AYESHA RASCOE, HOST:
There's no cure-all for when life's got you down. But for Charles Wigg Walker, singing from the soul can help paint the blues better.
CHARLES WIGG WALKER: I think these songs will do that because when I listen to them now, it does lift me up.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "(FEELS LIKE) THINGS ARE COMIN' OUR WAY")
WALKER: (Singing) And now the sun is starting to shine. And now I know that everything will be all right.
RASCOE: The 84-year-old soul singer knows a lot about that. He's been performing since the 1950s, connecting with audiences from New York to his hometown of Nashville. His new album, "This Love Is Gonna Last," is a testament to the timelessness of love and soul music.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "(FEELS LIKE) THINGS ARE COMIN' OUR WAY")
WALKER: (Singing) Oh, baby. Feels like things are coming our way.
RASCOE: So for those who are not super familiar with the soul scene, you've been performing for decades as the lead of the J.C. Davis band and later Little Charles & The Sidewinders. Where did this passion for performing come from?
WALKER: Well, I started singing around in the church when I was a little kid and just singing everywhere I could possibly sing. It's just one of those things.
RASCOE: You're 84 now, 84 years young.
WALKER: Yep.
RASCOE: (Laughter) And you spent most of your life performing. Was there, like, a moment in your career where you felt like you had really made it, you felt like things were really coming your way? Like, is there a particular moment that stands out to you?
WALKER: Well, yes. I mean, you know, I've been in this business for a long, long time. And, like, Charles, the producer and writer - he and I wrote most of the stuff.
RASCOE: That's Charles Treadway. That's the producer and co-writer on much of the album.
WALKER: Yes, that's him. And I don't know what part of my life and when it happened, but a lot of these songs are about me and my wife that - she just passed away, but these songs are written with her in mind, you know?
RASCOE: I'm so sorry for the passing of your wife. As you said, I know that a lot of this album is made with her in mind.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "THIS LOVE IS GONNA LAST")
WALKER: (Singing) There you were, such a special thing. Told me I should give love one more try. I'm so glad. Girl, you blew my mind. I know this love is going to last. Oh, I can feel it inside. And I know this feeling will never pass.
RASCOE: The song "This Love Is Gonna Last" - it's a beautiful song and a beautiful sentiment about your wife.
WALKER: Yeah.
RASCOE: Why do you think love is such a universal thing for soul music? You know, why do you think, after all these years, there's still more songs to sing about falling in love and being in love?
WALKER: To sing these songs now, I mean, especially soul music, it's all about things that you go through, things that you remember in your life. And you just jot it down, and you start trying to get a song together on it, you know? I prefer talking about real things that happened to me or how I feel.
RASCOE: What do you think about, like - 'cause obviously there's still soul music around, but it has changed a lot. What do you think about music that's out now?
WALKER: Singers like me and people like that - it's a lot of feelings from things that happened to you in your life. Some of these young guys that's singing now, they ain't had those kind of problems. I can't knock the music of today. I just do a different style of music.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "THIS LOVE IS GONNA LAST")
WALKER: (Singing) I've got something I want to say. You touch my soul in a special way. I think about you. You're always on my mind. Your love came to me just in time.
RASCOE: So I love soul music. And I feel like, you know, people, especially soul singers back in the day - they would be more vulnerable, and they would also beg a lot more. And I like that, (laughter) you know? And they'd be sorry. Like, when you...
WALKER: (Laughter) Yeah, you got that right.
RASCOE: They don't do that on songs anymore (laughter).
WALKER: That's the reason why I kind of stick to my style of singing. It does all right for me, you know?
RASCOE: Yeah.
WALKER: I'm not trying to change with the times. I just kind of stick to what I know best.
RASCOE: You've performed alongside, you know, legendary people like James Brown, Etta James, Otis Redding...
WALKER: Yep.
RASCOE: ...And Sam Cooke. Is there anything you learned from them that you still bring to your own performances?
WALKER: Yes, quite a lot. I learned a lot. When I went to New York and got with James Brown, he was at the Apollo. I was out there to learn what I could learn about putting on a show. It helped me a lot because I was doing well around Nashville as a young kid, whether - I knew it was more than that.
RASCOE: Yeah. Did you have a favorite person to work with?
WALKER: Yeah. I enjoyed working with James. I enjoyed working with Jackie Wilson mainly 'cause he was more of my style of performer. I used to do a lot of that dancing around and jumping around and turning flips and all that kind of...
(LAUGHTER)
RASCOE: Oh, wow. Now, do you still do any of that?
WALKER: I certainly do not.
(LAUGHTER)
RASCOE: Well, we have a clip of "Serendipity," another song about falling in love.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "SERENDIPITY")
WALKER: (Singing) I said my instincts led me back to you. Oh, I can't understand it, girl, but I know you feel it too. And I said, whoo (ph), feels like serendipity. Whoo, just like serendipity.
RASCOE: And back in the day, did you drive the women wild? - 'cause you know that these soul singers used to drive the women wild.
WALKER: Yeah, you can say that. I had big crowds all the time.
RASCOE: Yeah. Yeah. This is your first album in over a decade. What made you want to come back now?
WALKER: Well, I still was singing around, playing a lot of clubs around Nashville. So I've been steady working. I do my style of singing, and that's what matters to me.
RASCOE: And do you want to keep making albums? - 'cause you're 84 now. I mean...
WALKER: Long as I can make it to the studio.
RASCOE: OK. You want to keep going. So you don't want to slow down? You don't want to just take - you know, retire? That - you don't want to do that?
WALKER: No. No, I don't want to do that. I want to sing my way out of here.
(LAUGHTER)
RASCOE: That's Charles Wigg Walker. His new album, "This Love Is Gonna Last," is out now. Thank you so much for speaking with us today.
WALKER: Oh, thank you very much.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "SERENDIPITY")
WALKER: (Singing) And if I have to give it up for you... Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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