Oklahoma City’s forgotten guitarist taught Hendrix, Berry, and Santana how to solo

Charlie Christian’s Electric Guitar Revolution in Deep Deuce

Charlie Christian changed how we hear music in just two short years.

Born in Texas in 1916, he grew up in Oklahoma City’s Deep Deuce jazz district, learning guitar from his blind father. In 1937, he got his first electric guitar and soon made it sing like a “garbled saxophone.”

His big break came in 1939 when he shocked Benny Goodman with a 40-minute improvisation on “Rose Room. ” Though tuberculosis took his life at just 25, his sound lives on through B. B. King, Chuck Berry, and Jimi Hendrix.

The story of this jazz pioneer awaits at Oklahoma City’s Bricktown, where a striking mosaic mural honors his legacy.

A Texas Boy Moved to Oklahoma City’s Jazz District

Charlie Christian was born in Bonham, Texas in 1916. His family moved to Oklahoma City when Charlie was just 2 years old.

They settled in Deep Deuce, a lively Black neighborhood along Northeast Second Street.

This area became Oklahoma City’s jazz hotspot, where stars like Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Nat King Cole, and Sarah Vaughan played. Charlie’s dad Clarence was blind but worked as a musician.

He taught Charlie and his brothers to play music, and they often played on streets for money.

By age 12, Charlie switched from trumpet to guitar, first making simple instruments from cigar boxes before getting his first real guitar.

His First Professional Gig Came at Age 14

In 1930, 14-year-old Charlie played his first paid gig with the Don Redman Orchestra at Honey Murphy’s Club. He performed acoustic solos on “Sweet Georgia Brown,” “Tea for Two,” and “Rose Room.”

Charlie learned guitar with his childhood friend T-Bone Walker under the teaching of guitarist Ralph “Big-Foot Chuck” Hamilton in Deep Deuce clubs.

His brother Edward secretly trained him in jazz during late-night jam sessions.

Charlie started touring in 1934 as a bassist with the Alphonso Trent Band, playing shows through Kansas City, Dallas, Little Rock, and Tulsa.

Count Basie’s Guitarist Changed Charlie’s Life

Charlie met Count Basie’s guitarist Eddie Durham in 1937.

Durham had recorded one of the first electric guitar solos and showed Charlie the electric guitar, giving him tips on playing it.

Durham later said: “I never saw anyone learn so fast, nor have I seen anyone rise to the top so quickly. ” Charlie loved the electric guitar so much that he bought a Gibson ES-150 with a matching amp right away.

This guitar helped him change music history.

Jazz Guitarist Mary Osborne Compared His Sound to a Saxophone

While working at The Dome in Bismarck, North Dakota, jazz guitarist Mary Osborne heard Charlie play his electric guitar.

She called it “the most startling thing” she’d ever heard, saying it sounded like a “garbled saxophone. ” Charlie broke new ground with his single-string solo style on the electric guitar.

He turned the guitar from a backup instrument into a lead voice.

With amplification, the guitar could now stand equal to horns as a solo instrument in jazz for the first time.

Benny Goodman Got Tricked Into Hearing Charlie Play

Jazz pianist Mary Lou Williams told producer John Hammond about Charlie’s talent. Hammond set up an audition with bandleader Benny Goodman in Los Angeles.

Charlie showed up wearing a bright green suit, purple shirt, yellow pointed shoes, and a ten-gallon hat, which put off the more formal Goodman.

Hammond surprised Goodman by putting Charlie onstage at the Victor Hugo restaurant without asking first. An annoyed Goodman called for the band to play “Rose Room,” thinking Charlie wouldn’t know this hard tune.

Charlie Played One Song for Almost an Hour

Goodman didn’t know that “Rose Room” was one of the three songs Charlie had learned as a teenager. Charlie started an amazing improvisation that lasted 40-45 minutes, creating 20 different choruses.

Goodman was so amazed that he hired Charlie on the spot.

That very night, the Benny Goodman Quintet became the Benny Goodman Sextet featuring Charlie Christian. This audition on August 16, 1939, marked Charlie’s step onto the national stage.

Six Months Later He Topped the Jazz Polls

Charlie joined the Benny Goodman Sextet and Orchestra in August 1939, gaining fans across America.

Home recordings from September 1939 in Minneapolis captured his skilled improvisations on songs like “Stardust,” “Tea for Two,” and “I’ve Got Rhythm.”

By February 1940, just six months after joining Goodman, Charlie won jazz and swing guitar polls nationwide.

The music community quickly noticed his talent, and voters picked him for the Metronome All Stars in spring 1940.

His Records with Goodman Defined a New Sound

Charlie recorded many songs with the Goodman Sextet, Septet, Orchestra, and the Lionel Hampton Orchestra between 1939 and 1941.

His songs and riff-based style created the Sextet’s unique sound on tunes like “Soft Winds,” “Till Tom Special,” and “A Smo-o-o-oth One.”

His work on slow songs like “Stardust,” “Memories of You,” and “Poor Butterfly” showed early signs of what later became cool jazz.

Though he got credit for few songs, Charlie created many original tunes that the Goodman Sextet recorded.

Late-Night Jam Sessions Helped Create Bebop

In early 1941, Charlie kept busy. After finishing shows with Goodman, he would go to Minton’s Playhouse in Harlem for late-night jam sessions.

The house band included Thelonious Monk on piano and Kenny Clarke on drums, with regular guests like Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie Parker.

Columbia student Jerry Newman made portable recordings in May 1941 that captured Charlie’s groundbreaking playing with these future bebop pioneers.

Some musicians from these sessions say Charlie came up with the term “bebop” by humming phrases during his solos.

Tuberculosis Cut His Career Short at Age 25

While touring in summer 1941, Charlie showed serious signs of tuberculosis, a disease that had affected him for years. He checked into Seaview Hospital, a treatment center on Staten Island, New York, in June 1941.

Down Beat magazine reported in February 1942 that Charlie and Cootie Williams planned to start a band together. But Charlie died on March 2, 1942, at just 25 years old.

His family buried him in Gates Hill Cemetery in his birthplace of Bonham, Texas.

His Legacy Lives On Through Rock, Blues, and Jazz

Charlie’s single-string technique and amplified sound influenced countless musicians across genres: T-Bone Walker, B. B. King, Chuck Berry, Carlos Santana, and Jimi Hendrix all carried his influence forward.

His playing shaped not just guitarists but also saxophonists and trumpeters, including Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker, and Miles Davis.

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame recognized his broad impact by inducting him in 1990 as an “Early Influence.” Oklahoma City established the Charlie Christian International Music Festival in 1985 and renamed a street “Charlie Christian Avenue” to honor him.

Visiting Bricktown, Oklahoma

You can explore Charlie Christian’s jazz legacy in Oklahoma City’s Bricktown and Deep Deuce areas.

Find his memorial plaque in the brick sidewalk at NE 2nd Street in Deep Deuce District, where he revolutionized electric guitar. Charlie Christian Avenue downtown was dedicated in 2007.

Deep Deuce Grill at 307 NE 2nd St has jazz history displays and live music.

The Charlie Christian International Music Festival happens each May/June through Black Liberated Arts Center.

This article was created with AI assistance and human editing.

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