Sonny Charles

Artist Biography by Ron Wynn Fort Wayne, Indiana soul vocalist and composer Sonny Charles was lead vocalist for the Checkmates, LTD. in the '60s, and they landed a Top Ten R&B hit with "Black Pearl" in 1969. Some 13 years later, Charles had a surprise hit with the deep soul single "Put It In A Magazine." The song was recorded for the independent Highrise label, and soared to number two on the R&B charts at a time when most observers felt vintage soul was dead as a commercial genre. His followup single, "Always on My Mind," only reached #53, and soon both Highrise and Charles were merely a memory.