Charlie Peacock (born Charles William Ashworth, August 10, 1956) is an American singer-songwriter, pianist, record producer, session musician, and author. He is often noted as a unique musical and lyrical voice,[1]intelligent,[2] innovative,[3]and difficult to categorize.[4] His resume includes touring artist, much-recorded songwriter, record producer, record company president, seminary student, jazz pianist, and Sr. A&R consultant to mega-music publisher, Sony/ATV. Peacock was born in Yuba City, California to Bill and Alice Ashworth, a trumpeter/educator and homemaker, respectively. His paternal family, the Ashworths and Baggetts originate from western Louisiana, the area once known as the Sabine Free State. Also called "No Man's Land," this part of central and southwestern Louisiana was settled in part by a mixed-race people known as Redbones (see Redbone (ethnicity)) to which Peacock and his "Ashworth" family are direct descendants. Peacock's maternal family, the Williamsons and Millers originate from Oklahoma. All four families migrated west to California during the Great Depression. By age 13, Peacock was composing instrumental and vocal music. During Jr. and Sr. High Peacock received instrumental and theory instruction from his father and local educator, Dean Estabrook. Peacock, then known as Chuck Ashworth, left Yuba City High School after his junior year at the age of 16. He married his highschool sweetheart (Andrea Berrier) at 18 and began his professional music career (after one semester at the California State University, Sacramento, where he was befriended by the late Frank Kofsky, author, drummer, jazz columnist and former editor of Jazz and Pop magazine). Peacock quickly dropped out of college to play jazz piano and join Northern California touring band, The Runners. In 1978, Peacock was discovered by visual artist/songwriter Stephen Holsapple (Bonnie Raitt, Dave Mason). Holsapple, then an engineer at David Houston's Moon Studios in Sacramento, began recording Peacock's vocal compositions free of charge and eventually co-wrote with Peacock for several years. Holsapple arranged a weekly gig for Peacock at the art/political watering hole, Maurice's American Bar. It was there that Peacock changed to a stage name and began to experiment with combining his love for jazz with singer-songwriter pop. Early songs included "Springtime In Israel" and "So Attractive." Thanks to Tower Records employee, Jeff Viducich, the latter song was Peacock's first placement with a music publisher, a company owned by songwriting legends, Boyce and Hart. Legendary vocalist/songwriter Sal Valentino (The Beau Brummels, Stoneground) caught Peacock's set at Maurice's and asked him to join his touring band. Shortly thereafter, Valentino, hot on the success of discovering Rickie Lee Jones, began to shop Peacock's music to his Los Angeles A&R friends. A&M Records took notice, and in 1980 David Kershenbaum signed Peacock to a demo deal putting him in David Rubinson's San Francisco studio, The Automatt, with producer David Kahne. A&M passed on signing Peacock but Kahne and Rubinson remained interested. With Kahne producing, Rubinson funded another set of demos featuring Mark Isham and Vicki Randle. Unfortunately, by this time, Peacock's drug and alcohol abuse was in full bloom. The songs would not be completed until after Peacock began recovery.