Charley Poole's 41-year drum corps career began in 1957 at the age of 6. He rapidly developed a reputation as an individual snare drum competitor, and from 1966 through 1969 he was the reigning Connecticut and Northeastern states individual champion. At 16, Charley won the first of three national snare drum individual championships.
 

After assuming staff positions with a variety of Boston-based corps, Charley became a part of the instructional staff of the 27th Lancers of Revere, Mass., in 1977. Together with visual genius George Zingali and brass veteran Jim Wedge, he collaborated on a series of show designs recognized as some of the most exciting and entertaining in the history of DCI. His percussion features were noted for their musical complexity, technical display and visual intensity.
 

From 1980 through 1986 he was unanimously elected to serve on the DCI Task Force on Judging as the percussion instructor representative, a testament to the respect that he earned among his peers. In 1987 Charley consulted with the Star of Indiana and in 1988 with the Bluecoats. Currently, Charley is the Percussion Supervisor at Everett High School and is a member of the Drum Corps International Hall of Fame.