Chris Isaak | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Isaak in 2014 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Christopher Joseph Isaak |
| Born | (1956-06-26)June 26, 1956 (age 68) Stockton, California, U.S. |
| Genres | |
| Occupations |
|
| Instruments |
|
| Years active | 1978–present |
| Labels | |
| Website | chrisisaak |
Christopher Joseph Isaak (born June 26, 1956)[2][3][4] is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist and occasional actor. Noted for his reverb-ladenrockabilly revivalist style and wide vocal range, he is popularly known for his breakthrough hit andsignature song "Wicked Game"; as well as international hits such as "Blue Hotel", "Baby Did a Bad Bad Thing", and "Somebody's Crying".
With a career spanning four decades, Isaak has released 13 studio albums, toured extensively with his band Silvertone, and received numerous award nominations. His sound and image are often compared to those ofRoy Orbison,Elvis Presley,Ricky Nelson, andDuane Eddy.[5]
Isaak has associated with film directorDavid Lynch, who has used his music in numerous films. As an actor, he played supporting roles and bit parts in films such asMarried to the Mob,The Silence of the Lambs,Little Buddha,That Thing You Do! and Lynch'sTwin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me, and starred in two television series: thesitcomThe Chris Isaak Show and thetalk showThe Chris Isaak Hour.
Isaak was born inStockton, California,[3] to Dorothy (née Vignolo; 1931–2021), and Joseph "Joe" Isaak (1929–2012), aforklift driver[6] - respectively of Italian and German ancestry.[7]
AttendingAmos Alonzo Stagg High School in Stockton, Isaak was class president and the class of 1974valedictorian.[8] He subsequently attended a local college,San Joaquin Delta Community College, before transferring to theUniversity of the Pacific. He graduated with a bachelor's degree in English and communications arts in 1981 and participated in a Japanese exchange program.[9]
After graduating from college, Isaak put together his first band, Silvertone, a rockabilly group withJames Calvin Wilsey (guitar), Jamie Ayres (bass), and John Silvers (drums).[10] Ayres and Silvers were later replaced byRowland Salley (bass), and Kenney Dale Johnson (drums).[11] The name was borrowed from the guitar brand popularized in the 1950s. The group remained with Isaak as his permanent backing band.[12]
In 1985, Isaak signed a contract withWarner Bros. Records and released his first album,Silvertone,[3] to critical acclaim, including fromJohn Fogerty.[13] Despite being named after his band,Silvertone was mostly recorded withsession musicians. The album's sound was raw and diverse, mingling country blues with conventional folk ballads.[14] Although the album was a critical success, it failed to sell respectably.[15] Two tracks from the album, "Gone Ridin'" and "Livin' for Your Lover", featured inDavid Lynch's 1986 filmBlue Velvet.
Isaak'sself-titled follow-up album was released in 1987 and reached theBillboard 200.[15] The album saw Isaak hone his style to sophisticated R&B.[14] The artwork forChris Isaak was photographed by fashion photographerBruce Weber. Three tracks from the album -- "You Owe Me Some Kind of Love", "Blue Hotel", and "Lie to Me" –- were used in Episode 5 of the 1987 TV series "Private Eye".
Warner Bros. moved Isaak to theirReprise Records label in 1988. That same year, "Suspicion of Love" by Isaak appeared inMarried to the Mob, a hit movie starringMatthew Modine,Michelle Pfeiffer, andDean Stockwell.[citation needed]
Isaak's best known song is "Wicked Game".[3] In an interview with Mark Needham, an engineer who worked with Isaak on "Wicked Game", Needham claimed that it took several years to put the track together.[16] It was first released on the 1989 albumHeart Shaped World, and aninstrumental version of the song was subsequently featured in the 1990 David Lynch filmWild at Heart.[3] Lee Chesnut, an Atlanta radio station music director who was obsessed with Lynch films, played the vocal version and it became the station's most-requested song. Chesnut spread the word to other radio stations and the single became a national top 10 hit in February 1991, peaking at number 6.[17] It also reached No. 10 in theUK Singles Chart.[18] The music video for the song was directed byHerb Ritts and was anMTV andVH1 hit; shot in black and white, it featured Isaak and supermodelHelena Christensen in a sensual encounter on the beach, caressing each other and whispering in each other's ears. Another less-seen version of "Wicked Game" is directed by David Lynch and comprises scenes from the filmWild at Heart. "Wicked Game" featured as the backing music in the 2001 TV advertisement for theJaguar X-Type in the UK.
"Two Hearts" from Isaak's fourth album,San Francisco Days, was featured in the closing credits ofTrue Romance, a 1993 film directed byTony Scott, written byQuentin Tarantino, and starringChristian Slater andPatricia Arquette.
In 1995, Isaak split with longtime guitaristJames Calvin Wilsey. That year he releasedForever Blue, Isaak's fifth album, and the accompanying tour featured Hershel Yatovitz on guitar. The album was nominated for aGrammy forBest Rock Album, and the single "Somebody's Crying" was nominated for a Grammy forBest Male Rock Vocal Performance. On March 15, 1996, the album was certified Platinum by theRIAA. "Baby Did a Bad Bad Thing" was featured inStanley Kubrick's final film,Eyes Wide Shut, in 1999. The music video for the song was directed by Herb Ritts (his second collaboration with Isaak); it was shot in color and featured Isaak and French supermodelLaetitia Casta in a motel room.
