Chris Isaak facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Chris Isaak
|
|
|---|---|
.jpg)
Isaak in 2014
|
|
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Christopher Joseph Isaak |
| Born | June 26, 1956 Stockton, California, U.S. |
| Genres | |
| Occupation(s) |
|
| Instruments |
|
| Years active | 1978–present |
| Labels |
|
Christopher Joseph Isaak (born June 26, 1956) is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. He is also an actor. Chris Isaak is known for his unique singing style and wide voice range, often sounding like music from the 1950s.
He became very famous for his hit song "Wicked Game". He also had other international hits like "Blue Hotel", "Baby Did a Bad Bad Thing", and "Somebody's Crying".
Chris Isaak has had a long career, releasing 13 studio albums and touring a lot with his band, Silvertone. He has received many awards and nominations. People often compare his music and style to famous artists like Roy Orbison, Elvis Presley, Ricky Nelson, and Duane Eddy.
He has worked with film director David Lynch, who has used his music in several movies. As an actor, Chris Isaak has played smaller roles in films such as Married to the Mob, The Silence of the Lambs, and That Thing You Do!. He also starred in two TV shows: The Chris Isaak Show and The Chris Isaak Hour.
Contents
Early Life and Music Beginnings
Chris Isaak was born in Stockton, California. His mother, Dorothy, and father, Joseph, were of Italian and German backgrounds. His father worked as a forklift driver.
Chris went to Amos Alonzo Stagg High School in Stockton. He was the class president and the top student when he graduated in 1974. After high school, he attended San Joaquin Delta Community College. Later, he transferred to the University of the Pacific. He earned a bachelor's degree in English and communications arts in 1981. He also took part in a student exchange program in Japan.
After college, Chris Isaak formed his first band, Silvertone. It was a rockabilly group, a style of rock and roll music. The band's original members included James Calvin Wilsey on guitar, Jamie Ayres on bass, and John Silvers on drums. Later, Rowland Salley took over on bass, and Kenney Dale Johnson became the drummer. The band's name came from a popular guitar brand from the 1950s. Silvertone has remained Chris Isaak's main band throughout his career.
Chris Isaak's Music Journey
In 1985, Chris Isaak signed with Warner Bros. Records. He released his first album, Silvertone, which critics really liked. Even though the album was named after his band, many of the songs were recorded with other musicians. The album had a raw and varied sound, mixing country blues with folk songs. While critics praised it, the album did not sell very well. Two songs from the album, "Gone Ridin'" and "Livin' for Your Lover", were used in David Lynch's 1986 movie Blue Velvet.
His next album, Chris Isaak, came out in 1987. It reached the Billboard 200 chart, which lists the most popular albums in the U.S. On this album, Chris Isaak refined his style to a more sophisticated R&B sound. The album's cover art was photographed by famous fashion photographer Bruce Weber. Three songs from this album – "You Owe Me Some Kind of Love", "Blue Hotel", and "Lie to Me" – were featured in a 1987 TV series called "Private Eye".
In 1988, Warner Bros. moved Chris Isaak to their Reprise Records label. That same year, his song "Suspicion of Love" was included in the movie Married to the Mob.
Chris Isaak's most famous song is "Wicked Game". It was first released on his 1989 album, Heart Shaped World. An instrumental version of the song was later used in David Lynch's 1990 film Wild at Heart. A radio music director in Atlanta loved Lynch's films and started playing the vocal version of "Wicked Game". It quickly became the most requested song at his station. This helped the song become a national top 10 hit in February 1991, reaching number 6. It also reached the top 10 in the UK.
The music video for "Wicked Game" was directed by Herb Ritts. It was filmed in black and white and showed Chris Isaak and supermodel Helena Christensen on a beach. This video was very popular on MTV and VH1. Another version of the video, directed by David Lynch, featured scenes from the movie Wild at Heart.
In 1993, the song "Two Hearts" from Chris Isaak's album San Francisco Days was used in the closing credits of the film True Romance.
In 1995, Chris Isaak released Forever Blue, his fifth album. This album was nominated for a Grammy for Best Rock Album. The single "Somebody's Crying" was also nominated for a Grammy for Best Male Rock Vocal Performance. In March 1996, the album was certified Platinum, meaning it sold over a million copies. His song "Baby Did a Bad Bad Thing" was featured in Stanley Kubrick's 1999 film, Eyes Wide Shut. The music video for this song, also directed by Herb Ritts, featured Chris Isaak and French supermodel Laetitia Casta in a motel room.
