Chris White (musician)

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Chris White
Background information
Birth name Christopher Taylor White
Born March 7, 1943 (1943-03-07) (age 65)
Origin Barnet, Hertfordshire, England
Genre(s) Pop music
Occupation(s) bass player, songwriter, singer
Years active 1960s - present
Associated acts The Zombies, Argent

Chris White (born Christopher Taylor White, 7 March 1943) was the bass guitarist and songwriter with the 1960s English band The Zombies.

Although born in Barnet, Hertfordshire, he was brought up in Markyate where his parents owned a village shop. He replaced the band's initial bassist, Paul Arnold, because his father had somewhere the band could use for rehearsals.

White was one of the band's two main songwriters, alongside Rod Argent, and penned two tracks on their USA debut LP, The Zombies released in January 1965. On the UK debut release, Begin Here, he had four tracks, one co-written with Argent. For the Zombies' performances in the 1965 film Bunny Lake Is Missing White wrote Nothing's Changed and Remember You. He also wrote seven of the twelve songs on the group's final album and generally acknowledged masterpiece, Odessey and Oracle, with Argent contributing the remainder. White, though not the band's main vocalist, contributed lead vocals to Butcher's Tale (Western Front 1914) and sang a verse of Brief Candles.

His song "I Love You" was a hit for the band People![1]

Following the demise of The Zombies, White contributed songwriting and production work to Colin Blunstone's solo career and Rod Argent's new band, Argent. In a later role as a record company A&R man, he was instrumental in discovering the band Dire Straits. In 2007, as part of the group White Circle, he co-wrote, co-produced and performed on the album The Key.[2]

In March 2008, White began a series of live performances with the other three surviving members of The Zombies, including the first complete performances of the album Odessey and Oracle, in celebration of the 40th anniversary of its release.[3]

White currently resides in London.

[edit] References

  1. ^ http://www.sanjoserocks.org/i_people.htm People!: "I Love You"
  2. ^ White Circle Music - The Key (SWF-animated site). Retrieved on 2008-03-12.
  3. ^ Petridis, Alexis. "The Zombies" (review), The Guardian, 2008-03-10. Retrieved on 2008-03-12.