Chris Whitley
Encyclopedia
Christopher Becker Whitley (August 31, 1960 – November 20, 2005) was an American
blues
singer-songwriter
and guitarist
.
Whitley changed his sound frequently, and achieved modest mainstream success while maintaining a small but devoted following. Whitley's style, beginning with his debut album, Living with the Law
was rooted primarily in the blues
, but drew on an array of influences and was constantly changing. In 2001, the New York Times described his act as "restless, moving into noise-rock and minimalist
jazz
evoking Chet Baker
and Sonic Youth
as much as Robert Johnson". Whitley himself refused to be classified in one genre as an artist, and dodged radio-friendly pop songs, insisting that he could never sincerely create and perform them.
, Texas
. His father was an art director and his mother was a sculptor. He spent years in Dallas
, Texas
and then Oklahoma, Connecticut, Mexico
and Vermont during his youth. His parents "grew up on race radio in the South
" and their musical tastes, which included Muddy Waters
and Howlin' Wolf
, leading to Bob Dylan
and Jimi Hendrix
, influenced their son. He learned to play guitar when he was fifteen.
on the streets of New York City and played with Marc Miller (of Ambitious Lovers
), Arto Lindsay
(of The Lounge Lizards
) and Michael Beinhorn
(of Material
).
Given a ticket to Ghent
, Belgium
in 1983, he stayed there for four years and recorded several albums and saw moderate success with bands Kuruki
, 2 Belgen, Nacht Und Nebel, Alan Fawn, and A Noh Rodeo. Alan Gevaert (dEUS), A Noh Rodeo's bassist, continued to work with Whitley and played bass on his first three mainstream releases.
In 1988, producer Daniel Lanois
discovered Whitley while he was playing at Mondo Cane in New York City and helped get him a record deal with Columbia Records
. Lanois' protégé, Malcolm Burn
, produced Whitley's Stateside début album Living with the Law
in 1991 (and returned to produce Soft Dangerous Shores
in 2005). Two of his singles charted in the United States on the Billboard Mainstream Rock charts: "Big Sky Country
" (#36, 1991) and "Living with the Law
" (#28, 1991).
Whitley played a brand of confessional acoustic and electric blues, mixed with rock. His lyrics often contained overt sexual and religious references and sometimes bordered on the surreal. Whitley mainly played the National
resonator guitar
made famous by many of the great Mississippi
delta blues
players of the 1930s, and was an accomplished slide guitar
ist. Whitley also appeared in the concert film documentary Hellhounds on my Trail - The Afterlife of Robert Johnson, performing Johnson's "Hellhound on My Trail
" solo and "Walkin' Blues
" with Bob Weir
, Rob Wasserman
, and Jeffrey Clemens.
He was fond of covering Johnson, Bob Dylan
, and Lou Reed
but also covered a diverse selection of artists live and on record: James Brown
, J.J. Cale
, The Clash
, Nat King Cole
, The Doors
, Willie Dixon
, The Flaming Lips
, Jimi Hendrix, Howlin' Wolf, The Jesus and Mary Chain
, Kraftwerk
, Gary Numan
, The Passions
, Prince
, The Stooges
, and Sonny Boy Williamson II
.
Though relatively unknown to the mainstream, he was well-known to many other musicians throughout his career. In 2000, Whitley recorded Perfect Day
with Chris Wood
and Billy Martin
from Medeski Martin & Wood
. Dave Matthews
and Bruce Hornsby
also appeared on 2001's Rocket House
.
He also recorded with Shawn Colvin
(on Fat City), Cassandra Wilson
(on Blue Light 'til Dawn
and New Moon Daughter
), Rob Wasserman and Les Claypool
(on Wasserman's Trios), Johnny Society
(on Wood and Clairvoyance), Joe Henry
(on Fuse
), Michael Shrieve
(on Fascination), Chocolate Genius (on GodMusic
), Ely Guerra
(on Lotofire), Goat
(on All of My Friends), Dave Pirner
of Soul Asylum
(on Faces & Names
), Clint Mansell
(on the Knockaround Guys
soundtrack), DJ Logic
, Little Jimmy Scott, Mike Watt
, Daniel Lanois, and Jeff Lang
.
In early 2004, Whitley's "Breaking Your Fall" from Hotel Vast Horizon
(2003) won in Independent Music Awards
for Best Folk/Singer-Songwriter Song. He won again the following year in The 4th Annual Independent Music Awards for Best Blues/R&B Song with "Her Furious Angels" from War Crime Blues
(2004). Whitley was also an inaugural member of The Independent Music Awards' judging panel to support independent artists.
His daughter Trixie Whitley is a Belgian singer, rhythm guitarist, part-time drummer, and keyboardist. Her backing vocals can be heard on some of her father's records. She is a multi-instrumentalist
currently performing with the Daniel Lanois-led Black Dub and has her own band.
Because of his unique style of playing, he used many alternate tunings
for his guitars.
care at his disposal". Later that week it was revealed that Whitley was terminally ill with lung cancer
. He died on November 20, 2005 in Houston, Texas at the age of 45. His brother, Dan, and daughter, Trixie announced his death. He was also survived by his girlfriend, Susanne.
Bruce Springsteen
, Bruce Hornsby
, Tom Petty
, Myles Kennedy
, Don Henley
, Iggy Pop
, Alanis Morissette
, Sandi Thom
, John Mayer
, Gavin DeGraw
, Joey DeGraw
and Keith Richards
all count themselves admirers of Whitley's music.
"[When] Chris Whitley died...with him went a big part of modern American blues music. There aren't many fighters for the cause, and Chris never gave up on his mission. His somewhat prostrated place in pop culture earned him a sidebar of an obituary, but to those who knew his work, it registers as one of the most underappreciated losses in all of music." – John Mayer
"Chris Whitley, my friend since 1988. The deep soul he was gifted with is the soul that challenged his life journey. I will forever remember his beauty." – Daniel Lanois
Robert Caruso covered Whitley's song, "Living with the Law" in 1993 (on Live At The Splash Club, which can be heard on www.robertcaruso.it) . It is the first and only cover song of a Whitley song recorded before Chris Whitley's untimely death.
