# Born 100 Ago Today in the Lone Star State, the Grand Ole Opry Star Who Played Country Music for the Armed Forces During WWII

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/born-100-ago-today-in-the-lone-star-state-the-grand-ole-opry-star-who-played-country-music-for-the-armed-forces-during-wwii/
- Published: 2026-11-02T10:30:00+00:00
- Updated: 2026-11-02T11:25:19+00:00
- Original publisher: American Songwriter
- Original article: https://americansongwriter.com/born-100-ago-today-in-the-lone-star-state-the-grand-ole-opry-star-who-played-country-music-for-the-armed-forces-during-wwii/
- Topics: Celebrity, Entertainment, Geopolitics, Music, Politics

## Key points

- Charlie Walker was born in Texas 100 years ago today.
- His wartime radio work helped launch a career in country broadcasting.
- His signature hit reached number two on the country chart.

## Summary

Charlie Walker, the Texas-born singer and radio DJ best known for “Pick Me Up on Your Way Down”, was born 100 years ago on 2 November 1926. His career bridged country broadcasting and performance, including work for the Armed Forces Radio Network during the Second World War and a long association with the Grand Ole Opry.

Walker enlisted in the US Army in 1944 and served in Tokyo with the Eighth Army Signal Corps, where he worked as a DJ. After the war, he broadcast from San Antonio and recorded for several labels; his 1958 Columbia release of Harlan Howard’s “Pick Me Up on Your Way Down” reached number two on the country chart. Walker later joined the Grand Ole Opry, was inducted into the Country Radio DJ Hall of Fame in 1981, and retired after being diagnosed with colon cancer; he died in 2008, aged 81.

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.