NEWS

Gotham Distribution Picks Up

“Fabulous” for Worldwide Distribution 

Gotham Distribution has acquired The DVD rights for The Charlie Gracie Documentary “Fabulous”. The DVD is currently available thru many online retail outlets including: Blockbuster, Movies Unlimited, Circuit City, Turner Classic Movies, FYE, Best Buy, New York Times Movies, Netflix, Oldies.com and several others.  

Principal Photography finishes on Feature Length Documentary on The Philadelphia Music Scene Circa 1952-1963. 

Principal Photography on the highly anticipated  Feature Length Documentary covering The Philadelphia Music scene 1952-1963 is finished. The Documentary features interviews with: Chubby Checker, Fabian, Frankie Avalon, Connie Francis, Mike Love and Bruce Johnston of The Beach Boys, Andy Williams, Bob Marcucci, Charlie Gracie, Dick Richards (Bill Haley’s Comets), Len Barry, Jerry Gross and Mark Stevens (Dovells), Frank Maffei and Joe Terry (Danny and The Juniors), Stephen Caldwell (The Orlons), Jerry Blavat, Ed Hurst, Bill Webber, Sally Starr, Dave Appell, Weldon McDougal (Larks), Ron Joseph, John Carlton, Pete Cozzi, The Bandstand Dancers and several others.

Keep checking for updates!!!!

The Fabulous '50s!:

Charlie Gracie is neither gone nor forgotten

Goldmine Magazine

Hank Davis

A long time ago, I was a teenage kid in a big city. Let’s call it New York. One day, for reasons I can’t quite remember, I found myself visiting a radio station. Let’s call it WINS. As I was wandering around, looking awestruck at everything I saw and everyone I met, somebody ushered me into a side room. He asked if I’d listen to a record that had just come in and tell him what I thought.

I wondered why he, a professional DJ or programmer (I’ve forgotten his identity over the years) cared what I, a nobody, thought. It never occurred to me that I was a demographic goldmine to him: a teenage kid who obviously loved music. I was a human barometer; I danced to what teenagers danced to, bought what teenagers bought, and thought what teenagers thought — which was probably very little at the time. So I said, “Yeah, sure.”

With that, he put an orange 45 on the turntable and walked out. I listened to it with no particular enthusiasm and was about to leave when I wondered what was on the other side. So I flipped the record over and fell in love on the spot. A few minutes later, the man came back in and asked what I thought.

Without bothering to mention the fact that I had turned the record over, I told him I loved it, and started to rave about the singer, the song and all the reasons I thought it would be a hit. I don’t know if I sounded knowledgeable, but I certainly was enthusiastic.

He listened politely and then said, “You think that much of ‘Ninety Nine Ways’?”

“No,” I explained. “That was nothing special. I turned the record over. I think that much of ‘Butterfly.’”

Now I don’t claim to have single-handedly reversed the promotional efforts of Cameo Records for its new Charlie Gracie single, but I sure must have given the folks at this radio station something to think about in January 1957.

The 45 was clearly marked with “Ninety-Nine Ways” as the plug side. Yet, here, before their eyes, a certifiable teenager had told them they may be backing the wrong horse.

It turns out they were. Over the course of the next year, Charlie Gracie enjoyed three chart records according to Joel Whitburn’s “Billboard” summary book, Top Pop Singles 1955-1986. These singles followed the usual progression: “Butterfly” hit the #1 position; “Fabulous” reached #16 three months later; and “I Love You So Much It Hurts” made an all-but-token appearance on the charts at #71 three months later, and then the ride was over.

But, of course, it wasn’t. Gracie was not abducted by aliens; nor did he disappear off the face of the Earth, although it might have appeared that way to the casual fan. It is now half a century later, hard as that might be to believe. There aren’t a lot of “casual fans” left. If you still know who Charlie Gracie is, you’ve got a considerably deeper connection to '50s music, record collecting or Charlie Gracie, himself.

All of this brings us to a new DVD that is well worth your attention. And if you like that, you’ll definitely want to own the CD issued by Abkco. Painting '50s music history in broad strokes, Gracie (born Charles Graci) is usually lumped with other Italian-American, Philadelphia-born pop-rockers like Fabian, Frankie Avalon and Bobby Rydell.