Portland songwriter Kelly Joe Phelps
dedicated the song "Handful of Arrows" on his album Tunesmith Retrofit
(2006) to Whitley.
Faroese
artist Teitur
wrote "Legendary Afterparty" (from The Singer
) as a tribute to meeting Whitley.
"[That] boy...plays like three men." – Robert Lockwood, Jr.
"The notable constant has been the quality of craftmanship, and the consistent question of how Whitley's combination of super songs, muscular-but-poetic lyrics, athletic voice and rock-god guitar work hasn't earned him a wider audience." – Detroit Free Press
"The post-Hendrix explosion of whammybar wankers hasn't produced a single axeman who can compare to Chris Whitley. His eerie, bluesy voice and American gothic tunes frequently draw attention from the fact that he picks like a pissed off Doc Watson
jacked through a Marshall
stack" – RollingStone.com
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
blues
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...
and guitarist
Guitarist
A guitarist is a musician who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselves on the guitar while singing.- Versatility :The guitarist controls an extremely...
.
Whitley changed his sound frequently, and achieved modest mainstream success while maintaining a small but devoted following. Whitley's style, beginning with his debut album, Living with the Law
Living with the Law (album)
Living with the Law is the debut album by singer-songwriter and guitarist, Chris Whitley.Malcolm Burn produced, mixed and played on the album...
was rooted primarily in the blues
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
, but drew on an array of influences and was constantly changing. In 2001, the New York Times described his act as "restless, moving into noise-rock and minimalist
Minimalist music
Minimal music is a style of music associated with the work of American composers La Monte Young, Terry Riley, Steve Reich, and Philip Glass. It originated in the New York Downtown scene of the 1960s and was initially viewed as a form of experimental music called the New York Hypnotic School....
jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
evoking Chet Baker
Chet Baker
Chesney Henry "Chet" Baker, Jr. was an American jazz trumpeter, flugelhornist and singer.Though his music earned him a large following , Baker's popularity was due in part to his "matinee idol-beauty" and "well-publicized drug habit."He died in 1988 in Amsterdam, the...
and Sonic Youth
Sonic Youth
Sonic Youth is an American alternative rock band from New York City, formed in 1981. The current lineup consists of Thurston Moore , Kim Gordon , Lee Ranaldo , Steve Shelley , and Mark Ibold .In their early career, Sonic Youth was associated with the No Wave art and music scene in New York City...
as much as Robert Johnson". Whitley himself refused to be classified in one genre as an artist, and dodged radio-friendly pop songs, insisting that he could never sincerely create and perform them.
Early life
Whitley was born in HoustonHouston, Texas
Houston is the fourth-largest city in the United States, and the largest city in the state of Texas. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 2.1 million people within an area of . Houston is the seat of Harris County and the economic center of , which is the ...
, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
. His father was an art director and his mother was a sculptor. He spent years in Dallas
Dallas, Texas
Dallas is the third-largest city in Texas and the ninth-largest in the United States. The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is the largest metropolitan area in the South and fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States...
, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
and then Oklahoma, Connecticut, Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
and Vermont during his youth. His parents "grew up on race radio in the South
Southern United States
The Southern United States—commonly referred to as the American South, Dixie, or simply the South—constitutes a large distinctive area in the southeastern and south-central United States...
" and their musical tastes, which included Muddy Waters
Muddy Waters
McKinley Morganfield , known as Muddy Waters, was an American blues musician, generally considered the "father of modern Chicago blues"...
and Howlin' Wolf
Howlin' Wolf
Chester Arthur Burnett , known as Howlin' Wolf, was an influential American blues singer, guitarist and harmonica player....
, leading to Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
and Jimi Hendrix
Jimi Hendrix
James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix was an American guitarist and singer-songwriter...
, influenced their son. He learned to play guitar when he was fifteen.
Career
Whitley spent the early 1980s buskingBusking
Street performance or busking is the practice of performing in public places, for gratuities, which are generally in the form of money and edibles...
on the streets of New York City and played with Marc Miller (of Ambitious Lovers
Ambitious Lovers
Ambitious Lovers were a musical group composed of guitarist/singer Arto Lindsay and keyboardist Peter Scherer, active from the mid 1980s to the early '90s....
), Arto Lindsay
Arto Lindsay
Arthur Morgan Lindsay is an American guitarist, singer, record producer and experimental composer. He is a 1974 graduate of Eckerd College in St. Petersburg, Florida....
(of The Lounge Lizards
The Lounge Lizards
The Lounge Lizards are a jazz group formed in 1978 by saxophone player John Lurie.Initially a tongue in cheek "fake jazz" combo, drawing on punk rock and no wave as much as jazz, The Lounge Lizards have since become respected for their creative and distinctive sound.-History:Lounge Lizards were...
) and Michael Beinhorn
Michael Beinhorn
Michael Beinhorn is an American musician and record producer.Beinhorn started his professional career as a musician, playing keyboards in Bill Laswell's Material during the 1980s...
(of Material
Material (band)
For the rock band of the same name, see The MaterialMaterial is a musical group formed in 1979 and led by bass guitarist Bill Laswell.-1978-82: The band:...
).
Given a ticket to Ghent
Ghent
Ghent is a city and a municipality located in the Flemish region of Belgium. It is the capital and biggest city of the East Flanders province. The city started as a settlement at the confluence of the Rivers Scheldt and Lys and in the Middle Ages became one of the largest and richest cities of...
, Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
in 1983, he stayed there for four years and recorded several albums and saw moderate success with bands Kuruki
Kuruki
Kuruki is/ was a minimal wave project spearheaded by Ghent-based musician Gerry D'Haeyer and Alain Bureau ....
, 2 Belgen, Nacht Und Nebel, Alan Fawn, and A Noh Rodeo. Alan Gevaert (dEUS), A Noh Rodeo's bassist, continued to work with Whitley and played bass on his first three mainstream releases.
In 1988, producer Daniel Lanois
Daniel Lanois
Daniel Lanois born September 19, 1951 in Hull, Quebec) is a Canadian record producer, guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter. He has released a number of albums of his own work and has produced albums for a wide variety of artists, including Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Peter Gabriel, Emmylou Harris, Willie...
discovered Whitley while he was playing at Mondo Cane in New York City and helped get him a record deal with Columbia Records
Columbia Records
Columbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company...
