CHRIS ISAAK

'Christopher Joseph Isaak' (born June 26, 1956 in Stockton, California) is an American indie rock, pop and rock and roll singer, songwriter, and occasional actor.

Contents

Biography

Trivia

Discography

Studio albums

Singles

Filmography

Television

References

External links

Biography

Isaak's music can be described as a blend of country, blues, rock and roll, pop and surf rock.
He signed a contract to Warner Bros. Records in 1984 for his first album ''Silvertone.'' Isaak's contract was renewed in 1988 when Warner Bros. moved him to their Reprise Records label.
His best-known song is "Wicked Game." Though released on the 1989 album ''Heart Shaped World,'' an instrumental version of the song was later featured in the David Lynch film ''Wild at Heart'' (and also years later in the 2000 film ''The Family Man''). Lee Chesnut, an Atlanta radio station music director who was obsessed with David Lynch films, began playing the full version and it quickly became a nationwide top ten hit. The music video for the song was directed by Herb Ritts and was a big MTV and VH1 hit; shot in black and white, it starred Isaak and model Helena Christensen rolling on the beach, embracing and whispering in each others' ears. Another less-seen version of the "Wicked Game" is directed by David Lynch and comprises scenes from the film ''Wild at Heart''.
In 1999, Isaak's "Baby Did a Bad, Bad Thing" was featured in Stanley Kubrick's final film, ''Eyes Wide Shut,'' starring Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman.
Isaak also composed a theme song for US late-night television variety/talk show, ''The Late Late Show with Craig Kilborn.''
In 2001, Chris Isaak starred in his own television show, ''The Chris Isaak Show.'' It aired from March 2001 to March 2004 in the United States on the cable television network Showtime. This adult comedy show featured Chris Isaak and his band playing themselves with the episode plots based on fictional accounts of the backstage world of Chris Isaak--the rock star next door.
In 2004, his track "Life Will Go On" was featured on ''Chasing Liberty's soundtrack, which starred Mandy Moore and Matthew Goode.
Isaak has also appeared in numerous films, mostly playing minor cameo roles, though he starred with Keanu Reeves and Bridget Fonda in the 1993 Bernardo Bertolucci-directed ''Little Buddha,'' and also played a major role in David Lynch's '' (1992). Other motion pictures include ''Married to the Mob'' (1988), ''The Silence of the Lambs'' (1991), ''That Thing You Do!'' (1996), and ''A Dirty Shame'' (2004). He also guest-starred on the "The One After the Superbowl, Part One" - the Super Bowl XXX edition of the television sitcom ''Friends''; and on the HBO miniseries, ''From the Earth to the Moon''.
Isaak was ranked #68 on VH1's 100 Sexiest Artists.
Isaak is also an amateur boxer, a former Golden Gloves champion and an avid surfer.
Isaak is currently a correspondent for The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.
Isaak is also a correspondent for ''Extra (TV series)''.

Trivia

★ Many guitarists have thought Isaak's main electric guitar is a Gretsch 6120, however Isaak revealed in a 2002 interview with Acoustic Guitar that it is in fact a one-of-a-kind Gibson: ''"For my electric, I've got a one-off Gibson version of a Gretsch 6120, a sort of Chet 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"'' ^[1].

★ Isaak's longtime producer, Erik Jacobsen, was instrumental in his sound for 15 years. Jacobsen is known for his production work with The Lovin' Spoonful, and solo albums from Spoonful's John Sebastian and Jerry Yester. Isaak ceased working with Jacobsen on his 2001 album, ''Always Got Tonight''.

★ On Tuesday, July 10 2007 Isaak sang the national anthem for the 2007 MLB All-Star Game. He incorrectly sang the following lyrics:

★
★ "perilous night" instead of "perilous fight"

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★ "proof through the fight" instead of "proof through the night".

Discography

Main articles: Chris Isaak discography

Studio albums

★ ''Silvertone'' (1985)

★ ''Chris Isaak'' (1986)

★ ''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)

★ ''Best of Chris Isaak'' (2006)

Singles

'Year'	'Title'	'Chart positions'				'Album'
		US Hot 100	US Modern Rock	US Mainstream Rock	UK
1987	"Blue Hotel"	-	-	-	#100	''Chris Isaak''
1989	"Don't Make Me Dream About You"	-	#18	#39	-	''Heart Shaped World''
1990	"Wicked Game"	#6	#2	#10	#10	''Heart Shaped World''
1991	"Blue Hotel" (re-release)	-	-	-	#17	''Wicked Game''
1991	"Dancin'"	-	-	-	#100	''Wicked Game''
1993	"Can't Do A Thing (To Stop Me)"	-	#7	-	#36	''San Francisco Days''
1993	"San Francisco Days"	-	-	-	#62	''San Francisco Days''
1995	"Somebody's Crying"	#45	#34	-	-	''Forever Blue''
1995	"Go Walking Down There"	-	#32	-	-	''Forever Blue''
1998	"Please"	-	-	-	-	''Speak of the Devil (Chris Isaak album)''	-
1999	"Baby Did a Bad, Bad Thing"	-	-	-	#44	''Forever Blue''

Filmography

★ ''Married to the Mob''...The Clown (1988)

★ ''The Silence of the Lambs''...SWAT Commander (1991)

★ ''...Special Agent Chester Desmond (1992)

★ ''Little Buddha''...Dean Conrad (1993)

★ ''Grace of My Heart''...Matthew Lewis (1996)

★ ''That Thing You Do!''...Uncle Bob (1996)

★ ''Blue Ridge Fall''...Emerson Cotswold (1999)

★ ''A Dirty Shame''...Vaughn Stickles (2004)

Television

★ ''Friends''...Rob Donnen (Season 2, Episode 12, 1996)

★ ''From the Earth to the Moon''...Astronaut Edward White II (1998)

★ ''Ed''...Jamie Decker (Season 3, Episode 20, 2003)

★ ''The Chris Isaak Show''...Himself (2001-2004)

★ ''American Dreams''...Roy Orbison (Season 2, Episode 14, 2004)

★ ''The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson''...Michael Caine in Space (Season 2, Episode 177, 2006)

★ ''Great Performances Jerry Lee Lewis: Last Man Standing Live''...Himself (2007)

References

1. Acoustic Guitar Central

External links

★ Chris Isaak.com - Official site of Chris Isaak

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★ Chris Isaak at Recordnet.com- Page with stories, multimedia and more about Chris Isaak from The Record in Stockon, CA, Isaak's hometown.