Happy Belated Birthday Uncle Charlie God gets to listen to a great talent musician Jazz and pop songs and great stories teller Love you and miss you Caroline

To all Charles friends on his birthday--you are all terrific and wonderful and so good to him over the years, thank you.

Charles was always proud to share HIS birthday with Elvis, and knew whose music was better! Happy Birthday Charles, wherever you are.

Despite that Charles maintained many times at the end of his life that he was a solitary person, it was the constant phone calls from his friends and relatives, and the Sunday Jazz sessions, that kept him so sharp and interested in the world around him. I have added to this website memorial some pictures of the Sunday jazzers, neighbors and relatives that enjoyed Charles and the life he brought to all of us. If you have more, please post.

I knew Charlie for a relatively short period of time but every moment I spent with him was precious. I loved listening to him talk about his life and his emails were absolutely fascinating. I constantly asked him to tell me yet another story about his life and all the incredible experiences he’d had and he was always happy to oblige. Last year he sent me a memento from the wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana and of course I will treasure it forever.

Charlie was one of a kind – a uniquely gifted man – with a caring
heart and a charismatic way of interacting with people. Charlie loved his precious cat and he loved his life. And without exception…everyone who knew him loved him. Thank you, Charlie, for having been a part of our lives.

Doris Holloway

When I think back to my time with Charlie, I have only fond memories. By some quirk of fate, I became a semi-regular with Charlie's troupe who traipsed across the country nearly weekly. The calls from John Burcin were always welcome.

The core group included Bob McCoy, Jeff Ausfahl, Jerry Bruno, Nat Kappel, Buddy Christian (later John Strauss) and some pianists (Al Warner. Bob Dietrich Mark Fleischer and others whose names escape me). When they sent out the Noah's Ark band (two of each horn), John Thorpe and Bobby Pring were regular trombonists. Buddy always wore his tux on the plane with red and white checkered shirt. John Thorpe carried no luggage and rolled his tux into his trombone case.

Bob and Charlie were always in the front of the van from the airport (Charlie drove) with continual stories and laughter, I enjoyed Charlie's vocals on classics such as "You Fascinate Me So" and "You're All the World to Me." Charlie was blessed with a dry sense of humor, and had a way of making the job pass quickly. Near the end of a job, he would peer over his glasses to his watch and announce "Gentlemen, five more molars to pull." Once in Greenville, SC we were playing a rehearsal dinner, and Charlie raised one finger and announced "Suction Foot." Everyone but me knew what that meant, and when I realized that we were playing 'Dancing on the Ceiling." I literally spit my trombone out of my mouth.

When I once asked Charlie how he selected the tunes, he told me that he did it strictly by key. If we were in Bb, he might select the next key as Eb at which point a list of tunes would pop into his head and he would select one. He was excellent at the process.

Charlie observed at the airport when it came time to board that Nat Kappel would age by 20 years in front of us so that he could pre-board.

Charlie was very kind and patient with me, as there were many things I had to learn about the business. They were the best years of my musical life.

Jim

PS: Please pass this on to others who may enjoy it.

I have had the pleasure of being his accountant since his wife passed away several years ago. He truly is the kind of person who has made New York City famous. Talented, charming and an all around good person. I will miss him for sure.

Charles McCarty was a great wit, great spirit, and a man with an engaging intellect whose musical instincts were of the highest order.
With Marianne, they made a cordial and delightful couple. The most gracious of the gracious.
On the musical scene, Charles was the anti-Lester. In contrast to the sterile assembly line format favored by LL, Charles presented a wide variety of music that, while pleasing the client, retained the aesthetic elements that would make an engagement very rewarding.
When I met Charles we had the most professional of relationships that eventually evolved into a valued and treasured friendship.
Now, Charles is back with Marianne, which is what he really wanted.
He is also reunited with all those wonderful souls who had graced his very special bandstand.
I consider myself lucky to have known this fine and gifted man.
He will be missed and remembered for all of his kindness, warmth, and geniality.

I met my “Uncle of Sorts” Charles in 1979 when I moved to NYC for law school. I will miss his stories about the City and the music business, and am honored to have attended a couple of his jam sessions at 39 Fifth Ave in recent years. John Ashworth

So many years, so many musician friends, and such great stories--please write on this site to share your stories with others.

from Bob Diedrich:
Charles McCarty was born in January of 1920. He grew up listening to his father sing the show tunes and pop songs of the day. Charlie sang them too. His father pointed out that the words were as important as the music, something Charlie never forgot. He probably knew the words to every song he knew.
When Charlie was in high school, he got a job at CBS as an usher. He had a lot of free time, so he would find an empty room, and practice his trumpet. One day one of the staff musicians at CBS, a trumpet player, said, “Hey kid, you don’t sound bad, who you studying with?” When Charlie said, “nobody” the musician wrote on a piece of paper, handed it to Charlie, and said, “Here, go buy this music, come back to me, and I’ll teach you”.
Charlie did, the musician did, and that’s pretty much how Charlie became a musician.
When WWII started, he enlisted in an army band. When the war ended and he got out of the band, he started playing club dates. Somebody recommended him to a new band going into The Stork Club, the most famous nightclub of the era. Charlie was the right man for the job. He knew all the songs, and he could, and did, sing every one of them. Furthermore, he sang every song in the original key, so any pianist could work with him.
After the Stork Club, he became one of the busiest club date players. About the last 30 years of his career, Charlie was the first sub leader for Lester Lanin, probably the best job in the club date business. He played parties for the Royalty of England and most of the rest of Europe, representing Lester Lanin. They all loved him.
A few years after he retired, he started having a jam session once a week in his apartment, and we discovered he had a real feel for jazz, and his rhythm was impeccable.
He died Friday, August 28th, 2015. We will miss you, Charlie.

From John Strauss:
 I just woke up in Dublin to an email from Allan Goldenberg letting me know that Charlie had died. Last Friday , I went to his apartment to say goodbye and had a wonderful visit with him , listening to his stories about how he would have been a journalist if he had't made a living blowing the bugle.
    The comedic finality of the hospital bed's delivery was a punctuation mark to his battle with the health care system that tried to help him go out with ease. Gail , Judy, and Beverly were the ladies of mercy , who made it almost bearable for him. But most of all, it was the musicians who let Charlie know how much he was loved.
     Yesterday, Phyllis, Anna, and I stopped at the Brandon Hotel in Tralee, a place Charlie took me and Phyllis and a band of American s to play for a Fred Krehbiel and his wife in 1997 and 2001.
      So today in Dublin, we'll drink a toast to Charlie, my father and friend. I'll see you on the other end.

From Debra Clark:
He was an amazing man and a remarkable spirit. I can't believe I spoke with him just over a week ago and he sounded so good.

Charles was the nicest man I've ever known...on the bandstand and in real life...I'm so sad that he has left us...but I'll cherish the memory of him forever