| Charles Farrar | |||||||
| Birth Place: | New Jersey, United States | ||||||
| Alma Mater: | Morehouse College | ||||||
| Module: |
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Charles Farrar is an American songwriter, composer, and producer, best known for his songwriting work with vocal groups SWV, 702, Today, and Shades.[1] In the late 1990s/early 2000s, Farrar, alongside Troy Taylor, was a member of "The Characters": a production duo that worked on Boyz II Men's Cooleyhighharmony, as well as with Kenny Lattimore and numerous other artists.
In 2001, Farrar was nominated to serve on the board of directors for the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP).[2]
| The Characters | |
| Label: | Character Music Corporation / DreamWorks Records / Chrysalis Music[3] |
| Associated Acts: | Boyz II Men, B2K, SWV, 702 (group), Today (group), Eternal (group), Shades (group) |
| Current Members: |
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The Characters were a Grammy Award-winning American songwriting and production duo best known for their work with 1990s R&B vocal groups such as Boyz II Men, Destiny's Child, and Riff.[4] The pairing was formed when Troy Taylor, signed in early 1990 to a solo record deal with Motown, decided to instead explore songwriting and production for other artists with fellow songwriter and producer Farrar.[5] [6] After commencing work with Farrar, two of the songs originally created for Taylor's debut album were repurposed and placed onto Boyz II Men's acclaimed debut project Cooleyhighharmony.[7] They would reunite with the group to create "Jezzebel" for 1994's Grammy-winning II album.
Several years later, solo R&B artist Johntá Austin, working with the duo at the time to create his own debut project at the age of 13, was experiencing instability at RCA Records as a result of internal label politics. Austin was added to the writing team as an occasional member when he was subsequently dropped and his project was shelved, and their first writing collaborations as a trio resulted in "Realize" for Jason Weaver, "Here For You" for SWV's 1997 album Release Some Tension and hit single "Sweet Lady" for Tyrese Gibson.[8] [9]
Taylor and Farrar also diversified into forming and signing girl groups throughout the 1990s, such as OSCAR (a multi-racial New jack swing/R&B quartet who released 1992 album Spotlight) under their production company Character Music Corporation.[10]
Credits are courtesy of Discogs, Spotify, and AllMusic.
| Title | Year | Artist | Album |
|---|---|---|---|
| "Happiness" | 1989 | Nyki Nicole | |
| "Every Little Thing About You" | 1990 | Today | The New Formula |
| "Self Centered" | |||
| "Gonna Make You Mine" | |||
| "Little Things" | 1991 | Boyz II Men | Cooleyhighharmony |
| "Your Love" | |||
| "Just A Cover Up" | Cooleyhighharmony (2009 Expanded Edition) | ||
| "Can't Be Liked" | |||
| "Chivalry" (The Characters Remix) | Babyface | A Closer Look | |
| "I'll Be There For You" | Lateasha | Lateasha | |
| "Mature Love" | Keisha Jackson | Keisha | |
| "All Night Lovin'" | |||
| "All Night Lovin' Interlude" | |||
| "Step by Step (Gonna Make You Mine)" | 1992 | Wendy Moten | Wendy Moten |
| "Take Me Back to Love Again" | Kathy Sledge | Heart | |
| "I've Gotta Have It" | 3rd Avenue | Let's Talk About Love | |
| "The Minute You Fall In Love" | |||
| "I'm Calling You (Do-Po-Liddle-Lo-Le-Yeah)" | OSCAR | Spotlight | |
| "Just For You" | |||
| "Let Me Make It Better" | |||
| "I'll Be There For You" | |||
| "Spotlight" | |||
| "Keep Touching Me" | |||
| "How I Spend My Time" | |||
| "Give Me A Reason" | |||
| "Just Being With You" | Countess Vaughn | Countess | |
| "Once More" | |||
| "Skyy's The Limit" | Skyy | Nearer To You | |
| "Work It Out" | 1993 | Perfect Gentlemen | The Perfect Gentlemen |
| "Don't Go Nowhere" [11] | Riff | To Whom It May Concern | |
| "(Seek And You'll Find) The Kinda Right Baby" | 1994 | Groove U | Tender Love |
