How A Battle Creek Dad Became a Music Legend
Charles Westover was just a young dad working in a carpet store in Battle Creek in 1961. The job put food on the table for his wife, Shirley, and their three young kids. “Chuck” had finished his service in the Air Force, which had brought the family to Fort Custer in Battle Creek. Shirley even worked as a ticket agent for North Central Airlines at Kellogg Airport for a time. The family lived at Brown’s Trailer Park on Avenue A, just west of town.
After work, Chuck moonlighted, playing guitar and singing at the Hi-Lo Club four nights a week with his group, “The Charlie Johnson Band.” One day, a new song came to him, with help from his keyboard player Max Crook and the band, and his life would soon change.