# Charles Farrar

Charles Farrar is an American songwriter, composer, and producer, best known for his songwriting work with vocal groups SWV, 702, Today, and Shades. 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). He was also a part owner in New York City-area recording studio The Weight Room.

## The Characters

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. 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. 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. 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.
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.

## Songwriting and production credits

Credits are courtesy of Discogs, Spotify, and AllMusic.
| Title | Year | Artist | Album |
| "Happiness" | 1989 | Nyki Nicole | Non-album single |
| "Every Little Thing About You" | 1990 | Today | The New Formula |
| "Self Centered" | 1990 | Today | The New Formula |
| "Gonna Make You Mine" | 1990 | Today | The New Formula |
| "Little Things" | 1991 | Boyz II Men | Cooleyhighharmony |
| "Your Love" | 1991 | Boyz II Men | Cooleyhighharmony |
| "Just A Cover Up" | 1991 | Boyz II Men | Cooleyhighharmony (2009 Expanded Edition) |
| "Can't Be Liked" | 1991 | Boyz II Men | Cooleyhighharmony (2009 Expanded Edition) |
| "Chivalry" (The Characters Remix) | 1991 | Babyface | A Closer Look |
| "I'll Be There For You" | 1991 | Lateasha | Lateasha |
| "Mature Love" | 1991 | Keisha Jackson | Keisha |
| "All Night Lovin'" | 1991 | Keisha Jackson | Keisha |
| "All Night Lovin' Interlude" | 1991 | Keisha Jackson | Keisha |
| "Step by Step (Gonna Make You Mine)" | 1992 | Wendy Moten | Wendy Moten |
| "Take Me Back to Love Again" | 1992 | Kathy Sledge | Heart |
| "I've Gotta Have It" | 1992 | 3rd Avenue | Let's Talk About Love |
| "The Minute You Fall In Love" | 1992 | 3rd Avenue | Let's Talk About Love |
| "I'm Calling You (Do-Po-Liddle-Lo-Le-Yeah)" | 1992 | OSCAR | Spotlight |
| "Just For You" | 1992 | OSCAR | Spotlight |
| "Let Me Make It Better" | 1992 | OSCAR | Spotlight |
| "I'll Be There For You" | 1992 | OSCAR | Spotlight |
| "Spotlight" | 1992 | OSCAR | Spotlight |
| "Keep Touching Me" | 1992 | OSCAR | Spotlight |
| "How I Spend My Time" | 1992 | OSCAR | Spotlight |
| "Give Me A Reason" | 1992 | OSCAR | Spotlight |
| "Just Being With You" | 1992 | Countess Vaughn | Countess |
| "Once More" | 1992 | Countess Vaughn | Countess |
| "Skyy's The Limit" | 1992 | Skyy | Nearer To You |
| "Work It Out" | 1993 | Perfect Gentlemen | The Perfect Gentlemen |
| "Don't Go Nowhere" | 1993 | Riff | To Whom It May Concern |
| "(Seek And You'll Find) The Kinda Right Baby" | 1994 | Groove U | Tender Love |
| "Old Becomes New" | 1994 | Groove U | Tender Love |
| "Call And I'll Answer" | 1994 | Groove U | Tender Love |
| "Pass It Over" | 1994 | Fourmula | Non-album single |
| "Floating | 1994 | Debelah Morgan | Debelah |
| "Win You Over" (With Troy Taylor) | 1994 | Debelah Morgan | Debelah |
| "Jezzebel" | 1994 | Boyz II Men | II |
| "I Can't Tell You Why" | 1995 | Brownstone | From the Bottom Up |
| "Best Friend" (Character R&B Mix featuring Channel Live) | 1995 | Brandy | Brandy |
| "I'm Sorry" | 1995 | Solo | Solo |
| "My Cherie Amour" | 1995 | Tony Thompson | Sexsational |
| "Come Over" | 1995 | Tony Thompson | Sexsational |
| "Goodbye Eyes" | 1995 | Tony Thompson | Sexsational |
| "Love Today" | 1995 | 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) | 1996 | Johnny Gill | Let's Get the Mood Right |
| "So Gentle" (Featuring Ronnie DeVoe) | 1996 | Johnny Gill | Let's Get the Mood Right |
| "Get Down Like Dat" | 1996 | 702 | No Doubt |
| "No Doubt" | 1996 | 702 | No Doubt |
| "Show You My Love" | 1996 | 702 | No Doubt |
| "All I Want" | 1996 | 702 | No Doubt |
| "Just Let Me Know" | 1996 | Horace Brown | Horace Brown |
| "Realize" | 1996 | Jason Weaver | Stay With Me (Shelved) |
