Christopher Layton (born November 16, 1955), also known as "Whipper", is an American drummer who rose to fame as one of the founding members of Double Trouble, a

blues rock Blues rock is a fusion music genre that combines elements of blues and rock music. It is mostly an electric ensemble-style music with instrumentation similar to electric blues and rock (electric guitar, electric bass guitar, and drums, sometimes w ...

band led by

Stevie Ray Vaughan Stephen Ray Vaughan (October 3, 1954 – August 27, 1990) was an American musician, best known as the guitarist and frontman of the blues rock trio Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble. Although his mainstream career spanned only seven years ...

. Born and raised in Corpus Christi, Texas, Layton moved to Austin in 1975 and joined the band Greezy Wheels. He later joined Vaughan's band Double Trouble in 1978. After forming successful partnerships with bandmates Tommy Shannon and Reese Wynans, Double Trouble recorded and performed with Vaughan until his death in 1990. Layton and Shannon later formed supergroups such as the Arc Angels, Storyville, and Grady. Layton is the drummer for the Kenny Wayne Shepherd Band.

Early life and career

Layton was born in Corpus Christi,

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

. During his childhood, he lived in Mathis, Texas, a small community where his father owned a car dealership. After hearing

Chubby Checker Chubby Checker (born Ernest Evans; October 3, 1941) is an American rock and roll singer and dancer. He is widely known for popularizing many dance styles, including The Twist dance style, with his 1960 hit cover of Hank Ballard & The Midnig ...

's version of " The Twist", Layton became fascinated with playing the drums. He moved back to Corpus Christi and acquired his first drum set at the age of 13. Layton graduated from

W. B. Ray High School W. B. Ray High School is a 5A secondary school centrally located in Corpus Christi, Texas, United States and is part of the Corpus Christi Independent School District. The school is named in honor of CCISD school board president, William Benton ...

, where he was part of the school band. After attending Del Mar College in Corpus Christi, Layton moved to Austin on December 18, 1975, joining the band Greezy Wheels.

Double Trouble and later career

Stevie Ray Vaughn and Double Trouble (1983 publicity photo by Don Hunstein)

Layton's roommate, sax player Joe Sublett, recalls how Layton met

: On September 10, 1978, Layton joined Vaughan in Double Trouble, taking the name from a song by Otis Rush. After Tommy Shannon replaced Newhouse in 1981, Double Trouble performed at the

Montreux Jazz Festival The Montreux Jazz Festival (formerly Festival de Jazz Montreux and Festival International de Jazz Montreux) is a music festival in Switzerland, held annually in early July in Montreux on the Lake Geneva shoreline. It is the second-largest annual ...

in July 1982, where its performance caught the attention of Jackson Browne. The band's debut album, ''

Texas Flood ''Texas Flood'' is the debut studio album by the American blues rock band Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble, released on June 13, 1983 by Epic Records. The album was named after a cover featured on the album, " Texas Flood", which was first ...

'' (1983), was recorded in Browne's studio and became a commercial success. The album was produced by

John H. Hammond John Henry Hammond II (December 15, 1910 – July 10, 1987) was an American record producer, civil rights activist, and music critic active from the 1930s to the early 1980s. In his service as a talent scout, Hammond became one of the most infl ...

and sold more than half a million copies by the end of the year. Layton would continue to record and perform with Vaughan and Double Trouble until Vaughan's death on August 27, 1990. He said of Vaughan's death: "Stevie meant everything to me musically. His death was the worst thing that ever happened to me." Layton and Shannon went on to form the Arc Angels in 1990, with guitarists Doyle Bramhall II and Charlie Sexton. In 1994, they formed Storyville with David Lee Holt,

David Grissom David Grissom is an American guitarist who has played and toured with several of America's leading bands and recording artists. He is best known for his work with John Mellencamp. He has released four solo albums: ''Loud Music'', ''10,000 Feet ...

, and singer

Malford Milligan Malford Milligan (born March 29, 1959) is an American singer. He sings soul, blues and gospel songs and also writes music. He has won 8 Austin Music Awards for Best Vocalist. Career Storyville In 1994 Milligan became the singer for Storyville ...

. Layton and Shannon played on the 1994 album ''Something Inside of Me'' by Little Jimmy King. Layton appeared with Shannon in a tribute to Vaughan broadcast on '' Austin City Limits'' in 1995. Layton and Shannon also released their first solo album, ''Been a Long Time'' (2001), and featured many special guests such as Dr. John and

Willie Nelson Willie Hugh Nelson (born April 29, 1933) is an American country musician. The critical success of the album ''Shotgun Willie'' (1973), combined with the critical and commercial success of '' Red Headed Stranger'' (1975) and ''Stardust'' (1978 ...

. In 2003, Layton formed Grady with leader Gordie (Grady) Johnson, and has worked with many other artists including Jonny Lang, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Eric Johnson, and Susan Tedeschi. Layton is a longtime user of Ludwig drums, Zildjian cymbals and

Vater Vater () means " father" in German. It is also a surname. It may refer to: * Abraham Vater, a German anatomist ** Ampulla of Vater, an anatomic area named after Abraham Vater * VACTERL association, sometimes called VATER syndrome, a group of cong ...

drumsticks.

Discography

Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble

* ''

'' (1983) * '' Couldn't Stand the Weather'' (1984) * '' Soul to Soul'' (1985) * '' Live Alive'' (1986) * '' In Step'' (1989) * '' The Sky Is Crying'' (1991) * ''

In the Beginning In the Beginning may refer to: Biblical phrase * "In the beginning" (phrase), a phrase in the Bible verses of Genesis 1:1 and John 1:1 Books * ''In the Beginning'' (novel), a novel by Chaim Potok * ''In the Beginning'', a 2004 story arc and col ...

'' (1992) * ''

Greatest Hits A greatest hits album or best-of album is a type of compilation album that collects popular and commercially successful songs by a particular artist or band. While greatest hits albums are typically supported by the artist, they can also be creat ...

'' (1995) * ''A Tribute to Stevie Ray Vaughan'' (1996) * '' Live at Carnegie Hall'' (1997) * '' The Real Deal: Greatest Hits Volume 2'' (1999) * ''Blues at Sunrise'' (2000) * ''SRV: Box Set'' (2000) * '' Live at Montreux 1982 & 1985'' (2001) * '' The Essential Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble'' (2002) * ''Martin Scorsese Presents the Blues: Stevie Ray Vaughan'' (2003) * ''The Real Deal: Greatest Hits Volume 1'' (2006) * ''Solos, Sessions & Encores'' (2007) * ''Couldn't Stand the Weather'' (Legacy Edition) (2010) * ''Texas Flood'' (Legacy Edition) (2013)

Arc Angels

* '' Arc Angels'' ( Geffen, 1992) * ''Living in a Dream'' (2009)

Storyville

* ''Bluest Eyes'' (November Records, 1994) * ''A Piece of Your Soul'' (

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the "Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...

, 1996) * ''Dog Years'' (Atlantic, 1998) * ''Live at Antone's'' (2007)

Citations

References

* * *

External links

Chris Layton on Drummerworld.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Layton, Chris 1955 births American rock drummers Atlantic Records artists Double Trouble (band) members Epic Records artists Geffen Records artists Grammy Award winners Living people People from Corpus Christi, Texas Stevie Ray Vaughan 20th-century American drummers American male drummers American blues drummers