Chris Whitten (born 26 March 1959) is a British session

drummer A drummer is a percussionist who creates music using drums. Most contemporary western bands that play rock, pop, jazz, or R&B music include a drummer for purposes including timekeeping and embellishing the musical timbre. The drummer's ...

who provided drums for the

hit single A hit song, also known as a hit record, hit single or simply a hit, is a recorded song or instrumental that becomes broadly popular or well-known. Although ''hit song'' means any widely played or big-selling song, the specific term ''hit record' ...

s "

What I Am "What I Am" is a song written by Edie Brickell and Kenny Withrow and recorded by Edie Brickell & New Bohemians for their debut album, ''Shooting Rubberbands at the Stars'' (1988). The song is highlighted by a guitar solo that notably features an ...

" by

Edie Brickell & New Bohemians Edie Brickell & New Bohemians is an alternative rock jam band that originated in Dallas, Texas, in the mid-1980s. The band is widely known for their 1988 hit "What I Am" from the album '' Shooting Rubberbands at the Stars''. Their music contain ...

, "World Shut Your Mouth" by

Julian Cope Julian David Cope (born 21 October 1957) is an English musician and author. He was the singer and songwriter in Liverpool post-punk band the Teardrop Explodes and has followed a solo career since 1983 in addition to working on musical side pro ...

and "

The Whole of the Moon "The Whole of the Moon" is a song by Scottish band the Waterboys, released as a single from their album ''This Is the Sea'' in October 1985. It is a classic of the band's repertoire and has been consistently played at live shows ever since its re ...

" by

the Waterboys The Waterboys are a folk rock band formed in Edinburgh in 1983 by Scottish musician Mike Scott. The band's membership, past and present, has been composed mainly of musicians from Scotland, Ireland, Wales and England. Mike Scott has remained ...

. Two notable projects that Whitten was the drummer for were

Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained worldwide fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John Lennon. One ...

's ''

Flowers in the Dirt ''Flowers in the Dirt'' is the eighth studio solo album by Paul McCartney. The album was released on 5 June 1989 on Parlophone, as he was embarking on his first world tour since the Wings Over the World tour in 1975–76. It earned McCartney som ...

'' album in 1989, and

Dire Straits Dire Straits were a British rock band formed in London in 1977 by Mark Knopfler (lead vocals and lead guitar), David Knopfler (rhythm guitar and backing vocals), John Illsley (bass guitar and backing vocals) and Pick Withers (drums and per ...

’ final world tour from 1991–1992 to accompany their last studio album, '' On Every Street''. In Italy he is well known for playing drums with

Francesco De Gregori Francesco De Gregori OMRI (born 4 April 1951) is an Italian singer-songwriter. In Italy, he is popularly known as "Il Principe dei cantautori" ("The Prince of the singer-songwriters"), a nickname referring to the elegance of his lyrics. He is of ...

on some tracks of the album ''Titanic'' (1982), on eponymous album of

Riccardo Cocciante Riccardo Cocciante (; born 20 February 1946), also known in French-speaking countries and the U.S. as Richard Cocciante (), is an Italian singer, composer, theatre man and musician. He acquired French citizenship. Personal life Cocciante was ...

, on album '' Yaya'' of

Nino Buonocore Nino Buonocore (born 26 July 1958) is an Italian singer-songwriter, best known for the songs "Rosanna" and "Scrivimi". Life and career Born Adelmo Buonocore in Naples, he debuted at 20 years old with an auto-produced single "Sferisterio". Put un ...

and on single 45 rpm ''Uno su mille'' of

Gianni Morandi Gianni Morandi (; born 11 December 1944) is an Italian pop singer, actor and entertainer. Early life Gian Luigi Morandi was born in a little village called Monghidoro on the Tuscan-Emilian Apennines. His father Renato was active within the ...

