His bluesy style of playing, combined with Dan McCafferty's vocals, first came to the attention of wider rock audiences when Nazareth toured in 1971 as the opening act for Deep Purple.

Hair of the Dog attained platinum sales in the United States and has to date sold in excess of two million copies.

Charlton also produced the self-titled Dan McCafferty debut LP in 1975, with a single "Out of Time" (1975) reaching # 41 in the UK chart.

After this initial work, he rejoined Nazareth in Europe, and Guns N' Roses hired Mike Clink to produce the album.

In 1995, Charlton sent to id Software, creator of Doom, a cassette tape featuring an untitled song that John Romero would later title "Blood on the Walls".

2005 saw the release of Sharp, which is on the whole a covers album, including Tim Hardin's "Hang On To A Dream" and Bob Dylan's "Shelter from the Storm".

Charlton then released a solo album Americana Deluxe, covering songs such as Fleetwood Mac's "Tusk".

This recording was made in California and featured Tim Bogert, Walfredo Reyes, Jr., Steven Adler, Vivian Campbell, and Robin DeLorenzo.

Neil Jefferies of Classic Rock commended Charlton's production work, writing: "Among three Dylan songs tackled, 'All Along The Watchtower' is simply stunning, sidestepping both the original and Hendrix’s seminal version with quasi-reggae tones that cement Charlton’s reputation as a truly gifted arranger."