Civic Memorial High School Teacher Writes Song for Students

BETHALTO - Civic Memorial High School teacher Charlie Brown loves songwriting almost as much as he loves his students. It was an obvious decision to write a song for them.

Brown is currently working on his sixth album, with plans to record in the next year or so. The album is slowly taking shape, and it revolves around his teaching and the students who have inspired him as a singer, songwriter and human being.

“It’s just cool to involve the community and the kids that I teach,” he said. “It’s just been a blast.”

Brown has released one song already, and it might be one of the most personal pieces he’s ever written. “Parking Lot Prayers” details the prayer he says every morning for his students before he begins his day as the culinary arts teacher at CMHS.

But it wasn’t enough to be inspired by his students; Brown decided he needed them to be involved. He found “the best singers in the school” to sing background vocals for “Parking Lot Prayers."

Class of 2025 seniors Aubrey Falk, Kaylea Falk, Elliana Fiorino and Peyton Minner joined him at Lighthouse Sounds Recording Studio in Alton, where engineer Caleb Lienard guided them through the recording. CMHS Principal Justin Newell spent the day with them and bought pizzas. Brown hired Wholestreet Productions to film a music video. Producer Aaron Kellim, a 2004 CMHS alum, tied the song together.

“It was probably the best time I’ve ever had in a studio, to have [the students] there,” Brown shared. “It was the first time these students had ever been in a recording studio, and they absolutely nailed it. We were hanging out, laughing, singing, and just watching this song come to life.”

Meanwhile, art teacher Chloe Thonure was putting together a surprise for Brown. She had 16 students draw one square of a picture, which, when put together, was a composite of Brown’s face. Brown expressed his gratitude to students Amia Gates, Vinny Williams, Claire Schilling, Thomas Pinski, Lizzy Lenger, Milla Munsch, Sydney Moore, Gabby Davis, Elouise Bargiel, Medeline Hampton, Claire Shaw, Alexis Wilhite, Stormie Webb, Ella Sims, Macie Howard and Kylie Jenkins, who, through this project, created his album cover.

Brown has tried several times to write a song for his students, but it wasn’t until he wrote “Parking Lot Prayers” that he felt like he really captured “the truth” of his respect and affection for them. The song is specifically dedicated to the Class of 2025, and Brown is proud of each and every one of them.

“This particular class of 2025 at CM, it is absolutely saturated with amazing people, just amazing human beings,” he said. “Not just smart, popular, athletic — there’s a lot of that, but just interesting, strong personalities, driven with grit but kindness. I don’t know, just funny, big personalities. There’s just going to be a ton of very successful people out of this class, and they’re just so enjoyable to be around. They make me love my job.”

Brown has been pleased to see that “Parking Lot Prayers” resonates, with people sharing it on TikTok and YouTube. He plans to release more songs every few months until the album’s completion, hopefully sometime next year.

As the album comes together, Brown has been reminded why he loves teaching. He plans to spend summer break writing more songs, but he looks forward to returning to his classroom come fall. With the response that “Parking Lot Prayers” has received, he can’t wait to share the rest of his album with the Bethalto community and beyond.

“I’ve been very blessed. When I was younger, all I wanted to do, I had this drive to be famous. But really, I’m happy with my solid few hundred faithful followers. That’s enough for me. I’m very satisfied,” Brown said. “I have a feeling it’s going to be my best album ever.”

For more information about Charlie Brown, visit his official website at CharlieBrownSongwriter.com or check out his TikTok page @CharlieBrownSongwriter.

To listen to “Parking Lot Prayers,” click here.

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