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Charles Wayne Sexton (born August 11, 1968) is an American guitarist, singer and songwriter best known for the 1985 hit "Beat's So Lonely" and as the guitarist for Bob Dylan's backing band from 1999 to 2002 and from 2009 to 2012. His style of playing has varied and he has been associated with artists in the blues, folk, rock and punk genres.
Sexton's mother was 16 years old when she gave birth to him in San Antonio, Texas. When he was four, he and his mother moved to Austin, where clubs such as the Armadillo World Headquarters, Soap Creek Saloon, and more notably the Split Rail and Antone's Blues Club later exposed him to popular music.
After a brief period living outside Austin with his mother, Sexton moved back to Austin at the age of 12.
By the early 1980s, while Charlie and his brother Will Sexton were still young boys, they were both taught how to play guitar by the local Austin legend W. C. Clark, known as the "Godfather of Austin Blues". With the help of Joe Ely and other local musicians such as Jimmie and Stevie Ray Vaughan, Sexton developed his talents as a musician.
In 1983 Sexton (under the name "Guitar Charles Sexton") appeared on a five-song EP by the group Maxwell (a.k.a. the Eager Beaver Boys). Entitled Juvenile Junk, the EP's credits list the following musicians: Maxwell (lead vocals), Charles Sexton (guitars, backup vocals), Alex Buttersworth Napier (bass, backup vocals, maracas), and Gary Muddkatt Smith (drums, backup vocals, claves). Song titles are "Straight As An Arrow", "Don't Cha Know", "Anna Lou", "Back To School Blues", and "Oh Baby Show". All five songs appear on side one (with side two being empty dead space). Old album jackets by groups such as the Flock were turned inside-out and used in the making of the EP's homemade covers. The front side is simply a pasted-on sheet of lined tablet paper with "Maxwell" and "Juvenile Junk" written in crayon; the back side is a pasted-on blue sheet with credits and photos. Juvenile Junk is one of the rarest and most sought after items in Sexton's vinyl discography.
In 1985 Sexton released his debut full-length album, Pictures for Pleasure. Recorded in Los Angeles when he was 16 years old, it yielded the Top 20 hit single, "Beat's So Lonely". Pareles of the New York Times described him as a teen idol singing David Bowie style rock during the years he was promoted by MTV.
In 1987 Sexton was an occasional opening act for David Bowie on his Glass Spider Tour. Sexton appears on the Glass Spider home video playing guitar on Iggy Pop's "I Wanna Be Your Dog" and the Velvet Underground's White Light/White Heat.
While he was still in his late teens, Sexton's skills as a guitar player were in great demand, and he became a popular session player, recording with artists such as Ronnie Wood, Keith Richards, Don Henley, Jimmy Barnes and Bob Dylan. He eventually followed up his debut with the self-titled album Charlie Sexton, recorded at the age of twenty.
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