Charles "Charlie" Brantley

Charles "Charlie" Brantley

Charlie Brantley

Honey Drippers (Musical group)

Brantley, Charlie

Tampa (Fla.)

Music--Florida

Blues (Music)--Florida

Musicians--Southern States

Rhythm and blues music--United States

R&B (Music)

Charles "Charlie" Brantley, a musician born in West Tampa, one of the oldest neighborhoods in Tampa, Florida, around the turn of the 20th century. Brantley began his music career in 1935, when he joined the Florida Collegians, a group of Tampa musicians. Influenced by bandleader Louis Jordan, he started his own group, Charlie Brantley and His Original Honey Dippers, in 1944. Brantley gave young musicians the opportunity to break into the music scene by performing with his band and would often allow them to stay at his home on 1901 Cherry Street in Tampa. When a young Ray Charles came to Tampa in the fall of 1946, Brantley hired him as a piano player and allowed him to stay at his house. Brantley founded the Negro Musical Association in the late 1940s and continued to perform with his band until June 1949, when a severe heart and nerve condition forced him to quit playing and take on a management role. Brantley passed away on Christmas Day in 1964.

Original black and white photograph: Profiles: Bands & Artists, Tampa Bay Music Scene Historical Society.

ca. 1935-1964

Digital reproduction of original black and white photograph: http://www.tampabaymusichistory.com/charlie-brantley-and-his-original-honey-dippers.php.

Profiles: Bands & Artists, Tampa Bay Music Scene Historical Society.

Blues Collection, Central Florida Music History Collection, RICHES of Central Florida.

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1 black and white photograph

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Home of Charlie Brantley, West Tampa, Tampa, Florida

Donation

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Published digitally by the Tampa Bay Music Scene Historical Society.

Copyright to this resource is held by the Tampa Bay Music Scene Historical Society and is provided here by RICHES of Central Florida for educational purposes only.

Cravero, Geoffrey

Ripani, Richard J. The New Blue Music Changes in Rhythm & Blues, 1950-1999. Jackson: University Press of Mississippi, 2006.

"Charlie Brantley and His Original Honey Dippers." TampaBayMusicHistory.com. http://www.tampabaymusichistory.com/charlie-brantley-and-his-original-honey-dippers.php.

1 black and white photograph