. Lanois' protégé, Malcolm Burn
Malcolm Burn
Malcolm Burn is a Canadian-born music producer, recording engineer and musician. In 2001, he won a Grammy Award with Jim Watts and Emmylou Harris for his work on Harris's Red Dirt Girl. -Biography:...
, produced Whitley's Stateside début album Living with the Law
Living with the Law (album)
Living with the Law is the debut album by singer-songwriter and guitarist, Chris Whitley.Malcolm Burn produced, mixed and played on the album...
in 1991 (and returned to produce Soft Dangerous Shores
Soft Dangerous Shores
Soft Dangerous Shores is the twelfth album by singer-songwriter and guitarist, Chris Whitley. It is his tenth studio album.Malcolm Burn produced, mixed, and played on the album...
in 2005). Two of his singles charted in the United States on the Billboard Mainstream Rock charts: "Big Sky Country
Big Sky Country (song)
"Big Sky Country" is a song recorded by American singer-songwriter and guitarist, Chris Whitley. It was the second single to be released from his 1991 début album, Living with the Law, and became a hit single in the United States, rising to #35 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart in 1991.-Music...
" (#36, 1991) and "Living with the Law
Living with the Law (song)
"Living with the Law" is a song recorded by American singer-songwriter and guitarist, Chris Whitley. It was the first single to be released from his 1991 début album, Living with the Law, and became a hit single in the United States, rising to #28 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart in...
" (#28, 1991).
Whitley played a brand of confessional acoustic and electric blues, mixed with rock. His lyrics often contained overt sexual and religious references and sometimes bordered on the surreal. Whitley mainly played the National
National String Instrument Corporation
The National String Instrument Corporation was a guitar company that formed to manufacture the first resonator guitars.-National resonator guitar designs:...
resonator guitar
Resonator guitar
A resonator guitar or resophonic guitar is an acoustic guitar whose sound is produced by one or more spun metal cones instead of the wooden sound board . Resonator guitars were originally designed to be louder than conventional acoustic guitars which were overwhelmed by horns and percussion...
made famous by many of the great Mississippi
Mississippi
Mississippi is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi...
delta blues
Delta blues
The Delta blues is one of the earliest styles of blues music. It originated in the Mississippi Delta, a region of the United States that stretches from Memphis, Tennessee in the north to Vicksburg, Mississippi in the south, Helena, Arkansas in the west to the Yazoo River on the east. The...
players of the 1930s, and was an accomplished slide guitar
Slide guitar
Slide guitar or bottleneck guitar is a particular method or technique for playing the guitar. The term slide refers to the motion of the slide against the strings, while bottleneck refers to the original material of choice for such slides: the necks of glass bottles...
ist. Whitley also appeared in the concert film documentary Hellhounds on my Trail - The Afterlife of Robert Johnson, performing Johnson's "Hellhound on My Trail
Hellhound on My Trail
"Hellhound on My Trail" is a blues song recorded by Mississippi Delta bluesman Robert Johnson in 1937. It was the first song recorded during Johnson's last recording session in Dallas, Texas on Sunday, June 20, 1937 and the first single released from that session...
" solo and "Walkin' Blues
Walkin' Blues
"Walkin' Blues" is a song that was written by blues musician Robert Johnson in 1936.It has been later recorded by many artists, including Cee Lo Green, Muddy Waters, Colin James, Paul Butterfield, Johnny Cash, Hot Tuna, The Grateful Dead, Rory Gallagher, R.L. Burnside, Eric Clapton, Hindu Love...
" with Bob Weir
Bob Weir
Bob Weir is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist, most recognized as a founding member of the Grateful Dead. After the Grateful Dead disbanded in 1995, Weir performed with The Other Ones, later known as The Dead, together with other former members of the Grateful Dead...
, Rob Wasserman
Rob Wasserman
Rob Wasserman is an American bass player, who has played with a wide variety of musicians including David Grisman, Lou Reed, Bob Weir, Jerry Garcia, Bruce Cockburn, Van Morrison, Rickie Lee Jones, Brian Wilson, Elvis Costello, Mark Morris, Aaron Neville, Chris Whitley, Studs Terkel, Pete Seeger,...
, and Jeffrey Clemens.
He was fond of covering Johnson, Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
, and Lou Reed
Lou Reed
Lewis Allan "Lou" Reed is an American rock musician, songwriter, and photographer. He is best known as guitarist, vocalist, and principal songwriter of The Velvet Underground, and for his successful solo career, which has spanned several decades...
but also covered a diverse selection of artists live and on record: James Brown
James Brown
James Joseph Brown was an American singer, songwriter, musician, and recording artist. He is the originator of Funk and is recognized as a major figure in the 20th century popular music for both his vocals and dancing. He has been referred to as "The Godfather of Soul," "Mr...
, J.J. Cale
J.J. Cale
JJ Cale , born John Weldon Cale on December 5, 1938, in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, is a Grammy Award-winning American singer-songwriter and musician. Cale is one of the originators of the Tulsa Sound, a loose genre drawing on blues, rockabilly, country, and jazz influences. Cale's personal style has...
, The Clash
The Clash
The Clash were an English punk rock band that formed in 1976 as part of the original wave of British punk. Along with punk, their music incorporated elements of reggae, ska, dub, funk, rap, dance, and rockabilly...
, Nat King Cole
Nat King Cole
Nathaniel Adams Coles , known professionally as Nat King Cole, was an American musician who first came to prominence as a leading jazz pianist. Although an accomplished pianist, he owes most of his popular musical fame to his soft baritone voice, which he used to perform in big band and jazz genres...
, The Doors
The Doors
The Doors were an American rock band formed in 1965 in Los Angeles, California, with vocalist Jim Morrison, keyboardist Ray Manzarek, drummer John Densmore, and guitarist Robby Krieger...
, Willie Dixon
Willie Dixon
William James "Willie" Dixon was an American blues musician, vocalist, songwriter, arranger and record producer. A Grammy Award winner who was proficient on both the Upright bass and the guitar, as well as his own singing voice, Dixon is arguably best known as one of the most prolific songwriters...