| "Old Becomes New" | |||
| "Call And I'll Answer" | |||
| "Pass It Over" | Fourmula | ||
| "Floating | Debelah Morgan | Debelah | |
| "Win You Over" (With Troy Taylor) | |||
| "Jezzebel" | Boyz II Men | II | |
| "I Can't Tell You Why" | 1995 | Brownstone[12] [13] | From the Bottom Up |
| "Best Friend" (Character R&B Mix featuring Channel Live) [14] | Brandy | Brandy | |
| "I'm Sorry" | Solo | Solo | |
| "My Cherie Amour" | Tony Thompson | Sexsational | |
| "Come Over" | |||
| "Goodbye Eyes" | |||
| "Love Today" | Vertical Hold | Head First | |
| "Love In An Elevator" | 1996 | Johnny Gill | Let's Get the Mood Right |
| "Simply Say I Love U" (Featuring Stevie Wonder) | |||
| "So Gentle" (Featuring Ronnie DeVoe) | |||
| "Get Down Like Dat" | 702 | No Doubt | |
| "No Doubt" | |||
| "Show You My Love" | |||
| "All I Want" | |||
| "Just Let Me Know" | Horace Brown | Horace Brown | |
| "Realize" | Jason Weaver | Stay With Me (Shelved) | |
| "Your Body's Callin'" | Norman Brown | Better Days Ahead | |
| "Facts of Love" | |||
| "Love Like This" (Featuring Lil' Cease) | 1997 | SWV | Release Some Tension |
| "Lose Myself" | |||
| "Here For You" | |||
| "Who Are You" | Shades | Shades | |
| "Tell Me (I'll Be Around)" | |||
| "I Believe" | |||
| "How Deep Is Your Love" | |||
| "Time Will Reveal" | |||
| "All He's Supposed to Be" | Johnny Gill | The 6th Man (soundtrack) | |
| "Jam Knock" | Brian McKnight | Anytime | |
| "Dance Wit Me" (Featuring Doug E. Fresh) | 1998 | Miss Jones | The Other Woman |
| "Smooth" | |||
| "In And Out Of My Life" [15] | Ali | Crucial / Bitter Honey | |
| "Once A Fool" | Destiny's Child & William Floyd | eMusic Presents NFL Jams | |
| "Work It Out" | Boyz II Men & Garrison Hearst | ||
| "Let's Get It Started" | Johnny Gill & Corey Harris | ||
| "Sweet Lady" | 1999 | Tyrese | Tyrese |
| "What'cha Gonna Do" | Eternal | Eternal | |
| "Treat Me Like a Lady" | |||
| "Absent From You" | |||
| "He Is" | |||
| "Never Let You Go Away" | Rome | Thank You (Shelved) | |
| "I Really Do Love You" | Beverly | Heart and Soul (Shelved) | |
| "Do It Like Us" | Rudy | ||
| "Come Correct" | 2000 | Before Dark | Daydreamin' |
| "Can We Make Love" | Profyle | Nothin' but Drama | |
| "Candles" | Pru | Pru | |
| "Got Me High" | |||
| "Can't Compare Your Love" | |||
| "Sketches of Pain" | |||
| "Hold On" | L.V. | How Long | |
| "Just Because" | F.A.T.E [16] | For All That's Endured | |
| "Weekend" | 2001 | Kenny Lattimore | Weekend |
| "Baby You're the One" | |||
| "Can You Feel Me" (Featuring Shanice) | |||
| "If Love Is What You Want" | |||
| "Right Down to It" | |||
| "Better Than" | Damage | Since You've Been Gone | |
| "Money" | Smash Task [17] [18] | Selections From "The Dirty D.I.S.T.R.I.C.T." | |
| "I Want You For Myself" | V.A. | One By One | |
| "Nobody Else" | |||
| "Don't Ya Hate It" | |||
| "I'm The Man" | |||
| "Next To Me" | |||
| "Breathe" | |||
| "It Don't Make No Sense" | |||
| "Swole" | |||
| "You Could've Called" | |||
| "It's Cool" | |||
| "We Make Love" | |||
| "Pretty Girl" | |||
| "I'm Done" | |||
| "I Want You For Myself (Acoustic)" | |||
| "Crave" [19] | 4Shades | 4Shades | |
| "Why I Love You" | 2002 | B2K | Pandemonium! |
| "Understanding" | B2K | ||
| "Baby Girl" | |||
| "Baby Girl (Terri's Theme)" | Barbershop (soundtrack) | ||
| "I'm Wit It" | 702 | Star | |
| "You" [20] | Ruff Endz | Someone to Love You | |
| "Him" | 2004 | Frankee | The Good, the Bad, the Ugly |
| "Love Is Free" (featuring Maluca) | 2015 | Robyn & La Bagatelle Magique | Love Is Free (EP) |
| "Give It 2 U" | 2020 | J. Brown | Forever Yours |
| "Sunrise Sunset" | |||
| Year | Awarding Body | Award | Result | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | 37th Annual Grammy Awards | Grammy Award for Best R&B Album (II) | [21] | |
| 2000 | ASCAP Pop Awards | Award-Winning Song ("Sweet Lady") | [22] | |
| 2000 | ASCAP Rhythm & Soul Awards | Award-Winning Song ("Sweet Lady") | [23] | |