings of a throwback or revival of a bygone era, instead exploring the rarely glimpsed side of that genre's themes of passion and heartbreak, sung by a bruised but wiser man." Mojo magazine wrote: "Neo-Soul veteran returns with a mini modern masterpiece." In 2020 he released a single, "High", with Stones Throw Records' John Carroll Kirby and harpist Nailah Hunter.

His second solo album, Sundown, was released by Stones Throw on March 31, 2023. The album was rated highly on publications including Pitchfork, Record Collector and The Guardian which wrote: "The question that haunts Sundown is whether the unexpected success of Pleasure Joy and Happiness can be replicated. The answer turns out to be a qualified yes."

Discography

Albums

Singles

Soundtracks

• 1993: "Wounded Bird" (True Romance soundtrack)
• 1993: "Supernatural Thing" (Addams Family Values soundtrack)
• 1993: "I Would Stop the World" (Super Mario Bros. soundtrack)

References

1. ^ Colin Larkin, ed. (1993). The Guinness Who's Who of Soul Music (First ed.). Guinness Publishing. pp. 39/40. ISBN 0-85112-733-9.
2. "Charles & Eddie Songs • Top Songs / Chart Singles Discography". Musicvf.com. Retrieved July 1, 2021.
3. ^ Rule, Sheila (January 13, 1993). "The Pop Life". The New York Times.
4. ^ Beta, Andy (July 28, 2020). "Eddie Chacon, a Fleeting '90s Neo Soul Star, Returns as an Old Soul". The New York Times. Retrieved August 3, 2020.
5. Christgau, Robert (2000). Christgau's Consumer Guide: Albums of the '90s. New York: St. Martin's Griffin. p. 53.
6. ^ "Charles Pettigrew". Variety. April 18, 2001. Archived from the original on September 24, 2016. Retrieved September 24, 2016.
7. "Timeline". tomtomclub.com. Retrieved September 24, 2016.
8. Proefrock, Stacia. "The Good the Bad and the Funky Review". Allmusic. Retrieved September 24, 2016.
9. "Charles and Eddie". Oxford Reference. Retrieved August 3, 2020.
10. "Eddie Chacon Biography". AllMusic. Retrieved June 4, 2023.
11. "Eddie Chacon, a fleeting '90s star, returns as old soul". Arkansas Democrat Gazette. August 9, 2020. Retrieved April 15, 2023.
12. Male, Andrew (September 1, 2020). "Charles & Eddie's Eddie Chacon: 'It took me 10 years to recover from being a one-hit wonder'". Theguardian.com. Retrieved September 1, 2020.
13. Ross, Alex Robert (June 29, 2020). "Low-key R&B legend Eddie Chacon returns on "My Mind Is Out of Its Mind"". The Fader. Retrieved August 3, 2020.
14. ^ Hale, Tyler (July 15, 2020). "Track Premiere: Eddie Chacon teams with Solange collaborator John Carroll Kirby for project". KCRW. Retrieved August 3, 2020.
15. "Pleasure, Joy and Happiness". lightintheattic.net. Retrieved August 3, 2020.
16. Kellman, Andy. "Eddie Chacon - Sundown". AllMusic. Retrieved April 3, 2023.
17. Labat, Margeaux (April 6, 2023). "Sundown | Eddie Chacon". Pitchfork. Retrieved May 4, 2023.
18. Atkins, Jamie (March 23, 2023). "Sundown | Eddie Chacon". Record Collector. Retrieved May 4, 2023.
19. Petridis, Alexis (March 30, 2023). "Eddie Chacon: Sundown review – delightful career renaissance for former one-hit wonder". The Guardian. Retrieved May 4, 2023.
20. ^ "Charles & Eddie - Awards". AllMusic. Archived from the original on June 10, 2016. Retrieved August 29, 2022.
21. ^ Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010 (pdf ed.). Mt. Martha, VIC, Australia: Moonlight Publishing. p. 55.
22. "Offizielle Deutsche Charts - Charles & Eddie - Albums". BVMI / GfK. Retrieved August 29, 2023.
23. Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 101. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
24. "Charles & Eddie - Duophonic". bpi.co.uk. Retrieved August 29, 2022.
25. "Official Charts Company: Charles & Eddie". Official Charts Company. Retrieved April 15, 2014.
26. "Single Reviews" (PDF). Billboard. August 22, 1992. p. 74.
27. "Charles & Eddie - Would I Lie To You". bpi.co.uk. Retrieved August 29, 2022.

• American contemporary R&B musical groups
• American soul musical groups
• Capitol Records artists
• Contemporary R&B duos
• American male musical duos
• Musical duos from New York (state)
• Musical groups established in 1990
• Musical groups disestablished in 1995