Rebound(ing)

The march towards the ten anniversary of Feel Like Going Home: The Songs of Charlie Rich has become a bittersweetly sad one. On July 14, 2026, Charles Allan Rich aka Charlie Rich, Jr. left us. I have never met a more honest, generous, and caring soul. If we can all simply be remembered that way, the world would be a better place. I still remember the first time we spoke on the phone, with him saying “Daddy would have loved this project.” As they say, I about fell out. Our discussions about music were deep. I believe some of our discussions about life were deeper, and I’m a better person for them. There was an incident that he, a third party, and I were involved in that was embarrassing and unprofessional. To say I was irritated, would have been putting it mildly. Charlie took the incident in stride, calmly saying to me, “Well, we’ve all been there.” Those words diffused my anger. There was a clear-headedness to his words – because, yes, we’ve all been there. The last time we were together it was with my family and his wife, Teri, on a particularly cold and windy spring evening in Nashville. That night the possibilities seemed endless. Then, before we knew it, the world changed. Though it was brief, I will always treasure his friendship.

“Rebound” was a last minute addition to Feel Like Going Home: The Songs of Charlie Rich. Johnny Phillips called me up just before we were set to hit the studio, telling me that Shooter Jennings had signed on, wanting to sing “Rebound.” I didn’t bother redoing the work tapes – digital playlists, really, but work tape feels better to say – or adding to the charts. I thought we’d just get after it in the studio. I simplified the arrangement, played through the changes for the guys, which never change, and explained how I wanted the form to go. I knew going in I wanted it to have that “in between the cracks” feel. If you go back and listen to those early Chuck Berry records, that’s what those hits are – half-swung/half-straight, percolating right along, and driven by Johnnie Johnson’s piano as much as Chuck’s rhythm. NRBQ perfected that feel with the late, great Tommy Ardolino on drums. I had another great Tom in the studio with me that day, Tom Hambridge. I turned to Tom, told him what I wanted, he counted it off, and we played it down. Three times. We didn’t beat the first take. When we went into the control room to listen back, Jerry Phillips exclaimed that I “damn never levitated out of that chair.” It’s a delicious two minutes and two seconds of rock‘n’roll glory.

The sound, the feel, the drive of rock’n’roll might be completely different if not for Johnnie Johnson. The partnership – and more importantly the sound – he had developed with Chuck Berry in St. Louis, Missouri led them to the huge success at Chess Records in Chicago, Illinois. Those early rock’n’roll records were really nothing more than Johnson and Berry updating the blues into their blues – albeit with incredible songwriting. We all know the hits but to truly get inside is where their wonder has always lain. The push and pull of the groove and its simplicity is often imitated but never fully realized. I believe this is because it’s become a “sound” much like “The Bo Diddley Beat” has become a beat. But, “a sound” or “The Bo Diddley Beat” are not what they actually are. Both are much more complex and simple at the same time, which is the very essence of the blues. And, of course, I would be remiss not to acknowledge the sheer genius of the writing. Who else comes up with coolerator?

Rebounding is what this album was for me. This is a period of my life that I don’t talk about publicly very often. It was my first project after I had been diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis, which blew a hole in my world, leading to a cascading, downward spiral. To say I was unsure of myself going into this record might be the understatement of the year. Of any year. I had lost the ability to play for about eighteen months, and had only really been back to playing, reteaching myself, getting it back together for about four or five months. Mentally I was ready to go. It had been a long time since I had made a record. And, I had time to do something I hadn’t done in years and years – just listen. Listening without thinking about playing was novel, and I found myself listening differently – hearing things for what they were rather than what I would have done. It was invigorating. It was frustrating. It was a time when I was very unsure what the future would bring. Honestly, I was unsure of myself as we started recording. The passion, knowledge, ideas, feeling, and the want to were all there – more so than they had probably ever been. It was my ability I was unsure of, which I had never before doubted. Listening to myself “damn near levitate out of that chair,” I knew I was back. I had rebounded.

Pick up the damn phone. Don’t text. Don’t email. Don’t send reels or stories. Pick up the damn phone and make the call – say hello to the other end of the line. Talk. I’m saying this for my own good as well as anyone who will listen or even just consider. I had been thinking of calling or sending an email to Charlie Jr. but was too busy. I just assumed there would always be time. And, now, there’s not. Our work together was brief but it left a lasting impact on my life. It expanded my life. Thank you, sir.

The “Feel Like Going Home: Charlie Rich” video is courtesy of Peter Guralnick and includes excerpts from the enhanced eBook edition of his book, Feel Like Going Home: Portraits in Blues, Country, and Rock’n’Roll.

The Trailer for Feel Like Going Home: The Songs of Charlie Rich.

My podcast with Peter Guralnick, where our conversation about Charlie Rich starts around 19:20.

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My playlist for Saturday, August 1, 2026 on WICN 90.5fm in Worcester, Massachusetts, and globally at wicn.org:

Frank Stokes “Downtown Blues”

The Mills Brothers “Up a Lazy River”

Mattie Delaney “Tallahatchie River Blues”

Johnny Cash “Big River”

Charlie Poole & the North Carolina Ramblers “If the River was Whiskey”

Doc Watson “:Deep River Blues”

Mahalia Jackson “Down by the Riverside”

Rickie Lee Jones “Up a Lazy River”

Jon Byrd “Dirty Ol’ River”

Los Lobos “Down on the Riverbed”

The Band “The River Hymn”

Little Milton “Cry Me a River”

Leon Redbone “Up a Lazy River”

John Fahey “Sunflower River Blues”

Sister Rosetta Tharpe “Down by the Riverside”

Lesley Riddle “Red River Blues”

Albert Ammons “Swanee River Boogie”

Johnny Mercer & Henry Mancini “Moon River”