Charlie Love and the Silky Smooth Band are one of Chicago's premier blues bands and have been BLUE CHICAGO regulars for over 10 years. The crowd goes wild when Charlie is in the house!

Charlie Love, born on the South side of Chicago in 1956, was introduced to the blues by his mother and father at an early age and quickly fell under it's spell. His father often played the harmonica while Charlie and his mother would dance and sing along to the sounds of Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, Little Walter and B.B. King. For his parents the blues was a celebration of the human spirit and helped them to endure the stresses of everyday living. It's value and potential as a positive spiritual force was instilled in Charlie.

One could say the blues called on Charlie.. It didn't take him long to realize what he wanted to do with his life. He bought a guitar at the pawnshop and soon began accompanying himself. Working in assorted factories around Chicago, he always had his guitar and his first performance was for his co-workers who would hear him play and sing during coffee breaks. Later they would ask him to perform at their house parties. There could be no better playground for Charlie than Chicago's exploding blues scene. It was Lefty Dizz and Buddy Scott, two of Chicago's blues greats, that took Charlie under their wing and gave him his first opportunity to take the stage at the famed Checkerboard Lounge.

It wasn't long after Charlie began playing four nights a week on the South Side with his own band, the Hotlinks. His is blend of silky smooth vocal savvy and distilled raw power that Charlie brings to his performance creates a soul-drenched marriage between beauty and abandon that adds up to 100% rockin' Chicago blues. His ability to cover equally well a wide range of repertoire is an important ingredient in Charlie Love's approach to music. When he steps to a microphone he serves up a Chicago blues stew that has been bubbling since his days hearing the music for the first time in his parents living room. Whether he's singing the Muddy Waters classis, "Long Distance Call,' Sam Cooke's southern-flavored "Somebody Have Mercy," or a more contemporary title like the self-penned, "Blues Keeps Following Me," Charlie is still all the way at home.

This Chicago showman is a consistent feature at the Chicago Blues Festival. Charlie is recognized as one of the city's outstanding performers and his sound keeps his audiences on their feet.

www.charlieloveblues.com