Charlie Pickett

Charlie Pickett (born 1953) is an American singer and guitarist, known as frontman for rock bands from Florida, most notably in the 1980s. In Rolling Stone, David Fricke described Pickett's music as "a brawling-roots mix of Johnny Thunders, Sun Records and trailer park Lou Reed in Florida bars."

Early life Pickett was born in Athens, Ohio in 1953. He moved with his family to Hollywood, Florida at age two.

Pickett started playing guitar at age 18. He enrolled at the University of Florida to "study political science, but quit school in his senior year to get married. The marriage didn't last, and 'too depressed to go back to school,' Pickett took a job running a front-end loader at a construction site."

The Eggs' debut album, Live at the Button, was released in 1982 on Open Records, a local label in Miami associated with Open Books & Records. It was well reviewed by England's music weekly, Melody Maker. In his book about Jerry Lee Lewis, author Joe Bonomo called Live at the Button "a great record, well recorded and full of loose, shoddy bar-band rock & roll." Bonomo called the cover of "Shake Some Action" by the Flamin' Groovies the record's highlight — "sloppy, anthemic, authentic, and frightening."

An EP, Cowboy Junkie Au-Go-Go (also on Open Records), followed in 1984. It won praise from respected rock writer Robert Christgau of The Village Voice, who called it "ace country-punk." As a 2008 retrospective in the Miami New Times noted, "By the mid-Eighties, Pickett ruled the local rock scene." Trouser Press observed, "Salton's blistering blues-based guitar excitement provides fiery encouragement for Pickett’s plain and emotional singing, which, at times, recalls Neil Young's mournful country wail."

The Wilderness also did not sell well. A discouraged Pickett quit music following a final tour in 1988 with Salton, Galway, and new bassist Marco Pettit. He then went to law school and became an attorney. If This Is Love, Can I Get My Money Back? b/w Slow Death (Open, 1981) Roosterin' with Intant - track B4 on Jukebox compilation (Jeterboy, 1982) Live at the Button (Open, 1982) Cowboy Junkie Au Go-Go (Open, 1984)

Charlie Pickett Route 33 (Twin/Tone, 1986) Bar Band Americanus (Bloodshot, 2008). The Route 33 material was remastered and the sound was vastly improved. See You in Miami (Y&T Music, 2018)

Charlie Pickett & The MC3 The Wilderness (Safety Net, 1988)