, The Flaming Lips
The Flaming Lips
The Flaming Lips are an American alternative rock band, formed in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma in 1983.Melodically, their sound contains lush, multi-layered, psychedelic rock arrangements, but lyrically their compositions show elements of space rock, including unusual song and album titles—such as "What...
, Jimi Hendrix, Howlin' Wolf, The Jesus and Mary Chain
The Jesus and Mary Chain
The Jesus and Mary Chain are a Scottish alternative rock band formed in East Kilbride, Glasgow in 1983. The band revolves around the songwriting partnership of brothers Jim and William Reid...
, Kraftwerk
Kraftwerk
Kraftwerk is an influential electronic music band from Düsseldorf, Germany. The group was formed by Ralf Hütter and Florian Schneider in 1970, and was fronted by them until Schneider's departure in 2008...
, Gary Numan
Gary Numan
Gary Numan is an English singer, composer, and musician, most widely known for his chart-topping 1979 hits "Are 'Friends' Electric?" and "Cars". His signature sound consisted of heavy synthesizer hooks fed through guitar effects pedals.Numan is considered a pioneer of commercial electronic music...
, The Passions
The Passions
The Passions were a British band which formed in 1978, and disbanded in 1983. They were one-hit wonders with their misty song, "I'm in Love with a German Film Star". which was released in early 1981.-Career:...
, Prince
Prince (musician)
Prince Rogers Nelson , often known simply as Prince, is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and actor. Prince has produced ten platinum albums and thirty Top 40 singles during his career. Prince founded his own recording studio and label; writing, self-producing and playing most, or all, of...
, The Stooges
The Stooges
The Stooges are an American rock band from Ann Arbor, Michigan first active from 1967 to 1974, and later reformed in 2003...
, and Sonny Boy Williamson II
Sonny Boy Williamson II
Willie "Sonny Boy" Williamson was an American blues harmonica player, singer and songwriter, from Mississippi. He is acknowledged as one of the most charismatic and influential blues musicians, with considerable prowess on the harmonica and highly creative songwriting skills...
.
Though relatively unknown to the mainstream, he was well-known to many other musicians throughout his career. In 2000, Whitley recorded Perfect Day
Perfect Day (Chris Whitley album)
Perfect Day is the sixth album by singer-songwriter and guitarist, Chris Whitley. It is his fifth studio album.It is a full length release of cover versions of "love songs". The album was recorded a trio and is subtitled "Featuring Billy Martin and Chris Wood". Martin and Wood are the rhythm...
with Chris Wood
Chris Wood (jazz musician)
Christopher Barry Wood is an American bass player, best known for playing with the avant-garde jazz-funk trio Medeski Martin & Wood .-Biography:...
and Billy Martin
Billy Martin (percussionist)
Billy Martin is an American jazz drummer, best known as a member of jazz-funk trio Medeski Martin & Wood.-Biography:Before becoming part of Medeski, Martin & Wood, Martin was part of the New York City Brazilian scene in the 1980s. He performed regularly with Pe De Boi, Batucada and several Bob...
from Medeski Martin & Wood
Medeski Martin & Wood
Medeski Martin & Wood is an American jazz trio formed in 1991, consisting of John Medeski on keyboards and piano, Billy Martin on drums and percussion, and Chris Wood on double bass and bass guitar....
. Dave Matthews
Dave Matthews
David John "Dave" Matthews is a South African–born American musician and occasional actor, best known as the lead vocalist, songwriter, and guitarist for the Dave Matthews Band...
and Bruce Hornsby
Bruce Hornsby
Bruce Randall Hornsby is an American singer, pianist, accordion player, and songwriter. Known for the spontaneity and creativity of his live performances, Hornsby draws frequently from classical, jazz, bluegrass, folk, Motown, rock, blues, and jam band musical traditions with his songwriting and...
also appeared on 2001's Rocket House
Rocket House
Rocket House is the seventh album by singer-songwriter and guitarist, Chris Whitley. It is his sixth studio album.It was produced by Tony Mangurian and recorded primarily at Soho Music Studios in New York City. It was mixed by Tony Mangurian and Danny Madorsky at Greene St...
.
He also recorded with Shawn Colvin
Shawn Colvin
Shawn Colvin is an American singer-songwriter and musician.-Childhood and early career:Colvin was born in Vermillion, South Dakota. Her formative years were spent in the town of Carbondale, Illinois, where she attended Southern Illinois University Carbondale. She learned to play guitar at the age...
(on Fat City), Cassandra Wilson
Cassandra Wilson
Cassandra Wilson is an American jazz musician, vocalist, songwriter, and producer from Jackson, Mississippi. Described by critic Gary Giddins as "a singer blessed with an unmistakable timbre and attack [who has] expanded the playing field" by incorporating country, blues and folk music into her...
(on Blue Light 'til Dawn
Blue Light 'til Dawn
Blue Light 'til Dawn is a studio album by American jazz singer Cassandra Wilson. Her first album on the Blue Note label, it was released in 1993. It contains Wilson's interpretations of songs by various blues and rock artists, as well as three original compositions.-Reception:Rolling Stone reviewer...
and New Moon Daughter
New Moon Daughter
New Moon Daughter is a studio album by American jazz singer Cassandra Wilson, released in 1995 on Blue Note. It reached No. 1 on the Billboard Top Jazz Albums chart in 1996.-Reception:...
), Rob Wasserman and Les Claypool
Les Claypool
Leslie Edward "Les" Claypool is an American musician and writer, best known as the lead vocalist and bassist in the band Primus. Claypool's playing style on the electric bass mixes tapping, flamenco-like strumming, whammy bar bends and slapping.Claypool has also self produced and engineered his...
(on Wasserman's Trios), Johnny Society
Johnny Society
-Biography:Johnny Society was formed in 1996 by multi-instrumentalist Kenny Siegal and Brian Geltner. They had released their first album on Geffen under the name Hunk early 1996 after the Hunk debut they disbanded & reformed as Johnny Society...
