Chris White (musician)

Chris White
Birth name Christopher Taylor White
Born 7 March 1943 (1943-03-07) (age 68)
Origin Barnet, Hertfordshire, England
Genres Rock, pop, psychedelic rock, progressive rock
Occupations bassist, songwriter, record producer, vocalist
Instruments Bass Guitar, Vocals
Years active 1959–present
Associated acts The Zombies, Argent
Notable instruments
Gibson EB-3

Chris White (born Christopher Taylor White, 7 March 1943) was the bass guitarist and songwriter with the 60s British Invasion 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.

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", originally recorded by The Zombies in 1965, was a hit for the band People! in 1968.[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] Key members of White Circle are Chris White, Matthew White, Vivienne Boucherat, and Bianca Kinane.

Also in 2007/2008, White co-produced and played on the album Featherhead for his youngest son, the London based singer/songwriter JJ White.[3]

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.[4]

White currently resides in London.

Not to be confused with..

He is not the singer and songwriter Chris White who had a top 40 UK hit in 1976 with the song "Spanish Wine" and released the album Mouth Music (1976, Charisma Records).[5] Later he was member of the The Surfonics[6]

References

  1. ^ http://www.sanjoserocks.org/i_people.htm People!: "I Love You"
  2. ^ "White Circle Music - The Key" (SWF-animated site). http://www.whitecirclemusic.co.uk/. Retrieved 2008-03-12. 
  3. ^ "JJ White - Website" (SWF-Static Site). http://www.jjwhitemusic.com/. Retrieved 2008-09-22. 
  4. ^ Petridis, Alexis (2008-03-10). "The Zombies" (review). The Guardian. http://music.guardian.co.uk/live/story/0,,2263788,00.html. Retrieved 2008-03-12. 
  5. ^ http://oddditties.blogspot.com/2008/08/mouth-music-chris-white-charisma-1976.html Chris White: Mouth Music
  6. ^ http://www.myspace.com/thesurfonics The Surfonics (the other Chris White)

External links