Charles Garris

Since signing his first recording contract with Warner Brothers Records at age 14, American film and television producer, musician, songwriter and composer Charles Garris (known as Shorty Corleone) has spent most of his life in the entertainment industry. He has released 3 albums as a solo artist as well as 20 live album recordings as frontman for Washington, DC go-go music legends Rare Essence. During his tenure with Rare Essence, the singles "Body Snatchers" and "Overnight Scenario" (which was penned by Shorty Corleone) earned him two top 50 singles & Hot 100 placements on Billboard and to this day, remain party classics in the world of go-go music and American hip-hop and R&B. He has recorded 300 singles with various recording artists, 15 music videos and counting. Shorty's foray into filmmaking was marked by "Crank", a 15-episode series chronicling the evolution of DC's go-go music and its wide-reaching impact on the American urban culture. He is also the mastermind behind The Capital Kidds, a singing group of teen protégés in support of which he created and produced "Cooking With Capital Kidds", a reality series showcasing the unique culinary and music culture of Washington, DC. Shorty also served as music director on and produced the original soundtracks for two major cable network projects, "Angrily Ever After" and "Twas the Chaos Before Christmas", both of which aired on BET in 2019.