(on Wood and Clairvoyance), Joe Henry
Joe Henry
Joseph Lee "Joe" Henry is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, and record producer. Henry's musical style spans several genres, including alt. country, rock, jazz and folk.- Early years :...
(on Fuse
Fuse (Joe Henry album)
-Track listing:All songs written by Joe Henry.# "Monkey" – 4:01# "Angels" – 5:42# "Fuse" – 4:18# "Skin and Teeth" – 3:52# "Fat" – 3:25# "Want Too Much" – 5:44# "Curt Flood" – 3:49# "Like She Was a Hammer" – 4:27# "Great Lake" – 5:31# "Beautiful Hat" - 3:57...
), Michael Shrieve
Michael Shrieve
Michael Shrieve is an American drummer, percussionist, and later, an electronic music composer. He is best known as the drummer in Carlos Santana's eponymous band, playing on their first eight albums from 1969 through 1974...
(on Fascination), Chocolate Genius (on GodMusic
GodMusic
GodMusic is the second album by Chocolate Genius. It was released on V2 Records on August 7, 2001. The album release party/concert was held at Bowery Ballroom in New York City....
), Ely Guerra
Ely Guerra
Ely Guerra is a Mexican singer-songwriter who was born in Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, Mexico.- Biography :...
(on Lotofire), Goat
Goat (musician)
Andy Rosen, stage name Goat, is an American singer, best known for his song Great Life which appeared on the soundtrack of the film I Know What You Did Last Summer....
(on All of My Friends), Dave Pirner
Dave Pirner
David Anthony "Dave" Pirner is an American songwriter, singer, and producer best known for being the lead vocalist and frontman for the alternative rock/grunge band, Soul Asylum.-Biography:...
of Soul Asylum
Soul Asylum
Soul Asylum is an American alternative rock band that formed in Minneapolis, Minnesota in 1983.The band originally formed in 1981 under the name Loud Fast Rules, with the original line-up consisting of Dan Murphy, Dave Pirner, Karl Mueller and Pat Morley. The latter was replaced by Grant Young in...
(on Faces & Names
Faces & Names
Faces & Names is Dave Pirner's first solo studio album. It was released in the United States on July 30, 2002.-Track listing:All songs written by Dave Pirner.#"Teach Me To Breathe" – 3:46#"Never Recover" – 3:45#"Faces & Names" – 4:21...
), Clint Mansell
Clint Mansell
Clinton Darryl "Clint" Mansell, is an English musician, composer, and former lead singer and guitarist of the band Pop Will Eat Itself....
(on the Knockaround Guys
Knockaround Guys
Knockaround Guys is a 2002 gangster film starring Barry Pepper, Vin Diesel, John Malkovich and Dennis Hopper.- Plot :Matty Demaret is the son of a mob boss, but he is used as little more than an errand boy...
soundtrack), DJ Logic
DJ Logic
DJ Logic is an American turntablist active primarily in jazz and with jam bands.Kibler was born and raised in The Bronx. An early interest in hip hop led to his using the turntables, practicing often. Kibler was also interested in funk and jazz music, and began collaborating with various musicians...
, Little Jimmy Scott, Mike Watt
Mike Watt
Michael David Watt is an American bassist, singer and songwriter.He is best known for co-founding the rock bands Minutemen, dos, and Firehose; , he is also the bassist for the reunited Stooges and a member of the art rock/jazz/punk/improv group Banyan as well as many other post-Minutemen...
, Daniel Lanois, and Jeff Lang
Jeff Lang
Jeff Lang is an Australian songwriter, singer and slide guitarist. A leading performer in the Australian roots music scene and purveyer of his self-described "disturbed folk" style, which incorporates primarily folk, blues and rock...
.
In early 2004, Whitley's "Breaking Your Fall" from Hotel Vast Horizon
Hotel Vast Horizon
Hotel Vast Horizon is the ninth album by singer-songwriter and guitarist, Chris Whitley. It is his seventh studio album.It was produced by Heiko Schramm, Chris Whitley, Matthias Macht, and Edgar M. Röthig...
(2003) won in Independent Music Awards
The Independent Music Awards
The Independent Music Awards is an international program that honors top-ranked independent artists and releases in more than 50 Album, Song, Music Video and Design categories....
for Best Folk/Singer-Songwriter Song. He won again the following year in The 4th Annual Independent Music Awards for Best Blues/R&B Song with "Her Furious Angels" from War Crime Blues
War Crime Blues
War Crime Blues is the eleventh album by singer-songwriter and guitarist, Chris Whitley. It is his ninth studio album.It was produced by Whitley. The album was recorded by Edgar M...
(2004). Whitley was also an inaugural member of The Independent Music Awards' judging panel to support independent artists.
His daughter Trixie Whitley is a Belgian singer, rhythm guitarist, part-time drummer, and keyboardist. Her backing vocals can be heard on some of her father's records. She is a multi-instrumentalist
Multi-instrumentalist
A multi-instrumentalist is a musician who plays a number of different instruments.The Bachelor of Music degree usually requires a second instrument to be learned , but people who double on another instrument are not usually seen as multi-instrumentalists.-Classical music:Music written for Symphony...
currently performing with the Daniel Lanois-led Black Dub and has her own band.
Equipment
Whitley regularly used the following musical equipment:- 1931 NationalNational String Instrument CorporationThe National String Instrument Corporation was a guitar company that formed to manufacture the first resonator guitars.-National resonator guitar designs:...
Style O (with Barcus-Berry magnetic DobroDobroDobro is a registered trademark, now owned by Gibson Guitar Corporation and used for a particular design of resonator guitar.The name has a long and involved history, interwoven with that of the resonator guitar...
pickupsPickup (music technology)A pickup device is a transducer that captures mechanical vibrations, usually from suitably equipped stringed instruments such as the electric guitar, electric bass guitar, Chapman Stick, or electric violin, and converts them to an electrical signal that is amplified, recorded, or broadcast.-...
) - 1931 National Triolian (with Barcus-Berry magnetic Dobro pickups)
- 1936 GibsonGibson Guitar CorporationThe Gibson Guitar Corporation, formerly of Kalamazoo, Michigan and currently of Nashville, Tennessee, manufactures guitars and other instruments which sell under a variety of brand names...
