Chris Walker is an American musician and producer, who sings R&B and plays the

bass guitar The bass guitar (), also known as the electric bass guitar, electric bass, or simply the bass, is the lowest-pitched member of the guitar family. It is similar in appearance and construction to an Electric guitar, electric but with a longer nec ...

. He is best known for his 1992 ''Billboard'' Hot 100 top 40 hit "Take Time".

Biography

Early life

Walker was born and raised in

Houston, Texas Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

, where he began singing before speaking; he got his start in the church as a member of his family gospel group, ''The Walker Brothers''. Walker plays the bass upside down, similar to one of his guitar heroes,

Jimi Hendrix James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942September 18, 1970) was an American singer-songwriter and musician. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential guitarists of all time. Inducted ...

. Walker then moved to

New York City, New York New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on New York Harbor, one of the world's largest natural harb ...

, where he became

Ornette Coleman Randolph Denard Ornette Coleman (March 9, 1930 – June 11, 2015) was an American jazz saxophonist, trumpeter, violinist, and composer. He is best known as a principal founder of the free jazz genre, a term derived from his 1960 album '' Free Ja ...

's bass guitarist for two and a half years before releasing his debut album. He then toured with

Regina Belle Regina Belle (born July 17, 1963) is an American singer-songwriter who started her career in the mid-1980s. Known for her singles "Baby Come to Me (Regina Belle song), Baby Come to Me" (1989) and "Make It Like It Was" (1990), Belle is most notabl ...

, where he soon became a musical director. When Belle noticed his voice, she gradually worked his vocals into her act; Walker credits her for teaching him to find his voice.

Music career

In 1991, Walker released his debut album ''First Time'', under the Pendulum Records label; the album featured two Top Five R&B hits, "Giving You All My Love" and "Take Time", which peaked at #29 on the Billboard Hot 100. Walker then released his second album ''Sincerely Yours'' in 1993, which featured the single "How Do You Heal a Broken Heart", which has received over 59 million views on ''Youtube''. As a solo artist, Walker remained absent from the public music scene for a decade before releasing two more albums, ''I Know It's Love'' (2005), and ''Zone'' (2011). Walker's music is popular in countries such as

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

, where he performed with Belle in the ''Soul & Jazz Experience'' in 2019; he also performed a sold-out show at the Sun Arena in

Pretoria Pretoria ( ; ) is the Capital of South Africa, administrative capital of South Africa, serving as the seat of the Executive (government), executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassies to the country. Pretoria strad ...

, honoring the late Eddie Zondi. In 2019, Walker released his latest album ''We're In This Love Together - Celebrating

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 ...

'', which was a tribute to the late singer, who died in 2017. The album featured artists such as Belle,

Gerald Albright Gerald Albright (born August 30, 1957) is an American jazz saxophonist. He earned Grammys for the albums ''24/7 (Gerald Albright and Norman Brown album), 24/7'' in 2012 and ''Slam Dunk'' in 2014 and was nominated for ''New Beginnings (Gerald Albr ...

Randy Brecker Randal Edward Brecker (born November 27, 1945) is an American trumpeter, flugelhornist, and composer. His versatility has made him a popular studio musician who has recorded with acts in jazz, rock music, rock, and R&B. Early life Brecker was ...

, Rick Braun,

Will Downing Wilfred "Will" Downing (born November 29, 1963) is an American R&B, soul, neo soul, and jazz singer and songwriter. He has released 22 studio albums. Biography Early life Downing was born and raised to a working-class family in Bedford-Stuy ...

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, Bob James,

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, Bobby Lyle,

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, Mark Simmons, Kirk Whalum and many more; this album was produced by Walker and

Larry Williams Lawrence Eugene Williams (May 10, 1935 – January 7, 1980) was an American rhythm and blues and rock and roll singer, songwriter, and pianist from New Orleans. He is best known for writing and recording some rock and roll classics from 1957 to ...

Discography

Solo albums

*1991: ''First Time'' ( Pendulum Records) *1993: ''Sincerely Yours'' (Pendulum Records) *2005: ''I Know It's Love'' (Canvas Records) *2011: ''Zone'' (Pendulum Records) *2019: ''We're In This Love Together - Celebrating Al Jarreau''

Solo singles

*1991: "Giving You All My Love" *1992: "Take Time" *1992: "No Place Like Love" *1993: "Love Tonight" *1994: "How Do You Heal a Broken Heart" *2019: "We're in This Love Together" *2022: "Because I Love You"

References

External links

Chris Walker at Discogs
{{DEFAULTSORT:Walker, Chris Year of birth missing (living people) American jazz bass guitarists American male bass guitarists Living people American male singers American rhythm and blues singers Free funk musicians High School for the Performing and Visual Arts alumni American male jazz musicians