Chris Christian (born Lon Christian Smith on February 7, 1951) is an American

songwriter A songwriter is a person who creates musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music genre and film scoring. ...

record producer A record producer or music producer is a music creating project's overall supervisor whose responsibilities can involve a range of creative and technical leadership roles. Typically the job involves hands-on oversight of recording sessions; ensu ...

, and a

record label "Big Three" music labels A record label or record company is a brand or trademark of Sound recording and reproduction, music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a Music publisher, ...

executive Executive ( exe., exec., execu.) may refer to: Role or title * Executive, a senior management role in an organization ** Chief executive officer (CEO), one of the highest-ranking corporate officers (executives) or administrators ** Executive dir ...

. His songs have been recorded by

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was an American singer and actor. Referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one of the most significant cultural figures of the ...

Olivia Newton-John Dame Olivia Newton-John (26 September 1948 – 8 August 2022) was a British and Australian singer and actress. With over 100 million records sold, Newton-John was one of the List of best-selling music artists#100 million to 119 million record ...

, Hall and Oates,

Natalie Cole Natalie Maria Cole (February 6, 1950 – December 31, 2015) was an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She was the daughter of singer and jazz pianist Nat King Cole. She rose to prominence in the mid-1970s, with the release of her debut ...

Sheena Easton Sheena Shirley Easton (; born 27 April 1959) is a Scottish singer and actress who achieved recognition in an episode of the reality television series ''The Big Time (TV series), The Big Time: Pop Singer'', which recorded her attempts to gain a ...

The Pointer Sisters The Pointer Sisters are an American female vocal group from Oakland, California, who achieved mainstream success during the 1970s and 1980s. They have had a repertoire with many genres, they have sold around 50 million records throughout their ...

Al Jarreau Alwin Lopez Jarreau (March 12, 1940 – February 12, 2017) was an American singer and songwriter. His 1981 album '' Breakin' Away'' spent two years on the ''Billboard'' 200 and is considered one of the finest examples of the Los Angeles pop and ...

The Carpenters The Carpenters were an American vocal and instrumental duo consisting of siblings Karen Carpenter, Karen (1950–1983) and Richard Carpenter (musician), Richard Carpenter (born 1946). They produced a distinctive soft musical style, combining ...

Amy Grant Amy Lee Grant (born November 25, 1960) is an American singer-songwriter and musician. She began her music career in contemporary Christian music (CCM) before crossing over to pop music in the mid-1980s. Grant has been referred to as "Honorific ...

Patti Austin Patti Austin (born August 10, 1950) is an American Grammy Award-winning R&B, pop, and jazz singer and songwriter best known for " Baby, Come to Me", her 1982 duet with James Ingram, which topped the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 after its re-release ...

Dionne Warwick Marie Dionne Warwick ( ; born Marie Dionne Warrick; December 12, 1940) is an American singer, actress, and television host. During her career, Warwick has won many awards, including six Grammy Awards. She has been inducted into the Hollywood Wa ...

America The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

the Imperials The Imperials is an American contemporary Christian music group that has been active for over 60 years. Originating as a southern gospel quartet, the innovative group would become pioneers of contemporary Christian music in the 1960s. There ...

, B.J. Thomas, B W Stevenson,

Marilyn McCoo Marilyn McCoo (born September 30, 1943) is an American singer, actress, and television presenter, who is best known for being the lead female vocalist in the group the 5th Dimension as well as hosting the 1980s music television show '' Solid Gol ...

, Dan Peek,

Cheryl Ladd Cheryl Ladd (born Cheryl Jean Stoppelmoor; July 12, 1951) is an American actress, singer, and author best known for her role as Kris Munroe in the ABC television series '' Charlie's Angels'', whose cast she joined in its second season in 1977 ...

, Jane Olivor, Sandi Patti,

Pat Boone Patrick Charles Eugene Boone (born June 1, 1934) is an American singer, songwriter, actor, author, television personality, radio host and philanthropist. He sold nearly 50 million records, had 38 Top 40 hits, and has acted in many films. Boone ...

, Ali Lohan,

Donny Osmond Donald Clark Osmond (born December 9, 1957) is an American singer, dancer, actor, television host and former teen idol. He gained fame performing with four of his elder brothers as the Osmonds, earning several top ten hits and gold albums. In the ...

, and others. Christian has produced albums that have been nominated for nine and won four

Grammy Awards The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious a ...

. He has also been nominated for seven

Gospel Music Association The Gospel Music Association (GMA) is a nonprofit organization founded in 1964 for the purpose of supporting and promoting the development of all forms of gospel music. As of 2011, there are about 4,000 members worldwide. The GMA's membership c ...

Dove Awards as an artist, songwriter, and producer, winning five. He has also released sixteen other albums as a solo artist. Throughout his career, he has written music for many major TV sports events such as the Super Bowl, NCAA finals, The Masters, Olympics, NFL Today, US Open, and many more.

