Chris Pinnick is an American

guitarist A guitarist (or a guitar player) is a person who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of guitar family instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselve ...

and

songwriter A songwriter is a musician who professionally composes 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 ...

, probably best known for his work with the band

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

from 1980–1985. Pinnick was born on July 23, 1953 in

Van Nuys, California Van Nuys () is a neighborhood in the central San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles, California. Home to Van Nuys Airport and the Valley Municipal Building, it is the most populous neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley. History In 1909 ...

and took up the guitar at the age of seven. An early example of his professional guitar work can be heard on

Herb Alpert Herb Alpert (born March 31, 1935) is an American trumpeter who led the band Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass in the 1960s. During the same decade, he co-founded A&M Records with Jerry Moss. Alpert has recorded 28 albums that have landed on the ...

's single " Rise," which reached No. 1 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in October 1979. After guitarist Donnie Dacus left Chicago in 1980, Pinnick was hired as a

session musician Session musicians, studio musicians, or backing musicians are musicians hired to perform in recording sessions or live performances. The term sideman is also used in the case of live performances, such as accompanying a recording artist on a ...

for the album '' Chicago XIV''. In his biography ''Street Player'', Chicago drummer

Danny Seraphine Daniel Peter Seraphine (born August 28, 1948) is an American drummer, record producer, theatrical producer and film producer. He is best known as the original drummer and a founding member of the rock band Chicago, a tenure which lasted from F ...

remembers how Pinnick, like hicago'soriginal guitarist

Terry Kath Terry Alan Kath (January 31, 1946 – January 23, 1978) was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter, best known as a founding member of the rock band Chicago. He played guitar and sang lead vocals on many of the band's early hit singl ...

, played "guitar with plenty of fire" and had "similar mannerism". Robert Lamm, in an interview given at the time, confirmed that Pinnick's resemblance with Kath was at times "spooky". Pinnick toured with Chicago from 1981 through 1983. By the time '' Chicago 17'' was released in 1984, Pinnick was listed as a member of the band. However, Pinnick himself is quoted as saying he was never a full-fledged member. He left Chicago in 1985 and was succeeded by Dawayne Bailey. Pinnick's other recording credits include work for one-time Chicago frontman

Peter Cetera Peter Paul Cetera ( ; born September 13, 1944) is an American retired musician best known for being a lead vocalist and the bassist of the rock band Chicago from 1967 until his departure in 1985, before launching a successful solo career. His c ...

, Chuck Negron, Chet McCracken and Rick Devin. As of 2008, he continues to do session work in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the wor ...

, where he is also the co-owner and operator of a recording studio.

References

American rock guitarists American male guitarists Chicago (band) members 1953 births Living people People from Van Nuys, Los Angeles Lead guitarists Rhythm guitarists American session musicians Guitarists from Los Angeles 20th-century American guitarists 20th-century American male musicians {{US-rock-guitarist-stub