Charles Franklin Hodge

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Charles Franklin Hodge ( December 14, 1934 in Decatur , Alabama - March 3, 2006 in Knoxville , Tennessee ), better known as Charlie Hodge , was an American musician who was a member of the gospel group Foggy River Boys at a young age and later became part of Elvis Presley's permanent personal and professional environment .

Life

Passionate comedian

One of Charlie Hodge's great passions was humor . Already in his youth he imitated the voices of well-known personalities and made those around him laugh. He owed this propensity for comedy, among other things, for his great relationship with Elvis Presley, whom he met again as a soldier during their basic training in 1958 in Fort Hood and with whom he drove to the FRG on the troop transport USS General George M. Randall . The King of Rock 'n' Roll was in a sad mood on this trip because of his recently deceased mother and Charlie saw it as his job to cheer him up. After a while, Elvis thanked him with the words: “Charlie, you stopped me from going crazy.” Later Elvis was to say to Charlie: “Every great person in history had some kind of jester or comedian around him made him laugh. ”Hodge saw this as one of his central tasks for Elvis Presley.

Friendship with Elvis Presley

The two first met in 1956 when Hodge performed with the Foggy River Boys in Presley's hometown of Memphis, Tennessee . Already at this performance, Charlie Hodge, who is only 1.60 meters tall, made Elvis smile by standing on a Coke box during the performance to make up for his small body size compared to the other members of the group. Since their military service in Germany, which Elvis spent in Friedberg and Charlie in Kirch-Göns , the two men had a close friendship that lasted until Presley's death.

Collaboration with Elvis Presley

Your first professional collaboration was on the LP Elvis Is Back! released the song I Will Be Home Again , which they recorded as a duet. Hodge later played small supporting roles in various films of the King of Rock 'n' Roll : in the film Tolle Nights in Las Vegas, his shadow as a guitarist on a wall could be seen. Hodge was also seen as a guitarist in the films Kid Galahad - Hard Fists, Hot Love and Speedway . He also worked as a barber in Just Don't Be a Millionaire and in Charro! as a Mexican smallholder. In the 1979 film This Is Elvis, about the life of the King of Rock 'n' Roll , Charlie Hodge also starred as himself.

When Presley turned his back on the film business and prepared for his stage comeback, they built the TCB band together . Charlie Hodge also acted as Presley's vocal coach during this time .

During Presley's concert years (1969 to 1977) Charlie Hodge was one of his constant companions. Before the performances he acted as his hairstylist and on stage he supported him in a variety of ways: he put the guitar on Elvis and took it back, or in his later years he regularly picked it up when Presley at the end of a song about the Stage threw. He also hung the white silk scarves on Elvis, which he then threw into the audience, gave him water and played the guitar.

He also influenced Elvis to record gospel songs such as Lead Me, Guide Me and How Great Thou Art , which were part of Presley's standard repertoire on his later tours.

Others

On March 3, 2006, Charlie Hodge died of lung cancer at Fort Sanders Regional Medical Center in Knoxville, Tennessee.

literature

  • Charlie Hodge with Charles Goodman: Me'n Elvis , Castle Books, Memphis / Tennessee
  • June Moore: Kathy Westmoreland: Elvis' voice of an angel , Ju'Mel Publishing, USA, June 2010, pp. 192ff

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Charlie Hodge with Charles Goodman: Me'n Elvis , p. 52
  2. ^ Charlie Hodge with Charles Goodman: Me'n Elvis , p. 6
  3. ^ Charlie Hodge with Charles Goodman: Me'n Elvis , p. 10
  4. ^ A b Charlie Hodge with Charles Goodman: Me'n Elvis , p. 61
  5. ^ Charlie Hodge with Charles Goodman: Me'n Elvis , p. 13
  6. ^ Charlie Hodge with Charles Goodman: Me'n Elvis , p. 48
  7. ^ Charlie Hodge with Charles Goodman: Me'n Elvis , p. 114
  8. ^ Charlie Hodge with Charles Goodman: Me'n Elvis , pp. 120ff
  9. ^ Charlie Hodge with Charles Goodman: Me'n Elvis , p. 175
  10. ^ Charlie Hodge with Charles Goodman: Me'n Elvis , p. 127
  11. ^ Charlie Hodge with Charles Goodman: Me'n Elvis , p. 132
  12. ↑ a b June Moore: Kathy Westmoreland: Elvis' voice of an angel , p 194
  13. ^ Charlie Hodge with Charles Goodman: Me'n Elvis , p. 201
  14. ^ Charlie Hodge with Charles Goodman: Me'n Elvis , pp. 148f
personal data
SURNAME Hodge, Charles Franklin
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Hodge, Charlie (nickname)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American musician
DATE OF BIRTH December 14, 1934
PLACE OF BIRTH Decatur , Alabama , USA
DATE OF DEATH March 3, 2006
Place of death Knoxville , Tennessee