Chuck Elliott Watson

    Chuck Elliott Watson is an American singer/song writer/musician from Zanesville, Ohio. Chuck started out playing drums for a local group called “The Country Playboys” in the early 1970’s with his brother and cousin, and performed at the Muskingum County fairgrounds, and several other venues around Muskingum and the surrounding counties.

    He later played drums for local player Don Madinger for a couple of years before starting his own band called “The Midnight Seekers”. “The Seekers” as they were called, played around all the local clubs and bars around the area for several years.

    When Chuck was 21 he joined a road band called “Mark Barnett and the 20th Century Drifters”. While on the road, he wrote a song called “I Love The Way” that Mark Barnett recorded and had pretty good airplay.

    A few years later Chuck settled down in Wichita, Kansas where he played drums for a musician named Jerry Hardman at the Western Swinger Club.

    Four years later he returned to Ohio where he Joined a band in Buckeye Lake called “Sweetwater”. Chuck played Bass Guitar with this band, and they worked four and five nights a week around the Buckeye Lake, Reynoldsburg, and Columbus area for quite awhile.

    After “Sweetwater”, Chuck decided to put his own band together again. So he formed the band “Free Country”. Starting as a three piece band, they eventually grew to four pieces, with a steel guitar, and changed the name to “Free Country Band”. These guys were known for their terrific harmonies, and musical talents and played all around from Reynoldsburg, Ohio, to Parkersburg West Virginia.

    After that band dis-banded, Chuck re-grouped with other players where he played piano with Tom Devol, and the Madinger boys. They played the local clubs in the Zanesville area for a few months.

    Then Chuck took some time off, and after a few years he formed the band “Just Us”. It was while he was playing with “Just Us” that he went to Nashville and recorded his CD “House Arrest”.

    Since then Chuck has been concentrating on his writing more. He released his "White Sandy Beaches" CD in 2020 and his "People's Choice" CD in 2022 and is hoping to put a band back together to do some shows in 2025, and record a new CD.

   As you listen to Chuck's music, you can almost hear the different artists who influenced Chuck over the years, and his distinct sound that leaves a lasting impression.