Chuck "Papa Chuck" Crawford

Chuck Crawford is a busy man. After working all morning on his artwork, he went down to volunteer his services for the “Surf Art Camp” held at the Beach Place Guesthouse in Cocoa Beach. He managed to squeeze in a quick dinner with his girlfriend after picking up his instruments and amps for his gig and interview with the Resident at the Beach Shack. When we arrived, he was scrambling to set up his mics and his merchandise - a selection of airbrushed t-shirts, custom decorated guitars, and some soulfully rendered paintings of famous musicians. By the time we retired to the patio to chat, a half-hour before he was due onstage, his brow was fringed with beads of sweat, and he was more than a little out of breath. Some might suggest he chill out and take things slower, but he couldn’t be happier or more relaxed.

You see, Chuck’s one of the smart ones. He’s managed to meld his art, his work, and his life into a seamless whole.

favorite musicians: portraits of people like Jimi Hendrix, B.B. King, and Ray Charles. That he specializes in airbrushing guitars embraces both of Chuck’s passions.

His father was a musician who taught guitar on the side, so it’s no surprise that music runs through Chuck’s blood, yet it took a mistakenly purchased Allman Brothers album to get him completely hooked. “My dad didn’t like it, so he gave it to me,” Chuck recalls. “I wore the grooves out on that thing. I really got into Southern Rock and learned that the style originally came from the Blues. I just kept buying as many records as I could to follow the line back to the source.” At the age of 19, Chuck saw B.B. King perform at the Rollins College gym and it changed him forever. “Apart from the birth of my daughter, that was the closest thing to a religious experience I’ve ever had,” he beamed. “Just the way he played and the way he worked the audience...it was incredible. I was really struck by his understanding of the ‘give and take’ of performance, and that’s what I wanted to do.” After meeting late local Blues legend Steve Miller, Chuck began playing around town, and now with a revolving cast of backup musicians, he performs around the area as Papa Chuck and the Phat Cats. “We play everything, really. It’s Blues for the most part, but we might do a jazz tune or a country tune - they’re all one in the same,” he explains. “I like Cajun music, Zydeco, and R & B. I could sing you every song Smokey Robinson ever recorded. I like anything with soul and feeling. If you can’t see the connection between Muddy Waters and Hank Williams, then you just haven’t been listening to the music.” Does he have a favorite? “‘Give Me Back My Wig’ by Hound Dog Taylor, definitely,” he answers unequivocally. “It’s rough and ready. It has a drive and a primal energy that feeds the soul.”

Chuck excuses himself to take the stage and begins to strum a bluesy riff on one of his beautifully airbrushed guitars. I can’t figure out if he’s playing or working. When I see him smile broadly at the crowd amassed to watch him, it’s clear that he’s doing both - and loving every minute of it.

All of the artwork Chuck produces is custom designed and hand-painted original work. Tropical and musical themes, decorative accessories, unique apparel, paintings, and signs are his specialty. Check out some of Chuck’s artwork at www.crawdaddygraphics.com. An exhaustive gallery of the guitars he painted can be viewed and individual pieces can be purchased at www.harleyguitars.com as well. You can email him at: crawdaddygraphics@yahoo.com or call him at (321) 452-6467 with any questions and order/project requests. Check the Resident’s monthly Entertainment Calendar for upcoming Papa Chuck shows or call the Beach Shack for information on when he’ll be playing next (321) 783-2250.

Visit Papa Chuck's website at:
crawdaddygraphics.com