Born in
Section, Alabama, Louvin was one of seven children and grew up working on the family farm in nearby
Henagar. He started singing when he was eight years old. Louvin began singing professionally with his brother
Ira as a teenager on local radio programs in
Chattanooga, Tennessee. The boys sang traditional and
gospel music in the harmony style they had learned while performing in their church's choir. After Charlie left the act briefly in 1945 to serve in the
Army Air Forces during
World War II, the brothers moved first to
Knoxville and later to
Memphis, working as postal clerks by day, while making appearances in the evening. Another brief disbandment due to Charlie's service in the
Korean War led to the brothers' relocation to
Birmingham, Alabama. By the 1960s, Charlie and Ira's popularity had waned and the brothers split up in 1963. In 1965, Ira was killed in a car accident. Charlie continued to perform solo, making numerous appearances on the
Grand Ole Opry and in later years acting as an elder statesman for country music. In the 2000s, Charlie had begun rebuilding his career. Although he readily admitted he was never much of a writer, Louvin released a disc of classics containing one new song, a tribute to Ira, and a gospel album on
Tompkins Square Records produced by Mark Nevers. The songs mainly pair Louvin with other singers, such as
George Jones,
Jeff Tweedy of
Wilco,
Alex McManus of
Bright Eyes,
Elvis Costello and Derwin Hinson. He also wrote two songs with Rockabilly Hall of Famer
Colonel Robert Morris, one of which is on Morris' trucking CD,
Highway Hero. , Louvin lived in
Manchester, Tennessee. He closed his Louvin Brothers museum in Nashville and was looking to open another one in
Monteagle, Tennessee, near
Chattanooga. He was a cousin of songwriter
John D. Loudermilk. After his July 2010 cancer surgery, Louvin made his first public appearance, and second to last, at Nashville's
Americana Music Conference, Sept. 10th. He performed with Emmylou Harris and longtime Harris and Gram Parsons accompanist Al Perkins on
steel guitar. Louvin made one final public appearance on
RFD-TV's
The Marty Stuart Show, alongside his son, Sonny Louvin. He performed "See the Big Man Cry", after which country music icon
Connie Smith spoke of her admiration for Louvin, before performing "
I Don't Love You Anymore".
Leroy Troy, alongside Lester Armistead and Dan Kelly, then performed "Bald Knob, Arkansas", which was written by Charlie's brother, Ira Louvin.
Marty Stuart and his Fabulous Superlatives then performed the Louvin Brothers gospel song "The Family Who Prays". The show then closed with Louvin singing the
Tom T. Hall song "Back When We Were Young", with Stuart accompanying him on mandolin. The show aired on January 29, 2011, three days after Louvin's death. The show ended with a memorial message: "This episode was taped on December 2, 2010. It was to be Mr. Louvin's last televised performance." Louvin underwent surgery for
pancreatic cancer on July 22, 2010. Doctors expected a full recovery, but "the surgery did not go as planned," according to Louvin's son Sonny, and "he will begin using alternative methods of treatment, going forward". Louvin died from its complications in the early morning of January 26, 2011, in his
Wartrace, Tennessee, home, aged 83. ==Discography==