Born in Aylmer, Quebec, Charlie Major knew he wanted to be a musician since he was 19 years old. He was blinded in one eye as a result of a pellet gun accident when he was 12.He spent 15 years traveling as far as Spain writing songs and putting country bands together, which eventually led to a record deal with Arista Records. Major released his debut album in Canada, The Other Side, in 1993. All six singles released from the album went to #1 on the RPM Country chart.

Through the mid-’90s, he won the Juno Award as Country Male Vocalist of the Year for three years in a row. Five major Canadian Country Music Awards followed, along with songwriting honours from SOCAN, and a BMI Award in 1993 for "Backroads", recorded by Ricky Van Shelton in 1991 on his Backroads album, as the “Most Performed Song in America.” In 2006 he made an appearance on the television show "Holmes on Homes."