Isaak composed atheme song for U.S. late-night television variety-talk showThe Late Late Show with Craig Kilborn.
Therecord producerErik Jacobsen was instrumental in Isaak's sound for 15 years. Jacobsen is known for his production work withThe Lovin' Spoonful, as well as on solo albums by Spoonful'sJohn Sebastian andJerry Yester. Isaak ceased working with Jacobsen on his 2002 albumAlways Got Tonight. "Life Will Go On" from this album was featured inChasing Liberty, a 2004 film starringMandy Moore andMatthew Goode.
In 2007, a live performance of Isaak singingFats Domino's hit "Blueberry Hill" withJohnny Hallyday atLa Cigale was released on Hallyday's live albumLa Cigale : 12-17 Décembre 2006. At the end of this recording, one can hear Isaak thanking the French rock-'n'-roll star, referring to him as "The King". Also in 2007, Isaak opened forStevie Nicks on the first leg of her Crystal Visions Tour.[citation needed]
For his 2009 albumMr. Lucky, Isaak collaborated with producerJohn Shanks.
Isaak contributed a cover ofBuddy Holly's "Crying, Waiting, Hoping" for a tribute album,Listen to Me: Buddy Holly, released in September 2011.[citation needed] The next month, he releasedBeyond the Sun, an album ofcover songs (except for one original) that was recorded inMemphis, Tennessee, at theSun Records studio.
Isaak performed at the2015 AFL Grand Final, along with English singerEllie Goulding and Canadian musicianBryan Adams.[19]
In 2016, Isaak did the "First Comes the Night Tour".[20]
Isaak revealed in a 2002 interview withAcoustic Guitar that he uses a one-of-a-kindGibson:
For my electric, I've got a one-off Gibson version of aGretsch 6120, a sort ofChet Atkins thing. They made one of these things and gave it to me to see if I liked it, and I liked it so much I've been playing it ever since. People told me they thought it was a White Falcon, but it's not. It's just a white Gibson. I don't think they ever manufactured any of the things. They strung up this one prototype, scratched their heads, and said, 'Huh. Give it to Isaak.'[21]
Isaak also plays a Gibson J-200 acoustic guitar, which he uses for songwriting.[22]
In addition to his music, Isaak has acted in film and television — as a main character or more often in smaller roles. A few of his larger film roles includedDavid Lynch'sTwin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me in 1992 and in the 1993Bernardo Bertolucci-directedLittle Buddha, in which he starred alongsideBridget Fonda andKeanu Reeves. Other motion pictures roles includedMarried to the Mob (1988),The Silence of the Lambs (1991),That Thing You Do! (1996),A Dirty Shame (2004), andThe Informers (2008).[citation needed]
Isaak guest-starred in the specialSuper Bowl XXX edition of the television sitcomFriends ("The One After the Superbowl, Part One") in 1996,[23] and in 1998 he co-starred in theHBO miniseriesFrom the Earth to the Moon as astronautEd White, who was the first American astronaut to do aspacewalk and who died in the 1967Apollo 1 fire.
From March 2001 to March 2004, Isaak starred in his own television show,The Chris Isaak Show. It aired in the United States on the cable television networkShowtime. This adultsitcom featured Isaak and his band playing themselves, and the episode plots were based on fictional accounts of the backstage world of Isaak—the rock star next door.
In 2009,The Biography Channel airedThe Chris Isaak Hour, a one-hour music interview and performance show hosted by Isaak.[24] The series premiere featuredTrisha Yearwood and included their first-ever performance of "Breaking Apart", a song from Isaak's 1998 albumSpeak of the Devil that the two recorded as a duet for his 2009 albumMr. Lucky. The guests on the remaining seven episodes of the series were:Stevie Nicks,Glen Campbell,Michael Bublé,Chicago,The Smashing Pumpkins,Yusuf Islam, andJewel.[25]
In April 2010, Isaak was the special guest duringConan O'Brien'sThe Legally Prohibited from Being Funny on Television Tour performance at theNob Hill Masonic Center inSan Francisco, California.[26]
On September 29, 2011, Isaak received the Stockton Arts Commission STAR Award in his hometown ofStockton, California.[27]
In 2014, Isaak voiced the character of Enoch, the apparent ruler of the town of Pottsfield, in the second episode of the animated television miniseriesOver the Garden Wall.
On May 3, 2015, Isaak was confirmed to be replacingNatalie Bassingthwaighte as a judge on theseventh season ofThe X Factor Australia.[28] He joinedJames Blunt and returning judgesGuy Sebastian andDannii Minogue.[29]
Isaak is close friends withStevie Nicks[6] and the late film directorDavid Lynch.[30]
Isaak is a lifelong bachelor.[31] Regarding his bachelor status, Isaak stated,
The longest relationship I've been in is with my band. My personal relationships have never lasted because my work was always number one. It's not that I never thought about marriage and kids, but I was either busy writing and recording music, acting, or on the road. Kids are like sail boats: they look good on a sunny day and in the distance, but require a lot of maintenance.[6]
Isaak enjoys drawing and exploring salvage shops and secondhand stores.[32]
In 2013, Isaaks was sued by his lighting director for 17 years for discrimination, wrongful firing, and defamation among other charges.[33][34]
During his career, Isaak has faced accusations that Wicked Game, his most famous song, was plagiarized from a guitar riff written by James Calvin Wilsey.[35][36]