Nevertheless, the sound of Gracie’s music, at least his first hit record, puts him more comfortably in the company of Southern rockers than Northern heart-throbs. If anything, Gracie’s “Ninety-Nine Ways” owed its sound and arrangement to Guy Mitchell’s #1 hit. “Singing The Blues,” which was still on the charts when Gracie’s record was released.

It’s the flipside, “Butterfly,” that pushes the envelope well beyond Philly pop or Guy Mitchell. There’s simply too much of Elvis in the vocal and arrangement not to notice and not to endear Gracie to a far broader legion of fans. That a documentary, “Fabulous!,” should appear now is semi-miraculous.

That it should be so good is even more amazing. The star of the show is Gracie, himself, who appears to us not as a wild, greasy Elvis wannabee from 1957, but as an absolutely sweet and decent 68-year old Italian guy from south Philly. His appeal is undeniable.

Along the way, we see and hear from the likes of Graham Nash (of Crosby, Stills and...), Peter Noone (of Herman’s Hermits), Fabian, drummer DJ Fontana, the Comets (of Bill Haley fame), Andy Williams (who talks about how and why he covered “Butterfly” back in 1957), Danny & the Juniors and Jack Scott. Not a bad cross section of '50s and '60s musical history.

At this point, every one of those artists also looks rather grandfatherly. But there are plenty of vintage photos reminding us that these guys really were rockers. And their stories are nonstop. That’s what most of us came for: tales of the good old days.

It starts with a walking tour of the old neighborhood and the old high school — home to Avalon, Fabian and Chubby Checker. Gracie, it turns out, is an oral historian’s fondest wish. He remembers everything, it seems — dates and names intact. He talks about his first record deal with Cadillac Records in 1951. He talks about zoot suits and his U.K. tour in September 1957. About playing guitars backstage with Chuck Berry, the Everly Brothers and Bo Diddley. About his appearance in “Jamboree” (“I was a movie star for two minutes”) along with Carl Perkins, Jimmy Bowen, Jerry Lee Lewis, Buddy Knox and Fats Domino. '

He reminisces about his friendship with Eddie Cochran (who ate homemade pasta with the Gracie family) and the shock of learning about Cochran’s premature death. The film also talks about Gracie’s problems with Cameo/Parkway records and “the demise of his American career,” a phrase Charlie’s daughter aptly uses.

It is an oft-told tale of corruption and exploitation involving not just label owner Bernie Lowe, but “American Bandstand” icon Dick Clark. Gracie’s son notes, “He spoke up. Young talent is expendable.”

The words are no doubt true, but they have a special poignancy here. Through it all, Gracie survived and supported his family by doing nightclub work — much of it very local. He made records, but nobody would play them. He had become a pariah for speaking out against the system and its failure to pay royalties when royalties were due.

We have ample opportunity to see Gracie on stage, including a recent gig at the Eddie Cochran Festival in the U.K. Gracie remains a fine singer and exceptional guitar player. Scenes of him sitting on the living room couch, playing Arthur Smith’s “Guitar Boogie” are priceless. He could be the guy next door — a sweet family man who just happened to have had a #1 record. In an utterly non-cloying way, the documentary is also a testament to the importance of family. Gracie has been married to the same woman for 49 years, and it’s touching to hear his wife, Joan, talk about meeting him in the old neighborhood. It’s hard not to like all these people.

The film argues that it was Charlie Gracie who opened the door for other south Philly guys in the music business and solidified the fortunes of Cameo/Parkway Records. It’s hard to argue with that. Looking back 50 years, Peter Noone comments, “It was cool just to know Charlie.” This documentary shows how true that is.

