Charles & Eddie

Career as a duo

The duo Charles & Eddie formed after Pettigrew and Chacon met on a New York City subway's C line in 1990. Chacon recalled one of them holding a vinyl copy of Marvin Gaye's Trouble Man. Their first album, Duophonic, came out on Capitol Records in 1992, featuring the singles "Would I Lie to You?", "N.Y.C.", and "House Is Not a Home," with a classic soul sound. Their final album, Chocolate Milk, was released in 1995 and included "Wounded Bird," a track made for the film True Romance. The pair parted ways amicably in 1997.

Members

Charles Pettigrew grew up in Philadelphia and studied jazz singing at Berklee College of Music in Boston. He fronted the band Down Avenue, which took home the top prize in WBCN's 1985 "Rock 'n Roll Rumble." In 1998, he hit the road with Tom Tom Club, the group featuring Talking Heads' Chris Frantz and Tina Weymouth, and eventually became a full member, contributing vocals and co-writing songs until his health declined. Diagnosed with cancer in the late 1990s, Pettigrew died from the illness on April 6, 2001, at age 37.

Eddie Chacon, who is Hispanic, was raised in Hayward and Castro Valley, California. At age 12, he formed his first band with neighborhood kids Cliff Burton, who later played in Metallica, and Mike Bordin, who went on to join Faith No More. In his early twenties, Chacon wrote songs for CBS Songs. He cut albums for Columbia and for Luther Campbell of 2 Live Crew, but neither saw release; he also made demos with the Dust Brothers. After his partnership with Pettigrew ended, Chacon shifted to work as a photographer and creative director.

On May 29, 2020, The Fader announced that Chacon was returning to music after two decades away, calling him a "low-key R&B legend." He put out the single "My Mind Is Out of Its Mind" from his upcoming album Pleasure, Joy and Happiness on Day End Records. The record was produced and co-written by John Carroll Kirby, a frequent collaborator of Solange's, and distributed by Light in the Attic Records. On July 15, 2020, KCRW debuted the album's second single, "Trouble," writing that "Eddie Chacon's R & B pop exploits are both influential and legendary."

The New York Times noted on July 29, 2020, that the album "avoids the trappings of a throwback or revival of a bygone era, instead exploring the rarely glimpsed side of that genre's themes of passion and heartbreak, sung by a bruised but wiser man." Mojo magazine called it a "Neo-Soul veteran returns with a mini modern masterpiece." Later in 2020, Chacon dropped the single "High" with Stones Throw Records' John Carroll Kirby and harpist Nailah Hunter.