Charlie Rich Jr. plugs into dad's Arkansas roots

Arkansas music fans treasure the memory of the late Charlie Rich, a native of Colt in St. Francis County who died in 1995 at age 62. He was survived by his wife, two daughters and sons Allan and Jack Rich. So who is this Charlie Rich Jr., about to perform in central Arkansas; some sort of scam artist?

"No, I began my career as Allan Rich," laughs Charles Allan Rich Jr., the look-alike son of Charlie Rich. "I guess when I started out, I was intent on not riding on the coattails of my dad."

And like most of those born in the 1950s, Rich Jr. was more interested in making a name for himself in the world of rock or pop than pursuing country music. He was fond of The Beatles, Neil Young, Jimi Hendrix, Roxy Music and James Taylor, although he did appreciate his dad's music, as well as country icons Merle Haggard and Hank Williams Sr.

"In the summer of '72, I went to a show at Barton Coliseum in Little Rock. It was Yes headlining, but the opening act was The Eagles, and I was really blown away by how real they were and how they were combining country with rock 'n' roll, and it made such an impression on me, to this day."

His career has found him playing, recording or touring with a host of diverse artists, including Smokey Robinson, Randy Meisner, Jerry Lee Lewis, Doug Sahm, Augie Meyers, Flaco Jimenez, Jo-El Sonnier, Billy Swan and Freddy Fender.

"I went out to Los Angeles and had a couple of record deals in the late 1970s, with Epic and Columbia," he says. "I just did the rock 'n' roll thing for years but I started playing the West Coast country circuit and gradually started backing my dad on keyboards and becoming his band leader. I began to notice that everyone was really laid-back and so forth when I did gigs with my dad.

"So after 20 years in LA, I moved to Nashville, Tenn., and am still there. I spent time with my dad when he would go to this little old place he had bought that his dad had sharecropped, north of Forrest City. He wanted to be on the landscape where he grew up, so I have a lot of ties to that area, too. I used to go fishing there with Tony Joe White."

Rich credits Sahm, known for his bands the Sir Douglas Quintet and Texas Tornados, as having been the person who convinced him to modify his name to honor his father and their shared musical heritage.

"We were talking about juniors and he suddenly realized that I was one, and he said , 'You're Charlie Rich's son? And you don't let people know that? You need to do something about that, man!"'

While Rich Jr. has performed at Helena-West Helena and the Malvern Brick Festival, he is looking forward to his show at Ron Robinson Theater, which will be his first in quite some time, especially close to his family's home.

Rich, who admits he not only inherited some of his father's musical talent but also a resemblance to the man who was called "The Silver Fox," will be backed by Sonny Burgess & The Legendary Pacers, who are themselves rather, well, legendary. The band began in 1955, before Rich Sr. began his career.

"Of course, I'll do some of my dad's songs and my own stuff," he says. "I don't think I do them as well as he did, though. And I'll have some stories about him that are part of the show, also."

Weekend on 05/19/2016