. Whitten was also a member of the Catch, with

Don Snow Don Snow (born 13 January 1957 in London) is a British vocalist and multi-instrumentalist, who plays the Hammond organ, piano, guitar, bass guitar, drums and saxophone. He is primarily known for his work with the new wave bands Squeeze, the Sin ...

. Whitten unusually has used a

Noble & Cooley Noble & Cooley is an American musical instruments manufacturing company based out of Granville, Massachusetts. Having been established in 1854, it is the oldest drum company in the United States and is one of the oldest in the world. Having manufa ...

drum kit A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

which are radically designed drums. The toms and snare are single-ply, steam-bent shells which give them (especially the snare) a distinctive sound. He has also recorded with such varied

musician A musician is a person who composes, conducts, or performs music. According to the United States Employment Service, "musician" is a general term used to designate one who follows music as a profession. Musicians include songwriters who wr ...

s as

Tom Jones Tom Jones may refer to: Arts and entertainment *Tom Jones (singer) (born 1940), Welsh singer *Tom Jones (writer) (1928–2023), American librettist and lyricist *''The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling'', a novel by Henry Fielding published in 1 ...

Johnny Cash John R. Cash (born J. R. Cash; February 26, 1932 – September 12, 2003) was an American country singer-songwriter. Much of Cash's music contained themes of sorrow, moral tribulation, and redemption, especially in the later stages of his c ...

the Pretenders Pretenders are an English–American rock band formed in March 1978. The original band consisted of founder and main songwriter Chrissie Hynde (lead vocals, rhythm guitar), James Honeyman-Scott (lead guitar, backing vocals, keyboards), Pete ...

Swing Out Sister Swing Out Sister are a British pop group best known worldwide for the 1986 song " Breakout". Other hits include " Surrender", " Twilight World", " Waiting Game", and a remake of the Eugene Record soul composition "Am I the Same Girl?" Histo ...

, ABC and

the The () are an English post-punk band. They have been active in various forms since 1979, with singer-songwriter Matt Johnson being the only constant band member. achieved critical acclaim and commercial success in the UK, with 15 chart singles ...

and for

Jean-Jacques Goldman Jean-Jacques Goldman (; born 11 October 1951) is a French singer-songwriter and music record producer. He is hugely popular in the French-speaking world. Since the death of Johnny Hallyday in 2017 he has been the highest grossing living French ...

for the '' Rouge'' album with

Fredericks Goldman Jones Fredericks Goldman Jones was the name of a famous French musical trio made up of Jean-Jacques Goldman, Carole Fredericks Carole Denise Fredericks (June 5, 1952 – June 7, 2001) was an American singer best known for her work in French mu ...

. Whitten has been an active participant and Honorary VIP Member of the Drummer Cafe community forum since 2003. He is a specialist at drum sample production and has contributed drums and percussion with recording partner, the British engineer/producer Peter Henderson of

Supertramp Supertramp were an English rock band that formed in London in 1969. Marked by the individual songwriting of founders Roger Hodgson (vocals, keyboards, and guitars) and Rick Davies (vocals and keyboards), they are distinguished for blending p ...

fame for th
Toontrack
drum sample libraries Custom and Vintage SDX and The Classic EZX, as well as several others. He toured with The Dire Straits Experience and visited

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...

to perform at a charity event in

Gurgaon Gurgaon (pronunciation: �ʊɽɡãːw, officially named Gurugram (pronunciation: �ʊɾʊɡɾaːm, is a city located in the northern Indian state of Haryana. It is situated near the Delhi–Haryana border, about southwest of the nationa ...

and

Bangalore Bangalore (), officially Bengaluru (), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan population of around , making it the third most populous city and fifth most ...

in March 2017.

References

External links

Paul McCartney sessionography

Chris Whitten Presents New Series - Behind the Drums

The Classic EZX

Custom & Vintage SDX
{{DEFAULTSORT:Whitten, Chris 1959 births Living people English rock drummers British male drummers English session musicians Edie Brickell & New Bohemians members Paul McCartney Band members