| Charley Jenkins sings for the crowd at the Emery County Fair concert 2006. |
“Born country?” Exactly. Charley Jenkins has country roots that run deep. He was raised on a farm in Eastern Utah where he learned how to rope, ride and work hard. Plowing, planting and harvesting were all part of his life that makes him who he is. Life on the Jenkins farm revolved around cows, horses and of course this inevitably led to rodeos. Country music is all about a real cowboy’s life like Charley’s.
Charley has a busy schedule for 2007 and is currently working on a new CD. He will also spend spring and summer of 2007 opening for top entertainers, Collin Raye and Sawyer Brown. Charley will also perform at the Utah State Rodeo Finals in Heber City in June, at Junction, and in Ogden. He will roll into Emery County for his encore highly requested performance on Aug. 4 where he and his band Haywire will open for Ricochet performing live at the free fair concert.
His love for country music has been a life-long passion. “Country is who and what I am. It is only natural for me to sing the songs that I love and relate to.” Charley’s first album, Greatest Hours, was written and produced by Charley with the help of his friend, Jordan Allen. With the success of this album and some personal advice from George Strait, Charley decided to push his career to a new level.
In the summer of 2001 Charley loaded up his truck with everything he owned and headed off to Nashville, Tenn. It didn’t take him long to get his foot in the door in the country music industry. Charley was hired to work for a Music Row publishing company where he personally represented the writers. It was here that Charley learned the “ins and outs” of the country business. He became personal friends with Tony Martin, Mark Nesler, and a number of Nashville “greats.”
While in Nashville, Charley rolled up his sleeves and applied perhaps the most important skill he had gained from a childhood on the farm: the ability to work long and hard. He performed on Nashville Star and became good friends with Miranda Lambert. He also played and sang at writer’s shows and bars on the famous Broadway Street in downtown Nashville. He sang at the Wild Horse Salon and with Tim McGraw’s band.
Over the past two years Charley has been writing and gathering songs for the album, Round Here. He wanted this album to show who he is and what his music is all about. The title Round Here is so fitting. Charley is proud of where he is from and the people who have influenced his life. It was this love that brought Charley back home in the summer of 2004 to help with the farm and to be with his family and his father who was battling cancer. “Coming home was an easy decision for me, and I will never regret it.” The Round Here album is a tribute to his father and he personally wrote the song “Hero At Home” for him.
Top Nashville writer, Tony Martin who has written 11 number one songs such as “Third Rock from the Sun”, “Just To See You Smile”, “Living and Living Well”, and “Settle for a Slowdown” said this about Charley’s album. “I love Charley’s album, but it upset me that the song I love the most, As Long As I’m With You, is one I didn’t write – Charley did.”
In the past year, Charley’s career has been gaining steady momentum as he has opened for many top 20 country headliners including LeAnn Rimes, Little Texas, Lonestar, and Josh Turner. Charley has sung country music for tens of thousands. He has an unusual ability to customize his show to fit the personality of any crowd. Dan Truman of “Diamond Rio” says this, “Charley Jenkins’ album “‘Round Here” truly reflects the person he is. It’s great, it’s real, and it’s full of energy and passion.” That’s what Charley is all about.
Charley’s band Haywire consists of Randy Barnes, Rusty Barnes, Randy Budd, Chris Carroll, Nikkie Tanner and Talia Elise Wilson.
Emery County you asked for it, so you got it, Charley will be back in town, Aug. 4 at 7:30 p.m. concert start time.