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Chris Isaak
Chris Isaak at a USO show in Washington, D.C.
Background information
Birth name	Christopher Joseph Isaak
Born	June 26, 1956 (1956-06-26) (age 52) Stockton, California
Occupation(s)	Singer, actor
Years active	1984–present
Label(s)	Warner Bros. Records
Website	www.chrisisaak.com

Christopher Joseph Isaak (born June 26, 1956) is an American rock musician and occasional actor.

Biography

Personal life

Isaak was born in Stockton, California, the son of Dorothy (née Vignolo), a potato chip factory worker, and Joe Isaak, a forklift driver.^[1][2] Isaak's mother is Italian American, originating from Genoa.^[3] Chris has two older brothers, Nick and Jeff.

Music career

Isaak signed a contract to Warner Bros. Records in 1984 for his first album Silvertone. The tracks "Gone Ridin'" and "Livin' for Your Lover" are from his album, were featured in David Lynch's cult classic Blue Velvet. Isaak's second self-titled album Chris Isaak was photographed by fashion photographer Bruce Weber. 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 1990 David Lynch film Wild at Heart. Lee Chesnut, an Atlanta radio station music director who was obsessed with Lynch films, began playing the vocal version and it quickly became the station's most-requested song. Chesnut spread the word to other radio stations around the country and the single became a national top 10 hit in February of 1991. 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 Danish supermodel Helena Christensen rolling on the beach, embracing and whispering in each other's ears. Another less-seen version of the "Wicked Game" is directed by David Lynch and comprises scenes from the film Wild at Heart. In 1995 Isaak split with long time guitarist James Calvin Wilsey, and that year's Forever Blue and the accompanying tour featured Hershel Yatovitz on guitar.

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. The song is on his 1995 album Forever Blue. The music video for the song is directed by Herb Ritts, it was shot in color, it starred Isaak and French supermodel Laetitia Casta in a motel room. This was Isaak's second collaboration with Ritts.

Isaak also composed a theme song for US late-night television variety/talk show, The Late Late Show with Craig Kilborn. In 2001, 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. His track "Two Hearts" was featured in the closing credits of the 1993 film True Romance, directed by Tony Scott, written by Quentin Tarantino, and starring Christian Slater and Patricia Arquette.

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 2002 album, Always Got Tonight.

Isaak was ranked #68 on VH1's 100 Sexiest Artists.

Guitars

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.'^[4]

Isaak also plays a Gibson J-200 acoustic guitar, which he uses for songwriting.^[5]

Acting and other work

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 Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me (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).

Isaak turned down the roles of Jeffrey Beaumont in David Lynch's Blue Velvet (1986) and Ray Sinclair in Jonathan Demme's Something Wild (1986).

Isaak starred in The Chris Isaak Show (2001-2004) playing himself and featuring actual members of his band along with numerous celebrity guests. 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 is also an amateur boxer, a former Golden Gloves champion and an avid surfer. He is a correspondent for The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and Extra.

The Biography Channel will air The Chris Isaak Hour, a music interview and performance show. The debut date is to be announced.

Discography

Main article: Chris Isaak discography

Studio albums

• Silvertone (1985)
• Chris Isaak (1987)
• Heart Shaped World (1989)
• Wicked Game (1991)
• 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)

Filmography

• 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)
• 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)
• The Informers...Les Price (2008)

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

External links

• Chris Isaak.com - Official site of Chris Isaak
• Fan site
• Chris Isaak at LyricWiki
• Chris Isaak at the Internet Movie Database
• Chris Isaak at TV.com
• Chris Isaak at Recordnet.com- Page with stories, multimedia and more about Chris Isaak from The Record in Stockon, CA, Isaak's hometown.
• Chris Isaak at Discogs