L-0 acoustic guitarAcoustic guitarAn acoustic guitar is a guitar that uses only an acoustic sound board. The air in this cavity resonates with the vibrational modes of the string and at low frequencies, which depend on the size of the box, the chamber acts like a Helmholtz resonator, increasing or decreasing the volume of the sound... - 1956 National Reso-PhonicNational Reso-Phonic GuitarsNational Reso-Phonic Guitars is a manufacturer of resonator guitars and other resonator instruments including mandolins, ukuleles and 12 string guitars.The company was formed in 1989 by Don Young and McGregor Gaines, in a Californian garage...
(with an old DanelectroDanelectroDanelectro is an American manufacturer of musical instruments and accessories, specializing in rock instruments such as guitars, bass guitars, amplifiers and effects units.-History:...
pickup) - 1958 Gibson ES-125Gibson ES-125The Gibson ES-125 is an archtop, hollow body electric guitar model that was produced by the Gibson Guitar Corporation.-Model history:Introduced in 1941 as the successor to the ES-100, the ES-125 was an entry-level archtop electric guitar. It had one P-90 single-coil pickup in the neck position,...
(used a lot on Terra IncognitaTerra Incognita (Chris Whitley album)Terra Incognita is the third studio album by singer-songwriter and guitarist, Chris Whitley.It was produced primarily by Chris Whitley, Toby Wright, Mark Howard, and Dougie Bowne. The album was recorded primarily by Mark Howard at Boulevard Teatro in Oxnard, California...
(1997)) - 1967 Gibson Melody MakerGibson Melody MakerIn 2007, the Melody Maker became a separate model. It now has a smaller single-coil pickup than the P-90, a wraparound bridge/tailpiece unit, a mahogany neck, and a pickguard similar to the original Melody Maker...
(used a lot on Din of EcstasyDin of EcstasyDin of Ecstasy is the second studio album by singer-songwriter and guitarist, Chris Whitley.It was produced primarily by John Custer and Chris Whitley...
(1995)) - 1995 Bart Reiter five-string banjoBanjoIn the 1830s Sweeney became the first white man to play the banjo on stage. His version of the instrument replaced the gourd with a drum-like sound box and included four full-length strings alongside a short fifth-string. There is no proof, however, that Sweeney invented either innovation. This new...
- Juice Box tubeVacuum tubeIn electronics, a vacuum tube, electron tube , or thermionic valve , reduced to simply "tube" or "valve" in everyday parlance, is a device that relies on the flow of electric current through a vacuum...
DIDI unitA DI unit, DI box, Direct Box, or simply DI , is a device typically used in recording studios to connect a high-impedance, line level, unbalanced output signal to a low-impedance microphone level balanced input, usually via XLR connector... - Fender Pro JuniorFender Pro JuniorThe Fender Pro Junior is a guitar amp manufactured by Fender Musical Instruments Co. It is the lowest-priced model of the Hot Rod series and has a 10" Eminence Speaker...
amplifierGuitar amplifierA guitar amplifier is an electronic amplifier designed to make the signal of an electric or acoustic guitar louder so that it will produce sound through a loudspeaker... - Trace ElliotTrace ElliotTrace Elliot is a United Kingdom-based bass amplification manufacturer, and has a sub-brand, Trace Acoustic, for acoustic instruments.-History:...
Velocette amplifier - DunlopDunlop ManufacturingDunlop Manufacturing, Inc., known colloquially as Jim Dunlop, is a manufacturer of musical accessories based in Benicia, California. Originally founded in 1965 by Jim Dunlop, Sr., the company has grown from a small home operation to being a large manufacturer of music gear for over 40 years.- Way...
purple flat pickPlectrumA plectrum is a small flat tool used to pluck or strum a stringed instrument. For hand-held instruments such as guitars and mandolins, the plectrum is often called a pick, and is a separate tool held in the player's hand...
and metal fingerpicks on his ring and middle fingers. - SlideSlide guitarSlide guitar or bottleneck guitar is a particular method or technique for playing the guitar. The term slide refers to the motion of the slide against the strings, while bottleneck refers to the original material of choice for such slides: the necks of glass bottles...
he made from a piece of bicycle handlebarBicycle handlebarBicycle handlebar or often bicycle handlebars refers to the steering mechanism for bicycles; the equivalent of a steering wheel. Besides steering, handlebars also often support a portion of the rider's weight, depending on their riding position, and provide a convenient mounting place for brake...
, which was worn on his little finger and cut so that he could rotate it out of the way for fretting. - Boot boardStomp boxthumb|Puck'n Stompa by PetermanA stomp box or stompbox is a simple percussion instrument consisting of a small wooden box placed under the foot, which is tapped or stamped on rhythmically to produce a sound similar to that of a bass drum. A stomp box allows a performer such as a singer or guitar...
amplified with a Fishman upright bass transducerTransducerA transducer is a device that converts one type of energy to another. Energy types include electrical, mechanical, electromagnetic , chemical, acoustic or thermal energy. While the term transducer commonly implies the use of a sensor/detector, any device which converts energy can be considered a...
Because of his unique style of playing, he used many alternate tunings
Guitar tuning
Guitar tunings almost always refers to the pitch of the open string, though some tunings may only realistically be attained by the use of a capo on an unmodified instrument....
for his guitars.
Death
In fall 2005, Whitley canceled his tour due to health issues. Dan Whitley, his brother, commented on November 11, 2005 that he was "in a comfortable warm home with hospiceHospice
Hospice is a type of care and a philosophy of care which focuses on the palliation of a terminally ill patient's symptoms.In the United States and Canada:*Gentiva Health Services, national provider of hospice and home health services...
care at his disposal". Later that week it was revealed that Whitley was terminally ill with lung cancer
Lung cancer
Lung cancer is a disease characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissues of the lung. If left untreated, this growth can spread beyond the lung in a process called metastasis into nearby tissue and, eventually, into other parts of the body. Most cancers that start in lung, known as primary...
. He died on November 20, 2005 in Houston, Texas at the age of 45. His brother, Dan, and daughter, Trixie announced his death. He was also survived by his girlfriend, Susanne.
