West Coast Diaries, Volume Two

Biography

Charlie Peacock (born Charles William Ashworth, August 10, 1956, also goes by Charlie Peacock-Ashworth) is a songwriter, record producer, musician, and writer, best known for his work in the field of Contemporary Christian Music. He was born in Yuba County, California. Ashworth studied at the California State University, Sacramento before becoming a professional musician and is currently working on a Masters degree in Theological Studies at Covenant Theological Seminary in St. Louis, Missouri....

Charlie Peacock (born Charles William Ashworth, August 10, 1956, also goes by Charlie Peacock-Ashworth) is a songwriter, record producer, musician, and writer, best known for his work in the field of Contemporary Christian Music. He was born in Yuba County, California. Ashworth studied at the California State University, Sacramento before becoming a professional musician and is currently working on a Masters degree in Theological Studies at Covenant Theological Seminary in St. Louis, Missouri.

In 1976, Peacock appeared in the San Francisco Chronicle in a jazz column written by Frank Kofsky, who helped to start Peacock's career. In his early days as a musician, Peacock nestled in with some of the Bay Area’s finest, keeping company with major artists like singer Eddie Henderson, trumpeter Mark Isham, and pianist Art Lande’s ECM-signed Rubisa Patrol. Later on Peacock established his own band named the Charlie Peacock Group, that were later signed to Bill Graham Productions. During the mid-80's the Charlie Peacock Group toured all over the US and Canada in support of other 80's bands as The Fixx, General Public, Let's Active and Missing Persons, and Charlie Peacock opened up for artists as diversed as The Hooters and Bob Marley as well. Charlie Peacock's first solo album, the self produced Lie Down in the Grass, was released in 1984 on the Sacramento label Exit Records under distribution by A&M Records. Two years later a self titled album, co-produced by Nigel Grey (The Police), was released on Exit Records, this time around under distribution by Island Records. His music recorded in the 90's and beyond is a mix of jazz, pop and rock in the vein of Sting and Peter Gabriel. In recent years his focus has moved more and more towards the jazz scene, with the 2005 album Love Press Ex-Curio featuring several luminaries of the US contemporary jazz scene like Ravi Coltrane, Ralph Alessi and Jeff Coffin of the Béla Fleck and the Flecktones.

Since his career began in the early 1980s, Peacock has received a number of awards. As of 2003, he had been nominated for five Grammys. He is the only person to have gained the Gospel Music Association's Dove Award for Producer of the Year three times. He has produced works by Ladysmith Black Mambazo, Al Green, CeCe Winans, Out of the Grey, Cheri Keaggy, Steve Scott, Audio Adrenaline, The 77's, Sarah Masen, Switchfoot and Twila Paris, among others.

Amy Grant's huge hit "Every Heartbeat" that reached number 2 on Billboard, was co-written as well as produced by Peacock. dc Talk's hit song "In the Light" was also written (and originally performed) by Peacock.

With his wife, Andrea, he founded the Art House, a group where artists and non-artists consider how faith relates to art. His son, Sam Ashworth, is also a musician.

In 1995 he founded re:think, a Christian record label.[1] Though he sold the label to the EMI Christian Music Group in 1997, he retained control of the creative direction of the label.[1]
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