CHARLIE PARKER

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FUN FACTS

• He was nicknamed Bird and Yardbird.
• He was capable of playing both the alto saxophone and the tenor saxophone.
• He began playing the saxophone at age 11.
• Early in his career he was known to practice 15 hours a day.

NOT SO FUN FACTS

• His drug and alcohol abuse started at age 16.
• At 26 he was admitted into a mental hospital for his heroin addiction.
• He was wed for his 3rd time at the age of 28.
• He was arrested at the age of 31 after relapsing on heroin.

CONTINUED

• Whilst officially married to Doris Parker, Charlie considered Chan Berg to be his wife.
• At the age of 34, Charlie passed away due to several health issues.
• The coroner who performed Charlie's autopsy estimated him to be between 50 and 60 years of age.

ACCOMPLISHMENTS

• Charlie invented bebop, a new form of Jazz music.
• He worked extensively with Dizzy Gillespie, a famous Jazz musician of the time.
• He won a Grammy in 1974 for Best Performance by a Soloist.

HIS MUSIC

• Charlie helped to invent the music genre Bebop.
• He worked alongside famous Jazz player of the time Dizzy Gillespie.
• One of his most notable songs, Shaw 'nuff, was produced with Dizzy.

Yanow, Scott. "Charlie Parker." AllMusic. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Feb. 2016.
Slawecki, Chris M. "Classic Bebop." Classic Bebop. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Feb. 2016.
Gottlieb, William P. "About Charlie "Yardbird" Parker." Charlie Yardbird Parker. Estate of Charlie Parker, n.d. Web. 29 Feb. 2016.