Christopher Becker Whitley (August 31, 1960 – November 20, 2005) was an American blues/rock singer-songwriter and guitarist. During his 25-year career he released more than a dozen albums, had two songs in the top 50 of the Billboard mainstream rock charts and received two Independent Music Awards. Whitley's sound was drawn from the traditions of blues, jazz and rock and he recorded songs by artists from many genres. He died in 2005 of lung cancer at the age of 45.

Early life

Whitley was born in

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 i ...

, Texas and learned to play guitar when he was fifteen. His father was an art director and his mother was a sculptor. During his youth he lived in

Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...

, Texas, Oklahoma, Connecticut,

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

and Vermont. His parents "grew up on race radio in the South" and their musical tastes—including

Muddy Waters McKinley Morganfield (April 4, 1913 April 30, 1983), known professionally as Muddy Waters, was an American blues singer and musician who was an important figure in the post-war blues scene, and is often cited as the "father of modern Chicago ...

Howlin' Wolf Chester Arthur Burnett (June 10, 1910January 10, 1976), better known by his stage name Howlin' Wolf, was an American blues singer and guitarist. He is regarded as one of the most influential blues musicians of all time. Over a four-decade care ...

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...

and Jimi Hendrix—influenced Whitley.

Career

During the early 1980s Whitley was busking on the streets of New York City and collaborating with musicians Marc Miller,

Arto Lindsay Arthur Morgan "Arto" Lindsay (born May 28, 1953) is an American guitarist, singer, record producer and experimental composer. He was a member of the pioneering 1970s no wave group DNA, which featured on the 1978 compilation '' No New York''. I ...

and

Michael Beinhorn Michael Beinhorn is a North American record producer, composer, author and musician. He has produced albums for Red Hot Chili Peppers, Soundgarden, Hole, Violent Femmes and Marilyn Manson. Career 1977-1983: Early Years, Material, Herbie Hanco ...

. He was given a plane ticket to

Ghent Ghent ( nl, Gent ; french: Gand ; traditional English: Gaunt) is a city and a municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of the East Flanders province, and the third largest in the country, exceeded i ...

, Belgium in 1981, and lived there for six years, recording several albums and playing with the bands Kuruki, 2 Belgen,

Nacht Und Nebel ''Nacht und Nebel'' (German: ), meaning Night and Fog, was a directive issued by Adolf Hitler on 7 December 1941 targeting political activists and resistance "helpers" in the territories occupied by Nazi Germany during World War II, who were to ...

, Alan Fawn, and A Noh Rodeo. Chris Whitley and Alan Geveart

In 1988, producer

Daniel Lanois Daniel Roland Lanois ( , ; born September 19, 1951) is a Canadian record producer, guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter. He has produced albums by artists including Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Peter Gabriel, Robbie Robertson, Emmylou Harris, Willie ...

heard Whitley perform at the Mondo Cane club in New York City and he helped Whitley obtain a recording contract with Columbia Records. In 1991 two of Whitley's songs charted on the Billboard Mainstream Rock charts: "

Big Sky Country Montana () is a state in the Mountain West division of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota and South Dakota to the east, Wyoming to the south, and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columbi ...

" (number 36) and "

Living with the Law Living or The Living may refer to: Common meanings *Life, a condition that distinguishes organisms from inorganic objects and dead organisms ** Living species, one that is not extinct *Personal life, the course of an individual human's life * Hu ...

" (number 28). In 2000, Whitley recorded his album '' Perfect Day'', an album of cover songs, with Chris Wood and

Billy Martin Alfred Manuel Martin Jr. (May 16, 1928 – December 25, 1989), commonly called "Billy", was an American Major League Baseball second baseman and manager who, in addition to leading other teams, was five times the manager of the New York Yan ...

and followed up with the album '' Rocket House'' in 2001. Whitley's song "Breaking Your Fall" from the album '' Hotel Vast Horizon'' (2003) won the 3rd Annual Independent Music Awards for Folk/Singer-Songwriter Song. In 2004 he won The 4th Annual Independent Music Award for Blues/R&B Song for his composition "Her Furious Angels" from the album '' War Crime Blues''. Whitley was an inaugural member of The Independent Music Awards' judging panel to support independent artists and collaborated with

Jeff Lang Jeff Lang (born 9 November 1969) is an Australian guitarist, songwriter, vocalist and music producer. Lang plays various types of guitar, both slide and standard, as well as banjo, mandolin, cümbüş and drums. He is a three-time ARIA Award w ...

on an album called ''

Dislocation Blues ''Dislocation Blues'' is a collaborative studio album, credited to American singer-songwriter and guitarist, Chris Whitley and Australian musician, Jeff Lang. The album was recorded in studios between Adelaide and Melbourne in April 2005, seven ...