| "Your Body's Callin'" | 1996 | Norman Brown | Better Days Ahead |
| "Facts of Love" | 1996 | Norman Brown | Better Days Ahead |
| "Love Like This" (Featuring Lil' Cease) | 1997 | SWV | Release Some Tension |
| "Lose Myself" | 1997 | SWV | Release Some Tension |
| "Here For You" | 1997 | SWV | Release Some Tension |
| "Who Are You" | 1997 | Shades | Shades |
| "Tell Me (I'll Be Around)" | 1997 | Shades | Shades |
| "I Believe" | 1997 | Shades | Shades |
| "How Deep Is Your Love" | 1997 | Shades | Shades |
| "Time Will Reveal" | 1997 | Shades | Shades |
| "All He's Supposed to Be" | 1997 | Johnny Gill | The 6th Man (soundtrack) |
| "Jam Knock" | 1997 | Brian McKnight | Anytime |
| "Dance Wit Me" (Featuring Doug E. Fresh) | 1998 | Miss Jones | The Other Woman |
| "Smooth" | 1998 | Miss Jones | The Other Woman |
| "In And Out Of My Life" | 1998 | Ali | Crucial / Bitter Honey |
| "Once A Fool" | 1998 | Destiny's Child & William Floyd | eMusic Presents NFL Jams |
| "Work It Out" | 1998 | Boyz II Men & Garrison Hearst | eMusic Presents NFL Jams |
| "Let's Get It Started" | 1998 | Johnny Gill & Corey Harris | eMusic Presents NFL Jams |
| "Sweet Lady" | 1999 | Tyrese | Tyrese |
| "What'cha Gonna Do" | 1999 | Eternal | Eternal |
| "Treat Me Like a Lady" | 1999 | Eternal | Eternal |
| "Absent From You" | 1999 | Eternal | Eternal |
| "He Is" | 1999 | Eternal | Eternal |
| "Never Let You Go Away" | 1999 | Rome | Thank You (Shelved) |
| "I Really Do Love You" | 1999 | Beverly | Heart and Soul (Shelved) |
| "Do It Like Us" | 1999 | Rudy | Non-album single |
| "Come Correct" | 2000 | Before Dark | Daydreamin' |
| "Can We Make Love" | 2000 | Profyle | Nothin' but Drama |
| "Candles" | 2000 | Pru | Pru |
| "Got Me High" | 2000 | Pru | Pru |
| "Can't Compare Your Love" | 2000 | Pru | Pru |
| "Sketches of Pain" | 2000 | Pru | Pru |
| "Hold On" | 2000 | L.V. | How Long |
| "Just Because" | 2000 | F.A.T.E | For All That's Endured |
| "Weekend" | 2001 | Kenny Lattimore | Weekend |
| "Baby You're the One" | 2001 | Kenny Lattimore | Weekend |
| "Can You Feel Me" (Featuring Shanice) | 2001 | Kenny Lattimore | Weekend |
| "If Love Is What You Want" | 2001 | Kenny Lattimore | Weekend |
| "Right Down to It" | 2001 | Kenny Lattimore | Weekend |
| "Better Than" | 2001 | Damage | Since You've Been Gone |
| "Money" | 2001 | Smash Task | Selections From "The Dirty D.I.S.T.R.I.C.T." |
| "I Want You For Myself" | 2001 | V.A. | One By One |
| "Nobody Else" | 2001 | V.A. | One By One |
| "Don't Ya Hate It" | 2001 | V.A. | One By One |
| "I'm The Man" | 2001 | V.A. | One By One |
| "Next To Me" | 2001 | V.A. | One By One |
| "Breathe" | 2001 | V.A. | One By One |
| "It Don't Make No Sense" | 2001 | V.A. | One By One |
| "Swole" | 2001 | V.A. | One By One |
| "You Could've Called" | 2001 | V.A. | One By One |
| "It's Cool" | 2001 | V.A. | One By One |
| "We Make Love" | 2001 | V.A. | One By One |
| "Pretty Girl" | 2001 | V.A. | One By One |
| "I'm Done" | 2001 | V.A. | One By One |
| "I Want You For Myself (Acoustic)" | 2001 | V.A. | One By One |
| "Crave" | 2001 | 4Shades | 4Shades |
| "Why I Love You" | 2002 | B2K | Pandemonium! |
| "Understanding" | 2002 | B2K | B2K |
| "Baby Girl" | 2002 | B2K | B2K |
| "Baby Girl (Terri's Theme)" | 2002 | B2K | Barbershop (soundtrack) |
| "I'm Wit It" | 2002 | 702 | Star |
| "You" | 2002 | Ruff Endz | Someone to Love You |
| "Sexy Lover" | 2002 | Darius Rucker | Back to Then |
| "When's the Last Time" | 2002 | Darius Rucker | Back to Then |
| "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" | 2020 | J. Brown | Forever Yours |

## Awards and nominations

| Year | Awarding Body | Award | Result |
| 1995 | 37th Annual Grammy Awards | Grammy Award for Best R&B Album (II) | Won |
| 2000 | ASCAP Pop Awards | Award-Winning Song ("Sweet Lady") | Won |
| 2000 | ASCAP Rhythm & Soul Awards | Award-Winning Song ("Sweet Lady") | Won |