Waller's son, Randy, a relatively new member of the Gentlemen whose voice is strikingly similar to his father's resonant bass vocals, had begun performing a couple of tunes from his just-released self-titled record.
CharlieWaller, 69, died the evening of Aug. 18 while alone and picking squash in the garden of his home in Gordonsville, Va., of a heart attack - just hours before the Gentlemen was to leave for their show in North Carolina.
On Aug. 17, Waller was affable, chatty and sharp as a tack.
For 47 years, CharlieWaller was the voice and the rhythmic soul of modern bluegrass music, singing and playing guitar with the Country Gentlemen, the influential, widely traveled band he helped found in Washington in 1957.
Waller and the Country Gentlemen captured the ears and hearts of a new generation that had never listened to bluegrass before.
Waller's resonant baritone voice blending with the haunting tenor of John Duffey, the Country Gentlemen expanded the musical language of bluegrass by introducing elements of folk music, country and jazz to its blues and gospel roots.
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