Charlie Gracie’s ‘Fabulous’ Philly life will be celebrated in Media on Friday

Charlie Gracie, the singer and guitarist whose 1950s hits “Fabulous” and “Butterfly” turned him into Philadelphia’s first native son rock and roll star, died in December at age 86.

Now the life of the South Philly-born rockabilly star, who counted Paul McCartney, Graham Nash, and other Brit rockers as fans and friends, is being celebrated two ways.

On Friday at the Media Theatre in Delaware County, Gracie’s legacy will be honored with a “Forever Fabulous” life celebration that will include musical and spoken tributes as well as a video presentation from an upcoming PBS documentary.

The Media event follows the unveiling of Gracie’s instruments and artifacts at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, commemorating what would have been his 87th birthday in May.

Gracie hasn’t been inducted into the RRHOF yet, but his Guild Stratford X-350 semi-acoustic hollow body guitar is now on display as part of the Cleveland museum’s “Rave On” early rock and roll exhibit, which pairs Gracie with the 1950s contemporaries he toured with, such as Buddy Holly, Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley, and Little Richard.

Greg Harris, the Rock Hall’s president and CEO who grew up in Bucks County and got his start in the music business working for the Philadelphia Record Exchange, spoke about Gracie’s impact at the unveiling of the exhibit.

“Charlie Gracie’s influence was massive, extending from his hometown of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania across the globe,” Harris said of the guitarist born Charlie Graci who released his first single “Boogie Woogie Blues” on Cadillac Records in 1951, when he was 15.

“Charlie was as authentic as it gets and you can see why Paul McCartney, Graham Nash, Van Morrison, and many of the early rockers loved him so much!”

When Gracie toured England in 1957, a 15-year-old Paul McCartney saw him perform. He later said: “When we were starting out with the Beatles, the music coming over from America was magical to us — and one of the artists who epitomized this magic was Charlie Gracie.”

The “Rave On” exhibits, which include photos and a The Fabulous Charlie Gracie EP picture sleeve, will be up at the Rock Hall for at least three years. Gracie’s favorite salmon pink stage suit will be added later.

Charlie Gracie “Forever Fabulous” at at the Media Theatre, 104 E. State St., Media, at 7 p.m. Friday June 23. Call 510-724-7319 for details.

More information on the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, whose “Holla If You Hear Me” celebrating 50 years of hip-hop opens June 29, is at rockhall.com.