The senior member of the swinging Gaines family was a trumpeter, occasionally dabbling on trombone, who played a part in many high points of the '20s and '30s music scene such as recordings with Fats Waller and touring with the illustrious Hot Chocolates revue. The lifestyle must have seemed appealing to his son Charlie Gaines, Jr., who followed the trail of discarded valve spit and became a trumpeter himself. A second son named Stanley Gaines opted for the other end of the tonal spectrum and became a bassist. As for old man Gaines, he first swang into action as a teenage member of various Philadelphia brass bands.

From that style he became involved in the new blend of ragtime and syncopation taking hold in dance bands led by Charlie Taylor, Charlie Johnson and others. In 1920 he moved to New York City and became a heavily perspiring member of an orchestra under the direction of Wilbur Sweatman. Another important development in terms of staying busy was signing on to the house band staff of composer, publisher and sometimes performer Clarence Williams, leading to a series of classic blues recording sessions. Through the '20s the trumpeter played with Sam Wooding--but did not follow him to Europe--and Earl Walton with whom he did hit the road. By the middle of the decade he had begun collaborating with Leroy Smith, with whom he continued playing for about five years. This tenure included the aforementioned theatrical revue, a big hit with the public. Gaines also freelanced around Smith's itinerary, recording and gigging with Waller and his old boss Johnson among others.

The next decade marked Gaines' attempt to become a bandleader in his own right, a project that he launched after returning to Philadelphia. Apparently Gaines had nothing to lose by taking occasional breaks from his Charlie Gaines Orchestra to continue working with Smith in 1931 and to join the brass section of Louis Armstrong's orchestra the next year. Recording his own composition Ants in My Pants was a highlight of Gaines' career that took place back in New York in 1934 with an assist from Williams.

Gaines settled into the life of a local bandleader after this, residents of Philadelphia seeming to have an opportunity to hear him play on just about any evening. There was a lengthy residency for his band at the Carroll's venue through the '50s and by the late '60s Gaines had slimmted down to a trio at the Hangover Club. Jazz researchers seemed to lose track of Gaines once he retired, however. References published in 2003 still do not indicate that he had died, even though he would have been 103 years old at that point. ~ Eugene Chadbourne, Rovi