Philly rock legend Gracie writes a memoir of a life in music

It wasn't Charlie Gracie's idea that he write his life story.

The South Philadelphia native was one of the first stars of rock and roll, one who inspired numerous future superstars. But his life has contained not even a hint of the scandal and salaciousness that usually draw publishers to rock memoirs.

"Why would you want to write about me?" the still-vibrant 78-year-old singer and guitarist says at the home in Drexel Hill he shares with his wife of 57 years, Joan. "I don't have anything spectacular outside of my music. I'm a family man."

Or, as the father of two remembers putting it to Paul McCartney after the ex-Beatle cut a version of Gracie's hit "Fabulous" in 1999: "He said to me, 'Hey, Charlie, sex, drugs, and rock and roll.' I said, 'Rock and roll and sex, yes, because I'm married. But no drugs.' I never took more than an aspirin in my life."

Fortunately, Gracie was persuaded to go ahead with his memoir, and the result is Rock and Roll's Hidden Giant: The Story of Rock Pioneer Charlie Gracie (with John A. Jackson; Alfred Music Publishing, 254 pages, $19.99).

It may not be the typical rock autobiography, but it's a thoroughly engrossing one, even if Gracie thinks the title is "a little boastful" (it was coined by a family friend).

In Hidden Giant, Gracie traces his rise from humble beginnings on Pierce Street through his early fame, the seriously lean years that followed, and his revival as a revered elder statesman who still performs and records and draws rapturous crowds, especially overseas. (You can also hear him 3 to 4 p.m. Sundays on WVLT-FM 92.1.)

As corny as it sounds, Hidden Giant is a story of love and perseverance, and of a good guy - a supremely gifted musician and showman - who came out on top in the ways that mattered most. And it's told in the ingratiatingly down-to-earth manner that Gracie displays both on stage and off.

Adept at the guitar from a young age, the son of Santo ("Sam") and Mary Gracie was cutting records even before he graduated from South Philadelphia High. But it was 1957's "Butterfly," his first single for the Cameo label, that catapulted Gracie to stardom. It sold three million copies, earned him an appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show, and led to his first tour of England, where he caused a sensation.

"Butterfly" also put Cameo (later Cameo-Parkway) on the map, paving the way for other stars such as Chubby Checker to emerge from Philadelphia. But in a story Gracie acknowledges is all too common, he never received all the royalties he was owed as the performer of "Butterfly" and subsequent recordings. (He didn't write the songs.)

In a move he says he came to regret, he sued Cameo and settled out of court, using the proceeds to buy his parents a house in Havertown. But Gracie found himself effectively blackballed. He never again appeared on American Bandstand, and although he recorded for many other labels, he didn't reappear on the charts until 2012's "Baby Doll."

Hidden Giant explores the murky and incestuous world of the Philadelphia music business at the time.  Coauthor John A. Jackson had previously written American Bandstand: Dick Clark and the Making of a Rock and Roll Empire, so this aspect of the story is well-researched. 

As he puts it in the book, Gracie was "a principled man in an unprincipled business." An anecdote shows how far he takes it. In 2006, Van Morrison was in Philadelphia for a show at the Spectrum, and he wanted his onetime idol to join him onstage for a few numbers. But Gracie had a long-standing commitment in Wildwood, and he refused to break it.

Those principles, of course, cost him dearly earlier in his career. When the hits stopped, Gracie went from $1,000-a-night engagements in concert halls to $150-a-week gigs in places such as Hoagie Joe's in Havertown, where he had to play six nights a week, five hours a night, to earn his money: "My calluses had calluses."

Those circumstances, however, offer an especially revealing glimpse into Gracie's character. There's the South Philly-forged toughness to keep on plugging, and the unwavering love of his work. And while modest about his talents, he also maintains a steadfast confidence: "Not that I'm the best in the world, but you don't survive 63 years unless somebody thinks you're doing something right."

For all the betrayal and hardships he endured in his professional life, it's clear from the book and in conversation that what hurt the most was a period of estrangement from his beloved parents - "a Sicilian thing," he says - after he made it big and married the former Joan D'Amato, also from South Philadelphia.

"It was a heartache," Gracie says, choking up again as he discusses it. "It's like being shot. You recover, but the wound never goes away. . . . I never dreamed anything like that would happen to me. I did everything I thought was right for a kid for his family."

By the dawn of the '80s, Gracie's professional fortunes had begun to turn. His old recordings came back into print, and he made a triumphant return to England - he now performs regularly throughout Europe. He also began to learn of his impact on some of those United Kingdom teens who had seen and heard him in the 1950s. In addition to McCartney and Morrison, they include Graham Nash, who sang on Gracie's latest two albums, and the late George Harrison, who praised Gracie's guitar technique as "brilliant."

The cover of Hidden Giant features a quote from McCartney citing Gracie's "magic." McCartney also paid the Philadelphian another compliment when they met.

"I said to him, 'I was only famous for 15 minutes, you were famous for three hours, you and the fellas,' " Gracie recalls. "He says, 'Yeah, Charlie, but if it wasn't for guys like you, guys like us would never have gotten rich.' "

Charlie Gracie

5:30 to 8:30 p.m. Friday and 6 to 9 p.m. March 27 at the Tap Room at Amici's, 15 S. Morton Ave., Morton.

No cover charge or minimum; reservations preferred.

Information: 610-690-2400 or www.taproomsportsbar.com.

@NickCristiano