By Larry Kaufmann Probably no greatly popular American singer had less desire to be a superstar than Charlie Rich. Private, modest and unassuming, he shunned the limelight and sometimes literally wished he could be fishing rather than on stage. Wanted or not, though, fame would come, with more than two-dozen songs on the country and pop charts in the 1970s, making Charlie Rich the biggest country music crossover star of his time. The ultimate irony is that success came as country’s “Silver Fox,” since Charlie Rich could rock like Elvis, swing like Ella, croon like Sinatra, and plumb soulful depths second only to the Queen of Soul herself. He was the musical twin of Ray Charles, at home in multiple genres and bringing a uniquely soulful fusion of musical styles to everything he sang or played. Very little of this was known by country music fans back in the day, and it’s almost completely forgotten now. In fact, if Charlie Rich is remembered at all, it is almost as a punch line to the mawkish and clichéd hit song “Behind Closed Doors.” That is more than a shame, because the Silver Fox left behind a complex and deeply felt (although
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