Member Profile

Charles Rose is a trombonist, arranger & keyboardist, active in the Muscle Shoals, AL & Nashville recording scenes. A member of the Muscle Shoals Horns since 1971, he is currently their leader & arranger. A native of Sheffield, AL, he earned a Bachelor of Music degree, with a major in trombone & a minor in piano, from Murray State University. He has served as trombonist & horn arranger for Lyle Lovett & His Large Band since 1994. He toured with Waylon Jennings for three years until the singer’s death in 2002. He performs as a pianist with his own jazz group, The Charlie Rose Trio. He’s the band leader & arranger for the biennial Alabama Music Hall of Fame induction shows and a continuing series of performances by the Muscle Shoals Revue & the Muscle Shoals All-Stars.

 

An active environmentalist, he is a founder & president of Shoals Environmental Alliance, a former board member of Tennessee Riverkeeper, & and the North Alabama coordinator & nature outings leader for Fresh Air Family, a non-profit. In 2008, in a wooded ravine in Sheffield, AL, he discovered a population of Collinsia verna (Blue Eyed Mary), a spring wildflower previously not known to exist in the State of Alabama.

 

Charles is also a founder and board member of Indivisible NW Alabama, a progressive political action group.

 

Notable singles Charles has played on include: “Everlasting Love” - Carl Carlton, “Too Funky In Here” – James Brown, “Starting All Over Again” - Mel and Tim, “I Don’t Want to Bump With No Big Fat Woman” - Joe Tex, “Giving It Up For Your Love” - Delbert McClinton, “Elvira” & “Bobbie Sue” - The Oak Ridge Boys, “I Saw Her Standing There” – The Elton John Band, with John Lennon & the Muscle Shoals Horns,  and “Come On To Me”/ “In a Hurray” – Paul McCartney. 

 

The Muscle Shoals Horns have recorded three albums under their own name, “Born to Get Down” (1976), “Doin’ It to the Bone” (1977), and “Shine On “(1983). Their 1976 single, “Born to Get Down,” reached #8 on the Billboard R&B Chart.

 

In 1994, Charles performed at the White House with Lyle Lovett and His Large Band. Charles’ TV performances include David Letterman, Jay Leno, Conan O’Brian, Austin City Limits, PBS’s “Soundstage”, The Ralph Emory Show, Nashville Now, CMT’s “The Road”, The Caroline Rhea Show & various European broadcasts.

 

In 2016, Charles and the other three original members of the Muscle Shoals Horns were inducted into the Alabama Music Hall of Fame.

 

In 2019, the Muscle Shoals Horns were inducted in the Musicians Hall of Fame, in Nashville, TN.

 

Charles was the horn arranger and trombonist for two Grammy-winning albums by blues guitarist Buddy Guy, “Born to Play Guitar,” in 2016 and “The Blues Is Alive and Well,” in 2019.  

 

