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Obituaries
Bobby Charles dies
By CMU Editorial | Published on Monday 18 January 2010
Singer-songwriter Bobby Charles has died, aged 71.
Born in Abbeville, Louisiana, Charles had a prolific career from the fifties onwards, pioneering the genre that became known as swamp pop, and writing hits songs for the likes of Bill Haley And His Comets and Fats Domino, in particular ‘See You Later, Alligator’ and ‘Walking To New Orleans’.
Although preferring to stay out of the spotlight, Charles continued to compose and record for much of his life, recording a duet of ‘Walking To New Orleans’ with Fats Domino in the 1990s, and recently collaborating with long term friend Dr John to put together a record of new songs dedicated to Domino.
Paying tribute, Dr John told reporters: “[Bobby was] a special guy, [very] easy to work with. We were very close for 40, 50 years”.
Charles died at his home on Thursday. He suffered from diabetes and had recently fought off kidney cancer.
