It seems an odd pairing: Chris, a self-taught guitarist whose visceral lyrics were influenced by desert landscapes and an appreciation of French surrealist poets; Warren, a piano man (briefly mentored by Igor Stravinsky) whose lyrics often described viscera and whom Rolling Stone labeled “rock’s macabre jester.” Chris, the offspring of a Madison Avenue ad executive … Continue reading
Danny Kadar has shared the first known recording of Home (New Orleans 1991): Another 1991 recording of Home (courtesy of Danny Kadar): Here’s Chris playing Home with Bob Wasserman and Les Claypool on Wasserman’s CD Trios (1994): Chris plays LWTL and then Home (with Rob and Les) at the Trios concert … Continue reading
Chris Whitley cites many musicians as having influenced his music making, ranging from the Desert Blues of Mali and blues legends such as Howlin’ Wolf to contemporary legends such as Jimmy Page, David Bowie and Prince. Below, in his own words, are his comments about the music he liked and how it affected his songcraft. … Continue reading
“And Gasket, originally my take on industrial country jug band blues, has an inverted Howlin’ Wolf riff. It’s a modern greasy blues tune originally about how I never used condoms as a teen.” [from Beer Melodies] I have been obsessed with the Moanin’ at Midnight/Gasket connection since I first heard an unnamed track (listed … Continue reading
Yes, it’s a long, unwieldy title, but ’tis the season of harvest and Thanksgiving here in the U.S., so ….. A few years ago, I launched an ATCW post to document song inspirations that (primarily) Hiroshi Suda and I had gleaned from reading articles and listening to bootlegs. Given that Facebook is a black hole … Continue reading
There’s no better insight into what Chris thought and felt than what he himself said. Here’s a one-stop place from which you can access all the extended audio interviews I’ve collected. Also check the radio shows provided in each album blog for more of what Chris had to say. Audio In the Foreground …. … Continue reading
Obviously, Radar was a regular during the Summer 2001 RH tour with Heiko, Tony, Eddy, and DJ Logic; it also was on pretty much every set list when Chris toured Europe in Fall 2001 with DJ Big Wiz. But Chris rarely played Radar in solo appearances; I could find only 7, mostly from radio shows. … Continue reading
During its 5-year run, the All Things Chris Whitley group has been the place to share rare gems from members’ CW collections. To make the musical gems shared more easily accessible, I’ve created this playlist of rare tracks. Most of these are single live tracks available only on compilation albums. For more live tracks, check … Continue reading
Posted in response to a special request from Marc G.
This video of Chris and daughter Trixie singing “Serve You” was originally posted to YouTube by Martin Tupper on the first anniversary of Chris’s passing (2006-11-20). I’ve tried to contact Martin to ask whether he has more video of this show, but have never received a reply. To make the video more easily accessible to … Continue reading
