About Charlie

Charlie was born and raised in Houston, Texas. His family was a music loving one, although no one in it (at that time) was a trained musician. His mother, father, and sister all had a natural ability to find the right harmonies to sing when they engaged in impromptu barbershop style sing-a-longs. His parents social group came to the house frequently and the usual activity was to put on the records and dance. This was a perfect environment in which to develop a great love of music, and to observe the positive effect it could have on people. His younger sister Carol (Koock) was also affected and she became an award winning pianist who is currently active in the music and theater scene in Austin, Texas. At a young age, Charlie had memorized many songs. He studied classical and popular music privately from the age of five, and upon reaching high school age, added French horn and cornet to his arsenal of instruments. It had been assumed that he would follow his dad into the oil business, but by the time Charlie entered the University of Houston on a trumpet scholarship, music had become his first love, and the direction his life would take was becoming obvious.

  During the first (and only) year at college, Charlie played at some of the private clubs around Houston, but when summer came he relocated to Las Vegas, supposedly temporarily. He performed continuously (except for two years military service) at virtually every hotel there, plus Liberace's "Tivoli Gardens". He appeared in a Warner Bros. movie, on the Saturday night Dick Clark TV Show, and other network shows. Some award winning Las Vegas hotel commercials were composed by Charlie.
  Charlie's many CDs are heard nationally on the ABC Radio Stardust Network, and other syndicated programs, also on the new digital cable systems' easy listening audio channels, as well as internet radio and XM and Sirius satellite radio.
  Charlie has written orchestral arrangements for performance on the TV shows of Johnny Carson, Merv Griffin, Sammy Davis Jr, and Joey Bishop. As rehearsal pianist for the Jackie Gleason Las Vegas TV Show he worked daily with June Taylor, Ben Vereen, Lola Folana and others, creating dance sequences and musical arrangements. He has accompanied Peggy Lee, Debbie Reynolds, Dean Martin, Steve Lawrence, Robert Goulet, Joe Williams, and others. In short, there is nothing in the world of music that Charlie does not enjoy doing. Whether it's performing live in a hotel, cruise ship, or ballroom, or producing CDs for himself and others in his studio, Charlie hopes the music will never end.
  Charlie's wife Marty represents the state of Nevada as a Deputy Attorney General, and his son and daughter perform regularly at Las Vegas hotels.