Charles Crosson

CHARLES CROSSON
Singer-Songwriter

More than thirty years after receiving a Brand X small box acoustic guitar from his sister, Charles Crosson has released his first CD, "Get Out of Town!"

In seventeen original songs, Charles draws on his intimate experiences being out of town, in the wilds of nature, along with his search for truth, wisdom, compassion and understanding, to convey the essence of the message in each of his songs.

Charles was born and raised on America's east coast in the mid-1950s in a fairly strict Roman Catholic environment. The combination of his upbringing and the profound changes during the next decade influenced him greatly and helped mold his life's direction.

With his musical voice, Charles sang from the time he was very young: songs from church, school, movies and the radio, and along with his eight brothers and sisters he sang during holidays in four-part harmonies that his eldest brother, Clayton, arranged. These songs included Christmas carols and Thanksgiving songs, show tunes and popular hits, including a rare and beautifully arranged rendition of Robert Frost's poem, "Stopping By Woods On A Snowy Evening."

While still in elementary school, Charles volunteered to sing solo at school assemblies and variety shows. More than once, he was asked to teach new songs to the class when the music teacher was away.

By the time the 1960s were in full swing, Charles was listening to Bob Dylan, Dave Brubeck, Simon and Garfunkel, Peter, Paul and Mary, and the Beatles. Later on, as the anti-war movement expanded and the outpouring of love and peace rushed in, he got to know the music of Donovan, Crosby, Stills and Nash, Neil Young, Cream, and Creedence Clearwater Revival. Still later, he listened to John Denver and Gordon Lightfoot.

When Charles was 16, his sister Elizabeth gave him a Brand X acoustic guitar, and he started learning his first song, Donovan's "Catch The Wind." (Some years later he discovered, in an article in a well-known music magazine, that Jimi Hendrix also had a Brand X guitar as his first acoustic!)

At seventeen and a half years of age, Charles left home and spent his "Summer of Love" (1972) in Eugene, Oregon, a haven for many young and free folks who had left the Bay Area and other places to find a more organic and natural lifestyle. It was there, in the wilderness of the Cascade Mountains, that he fell deeply in love with nature, spending a great deal of the summer camping out and hiking, river rafting and celebrating life in its natural habitat.

In 1973, Charles became involved in the Christ Brotherhood community, which was devoted to taking the Gospels literally, without compromise: feeding the hungry, sheltering the homeless and poor, comforting the lonely, and travelling by twos to proclaim the Good News.

During these years, Charles developed his guitar playing and song-writing, so that when the opportunity came to be a guitarist in the Brotherhood Band, he accepted gratefully and helped the band perform for free in state penitentiaries, mental facilities and old-age homes throughout the Northwest, Montana and California. When the Band went abroad to Spain, he performed with them on tour.

These experiences made a lasting impression on Charles. He saw that prisoners, patients in mental hospitals, and patients in old-age institutions need active caring, love and compassion similar to the work of Mother Teresa and the Sisters of Charity in Calcutta and in many other poverty-stricken areas around the world, not just prayers. This, along with Charles's need and reverence for the nature, influenced him to write the songs on his debut CD, "Get Out of Town!"

Since 1988, Charles has lived in Israel, the Holy (but very troubled) Land. Several of the songs on this CD were written there, and although there are suggestions of his awareness of the political tensions, Charles is not politically motivated. Rather, speaks from his own place of understanding, small as it may be, seeking more a spiritual and personal solution to all things.

"Get Out of Town!" is also a suggestion to the listener during these challenging yet amazing times on our planet. Hear clips at Charles's CD Baby page.

Charles's songs are also played on Hober Thinking Radio.

Copyright © 2002 by Charles Crosson. All lyrics, graphics, pictures and audio on or related to this page are under strict international copyright and their use for commercial purposes is strictly prohibited without prior permission. All rights reserved.