PHILADELPHIA — Charlie Gracie, 86, the South Philadelphia singer and guitarist whose 1950s hits made him an international star, has died. His music had a major impact on the Beatles and many other British acts of the 1960s.
Gracie died Friday in Aldan, Delaware County, his son, Charlie Gracie Jr., said. Gracie had been ill with a series of complications since contracting COVID-19, after playing his final two shows in Wilkes Barre and Long Island in April.
Charlie Gracie was Philadelphia's first native son rock and roll star. Though he was never as well-known as peers like Elvis Presley and Little Richard, he recorded as early as 1951 and scored two rockabilly hits in 1957 that ranked him as among the last surviving first-generation rock heroes.
