Charlton Singleton

It's 'sweet' how Mr. Melody plays all kinds of music all over town

Mic Smith
The Post and Courier

Charlton Singleton is a respected jazz trumpeter in the Lowcountry. He plays a number of gigs around the area with his trio, quartet, Plane Jane and other musicians.

Charlton Singleton's love affair with music has lasted, well, a lifetime.

The sheet notes, please:

Age 3, he would watch his brother and sister taking piano lessons, picking out notes to play. He studied organ and violin, excelling at piano and trumpet.

All-County band, All-State band at Wando High. Music degree, marching band and ensemble work at South Carolina State University.

Played in the successful '90s ska band Skwzbxx (pronounced Squeezebox). A member of the uber-popular Plane Jane party band. Former middle school band director. Organist for a pair of Catholic churches.

And perhaps best known for work as a jazzman.

Check out his nicknames: The Honeydripper, Mr. Melody.

"I try to pattern my trumpet style after this guy named Harry 'Sweets' Edison," Singleton says. "He was sweet. I never heard any wrong note, even live. He just always played the right note at the right time."

'Amazing Grace'

Six nights a week, Singleton plays around town, usually with his trio or quartet or with Plane Jane. It's a demanding schedule he enjoys.

"I can thank my parents for that," he says. "My parents were just workaholics."

They also were childhood sweethearts, now married for 50 years, growing up in Awendaw. Singleton's father, Charles, is a retired minister in the AME Church and a former high school vocational education teacher. He worked for 30-odd years, same as Singleton's mother, Jeanette,a former librarian at Lincoln High School in McClellanville.

On Sundays, Mom and Dad would load Charlton and his older siblings, Charnette and Charles, into a big Cadillac Fleetwood, and drive them to church.

The first song Singleton ever played was "Amazing Grace" on his family's upright piano. But it was probably his dad's dad, a worship leader, who stimulated his musical interests.

"Whether it was a grandchild or great-grandchild, we all had to go over to Big Momma's, Big Daddy's house, and he would sing to us."

And Singleton has a huge family.

"I am the 56th and last grandchild," he says. "We have over a hundred great-grands. I don't how many great-great-grands."

They gave him an encouraging base, attending his recitals and performances as a kid. Dad toted a video camera, Mom had her camera. They still come to many of his concerts, including Spoleto.

"Everybody just shows up. I'm very fortunate," Singleton says.

Skwzbxx

Talent many times guarantees an audience, and Singleton is recognized as a top local musician and hailed as a genius by many. Those years as first chair trumpet at Wando foreshadowed his career.

From there, he attended the Berklee College of Music in Boston before transferring to South Carolina State, his mother's alma mater. Participating in a jazz ensemble, he had a fine, disciplined director who modeled the group after Count Basie's band.

"Looking back now, I marvel at the things we did," he says.

In Charleston after graduation, he hooked up with a friend from middle school whose band needed a trumpeter. Called Skwzbxx, the band enjoyed regional success throughout the late '90s, achieving prominence along the likes of local bands Uncle Mingo, the Blue Dogs, The Pondering, Live Bait and Jump, Little Children. Those groups routinely packed Cumberland's and the Music Farm.

"I'm proud of the fact we could go to Columbia, Greenville, Atlanta or Birmingham," Singleton says. "There were a lot of really quality bands back then."

Sweetness

Today, those audiences are more likely to find him grooving with friends Kevin Hamilton and Quentin Baxter or playing alongside his trio or quartet at area restaurants such as Fish, once it reopens. There, he earned the nicknames Mr. Melody and the Honeydripper from manager Caroline Jackson.

It's the runoff from another story, a source of pride and embarrassment for Singleton.

After a performance with Hamilton and Baxter in Savannah, an elderly woman approached Singleton and grabbed his hand. Hamilton and Baxter were standing close.

She pulled Singleton aside, telling him, "Your horn must be dipped in honey because you sure are sweet."

Hamilton and Baxter bent to the floor in laughter. During gigs, Baxter occasionally turns to Singleton, repeating the story. "Ooh, you sure sound sweet."

Sounds like a fine compliment.

Reach Rob Young at 937-5518 or ryoung@postandcourier.com.