Tributes
Although Whitley was not a mainstream act, his death resonated throughout the music community and garnered coverage and press throughout the world, ranging from Time, the New York Times, and National Public Radio to a tribute mention at the 2006 Grammy Awards.Bruce Springsteen
Bruce Springsteen
Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen , nicknamed "The Boss," is an American singer-songwriter who records and tours with the E Street Band...
, Bruce Hornsby
Bruce Hornsby
Bruce Randall Hornsby is an American singer, pianist, accordion player, and songwriter. Known for the spontaneity and creativity of his live performances, Hornsby draws frequently from classical, jazz, bluegrass, folk, Motown, rock, blues, and jam band musical traditions with his songwriting and...
, Tom Petty
Tom Petty
Thomas Earl "Tom" Petty is an American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. He is the frontman of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers and was a founding member of the late 1980s supergroup Traveling Wilburys and Mudcrutch. He has also performed under the pseudonyms of Charlie T...
, Myles Kennedy
Myles Kennedy
Myles Richard Kennedy is an American musician and singer-songwriter best known as the lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of the rock band Alter Bridge, and as the lead vocalist in Slash's current solo project...
, Don Henley
Don Henley
Donald Hugh "Don" Henley is an American singer, songwriter and drummer, best known as a founding member of the Eagles before launching a successful solo career. Henley was the drummer and lead vocalist for the Eagles from 1971–1980, when the band broke up...
, Iggy Pop
Iggy Pop
Iggy Pop is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and actor. Though considered an innovator of punk rock, Pop's music has encompassed a number of styles over the years, including pop, metal, jazz and blues...
, Alanis Morissette
Alanis Morissette
Alanis Nadine Morissette is a Canadian-American singer-songwriter, guitarist, record producer, and actress. She has won 16 Juno Awards and seven Grammy Awards, was nominated for two Golden Globe Awards and also shortlisted for an Academy Award nomination...
, Sandi Thom
Sandi Thom
Alexandria "Sandi" Thom is a Scottish singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. She became widely known in 2006 after a series of webcasts and the success of the single "I Wish I Was a Punk Rocker ".-1984–2004: Early life:Thom was born in Banff, Aberdeenshire...
, John Mayer
John Mayer
John Clayton Mayer is an American pop rock and blues rock musician, singer-songwriter, recording artist, and music producer. Born in Bridgeport, Connecticut and raised in Fairfield, Connecticut, he attended Berklee College of Music in Boston. He moved to Atlanta in 1997, where he refined his...
, Gavin DeGraw
Gavin DeGraw
Gavin Shane DeGraw is an American musician and singer-songwriter. He is known for his songs "Chariot", "Follow Through", "I Don't Want to Be" , "In Love with a Girl", and "Not Over You".-Early life:DeGraw grew up in the Catskills in South Fallsburg,...
, Joey DeGraw
Joey DeGraw
Joseph Wayne DeGraw is an American singer-songwriter, musician, voiceover actor & co-owner of The National Underground bar & record label...
and Keith Richards
Keith Richards
Keith Richards is an English musician, songwriter, and founding member of the Rolling Stones. Rolling Stone magazine said Richards had created "rock's greatest single body of riffs", and placed him as the "10th greatest guitarist of all time." Fourteen songs written by Richards and songwriting...
all count themselves admirers of Whitley's music.
"[When] Chris Whitley died...with him went a big part of modern American blues music. There aren't many fighters for the cause, and Chris never gave up on his mission. His somewhat prostrated place in pop culture earned him a sidebar of an obituary, but to those who knew his work, it registers as one of the most underappreciated losses in all of music." – John Mayer
"Chris Whitley, my friend since 1988. The deep soul he was gifted with is the soul that challenged his life journey. I will forever remember his beauty." – Daniel Lanois
Robert Caruso covered Whitley's song, "Living with the Law" in 1993 (on Live At The Splash Club, which can be heard on www.robertcaruso.it) . It is the first and only cover song of a Whitley song recorded before Chris Whitley's untimely death.
Portland songwriter Kelly Joe Phelps
Kelly Joe Phelps
Kelly Joe Phelps is an American musician and songwriter. His music has been characterized as a mixture of delta blues and jazz.-Career:...
dedicated the song "Handful of Arrows" on his album Tunesmith Retrofit
Tunesmith Retrofit
Tunesmith Retrofit is an album by American blues singer and guitarist Kelly Joe Phelps, released in 2006. It was his first recording on the Rounder label after five releases with Rykodisc. It reached #5 on the Billboard Top Blues Albums charts.-Reception:...
(2006) to Whitley.
Faroese
Faroese people
The Faroese or Faroe Islanders are a Germanic ethnic group native to the Faeroe Islands. The Faroese are of mixed Norse and Gaelic origins.About 21,000 Faroese live in neighbouring countries, particularly in Denmark, Iceland and Norway....
artist Teitur
Teitur
Teitur is a male given name. In Old Norse the word means happy. In Modern Faroese, it is archaic but used as a male given name.-People:*Teitur Lassen , a musical artist from Faroe Islands....
wrote "Legendary Afterparty" (from The Singer
The Singer (Teitur Lassen album)
The Singer is the third major English-language album by Teitur Lassen, released worldwide in early 2008 on the independent labels Cheap Lullaby and Playground Music. It was recorded on the Swedish island of Gotland...
) as a tribute to meeting Whitley.
Peer and critical praise
"I feel more passion for his music than I do for my own. I have a fervent, religious devotion to the magic that Chris Whitley makes." – Dave Matthews"[That] boy...plays like three men." – Robert Lockwood, Jr.
"The notable constant has been the quality of craftmanship, and the consistent question of how Whitley's combination of super songs, muscular-but-poetic lyrics, athletic voice and rock-god guitar work hasn't earned him a wider audience." – Detroit Free Press
Detroit Free Press
The Detroit Free Press is the largest daily newspaper in Detroit, Michigan, USA. The Sunday edition is entitled the Sunday Free Press. It is sometimes informally referred to as the "Freep"...