Chris Isaak also wrote the theme song for the U.S. late-night TV show The Late Late Show with Craig Kilborn.
In 2007, Chris Isaak performed Fats Domino's hit "Blueberry Hill" with French singer Johnny Hallyday. This performance was released on Hallyday's live album. Also in 2007, Chris Isaak opened for Stevie Nicks on her Crystal Visions Tour.
For his 2009 album Mr. Lucky, Chris Isaak worked with producer John Shanks.
In 2011, Chris Isaak covered Buddy Holly's song "Crying, Waiting, Hoping" for a tribute album. The next month, he released Beyond the Sun. This album featured mostly cover songs and was recorded at the famous Sun Records studio in Memphis, Tennessee.
Chris Isaak performed at the 2015 AFL Grand Final in Australia. In 2016, he went on the "First Comes the Night Tour".
Acting and Other Work
Besides his music, Chris Isaak has acted in many films and TV shows. He often plays smaller roles. Some of his bigger film roles include David Lynch's Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me in 1992 and Little Buddha in 1993. In Little Buddha, he starred alongside Bridget Fonda and Keanu Reeves. Other movies he appeared in include Married to the Mob (1988), The Silence of the Lambs (1991), and That Thing You Do! (1996).
In 1996, Chris Isaak was a guest star in a special Super Bowl XXX episode of the TV show Friends. In 1998, he played astronaut Ed White in the HBO miniseries From the Earth to the Moon. Ed White was the first American astronaut to do a spacewalk.
From 2001 to 2004, Chris Isaak starred in his own TV show, The Chris Isaak Show. It was a sitcom where he and his band played themselves. The show was about fictional stories from their lives as rock stars.
In 2009, The Biography Channel aired The Chris Isaak Hour. This was a music interview and performance show hosted by Chris Isaak. Guests on the show included Trisha Yearwood, Stevie Nicks, Glen Campbell, and Michael Bublé.
In 2014, Chris Isaak provided the voice for the character Enoch in the animated TV miniseries Over the Garden Wall. In 2015, he became a judge on the Australian TV show The X Factor Australia. He joined James Blunt, Guy Sebastian, and Dannii Minogue on the judging panel.
Personal Life
Chris Isaak is good friends with singer Stevie Nicks. He was also close friends with film director David Lynch before Lynch's passing.
Chris Isaak has never married. He once said that his longest relationship has been with his band. He explained that his work always came first, whether it was writing music, recording, acting, or touring.
He enjoys drawing and looking for interesting items in secondhand stores.
Discography
- 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)
- First Comes the Night (2015)
- Everybody Knows It's Christmas (2022)
Filmography
Film
- Married to the Mob – 'The Clown' (1988)
- The Silence of the Lambs – SWAT Commander (1991)
- Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me – Special Agent Chester Desmond (1992)
- Little Buddha – Dean Conrad (1993)
- That Thing You Do! – Uncle Bob (1996)
- Grace of My Heart - Mathew Lewis (1996)
- A Dirty Shame – Vaughn Stickles (2004)
- The Informers – Les (2008)
Television
- Wiseguy – Berated lounge singer (1987)
- Friends – Rob Donnan (1996)
- From the Earth to the Moon – Astronaut Edward White II (1998)
- The Chris Isaak Show – Himself (2001–2004)
- American Dreams – Roy Orbison (2004)
- The Chris Isaak Hour – Himself/host (2009)
- Over the Garden Wall – Enoch (voice) (2014)
- The X Factor Australia – Himself – Judge/Mentor (2015)
Awards and Nominations
Chris Isaak has received many awards and nominations throughout his career. Here are some of them:
- In 1991, his music video for "Wicked Game" won two MTV Video Music Awards: Best Male Video and Best Cinematography in a Video.
- In 1992, "Wicked Game" won an ASCAP Pop Music Award for Most Performed Song.
- In 1996, his album Forever Blue won the Outstanding Album award at the California Music Awards. He also won Outstanding Male Vocalist and Bay Area Musician of the Year.
- In 2003, the music video for "Wicked Game" was inducted into the MVPA Hall of Fame.
- In 2022, Chris Isaak received the Lifetime Achievement Award for Performance at the Americana Music Honors & Awards.
See also
In Spanish: Chris Isaak para niños
