Charlie Peacock
Genre: Pop/Rock
Official Web Site
Charlie Peacock Bibliography: (click on each album cover to view tracks and Charlie Peacock lyrics)
Charlie Peacock Biography Charlie Peacock-Ashworth has earned a global reputation for his innovative and genre transcending work as a songwriter, record producer, musician, and writer. Born Charles William Ashworth, August 10th, 1956 in Yuba City, California, he is married to the former Andrea Berrier. The couple have two married children, Molly Nicholas (husband, Mark) and Sam Ashworth (wife, Meg). Peacock is a professional name used since 1979. Charlie and his wife (Andi), a writer-gardener, make their home in a remodeled country church outside of Nashville, Tennessee. Charlie performs several times a month and speaks regularly at arts conferences, retreats, and universities around the US and abroad.
Charlie received a public school education and attended California State University at Sacramento before leaving to begin his professional music career at the age of twenty. He is presently working on a Masters degree in Theological Studies at Covenant Theological Seminary in St. Louis, MO.
At the early age of 20, Charlie had already been recognized by San Francisco Chronicle jazz columnist Frank Kofsky as an improvising pianist of "no average ability." Kofsky often took Charlie along with him to meet and interview the greats of jazz, usually at the famed Keystone Korner in San Francisco, or in the case of Andrew Hill, at the artist's home.
"I was a mere novice who wanted to play something for Andrew Hill that he would think was cool. I'm not sure I met my goal on that particular day. Still, Andrew and his wife were incredibly kind and encouraging. Realistically, I was just starting to develop and he had to have known it. I think he wanted me to leave his home believing that anything was possible. And I did."
In 1981 manager David Rubinson and producer David Kahne began developing Charlie as a solo singer-songwriter. Later, Charlie signed with Bill Graham Management, and with the help of Exit, a Sacramento production imprint, Charlie recorded solo pop albums for A&M and Island Records, toured the US and Canada with The Fixx, General Public, Let's Active, and Missing Persons, and signed his first songwriting agreement with CBS Songs. The 1980s also saw the start of Charlie's production career.
After publishing relationships with CBS and SBK, the 1990s began Charlie's decade of producing, recording, and songwriting for EMI's gospel music division located in Nashville (primarily the Sparrow Label Group). In the song-oriented community of "Music City," Charlie made good on his earlier songwriting promise when Amy Grant turned his Every Heartbeat into a worldwide smash pop hit.
Named by Billboard's Encyclopedia of Record Producers as one of the 500 most important record producers in music history, Charlie is also the only three-time recipient of the Gospel Music Association's Dove Award for Producer of the Year. His diverse production credits include the South-African vocal group Ladysmith Black Mambazo, R&B vocalists Al Green and CeCe Winans, Australian vocalist Michelle Tumes, modern rock bands Switchfoot and Audio Adrenaline, folk artist Sarah Masen, pop artist Brent Bourgeois, and the more traditional contemporary Christian artists Avalon and Twila Paris. His most recent production is a jazz recording featuring James Genus, Ravi Coltrane, Joey Baron, Kurt Rosenwinkel, and Ralph Alessi.
As a result of his scholarship and interest in the intersection of faith and music, Charlie has become a widely sought after voice on the subject. He is the founder of the Art House, a study center dedicated to examining the artful life. He has contributed commentary and opinion to NPR's All Things Considered and Talk of the Nation, as well to USA Today and The Wall Street Journal. As an artist, songwriter, producer, and lay theologian, Charlie has been featured in major newspapers and periodicals such as The Chicago Tribune, Mix, Electronic Musician, Melody Maker, Billboard, Details, Publishers Weekly, First Things, and Re:generation Quarterly. Peggy Wehmeyer of ABC World News called his writing and ideas "refreshing and challenging." Charlie is the author of "At The Crossroads" as well as featured essays in several other books including "It Was Good" a collection of essays on art-making. He also serves as Principal Artist Faculty of the Wheaton Conservatory of Music, International Improvisational Institute.
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