"The post-Hendrix explosion of whammybar wankers hasn't produced a single axeman who can compare to Chris Whitley. His eerie, bluesy voice and American gothic tunes frequently draw attention from the fact that he picks like a pissed off Doc Watson
Doc Watson
Arthel Lane "Doc" Watson is an American guitar player, songwriter and singer of bluegrass, folk, country, blues and gospel music. He has won seven Grammy awards as well as a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. Watson's flatpicking skills and knowledge of traditional American music are highly regarded...
jacked through a Marshall
Marshall Amplification
Marshall Amplification is a British company, founded by drummer Jim Marshall, that designs and manufactures music amplifiers, brands personal headphones/earphones , and, after acquiring Natal Drums, drums and bongos. Marshall amplifiers, and specifically their guitar amplifiers, are among the most...
stack" – RollingStone.com
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
Discography
- Living with the LawLiving with the Law (album)Living with the Law is the debut album by singer-songwriter and guitarist, Chris Whitley.Malcolm Burn produced, mixed and played on the album...
(1991) - Din of EcstasyDin of EcstasyDin of Ecstasy is the second studio album by singer-songwriter and guitarist, Chris Whitley.It was produced primarily by John Custer and Chris Whitley...
(1995) - Terra IncognitaTerra Incognita (Chris Whitley album)Terra Incognita is the third studio album by singer-songwriter and guitarist, Chris Whitley.It was produced primarily by Chris Whitley, Toby Wright, Mark Howard, and Dougie Bowne. The album was recorded primarily by Mark Howard at Boulevard Teatro in Oxnard, California...
(1997) - Dirt FloorDirt Floor (album)Dirt Floor is the fourth studio album by singer-songwriter and guitarist, Chris Whitley.It was produced by Craig Street and recorded live direct to a two-track analog recorder using a single stereo ribbon microphone by Danny Kadar at Blue Moon Racing Shop in Bellows Falls, Vermont.This recording...
(1998) - Live at Martyrs'Live at Martyrs' (album)Live at Martyrs' is the fifth album by singer-songwriter and guitarist, Chris Whitley and his first live album. The performance is a compilation of songs from Whitley's first four albums , a previous collaboration, and two songs that would later appear on Rocket House...
(1999/2000) - Perfect DayPerfect Day (Chris Whitley album)Perfect Day is the sixth album by singer-songwriter and guitarist, Chris Whitley. It is his fifth studio album.It is a full length release of cover versions of "love songs". The album was recorded a trio and is subtitled "Featuring Billy Martin and Chris Wood". Martin and Wood are the rhythm...
featuring Billy MartinBilly Martin (percussionist)Billy Martin is an American jazz drummer, best known as a member of jazz-funk trio Medeski Martin & Wood.-Biography:Before becoming part of Medeski, Martin & Wood, Martin was part of the New York City Brazilian scene in the 1980s. He performed regularly with Pe De Boi, Batucada and several Bob...
and Chris WoodChris Wood (jazz musician)Christopher Barry Wood is an American bass player, best known for playing with the avant-garde jazz-funk trio Medeski Martin & Wood .-Biography:...
(2000) - Rocket HouseRocket HouseRocket House is the seventh album by singer-songwriter and guitarist, Chris Whitley. It is his sixth studio album.It was produced by Tony Mangurian and recorded primarily at Soho Music Studios in New York City. It was mixed by Tony Mangurian and Danny Madorsky at Greene St...
(2001) - Long Way Around: An Anthology: 1991-2001Long Way Around (album)Long Way Around - An Anthology: 1991-2001 is the eighth album by singer-songwriter and guitarist, Chris Whitley. It is his first compilation album and includes hits, album tracks, rarities, and unreleased demos from 1991-2001....
(2002) - Pigs Will FlyPigs Will Fly (soundtrack)Pigs Will Fly is the soundtrack for the German film, Pigs Will Fly directed by Eoin Moore...
(soundtrack) with Warner Poland and Kai-Uwe Kohlschmidt (2003) - Hotel Vast HorizonHotel Vast HorizonHotel Vast Horizon is the ninth album by singer-songwriter and guitarist, Chris Whitley. It is his seventh studio album.It was produced by Heiko Schramm, Chris Whitley, Matthias Macht, and Edgar M. Röthig...
(2003) - WeedWeed (album)Weed is the tenth album by singer-songwriter and guitarist, Chris Whitley. It is his eighth studio album.The album is Whitley's acoustic re-recording of a selection of songs he wrote from 1986-1996 for his three recordings on Columbia / Work Records: Living with the Law , Din of Ecstasy , and Terra...
(2004) - War Crime BluesWar Crime BluesWar Crime Blues is the eleventh album by singer-songwriter and guitarist, Chris Whitley. It is his ninth studio album.It was produced by Whitley. The album was recorded by Edgar M...
(2004) - Soft Dangerous ShoresSoft Dangerous ShoresSoft Dangerous Shores is the twelfth album by singer-songwriter and guitarist, Chris Whitley. It is his tenth studio album.Malcolm Burn produced, mixed, and played on the album...
(2005) - Reiter InReiter InReiter In is the thirteenth album by singer-songwriter and guitarist, Chris Whitley. It is his eleventh studio album and the last he made before his death in November 2005....
with The Bastard Club (2006) - Dislocation BluesDislocation BluesDislocation Blues is a collaboration between singer-songwriters and guitarists, Chris Whitley and Jeff Lang.Jeff Lang produced, co-wrote, co-mixed, and played on the album. It was recorded live by Mick Wordley at Adelphia Studios in Melbourne, Australia...
with Jeff LangJeff LangJeff Lang is an Australian songwriter, singer and slide guitarist. A leading performer in the Australian roots music scene and purveyer of his self-described "disturbed folk" style, which incorporates primarily folk, blues and rock...
(2006) - On AirOn Air (Chris Whitley album)On Air is the fifteenth album by singer-songwriter and guitarist Chris Whitley and his second live album. The performance is a compilation of songs from a selection of Whitley's past albums On Air is the fifteenth album by singer-songwriter and guitarist Chris Whitley and his second live album. The...
(2008 - recorded live 2003) - Dust Radio - DVD - a documentary about Chris, currently in post-production, slated for release sometime 2010/2011.