Chuck Brodsky21 July 2012The Grey EagleAsheville, North Carolina© Copyright David J. Simchockwww.DavidSimchock.comwww.VagabondVistas.com
Chuck Brodsky is a storyteller, a songwriter, a troubadour, a modern day bard. His wit and irony, down-to-earth warmth, and quirky, rootsy, finely crafted songs tell stories of oddball and underdog characters. His songs celebrate the goodness in people, the eccentric, the holy, the profound, the courageous, the inspiring, the beautiful. They poke fun at what needs poking and sometimes challenge what needs to be challenged. They’re sworn to tell the truth.
Over the past 28 years, Chuck has performed at festivals and in concerts all across the USA, Canada, Ireland, Denmark, England, Israel, Lithuania, Latvia, Wales, and the Shetland Islands of Scotland. He’s performed three times at the National Baseball Hall of Fame, and 22 of his Baseball story songs have been enshrined in the Hall of Fame’s sound recording library.
Born and raised in Philadelphia, a very young Chuck fell in love with the piano. Despite taking lessons, he still managed to teach himself how to play. Years later, on his first day of university orientation, he saw two guys playing guitars. He soon got one of his own, transferred out of the university and into the school of life. Influenced by Bob Dylan, Woody Guthrie, Lowell George, John Hartford, Jackson Browne, Bruce Springsteen, Greg Brown, The Rolling Stones, and Nic Jones, Chuck started writing songs in a style that is very much his own, yet pays homage to the traditions.
After hitchhiking to San Francisco and singing weekly at the Tattoo Rose Cafe’s open mic, Chuck spent a few years singing for tips on the streets of Europe, and worked as a fruit picker back in the USA. In the late 1980’s, he began performing in small coffeehouses around the San Francisco Bay Area.
Chuck and his songs have appeared in several films and on tv. His beloved Philadelphia Phillies featured an interview with him along with his song “Whitey & Harry” in the documentary “Richie Ashburn: A Baseball Life.” The 2003 Sony Pictures release “Radio” included a cameo by Chuck as well as his closing title track. “Moe Berg: The Song” appears in the PBS film “Jews and Baseball: An American Love Story” (2010).
His music has been featured on ABC’s Good Morning America, NPR’s All Things Considered, Dr. Demento, ESPN, PBS, and by NFL Films.
Kathy Mattea’s recording of Chuck’s song “We Are Each Other’s Angels” appears in the film “Dear Mr. Goodlife” (1998). The African Children’s Choir Of Uganda also recorded the song on their “Love Is A Journey” CD. “Blow ‘em Away” has been recorded by David Wilcox and many others, and also appears on the Christine Lavin produced “Laugh Tracks.”
Sports Illustrated placed “The Ballad Of Eddie Klepp” among the 25 Greatest Songs About Sports of All–Time. In April of 2019 Chuck was inducted into the Philadelphia Jewish Sports Hall Of Fame for his Baseball songwriting.
Having received worldwide acclaim for his previous albums, Chuck’s 11th release “Tell Tale Heart” was self-produced, recorded in Asheville NC, and was among the top ten most played CDs on folk radio for all of 2015. Four of Chuck’s early CDs were produced in Atlanta by Sugarland’s Kristian Bush, while four of his more recent CDs were produced in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, by J.P. Cormier. In March of 2018, Chuck released his latest self-produced album, “Them And Us,” which also received tremendous radio airplay. The album’s title track was the 5th most played song on folk radio for all of 2018.
