Chris Barron
Chris Barron | |
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jam rock | |
Occupation(s) | Musician, songwriter |
Spouse(s) |
Chris Barron (born Christopher Gross; born February 5, 1968) is an American singer and songwriter, best known as the lead singer of Spin Doctors.
Biography
Christopher Gross was born February 5, 1968, in
When his family returned to the United States, Barron attended Princeton High School in Princeton, New Jersey,[2] the same school as John Popper, and the two became close friends. Barron and Popper would jam together after school.[1]
He attended Bennington College in Vermont for one year. There, he was a member of two local bands: Dead Alcoholics With Boners and the Funbunnies. After leaving Bennington, Barron returned to Princeton, got a job at a restaurant, and immersed himself in music. During this time, he wrote "Jimmy Olsen's Blues" and "Two Princes".[1]
Career
One night, John Popper's band Blues Traveler was in town. After hanging out for a night and hearing Barron's songs, Popper invited Barron to move in with them in New York City,[1] and so Barron moved to New York City in 1988, with $100 (equivalent to $260 in 2023) and an acoustic guitar.[3][4] He joined the band Trucking Company with Popper and Canadian guitarist Eric Schenkman. Popper left this side project to focus on his main gig with Blues Traveler full-time. With a name change to Spin Doctors, as well as the addition of Aaron Comess and Mark White, the classic lineup was in place by the spring of 1989.[5]
On May 17, 1999, just two weeks before the release of the band's album
Barron's voice came back in early 2000 (first comeback [solo] shows in March 2000), at which point he began performing with his band and the Give Daddy Five. Barron undertook what he calls "a journeyman songwriting experience," composing tunes with Blues Traveler's John Popper and with former
Spin Doctors remained inactive as a band until September 2001, when news about the closing of legendary NYC venue
In 2009, he put out a solo album called Pancho and the Kid, and a year later he released an EP called Songs from the Summer of Sangria.
In 2012, Barron took part in the Norwegian selection for the Eurovision Song Contest, with The Canoes.[8]
In 2017, Barron released Angels and One Armed Jugglers to positive reviews.
Personal life
Barron met Laura Benanti in the early 2000s. They married on July 25, 2005, but by the end of the year were going through what Benanti has called a "terrible divorce."[9] They were divorced in 2006.[10] He then married actress Lindsay Nicole Chambers, the lead in the Broadway tour of Kinky Boots on February 14, 2012.[11]
Discography
- Shag – 1998
- "We're All New Yorkers Now" – 2001 (9/11 memorial CD single)
- Pancho and the Kid – 2006
- Songs from the Summer Sangria – 2010 (Chris Barron and the Time Bandits)
- Angels and One Armed Jugglers – 2017
References
- ^ a b c d e Griffith, JT. "Overview: Chris Barron". AllMusic. Retrieved 10 July 2017.
- Wilmington Morning Star, March 14, 1995. Accessed December 10, 2018. "Chris Barron, lead singer of the Spin Doctors, gave a pocketful of cash to his old high school. Mr. Barron returned to Princeton High School on Sunday for a benefit concert to help the New Jersey school choir raise money for its trip to England and France next month."
- ^ Wiser, Carl (April 4, 2017). "Chris Barron of Spin Doctors : Songwriter Interviews". Songfacts. Retrieved 10 July 2017.
- ^ 1634–1699: McCusker, J. J. (1997). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States: Addenda et Corrigenda (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1700–1799: McCusker, J. J. (1992). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1800–present: Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. "Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–". Retrieved February 29, 2024.
- ^ Giles, Jeff (January 7, 1993). "Miracle Cure". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on December 30, 2008. Retrieved July 20, 2008.
- ^ a b St. John, Warren (September 25, 2005). "'That 90s Band' Tries Again". The New York Times. Retrieved July 20, 2008.
- ^ "Spin Doctors' Chris Barron Silenced By Paralyzed Vocal Cord". MTV News. August 19, 1999. Retrieved July 20, 2008.
- ^ Dzięgielewski, Artur (November 19, 2011). "Norway - The Canoes: the next MGP 2012 act". Eurovision Song Contest. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016.
- ^ Lipton, Brian Scott (June 26, 2007). "Everything's Coming Up Laura". TheaterMania. Retrieved January 20, 2016.
- ^ Buckley, Michael (August 28, 2005). "STAGE TO SCREENS: Chatting with Stage and Screen Star Laura Benanti". Playbill. Archived from the original on September 30, 2007. Retrieved June 29, 2008.
- ^ "11 years ago today, this wondrous creature sauntered into Brother Jimmy's and it was on. 7 years ago, on this day, we got married. The love of my life, my heart's companion, and pretty much the boss of me, ladies and gents, my wife, Mrs. Lindsay Nicole Barron Chambers". instagram.com.