McCoy was born in Jackson, Mississippi. He was best known by his nickname, Papa Charlie. As a guitarist and mandolin player, he was one of the major blues accompanists of his time. He played in the Mississippi area with his band, the Mississippi Hot Footers. As a slide guitarist, he recorded under the name Tampa Kid, releasing "Keep on Trying". He and his older brother Kansas Joe McCoy performed together in the 1930s and 1940s and recorded as the McCoy Brothers. McCoy and Bo Carter recorded several sides as the Mississippi Mud Steppers, including two variations of Cow Cow Davenport's "Cow Cow Blues": the first, an instrumental, was released as "The Jackson Stomp", and the second, with lyrics and vocals by McCoy, as "The Lonesome Train, That Took My Girl from Town". They also wrote and recorded "The Vicksburg Stomp" (a version of which was recorded by the mandolinists Mike Compton and David Long in 2006). McCoy moved to Chicago, where he organized two bands, both with his brother Kansas Joe - Papa Charlie's Boys and the Harlem Hamfats - which performed and recorded in the late 1930s. McCoy's career was cut short by his service with the United States Army during World War II. In poor health after the war, he never returned to music. He died in Chicago in 1950 from paralytic brain disease, only a few months after his brother died. Both are buried in the Restvale Cemetery, in Alsip, Illinois.
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By Jason Ankeny
In the company of his older brother Joe, the versatile Charlie McCoy ranked among the great blues accompanists of his era, his nimble, sensitive guitar work enriching recordings from performers including Tommy Johnson and Ishmon Bracey. Born May 26, 1909 in Jackson, MS, the self-taught McCoy was recording regularly by the late '20s, often alongside Walter Vincson; he also sat in with the Mississippi Sheiks, Rubin Lacy, Son Spand, and the many other Delta bluesmen who passed through the Jackson area in the years to follow, occasionally appearing on not only guitar but also mandolin (the latter most notably on his mid-'30s sessions backing sister-in-law Memphis Minnie). With his pleasantly high tenor voice, McCoy could well have become a star in his own right, but he seemed to prefer remaining in the background; among his scattered solo sessions is the first known recorded rendition of the song that eventually became "Sweet Home Chicago." Between 1936 and 1939, he also cut a number of sessions with his groups Papa Charlie's Boys and the Harlem Hamfats, the latter also featuring his brother. The War cut short McCoy's career, and he made no more recordings after 1942, dying in Chicago on July 26, 1950.