+ by Rahsaan “Wordslave” Eldridge + photos by Charlie Young
One day, Charlie Young threw a party with some of his construction colleagues. He hired some of his musician friends to play and noticed they were playing the same sets as when they first started, and he realized he missed performing. He reconnected with his old band, and they played together for another five years. To understand Young’s return to music, it helps to start at the beginning.
Young grew up in Edgewater, Maryland, tinkering on his mother’s piano and listening to 45 RPM records of Ray Charles, Little Richard, and Chuck Berry, after whom he fashions his songwriting style. But it wasn’t until age 15 that a friend handed him a guitar, igniting his interest. Eventually, they started a band called Spoiled Rotten. Charlie moved to bass in the band because his friend already played guitar. From age 15 until 30 they performed around Annapolis and then Young decided it was time to “go be a grown up” and stepped completely away from music until the age of 45. But Young continued to play and added to his musical repertoire.
He recalls a family trip to New Orleans and getting “bit by the blues” after hearing Big Al Carlson play at The Funky Pirate on Bourbon Street. When he returned, he continued down the rabbit hole by shredding on blues guitar for a couple of years in the basement. Around this time, he also started playing upright bass, studying with Annapolis’ resident upright bassist, Joey Mitchell. Shortly afterward he responded to a Craigslist ad posted by singer and guitarist Dan Heely. Heely was looking for a bass player and recalls the immediate ease of working with Young. They became fast friends and collaborators.
During his music hiatus, Young learned to weld and worked at Covington Machine and Welding after high school. The progeny of a father who was a maintenance superintendent and an uncle who built power plants and worked on Alaskan pipelines, Young was “growing up” with shared career interests. He was used to heat, metal, and the physicality of working in power plants and on bridges. He built boat lifts for his nephew, from whom he purchased a marina in 2000. And in 2000, he became the owner and operator of Central Marine Construction and Central Bay Boatlifts.
Even though Young had “grown up,” he found his way back to music and capitalized on exciting opportunities, including a 2013 residency in San Pedro, Belize, as a member of the Bamboo Chicken Band. Dan Van Patten, original drummer from synth electro-pop band Berlin, had retired to San Pedro with his wife in 1997 and was friends with one of the members of the band. They were invited to play a benefit, which ended up being Van Patten’s own memorial show after he died that year. Young and Bamboo Chicken have returned every year since then, typically playing from New Year’s Eve until Valentine’s Day. Young is partial to the laid-back atmosphere, fishing villages, and driving to gigs in golf carts along the Belize Barrier Reef.
But there’s a stateside place that resonates deeply with young: Muscle Shoals, Alabama, home of the Muscle Shoals Sound Studio, known for its influential blend of soul, R&B, and groove-driven rhythms heard on recordings by artists, including Aretha Franklin, Wilson Pickett, and Etta James. Young bid on a raffle and won studio time to record a few of his songs. Intimidated initially, because he had never worked with studio musicians before and he didn’t think his songs were ready, he spent six months tweaking and rehearsing the songs with singer-songwriters Dan Heely and Ryan Moran and drummer Josh Boyer. Young sent the demos to the studio engineer and was relieved when he arrived at the studio and the engineer told him he had listened. “You’re in the right place,” he was told. Young knew the history of the studio and felt the “magical” lure while he was there.
Newly inspired, Young penned “God Bless Muscle Shoals,” which he recorded at The NuttHouse studio in Sheffield, Alabama. Owner Jimmy Nutt arranged for horns and backing vocals.
Young paid for the sessions in part through an Alabama state grant program that reimburses a portion of what’s spent for recording and lodging. He was especially impressed with the proficiency of the horn players and the soulful backing vocals of “the Shoal Sisters.”
One of the lyrics in the song says “listen to Spooner play,” a reference to Rock and Roll Hall of Fame keyboardist Spooner Oldham, famous for his work on songs, including “When a Man Loves a Woman” by Percy Sledge, “Mustang Sally” by Wilson Pickett, and “I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You)” by Aretha Franklin. When Nutt heard the lyric he told Young they could probably get Oldham in to record the song. Young didn’t hesitate. The next thing he knew, he was sitting in the control room with Oldham listening to the playback and old stories from the road.
Young’s initial idea was enhanced by Nutt’s vision, but it was when Young asked Heely to do a pass on vocals that he knew they’d created something special. Heely’s soulful delivery was the finishing touch they needed. “God Bless Muscle Shoals” was released in June 2026.
Now semi-retired from marine construction, Young dedicates more time to writing music and playing local venues, including 49 West Coffeehouse, Winebar & Gallery and Old Stein Inn. His other home in Belize is reserved for winter residency, and free time is often dedicated to jamming with his three-year-old grandson who plays drums. He’s also experimenting with recording technology and plans to finish his Muscle Shoals demos. Young may be all grown up, but he remains open to learning and considering new opportunities. His lightened workload and newfound inspiration ensure that his sound will continue growing and evolving. █
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