The “Best Of” CD from Abkco is a treasure trove for Gracie fans, including all of his U.S. and U.K. hits, B-sides, unissued tracks and original demo versions of “Butterfly” and “Ninety-Nine Ways.” Twenty tracks in all. Along with the DVD documentary, it is a fitting tribute to a man who has truly earned the star treatment

Cool Scoops hosts the Party

On Saturday July 15^th Paul Russo and Cool Scoops of Wildwood NJ hosted the DVD release party for Charlie Gracie: Fabulous. Charlie was on hand to meet his fans and autograph this DVD biography. CDP producers Shawn Swords and Blake Wilcox were also on hand to answer questions and put in their two cents. Additional entertainment was provided by Johnny “Bones” Cipperone (Jerry Lewis impersonator) .

Fund raising

WHYY Channel 12 aired Charlie Gracie: Fabulous on Tuesday June 8^th. Charlie himself was on hand to speak with the staff and performed on air for his local fans. Part of the WHYY fund drive, operators were inundated with pledges and messages for Charlie and his biography. It was so well received that Channel 12 ran the film two additional times that weekend, Saturday the 12^th and Sunday the 13^th. They have asked CDP to be part of their next fund raiser and we are more than happy to help out a local station and it’s programming we all grew up watching. Shawn and Blake were proud to be on hand at the airing and even more happy that Fabulous was the largest earner for the Philadelphia station so far this year.

Inquiring minds would like to know

On Sunday June 4^th the Philadelphia Inquirer ran a biography article on our company and took a look at Fabulous.

“In Wildwood, his next subject came to him: South Philadelphia-born rocker Charlie Gracie. Hearing Gracie play was just the beginning, recalled Swords, whose company, Character Driven Productions, is known for his interest in character over dramatic plot………”I wanted to understand why this guy made it,” he said of Gracie, who became a star at 20 and “then suddenly dropped off” the record charts.” --  Philadelphia Inquirer.

What a FABULOUS PREMIER!

On  April 27th CDP took over a theater at the Regal in Conshohocken, PA and held the Philadelphia Premier of Charlie Gracie: Fabulous. Although the film’s first big screen showing was at the Delray Beach Film Festival, Philly is Charlie’s home town and our home town, so it was a slightly bigger deal for us all. Charlie signed copies of his DVD, hung out with guests Jody Klein, Rollye James, Steven Caldwell,  Bob Charger, Corky Warren, Tommy Conwell and others. Shawn, Conrad and Blake were on hand to greet movie goers and make sure that Charlie and his fans had a good time.  The film played twice to near packed houses and based on the applause at the end it was well, well received.

A Beach and a Film

Shawn and Blake have returned from Delray where Charlie Gracie: Fabulous opened to high audience marks. The film was hand picked to show nightly at one of the festival's hot spots, Fitzy’s. With so many remarkable films CDP is very proud of the strong positive feed back received by audience, filmmakers, and the festival organizers.

The Charlie Gracie Story

CDP announces that Charlie Gracie Fabulous on DVD is now available for sale. Please click here to purchase.

     Character Driven Productions nears completion of principal photography on The Charlie Gracie Documentary. Philadelphia Hall of Fame Inductee and Rockabilly pioneer and legend Charlie Gracie topped the American and European Charts in 1957 with his monster hit "Butterfly", which sold over 3 million copies. His other 50's hits included "Fabulous", "Ninety-Nine Ways", "Wanderin Eyes" and "I Love You So Much It Hurts". His hits bankrolled Philly's famous Cameo Records. He appeared frequently on "Dick Clark's American Bandstand", "The Ed Sullivan Show" and "Allen Freed's TV Specials" and several major clubs in America and Europe where he was even a bigger star. He has continued to tour in America and abroad for forty years. Charlie has been a major influence on several prominent musicians including Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Van Morrison. Paul recorded and updated version of Charlie's "Fabulous", and Charlie went on the road with Van in 2000, opening for him in L.A. and Vegas. Graham Nash declared that Charlie inspired him to a musical career and contributed vocally on Charlie's latest CD release. Charlie was voted into Britian's Rock-n-Roll Hall of Fame in 1998 and Philly's Rock-n-Roll Hall of fame in 2004. Look for interview's and/or performances with Graham Nash, Fabian, The Crickets, The Comets, D.J. Fontana, The Orlons, Danny's Juniors, The Dovells and many more including a few big surprises.
 

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