10 Things You Should Know About Charles Perry
Don't miss Charles Perry tonight on 106!
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Getting the Spirit - At the young age of just five, Perry began singing in church, but he says he would also sing anywehre that would allow. According to Examiner.com, Perry says, “The church was very, very vital. It started me singing at an early age. I started performing in churches, community centers and for anybody who would want to hear me. I sang in backyards, in front of barbershops, standing on top of my grandmother’s coffee table singing for her company until they got sick of me.” His commitment is paying off. Don't miss Charles Perry tonight on 106!(Photo: Michael Buckner/Getty Images For BET)
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Soul Man - Charles Perry, the spine-tingling vocalist, may be a Brooklyn native, but he claims he was not born on Earth but rather on Mars in a small town called "Soultron."(Photo: Martina Tolot)
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Annointed - At just 16, upon hearing Perry sing, none other than the late, great Luther Vandross described Perry's voice as "ferocious" and predicted that he would have a long-lasting musical career. (Photo: Michael Buckner/Getty Images For BET)
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Making the Cut - Getting his big break came via musical theater, when Perry became the youngest actor to earn a role in the longest-running off-Broadway Black musical Mama, I Want to Sing. Here, Perry sang alongside Grammy-winning greats CeCe Winans and Shirley Caesar. (Photo: Michael Buckner/Getty Images For BET)
Photo By Photo: Michael Buckner/Getty Images For BET
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Honorable Mention - A few years later, Perry appeared in the sequel to Mama, Born to Sing. Here, he sharpened his technique alongside vocal powerhouses Lisa Fischer and Tonya Blount. In 1996, the New York Times had this to say about Perry's performance: "The 15-member Reach Ensemble creates plenty of on-stage energy just standing on rows of fluorescent-lighted stairs singing and stomping their way through the songs. And the depth of talent in that chorus is made clear whenever one of the singers is given a solo turn, for example, Charles Perry, who does a dead-on imitation of Tina Turner."(Photo: Martina Tolot)
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