'' in 2005.

Style

Whitley's style drew on an array of influences. In 2001, ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'' described him as "restless, moving into

noise-rock Noise rock (sometimes called noise punk) is a noise-oriented style of experimental rock that spun off from punk rock in the 1980s. Drawing on movements such as minimalism, industrial music, and New York hardcore, artists indulge in extreme l ...

and

minimalist In visual arts, music and other media, minimalism is an art movement that began in post– World War II in Western art, most strongly with American visual arts in the 1960s and early 1970s. Prominent artists associated with minimalism include Do ...

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

evoking Chet Baker and Sonic Youth as much as

Robert Johnson Robert Leroy Johnson (May 8, 1911August 16, 1938) was an American blues musician and songwriter. His landmark recordings in 1936 and 1937 display a combination of singing, guitar skills, and songwriting talent that has influenced later generati ...

". He recorded songs by Robert Johnson and

as well as Lou Reed, James Brown, J.J. Cale,

The Clash The Clash were an English rock band formed in London in 1976 who were key players in the original wave of British punk rock. Billed as "The Only Band That Matters", they also contributed to the and new wave movements that emerged in the w ...

Nat King Cole Nathaniel Adams Coles (March 17, 1919 – February 15, 1965), known professionally as Nat King Cole, was an American singer, jazz pianist, and actor. Cole's music career began after he dropped out of school at the age of 15, and continued f ...

The Doors The Doors were an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1965, with vocalist Jim Morrison, keyboardist Ray Manzarek, guitarist Robby Krieger, and drummer John Densmore. They were among the most controversial and influential rock acts ...

, Willie Dixon,

The Flaming Lips The Flaming Lips are an American psychedelic rock band formed in 1983 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The band currently consists of Wayne Coyne (vocals, guitar, keyboards), Steven Drozd (guitars, keyboards, bass, drums, vocals), Derek Brown (k ...

, Jimi Hendrix, Howlin' Wolf,

The Jesus and Mary Chain The Jesus and Mary Chain are a Scottish alternative rock band formed in East Kilbride in 1983. The band revolves around the songwriting partnership of brothers Jim and William Reid. After signing to independent label Creation Records, they re ...

, Kraftwerk, Gary Numan, The Passions,

Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. T ...

The Stooges The Stooges, originally billed as the Psychedelic Stooges, also known as Iggy and the Stooges, was an American rock band formed in Ann Arbor, Michigan, in 1967 by singer Iggy Pop, guitarist Ron Asheton, drummer Scott Asheton, and bassist Da ...

, and

Sonny Boy Williamson II Alex or Aleck Miller (originally Ford, possibly December 5, 1912 – May 24, 1965), known later in his career as Sonny Boy Williamson, was an American blues harmonica player, singer and songwriter. He was an early and influential blues harp st ...

. Notable fans of Whitley's music include, ATO co-founder Dave Matthews, blues guitarist Robert Lockwood, Jr., Bruce Springsteen, John Mellencamp,

Bruce Hornsby Bruce Randall Hornsby (born November 23, 1954) is an American singer-songwriter and pianist. His music draws from folk rock, jazz, bluegrass, folk, Southern rock, country rock, jam band, rock, heartland rock, and blues rock musical traditions ...

Tom Petty Thomas Earl Petty (October 20, 1950October 2, 2017) was an American musician who was the lead vocalist and guitarist of the rock band Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, formed in 1976. He previously led the band Mudcrutch, was a member of the la ...

Jacob Golden Jacob Golden is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist from Portland, Oregon. After the dissolution of his former band, Birthday, in 2000 he has worked as a solo artist and collaborated with different electronica musicians and producers ...