Artists Charles has worked with include: Paul McCartney, Elton John, John Lennon, Bob Dylan, Elvis Presley, B.B. King, James Brown, Joe Cocker, Steven Tyler, Waylon Jennings, Lyle Lovett, Phish, John Denver, Bob Seger, Delbert McClinton, Wilson Pickett, Joe Tex, Buddy Guy, Arthur Alexander, Billy Joel, Demi Lovato, Aaron Neville, Don Covey, Bobby Blue Bland, Percy Sledge, The Temptations, Michael McDonald, The Wailers, Chris Isaak, Mavis Staples, Dan Penn, Archie Bell, Johnnie Taylor, Mel & Tim, Clarence Carter, Eddie Kendricks, Lloyd Price, Eddie Floyd, Randy Newman, Kenny Rogers, Lou Rawls, Jimmy Buffett, Shelby Lynn, Little Milton, Jimmy Hall, Roy Orbison, Mac McAnally, James & Bobby Purify, Stevie Wonder, Grace Potter, Jim Horn, Boots Randolph, Lieber & Stoller, The Staples, Traffic, Joe Simon, Bobby Womack, Jim Capaldi, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Wet Willie, Tyrone Davis, Tom “Bones” Malone, Mosley & Johnson, Sam Mosley, Latimore, Hank Williams, Jr., Booker T. & the M.G.’s, The Memphis Horns, Francine Reed, John Fred & His Playboy Band, King Floyd, Carl Carlton, Bobby Bare, Dobie Gray, Jason Isbell, Millie Jackson, Dr. Hook, Levon Helm, Dan Auerbach, Jimmy Hall, Denise LaSalle, Bonnie Raitt, Kris Kristofferson, Rita Coolidge, Robert Palmer, Travis Tritt, Keb Mo, Tony Joe White, Ironing Board Sam, John Conlee, Martina McBride, Brooks & Dunn, Vince Gill, Taj Mahal, Greg Allman, The Commodores, Kim Carnes, Boz Scaggs, Donovan, Millie Jackson, The Oak Ridge Boys, William Lee Golden, Michael McDonald, Jerry Jeff Walker, T. Graham Brown, Don Schlitz, Eddy Mitchell, Court Pickett, Glen Frey, Canned Heat, Lightnin' Slim, Z.Z. Hill, Bobby Purify, Roy Lee Johnson & the Villagers, The Platters, Marie Osmond, Tanya Tucker, Johnny Reid, Amy Black, FCC,  Donna Jean Godchaux Band, Faith Hill, Tim McGraw, Big Mike Griffin, Marilu Henner, Bama, Ronnie McDowell, Bill Anderson, Joe Ely, Tim Hinkley, Buzzy Linhart, Kira Small, Jerry Reed, Lou Ann Barton, Billy Gilman, Dorothy Moore, Stan Mosley, Allison Krause, The Amazing Rhythm Aces, Ronnie Milsap, Freddie North, Pachuco, Keri Leigh, Shirley Brown, Poonanny, Donna Fargo, Alabama, Betty LaVette, Sam Moore, Mac Davis, Dolly Parton, Jim Stafford, Freddie Cole, Montgomery Gentry, Meet The Press, Jessi Colter, Carl Sims, Sammy Kaye Orchestra, Guy Lombardo Orchestra, Doug Kershaw, Hot, The Beat Daddys, Shamekia Copeland, Joe Louis Walker, Candi Staton, Wheedle's Groove, Kermit Lynch, Bonnie Bramlett, Mary McGregor, Ronnie Blakley, Willie Clayton, Ruth Brown, Sandra Wright, Swamp Dogg, Luke Walter, Jr., Danny Brooks, Shooter Jennings, Floyd Taylor, Doug Kershaw, Ian Mathews, Jace Everett, Amy Grant, Mark Knopfler, Eddie Hinton, Paul Thorn, Kevin Ayers, Ray Herndon, Dan Bern, Marvin Sease, Katy Moffatt, Spoonful James, The Decoys, Smithton Outpouring, John Anderson, Kiyoshiro Imawano, Craig Morgan, Confederate Railroad, Louie Shelton, Artie "Blues Boy" White, Jacque DeShetler, Billy Swan, Barefoot Jerry, Allen Collins Band, Vernon Garrett, Highwater, Max Carl, Erskine Hawkins, Hi Fi Killers, Brides of Jesus, Edd Jones. Lenny LeBlanc, Freddie Hart, James Govan, Joe Meek, The Mighty Clouds of Joy, Ho-Hum, Kirk Franklin, Orchestra, James Peterson, Trudy Lynn, Ernie Johnson, Vaya con Dios, Mink DeVille, Chuck Leavell, Farrell & Farrell, The Charlie Daniels Band, Vickie Winans, Charlie Taylor, Tommy Roe, Robert Cline, O'Landa Draper, Mundell Lowe, Jerry Joseph, Ruben Romero, Conway Twitty, Tyrone Block & the Christ Tabernacle Combined, Annette Snell, Rev. Milton Brunson & the Thompson Community Singers, Brendan Croker, Billy Joe Royal, Mark O'Connor, Will McFarlane, Charlie Whitehead, Cheryl Wheeler, Andreas Werner, Roy Clark, Ruby Winters, Donnie McClurkin, Sally Kellerman, Ruth Buzby, Wayne Newton, Vern Gosdin, Jake Hess, Joe Pace, Danny Davis, Tim Sharpton, Toulouse, Ann Sexton, Leroy Van Dyke, Tammy Wynette, The Thrasher Brothers, Sonny James, Jim Nabors, Guy Clark, Buzz Cason, Eddie Levert, Mac Gayden, Marsha Reeves, Carman, Johnny Nash, The Skylighters, Marianne Antonsen, Barbara Dickson, Ray Sawyer, Mike Harrison, David MacKay, Corky Laing, Luther Ingram, Bonneville, Mike Finnigan, Brenda Lee, Feargal Sharkey Gwen Owens, Walter Junior, Larry Jon Wilson, Dennis Edwards, Peter Yarrow, Brewer & Shipley, Suzy Storm, Kevin Ayers, Saundra Steele, Cleveland Eaton, Wayne Berry, High Inergy, Tracy Nelson, Reuben Howell, Gotham Flasher, Yolanda Adams, Bobby Goldsboro, David Lee Daniels, Queen Emily, Barry Goldberg, Katie Kassoon, Lloyd Thogmartin, Phillip Jarrell, Donnie Fritts, Ziggy Mahoney, C. L. Blast, Elkie Brooks, Boule Noire, Jerry Lee Lewis, Barbara Wyrick, The Fabulous Thunderbirds, Jimmy Jones, A. J. Croce, Carla Russell, Kozmic Mama, Mark Narmore, Philipp Fankhauser, Sherrie Harding, Karen Lee Batten, Arkansas Dave, Jacye Guerin, Mike Anderson, Gail Davies, Gareth Laffely, Foy Vance, Tom Johnston, Joe Nichols, W.D. "Smitty" Smith, Big Shoes, The Drew White Orchestra, Charlies Young, Charles Taylor, Clayton Ivey, the Cooper Brothers, Eric Jerardi, Foy Vance, Alf Valhammer, A.J. Croce, Amy Black, Amanda Cornett, Beth Boshears, Casey James, Dennis Gulley, Edsel Holden, Fred Wickham & the Hadacol Caravan, Howell Sledge, Jamie Evans, Jim Allchin, Lance Bendiksen, Jamie Houston, Spencer Davis, Steve Bassett, Spooner Oldham, & Joan Baez.