Charles Caldwell born 8 May 1943

Charles Caldwell (May 8, 1943* – September 3, 2003) was a tall (six foot eight) and charismatic American guitar player from Mississippi, who unfortunately was dealt a cruel hand by the music fates. 

Charles “Cadillac” Caldwell was a lifelong resident of the hill country around Coffeeville, Mississippi. By the age of twelve, his life centered around working a one-row hoe from behind a mule, as did his father before him as school had never been an option for farm kids in the area at that time. At fourteen, Caldwell bought a Gibson ES 125, which, incredibly, he played until his death. He found his way on its strings "like everybody else, mockin." 

At seventeen, he moved to Coffeeville and met the woman he would eventually marry. He started out there planting trees for the government, but after nearly hacking himself in two with a chainsaw on more than one occasion, Charles gave up government work and took a new job at an industrial plant in Grenada, Mississippi that manufactured heating and cooling equipment. 

                                   

                         Here’s “Old Buck” from above album.

His public performances were limited to stints at parties and local juke joints on the weekends where he played the raw and passionate electric blues that was favored in the region for often no more pay than free liquor. 

Although Caldwell had begun playing the blues as a teenager, his repertoire remained unrecorded until 2002, when he met Fat Possum Records boss Matthew Johnson.  Johnson was so impressed with Caldwell's playing and personal charisma that he set up recording sessions at The Money Shot in Water Valley, Mississippi. Most songs featured just Caldwell's voice and electric guitar, though a few tracks included minimal drums. Midway through the sessions, Caldwell was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, but he doggedly continued recording. He died in September 2003 at the age of 60. 

His sole album, Remember Me, was released posthumously on 24 February 2004, an amazing testament to Caldwell's considerable talent, garnering favorable reviews and comparisons to such artists as labelmate Junior Kimbrough, John Lee Hooker, and the early Muddy Waters. It remains a masterpiece of modern Mississippi blues. 

(Edited from Wikipedia, AllMusic & Fat Possum) (* some give 18th as birthday)