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, Don Henley, Iggy Pop, Alanis Morissette,

Sandi Thom Alexandria "Sandi" Thom () (born 11 August 1981) is a Scottish singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist from Banff, Scotland. She became widely known in 2006 after her debut single, "I Wish I Was a Punk Rocker (With Flowers in My Hair)", t ...

, John Mayer, Gavin DeGraw,

Joey DeGraw Joseph "Joey" Wayne DeGraw (born August 21, 1973) is an American singer-songwriter, musician, voiceover actor & co-owner of The National Underground bar and record label, and brother of singer-songwriter Gavin DeGraw. His first commercial rel ...

, Johnny A.,

Joe Bonamassa Joseph Leonard Bonamassa ( ; born May 8, 1977) is an American blues rock guitarist, singer and songwriter. He started his career at age twelve, when he opened for B.B. King. Since 2000, Bonamassa has released fifteen solo albums through his ind ...

Keith Richards Keith Richards (born 18 December 1943), often referred to during the 1960s and 1970s as "Keith Richard", is an English musician and songwriter who has achieved international fame as the co-founder, guitarist, secondary vocalist, and co-princi ...

and Darling Burns. Whitley used various alternate tunings and, among other musical instruments, often played slide guitar on a National

resonator guitar A resonator guitar or resophonic guitar is an acoustic guitar that produces sound by conducting string vibrations through the bridge to one or more spun metal cones (resonators), instead of to the guitar's sounding board (top). Resonator guit ...

Death

In fall 2005, Whitley canceled his tour due to health issues. In November he was reported to be terminally ill with lung cancer and under the care of hospice. He died on November 20, 2005 in Houston, Texas at the age of 45. After his death, musician John Mayer said, " hitley'ssomewhat prostrated place in pop culture earned him a sidebar of an obituary, but to those who knew his work, it registers as one of the most underappreciated losses in all of music." Whitley is survived by his brother Dan and his musician daughter, Trixie Whitley.

Discography

*''

'' (1991) *''Big Sky Country'' (single, 1991) *''

Din of Ecstasy ''Din of Ecstasy'' is the second studio album by singer-songwriter and guitarist, Chris Whitley. It was released on Columbia Records in 1995. It was produced primarily by John Custer and Chris Whitley. The album was recorded by Steve Melton (ass ...

'' (1995) *''

Terra Incognita ''Terra incognita'' or ''terra ignota'' (Latin "unknown land"; ''incognita'' is stressed on its second syllable in Latin, but with variation in pronunciation in English) is a term used in cartography for regions that have not been mapped or do ...

'' (1997) *'' Dirt Floor'' (1998) *'' Live at Martyrs''' (1999/2000 - recorded live 1999) *'' Perfect Day'' featuring

and Chris Wood (2000) *'' Rocket House'' (2001) *'' Long Way Around: An Anthology: 1991-2001'' (2002) *'' Pigs Will Fly'' (soundtrack) with Warner Poland and Kai-Uwe Kohlschmidt (2003) *'' Hotel Vast Horizon'' (2003) *''

Weed A weed is a plant considered undesirable in a particular situation, "a plant in the wrong place", or a plant growing where it is not wanted.Harlan, J. R., & deWet, J. M. (1965). Some thoughts about weeds. ''Economic botany'', ''19''(1), 16-24. ...

'' (2004) *'' War Crime Blues'' (2004) *''

'' (2005 Sony BMG release highlighting his Columbia Records years) *'' Soft Dangerous Shores'' (2005) *'' Reiter In'' with The Bastard Club (2006) *''

'' with

(2006) *'' On Air'' (2008 - recorded live 2003)

References

External links

Bio at Messenger Records
{{DEFAULTSORT:Whitley, Chris 1960 births 2005 deaths American blues guitarists American male guitarists American blues singers American street performers Blues rock musicians Slide guitarists American rock guitarists American rock singers American rock songwriters Columbia Records artists ATO Records artists Musicians from Houston Deaths from cancer in Texas Deaths from lung cancer Resonator guitarists Independent Music Awards winners 20th-century American singers 20th-century American guitarists Singer-songwriters from Texas Guitarists from Texas 20th-century American male musicians American male singer-songwriters Australian banjoists