Chris Isaac: biography and creativity

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

Chris Isaak was born in Stockton, California on June 26, 1956. In 1980, Isaac graduated from Stockston University and put his diploma in the farthest drawer of his desk, as it turned out later - forever. While still a student, Chris Isaak, whose biography was already ready for change, became actively involved in the creation of the Silvertone rock band, which very soon took the form of a regular quartet: solo guitar, slide guitar, bass guitar and percussion instruments. Later, an electric organ was added to the composition for background accompaniment. The musicians relied on the impeccable sound of all stringed instruments. The purity of the guitar parts, with the obligatory inclusion of a light glissando, made Silvertone's music charming, if not hypnotic. A good arrangement immediately became a "brand" sign of the group, all the instruments sounded extremely well-coordinated and organically complemented each other. Many musical groups suffer precisely from lack of teamwork, the reason for this lies not so much in musical disagreements as in psychological ones. Mutual misunderstandingends with a change in the composition, the departure of some musicians and the arrival of others. Constant rotation is not good for the common cause. In the Silvertone group, fortunately, all the musicians remained in their places, and complete mutual understanding was the key to success.

Silvertone

Chris Isaac's vocal abilities allowed him to include the most difficult ballads in the repertoire, the possibilities of Silvertone seemed unlimited. A good example is the composition Wicked Game, which impresses with its minor lyricism: the musicians don't play - they live by the melody. Barely audible backing vocals make the composition more voluminous. Drummer Kenny Dale, we have to give him his due, subtly feels his role, he does not knock, but accompanies the song with restraint and tact. Although sometimes, in other arrangements, his drums dominate hard and "bluesy", as it happens, for example, in the song Lovely With A Broken Heart.

Chris and Elvis

Chris Isaac often compares himself to Elvis Presley and tries to imitate him. This analogy can be accepted with some stretch, simply because Presley is out of reach, and any comparison with him looks incorrect. However, Chris himself, without any comparison, is a great singer and composer. He has a strong, expressive voice, not wide, but quite sufficient for the performance of hits, range. The first album by Isaac and his band was recorded in 1985 at Warner Bros. Records called Silvertone. Neither the album nor the group itself had been promoted by that time, so the disc was sold slowly. itupset the musicians, but nevertheless they continued to work. Guitarist James Calvin Wilsey, bassist Roland Sally, and drummer Kenny Dale stayed up late working out the chords, scribbling the lines for each instrument, and methodically working towards perfect harmony.

Billboard 200

Two years later, the second disc called Chris Isaak was released, which was soon included in the Billboard-200. And although the album took only 194th line, his very participation in such a prestigious list spoke volumes. I must say that all the songs of "Chris Isaac" turned out to be romantic, with a slight touch of melancholy. There was only one hit on the album - Blue Hotel, but this song alone was enough to increase sales several times compared to the Silvertone disc. Chris Isaac became a popular singer overnight. It remained to consolidate the success, and the musicians began to work on new compositions, which were to be included in the next collection, which compares favorably with the previous one.

A long-awaited success

Chris' next album, Heart Shaped World, was a real breakthrough, with sales soaring compared to the previous two discs. In 1996, Heart Shaped World was certified multi-platinum by the RIAA for sales of more than 2,000,000 copies. However, the triumph was still far away, and in the meantime, Warner Bros. Records has decided to put Chris Isaac on hold due to lack of commercial returns. The situation was saved by the fact that film director David Lynchincluded the song Wicked Game in the soundtrack of his movie Wild at Heart.

Recognition

The year 1991 passed for the singer under the sign of universal recognition. Chris Isaac, whose photos began to appear on the covers of glossy magazines, initiated the re-release of his songs. The reprinted album in 1989 was called Wicked Game and began to sell like hot cakes, not only in America, but also in England. All other albums were reprinted according to the same renewal scheme. Isaac received the International Rock and Roll Music Award "Best Vocalist of the Year", and the Wicked Game video was recognized as the best video of the year.

Now the musician got the opportunity to release albums that advertised themselves and were expected by the public. Chris Isaak is a singer who is constantly improving. His discography includes 11 albums released between 1985 and 2011:

• Silvertone - 1985.
• Chris Isaak - 1987
• Heart Shaped World - 1989
• San Francisco Days - 1993
• Forever Blue - 1995
• Baja Sessions - 1996.
• Speak of the Devil - 1998
• Always Got Tonight - 2002
• Christmas - 2004.
• Mr. Lucky - 2009.
• Beyond the Sun - 2011

Filmography

As a self-respecting musician with a flamboyant appearance, Chris Isaac (as well as Elvis Presley) acted in films. The singer's filmography includes 10 paintings with his participation:

• Year 1988 - "Married to the Mafia"directed by Jonathan Demme. Chris Isaac played the clown.
• Year 1991 - "Silence of the Lambs" directed by Jonathan Demme. Chris played a SWAT commander.
• Year 1992 - "Twin Peaks", directed by David Lynch. The role of Isaac is Agent Chester Desmont.
• Year 1993 - "Little Buddha", directed by Bernardo Bertolucci. Chris Isaak played Dean Conrad.
• Year 1994 - TV series "Friends", directed by David Crane. Chris Isaac - guest star.
• Year 1996 - "The joy of my heart" directed by Allison Anders, the role of Chris - Matthew Lewis; "The Thing You Do", directed by Tom Hanks, the role of Isaac is Uncle Bob.
• Year 1999 - "The End of Innocence", directed by James Rowe. Chris Isaac played Emerson Kotswald.
• Year 2004 - Shameless, directed by Paul Walker. Chris cameo.
• Year 2009 - "Informants", directed by Gregor Jordan. Isaac played Les Price.

Before choosing

Film projects took Chris all his time, and at some point he began to complain that he was moving away from his main occupation, ceased to be a singer and composer. There is also an analogy with Elvis Presley, who at one time starred in 30 meaningless films. According to Elvis, an insane amount of time was wasted on empty kissing films. Chris Isaak was about the same, with the only difference that he did not have to kiss, and the roles were insignificant.