Started playing R&B with his friend Jimi Hendrix and one of his bass players Billy Cox who also lives in Nashville. They used to practice at Club Del-mor-roca on Jefferson street, one block from Jimmi's house. He was playing drums and fought himself to play bass.

He was aware of guitar because Curtis Mayfield & The Impressions were in Nashville during their recording. So on the days that they came to practice, he would wash Curtis's Jaguar and learn to play Curtis's guitar for pay. A few months later the word was out that Miss Franklin was coming to the city looking for a band to take out on a tour with her and Jackie Wilson.
Sweet Charles made his way to a pawn shop and purchased a bass that cost $69,-."I had 3 weeks to learn how to play it, which -thank GOD-, I did".So then he joined the Johnny Jones & The King Kasuals
Band (Miss Franklin's band).
In august 1968, he joined the J.B's. Drummond cames down with hepatitis from vietnam and James Brown was looking for another bass player. James Brown had heard him play in New York with Miss. Aretha Franklin and offered to Sweet Charles a job with his organisation. He waited 2 weeks before joining the group, because I wanted to think about it. One of his first recording with James Brown was the concert "Say It Live And Loud" recorded the 08.26.68 but released only in late 1998. According to James Brown, "He hasn’t gotten the credits as a bass player that he should have. A lot of stuff that Bootsy Collins and some other bass player did later - like thumping the string – Sweet did it first."

In January 1970 he quit the group because of financial problems. Maceo and the rest of the group quit one month later to do their own thing. It’s why James Brown had to call Bootsy Collins and his Peacemaker.

He come back some years later. His voice was a sweet, high voice and in 1974, the president of Polydor Records, Mr. Jerry Shearnbone, decided to record an album after hearing him sing at the rehersal hall. The album, "Sweet Charles : For Sweet People" (People PE6603) was recorded in New York with a 32 piece orchestra. Fred Wesley and David Mathrew worked with him on the album.

During the years away from the J.B's he was working with Al Green and Take 6 and producing gospel groups around Nashville. In the year of 1976 when Fred Wesley quit, Mr. Brown made him his musical director and bandleader up to October 1996 when he quit because of internal difficulties.

So he left James Brown, firmly resolute to find peace and happyness and to do what he wants to do for the rest of his life.

A few months later, Maceo Parker asked him if he wanted to join his band.Without taking a look at the scheddule, Charles Sherrell accept... From 1996 uptill now he is on stage with his old time fellow Maceo Parker doing backingvocals and an amazing "Mustang Sally" performance.

In spring 2002 Sweet Charles also hoocked-up with the dutch P-Funk band Gotcha!. Gotcha! was already working on their new album when they met. But the album was not finished jet, so they decided to record a few tracks together. The album will be comming out on the 18th of september 2002.
Following this album, Sweet Charles and Gotcha! will be touring the Netherlands with a hot show that you shouldn't miss!
The rest of europe will follow later.