Chris Rodriguez (singer)
Chris Rodriguez (born March 7, 1960) is an American guitarist, who got his big break in contemporary Christian music, then moving on to play for various secular artists. He is also a singer/songwriter.
Biography
Rodriguez was born in The Bronx[1] on March 7, 1960, and moved to Nashville, becoming a veteran of the scene in the early 1990s. He sang jingles for fast food companies and worked as a backup singer and guitarist in Christian music, country music, and pop, appearing on recordings by Michael Bolton, Steven Curtis Chapman, Vince Gill, Amy Grant, Faith Hill, Billy Joel, Wynonna Judd, Kenny Loggins, Michael McDonald, Rich Mullins, Dolly Parton, Michael W. Smith, Shania Twain, and Jaci Velasquez.[2][3][4] He also worked as a songwriter, with credits including "Help You Find Your Way" by Michael W. Smith.[4]
His debut album, Beggar's Paradise, was released by
He continues to work as a session musician with other artists on the Nashville scene, such as Kenny Rogers, Kenny Loggins, and Lee Ann Womack. Rodriguez also leads Nashville-based band The Alternators, which features Nashville session players that interchange as their schedules allow. He is currently a member of the supergroup “Generation Radio”, with Jason Scheff, of Chicago, and Jay DeMarcus, of Rascal Flatts.
Rodriguez has been divorced three times, and has two children from his first marriage. Andre and Nic.
Rodriguez was part of Shania Twain's "The Woman in Me" TV tour band 1995-96 performing selected international venues and television shows with the musicians Randy Thomas (co-writer of the song "Butterfly Kisses"), Dan Schafer, Russ Taff, Dave Malachowski, Marc Muller, Allison Cornell & Will Owsley.
From 2005 to 2010, he toured with
From 2015, Rodriguez has been a touring member with Peter Cetera.[9] He also performed some duets with Cetera, such as "Hard Habit to Break".
Discography
Solo
- Beggar's Paradise (1999)
- Paraíso de un Mendigo (1999) [10-track Spanish version of the 12-track Beggar's Paradise]
- Head, Hands and Heart: Songs from the Venus Pool - Volume One (2019) [10]
- All The Best of Everything (2021) [11]
References
- Allmusic
- Minneapolis Star-Tribune, February 13, 1999.
- ^ a b Melissa Ruggieri, Review of Beggar's Paradise. Richmond Times-Dispatch, April 8, 1999.
- ^ a b c Mark Allan Powell, Encyclopedia of Contemporary Christian Music. Hendrickson, 2002, pp. 772-773.
- ^ James Lloyd, review of Beggar's Paradise. Dayton Daily News, April 30, 1999.
- ^ Review of Beggar's Paradise, CCM (magazine), 1999. (quoted in Powell, p. 773.)
- ^ Joseph Hudak, "Keeping it Real". CMA Close Up, Issue 7 (2011), pp. 12-13.
- ^ allmusic
- CCM, August 1, 2016.
- ^ Jetpack Label Group
- ^ Jetpack Label Group