Artist description Singer, Songwriter, Producer, Multi-Instrumentalist

Music Style R&B, Soul, Urban

Musical Influences Prince, Marvin Gaye, Donny Hathaway, Jam & Lewis, James Ingram

Similar Artists Maxwell, Blackstreet, Ginuwine

Artist History “Classical vocal training , as well as Jazz improvisation skills are only a few facets of all-around talent Charles Simmons. “ - Stuttgarter Zeitung , 1998I began my musical ‘career’ at the age of four, as I sang for the first time before a live audience at the Zion Grove Baptist Church in Kansas City, Missouri. As time went on, my passion for music grew stronger, and at the age of 10 I learned to play the saxophone and the drums. At the age of 13 I taught myself how to play piano.At this time I wrote my first song. During the next few years I would teach myself to play the guitar, bass, and various percussion instruments.In high school is where my love for singing really developed. I was very active in the school’s classical and Jazz choirs, and as I moved to Stuttgart, Germany in 1987, my fascination continued to develop. Because my father was in the US Army, I’ve been able to experience many different cultures and musical styles. in 1987 I was voted ’Top Teen Vocalist in Europe’ at the Department of Defense Dependent Schools (DoDDS) Talent Search competition.One year later, after graduation, My father and I entered our band ‘Finesse’ (my first band) in a Europe-wide US Army talent competition, where we were voted Best Instrumental Band in Europe.I signed my first recording contract with Sony Music Germany in 1994, and from 1994-1997, I’ve had five singles in the Top 30 of the German Singles Charts. Since 1997, I’ve been working mostly as a studio singer, have collaborated with many of Germany’’s top artists and producers, have been featured on a number of top single releases, and also been very active as a remixer/producer. The biggest kick for me, however, is live performance. My biggest musical influence has been and is Prince. I never say ‘My sound is like no one else’s’, because we all sound like someone else. I can’t really describe my style, other than to say that I try my best to make the beats as fat as possible, while at the same time making the songs memorable. My philosophy is that if a song doesn’t have a good melody, all the vocal gymnastics or fat beats in the world won’t make it a good song.

Group Members Solo

Instruments Vocals, Keyboards, Bass, Drums, Guitar

Albums State Of Mind

Press Reviews ' With his hard as steel, dynamic and multi-facetted voice, he brings his audience quickly on his side. ' -RheinPfalz, a German language newspaper.

Location Stuttgart - Germany

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