| Charlie Huhn | |
|---|---|
Huhn performing with Foghat in 2007 |
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Charles Huhn |
| Born | 1951 |
| Genres | Rock, hard rock, Blues rock |
| Occupations | Singer-songwriter, musician |
| Instruments | Vocals, guitar |
| Years active | 1978 – present |
| Associated acts | Ted Nugent, Victory, Gary Moore, Humble Pie Featuring Jerry Shirley, Foghat |
| Notable instruments | |
| Gibson Les Paul Special | |
Charlie Huhn is an American rock singer and guitarist. He got his start playing with Vic Amato, Andy Dennen and Al Lesert in the band Cirrus, in and around Grand Rapids, Michigan playing many gigs in West Michigan before joining Ted Nugent in 1978.
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Born in 1951, Huhn is a native of the Grand Rapids, Michigan area, and first came to prominence when he joined Ted Nugent's band in 1978. Huhn replaced band member Derek St. Holmes, and was thrust immediately into the spotlight, as he joined when Ted Nugent was one of the hottest acts in the world.
Huhn handled lead vocals on the classic Nugent anthem "Weekend Warriors", and was also featured prominently on the album of the same name. Huhn remained with Ted Nugent's band until 1982, and recorded three studio albums and one live album during his tenure. Another live recording from a 1979 show at London's famed Hammersmith Odeon was later released in 1998.
After leaving Ted Nugent, Huhn worked briefly with Irish guitar legend Gary Moore on his album Dirty Fingers, toured with Moore for some gigs in August 1982 and then teamed up with some former members of the Alice Cooper group in a project called DeadRinger. His next job was front man for the band Victory, a group based in Hannover, Germany.[1] He recorded three releases as Victory's lead vocalist, and the band had minor success with their 1986 single "The Check's in the Mail". He left the group in late 1987.
In 1989 former Humble Pie and Fastway drummer Jerry Shirley organized a new version of Humble Pie in which he would be the group's leader and only original member. He hired Huhn as the group's lead singer, which worked quite well as the band's original vocalist Steve Marriott and Huhn both had very similar vocal styles. Humble Pie Featuring Jerry Shirley was based in Cleveland, Ohio, where Shirley worked as a DJ at a classic rock radio station. Huhn and Shirley were the mainstays in the band, and together with numerous rotating musicians performed Humble Pie music regularly all over the United States for the next ten years. No official recordings with Huhn as the band's singer were ever released, although the group was broadcast live on special radio concerts on several occasions, and bootlegs of those performances do exist. During the latter part of the 1990s, Jerry Shirley developed a string of legal problems and moved back to his native England, taking the Humble Pie name with him. Huhn ended his longtime stint with Shirley in 1999.
Since 2000, Charlie Huhn has been the lead vocalist for another classic rock act, Foghat.[2] Original Foghat vocalist Dave Peverett died of cancer in 2000, and the band's remaining members wanted to continue performing. Huhn accepted the band's offer to join and has since become an important addition to Foghat. His energetic and entertaining style has allowed the band to continue its career in the same tradition that made Foghat one of the most successful acts of the 1970s. Aside from his vocal duties, Huhn also plays guitar, and demonstrates that not only is a very capable singer, but an accomplished rock guitarist as well. He and Foghat's other guitarist, Bryan Bassett (formerly of Wild Cherry and Molly Hatchet) complement each other in true rock form. Although Bassett handled most of the lead guitar work, Huhn provided steady rhythms and played solos as well. Since joining Foghat, Huhn has recorded one studio release, Family Joules, released in 2002, and one live CD, Live II, a double CD collection featuring the band's greatest hits released in 2007. Huhn can also be seen on the 2005 Foghat DVD release Official Bootleg—Volume One.
In 2003, he took part in a reunion with his former Victory bandmates. The result was the CD release Instinct. Huhn declined an offer to rejoin Victory as the band's permanent lead vocalist, and chose instead to continue his work with Foghat. He remains a vital part of Foghat. In 2007, he recorded an album together with the German guitar player Matt Roehr. He is also featured on the Foghat studio album Last Train Home, released in June 2010.