BIO

Caught in a battle between the southern blues man in his soul and the country gentleman his momma raised him to be, the two worlds collide on Charlie Argo's sleeve, where the babyfaced crooner wears his heart. Lovers of soulful singers, like Otis Redding, to fans of the bluesy organ-filled vibes reminiscent of John Mayer's 2006 album 'Continuum,' will be captivated by the singer/songwriter's southern soul. Combining his background in gospel and soul music with inspiration drawn from modern-day artists such as fellow native Alabamian/Americana Roots artist, Jason Isbell, U.K. singer/songwriter James Morrison and earlier southern musicians like rock legend Gregg Allman and 90’s country star Travis Tritt, the Nashville based 28-year-old has managed to blend a plethora of styles that dance on the outskirts of country music into a sound that stands on its own. 

Born Charles Henry Argo in the fall of 1992, “Charlie” and his brother Ben were raised by their single mother in the small, culturally rich and historical town of Selma, Alabama. Described by his mother as “the center of attention” she says, “little Charlie was always putting on a show whether it be singing, live puppet shows, or circus acts”. Charlie recollects an obsession with production at an incredibly young age. “I always had to have a microphone with an amp, taking all of mom's lamps and using all the light fixtures in the house as my spotlights.” Charlie praised his mother for building his confidence saying, “Mom gave us her undivided attention, provided everything we needed to succeed, and made us believe we could do anything we wanted to do.” Raised in a religious household, Charlie did much of his singing in church. At ten years old Charlie was asked to sing a solo and given a cassette tape as a reference. The singer on the tape happened to have a soulful voice that young Charlie could naturally mimic. From that moment Charlie identified with the voice of a “soul singer” and dove into the spirit and recordings of artists like Otis Redding, Sam Cooke, and other standouts of the genre. Charlie would continue to entertain throughout his childhood years, participating in numerous plays and performances for both church and school. By high school, he was touring the southeast with a Gospel act called ‘Awaiting’.  

Although he strongly considered Nashville’s Belmont University to further his education, Charlie would ultimately choose The University of Alabama. ‘Awaiting’ remained intact through Charlie’s Freshman year of college, however, they split up in early 2011 and Charlie was left without a stage or supporting cast for the first time in his young life. Over the next two years, in between classes, Argo would scratch his musical itch by playing birthday parties with his acoustic guitar and would eventually land a monthly acoustic gig at a Tuscaloosa farmers market known as ‘Home Grown’. In the spring of 2013, Charlie’s cousin would introduce him to a local keyboard player named Nic Snow, by asking Argo to sing to the established musician over the telephone. Young Charlie agreed and a month later when he was finally 21, Nic came calling, offering Charlie to sit in on a cover gig at a downtown Tuscaloosa bar known as ‘The Filling Station’. Although the two met for the first time only one hour before the set, the two dreamers had immediate chemistry and would go on to form the duo, ‘Argo Snow’. Argo Snow would become highly successful as a cover act, over the next several years, on the reputation of their widely diverse song list and highly energetic sets playing bars, fraternity parties, weddings, and other special events around the region, both as a duo and full band, sometimes performing up to 7 nights a week.

In 2015, Charlie penned his first original song. A fellow audio engineering classmate, Brent McCullough (now Nashville based keyboardist for country artist Trace Adkins), had previously offered his home studio setup to Argo to cut a track. The artist told McCullough about the song he had written and the two recorded the acoustic single ‘Phenix’ in 3 hours at McCullough’s college apartment. The single was independently released to streaming services and Argo sold hard copies at performances, occasionally placing the song into live sets.

In 2017, shortly after taking a new job and relocating from Alabama to Georgia, Argo found himself in the middle of an unexpected breakup. As his current situation was built around the recently dissolved relationship, Argo decided to pursue the possibility of fulfilling his lifelong dream of a music career in Nashville. After receiving quick and unexpected approval for a job transfer request and securing a temporary place to stay with a friend, Charlie would make the move to Music City within a matter of weeks. After being heard by local Nashville bar owners, while sitting in on honky-tonk gigs with friends, the soul singer with the unique bluesy style suddenly became in high demand in Nashville’s live circuit. Within a few months, Charlie was playing up to 5 gigs a week, attending other artists shows, scheduling and fulfilling co-writes, all while maintaining his major corporate job as a regional manager.

Just one year after settling in Nashville, Charlie Argo would be invited to play a downtown concert in his hometown of Selma, Alabama. With a handful of original songs, a new band, and on the verge of finding himself, Argo returned home for his first performance there, of any kind, since graduating high school. After receiving an overwhelmingly positive reaction from the show, Argo returned to Music City with a new fire and passion to get his music out to anyone who would listen. The songwriter would spend the next two years honing his sound, structuring his live show, and crafting his original songs.

In early 2020 fate would cross Charlie Argo’s path with that of Nashville based drummer/producer Jay Tooke (The Steel Woods). After a couple of meetings to discuss music, the two hit it off and agree to make a record together. With a common goal of creating a product that exemplified the raw energy and emotion of a Charlie Argo live show, Tooke brought in some of the industry’s top players for the record such as guitarist Joey Landreth (The Bros. Landreth) and piano/organist Billy Justineau (Brothers Osbourne, Wade Bowen, Lainey Wilson) to stand beside the ever-present soulful vocals of the Alabama bluesman and his powerful emotional tone. The finished result is a 6 song EP that portrays Charlie Argo’s roots, sound, and who he is a songwriter and an artist. The project entitled ‘In the Name of Love’ is a collection of musical stories, mostly written in Nashville by Argo, and based on the struggles and trials he faced leading up to his move to Music City.

‘In the Name of Love’ debuted #1 on the Itunes 'Blues' chart and reached the Top 150 of the Itunes 'All Genres' chart. The E.P.'s first single ‘Tennessee Will’, written by Charlie's friend/hit songwriter, Adam Hood and the legendary Pat McLaughlin, reached #1 on the Itunes 'Blue Singles" chart and is the only song on the E.P. not, at least, co-written by Argo himself. The song was written by another Alabama Americana/Roots Rock artist and songwriter, Adam Hood (Anderson East, Brent Cobb, Whiskey Myers, Josh Abbott Band, Little Big Town, Randy Rogers) and legendary hit songwriter Pat McLaughlin (John Prine, John Anderson, Delbert McClinton, Bonnie Raitt, George Strait, Don Williams, Nathaniel Rateliff) and is the only song on the E.P. not, at least, co-written by Argo himself.