Biography

As a member of the trio of Cotton, Lloyd & Christian, put together by

Mike Curb Michael Curb (born December 24, 1944) is an American politician, record executive, and philanthropist who served as the 42nd Lieutenant Governor of California, lieutenant governor of California from 1979 to 1983. He is the founder of Curb Recor ...

in the early 1970s, he enjoyed two hits on the ''Billboard'' adult contemporary chart on 20th Century Records. The group performed on Dick Clark's ''

American Bandstand ''American Bandstand'' (AB) is an American Music television, music performance and dance television series that aired in various iterations from 1952 to 1989. It was hosted by Dick Clark who also served as the program's Television producer, pr ...

'' and '' Midnight Special''. As a solo artist he performed on ''

The Merv Griffin Show ''The Merv Griffin Show'' is an American television talk show starring Merv Griffin. The series had runs on two different networks on NBC (1962–1963) and CBS (1969–1972) but is most known for its run on first-run syndication from 1965 to 1 ...

'', '' Solid Gold'', and was a judge on '' Star Search''. Christian also played guitar with

Chet Atkins Chester Burton Atkins (June 20, 1924 – June 30, 2001), also known as "Mister Guitar" and "the Country Gentleman", was an American musician who, along with Owen Bradley and Bob Ferguson (musician), Bob Ferguson, helped create the Nash ...

Jerry Reed Jerry Reed Hubbard (March 20, 1937 – September 1, 2008), known professionally as Jerry Reed, was an American country singer, guitarist, composer, songwriter and actor who appeared in more than a dozen films. His signature songs included " Gui ...

, and the

Wayne Newton Carson Wayne Newton (born April 3, 1942), also known as Mr. Las Vegas, is an American singer and actor. One of the most popular singers in the United States from the mid-to-late 20th century, Newton remains one of the best-known entertainers in ...

band. As a record producer, he is best known for starting Amy Grant's music career by signing her at age 16 to his production company, and calling Myrrh Records executive Stan Moser, to advise he was making an album with Grant as part of a long-term production agreement Christian had signed with Myrrh Records. Christian produced her first album and acted as executive producer for her second, handing over production duties to his college friend

Brown Bannister Elliott Brown Bannister III (born August 15, 1951) is a contemporary Christian music (CCM) producer and songwriter. Biography Bannister released one album of his own, ''Talk to One Another'', in 1981 on NewPax Records. It was reissued on the Reuni ...

. He owned her songs until 1997 when they were sold to Gaylord Entertainment. He has produced

the Pointer Sisters The Pointer Sisters are an American female vocal group from Oakland, California, who achieved mainstream success during the 1970s and 1980s. They have had a repertoire with many genres, they have sold around 50 million records throughout their ...

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. T ...

, B J Thomas, Dan Peek, B W Stevenson,

Debby Boone Deborah Anne Boone (born September 22, 1956) is an American singer, author, and actress. She is best known for her 1977 hit, " You Light Up My Life", which spent ten weeks at No. 1 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart and led to her winning the G ...

, Steve Archer,

Bill Gaither William James Gaither (born March 28, 1936) is an American singer and songwriter of Southern gospel and contemporary Christian music. He has written numerous popular Christian songs with his wife Gloria; he is also known for performing as par ...

, Eric Champion, Ali Lohan,

, and over 100 other albums. As the first artist signed to Boardwalk Records owned by

Neil Bogart Neil E. Bogart (born Neil Scott Bogatz, February 3, 1943 – May 8, 1982) was an American record executive. He was the founder of Casablanca Records, which later became Casablanca Record and Filmworks. Life and career Born Neil Scott Bogatz i ...

, with

Bob Gaudio Robert John Gaudio (born November 17, 1942) is an American songwriter, singer, musician, and record producer, and the keyboardist and backing vocalist of the pop/rock band the Four Seasons. Gaudio wrote or co-wrote the vast majority of the ban ...

(Four Seasons) producing, he recorded "I Want You, I Need You," which peaked at No. 37 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in November 1981 and reached the No. 8 on ''Billboard'' Adult Contemporary Chart. "I Want You, I Need You" was a number one song in some countries outside the US.

sings back-up on the song along with many other artists on the album including Christopher Cross, Nigel Olsson, Frankie Valli, Dann Huff, Tommy Funderburk, Bill Champlin, Paul Jackson,

Amy Holland Amy Celeste Boersma (born August 15, 1953), known professionally as Amy Holland, is an American pop and rock singer. Her career spans more than 40 years. She received a Grammy Award nomination for Best New Artist in 1981, following her Amy Holla ...

, and Robbie Patton. Other artists on Boardwalk were Ringo Starr, Joan Jett, Mike Love (Beach Boys), and Night Ranger. Robert Kardashian (the Kardashians' father) was his best friend, manager and was responsible for Chris signing with

Boardwalk Records Boardwalk Records is a record label founded by Neil Bogart in 1980, after PolyGram acquired Casablanca Records from him. History The label had hit acts with Joan Jett and Harry Chapin. Other artists on the Boardwalk label included, Invisible M ...

. A second hit, a medley of the 1968

Marvin Gaye Marvin Pentz Gaye Jr. (; April 2, 1939 – April 1, 1984) was an American Rhythm and blues, R&B and soul singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer. He helped shape the sound of Motown in the 1960s, first as an in-house session player an ...

and Tammi Terrell Motown songs " Ain't Nothing Like the Real Thing" and " You're All I Need to Get By" sung with

, hit No. 21 on the Adult Contemporary chart and No. 88 on the Hot 100 in 1982. In 1981, Christian launched his own label Home Sweet Home Records. On that label he signed and produced albums for White Heart, Steve Archer, Mark Heard, Dan Peek, B.J. Thomas, Eric Champion, Rick Riso, Luke Garrett,

and others. In 1992, he founded HSH Educational Media with his brother Brad. He executive produced and wrote the music for the children's series '' Gerbert'', which aired on

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...

and what is now

ABC Family American cable television, cable and satellite television network Freeform (TV channel), Freeform was originally launched as the CBN Satellite Service on April 29, 1977, and has gone through four different owners and six different name changes dur ...

for over 10 years. His company continues to own and license the Gerbert shows and music. The ''Gerbert'' TV series won an ACE award for best Pre-School Show. Christian purchased The Studios at Las Colinas in 1992 with partner Steve Jarchow. Ross Perot Jr. bought Jarchow's interest in 1993. Christian and Perot purchased the acreage around the Studios Complex selling their interest in the studio and the remaining land to Fox Sports Southwest in 2003. Christian was

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

of World Digital Media Group and YMC Records, a joint venture by

Radio Shack RadioShack (formerly written as Radio Shack) is an American electronics retailer that was established in 1921 as an amateur radio mail-order business. Its parent company was purchased by Tandy Corporation in 1962, which shifted its focus from ma ...

Dish Network DISH Network L.L.C., often referred to as DISH, an abbreviation for Digital Sky Highway, is an American provider of satellite television and IPTV services and wholly owned subsidiary of EchoStar Corporation. The company was originally establ ...

, and Sirius Radio, until May 2007. In 2015, he became the vice-chairman and managing partner for the WNBA's

Dallas Wings The Dallas Wings are an American professional basketball team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Wings compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member of the Western Conference. The team is owned by a group ...

. He was inducted into the West Texas Music Hall of Fame, as well as the Christian Music Hall of Fame in 2007. He is listed among the Distinguished Alumni of

Abilene Christian University Abilene Christian University (ACU) is a Private university, private Christian research university in Abilene, Texas, United States. It is classified by the Carnegie Foundation as an R2 (High Research Spending and Doctorate Production) institutio ...

(class of 1973). His family was a founding family of The Covenant School in Dallas.

Discography

Studio albums

* 1976: ''Chris Christian'' * 1977: ''Chance'' * 1979: ''With Your Love'' * 1981: ''Just Sit Back'' * 1981: ''Chris Christian (Boardwalk Co.)'' * 1983: ''Love Them While We Can'' * 1984: ''Let the Music Start'' * 1987: ''Higher Ways'' * 1988: ''Thinking of You This Christmas'' * 1989: ''Focus'' * 2000: ''Harbour''

Instrumental albums

* 1988: ''No Lyrics'' * 1990: ''Sketches''

Live albums

* 1986: ''Live at Six Flags (with White Heart)''

Compilation albums

* 1980: ''The Best of Chris Christian'' * 1985: ''Mirror of Your Heart'' * 1991: ''15 Best of 15 Years'' * 1999: ''The Collection Vol. 1 1976-1981'' * 1999: ''The Collection Vol. 2 1981-1991''

Other albums

* 1995: ''The Producer (compilation of other artists)''

References

External links

(Chris Christian Music Official Site)
* "YMC Records To Make First Appearance at the National Association of Recording Merchandisers Convention" at TheFreeLibrary.co

* "WDMG Gets Sirius With Universal Music Enterprises" on Satellite Standard Group's Blogspot pag

* "Dallas Exec Matches Up Retailers and Big-Time Recording Artists" column by Cheryl Hall from

The Dallas Morning News ''The Dallas Morning News'' is a daily newspaper serving the Dallas–Fort Worth area of Texas, with an average print circulation in 2022 of 65,369. It was founded on October 1, 1885, by Alfred Horatio Belo as a satellite publication of the ' ...

br>

WNBA’s Dallas Wings Introduced in DFW Metroplex

Voepel: Dallas Wings era opens with high hopes

* "WNBA's Dallas Wings already honoring local roots

* "Christian takes music experience to the WNBA

Thank you, Chris. Thank you, very much.

TEXAS READS: Abilene's Chris Christian tells his inspiring story

Abilene's own Chris Christian tells stories behind his many hit songs

How Chris Christian made his grandmother proud

CC Entertainment

(discography)

Chis Christian article
at TX Music.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Christian, Chris 1951 births Living people Songwriters from Texas Record producers from Texas American performers of Christian music Musicians from Dallas People from Abilene, Texas American male singers American male songwriters