Artist:Chris Whitley
Song:I Forget You Every Day
Album:Living with the Law
Singer songwriter Chris Whitley had success mostly as an indie rocker. He probably could have been more successful if he had stayed with the blues rock sound that got him a major label deal in the early 90s. But he kept changing things up and record labels don't like that. So he never had that big commercial breakthrough and then he died prematurely. He was born August 31, 1960 in Houston. His father was an art director so the family moved a lot. His mom was a sculptor. Whitley started playing guitar as a teen and Muddy Waters and Howlin' Wolf was in his parents' record collection. After his parents divorce, Whitley moved to Mexico with his mom and then a log cabin in Vermont. Whitley left high school and moved to New York and started busking. A Belgian tourist offered to make him a star there. Whitley lived in Belgium for six years. When he returned to New York in 1990, Whitley met producer Daniel Lanois who got him a record deal with Columbia. I Forget You Every Day is from Whitley's 1991 debut album Living with the Law. The album was produced at Lanois' studio in New Orleans. The album was produced by Malcolm Burn. Though the album was not a commercial hit, it was reviewed positively. Whitley toured with Tom Petty. So he had potential. But Whitley's next album Din of Ecstasy was released in 1995 on Columbia's Work label. Four years is way too long a break. Even those who liked the first album forgot about him. Plus the music was more mainstream and less rootsy. Sales were disappointing and that was also true of the 1997 album Terra Incognito. Columbia dropped him and Whitley signed with the indie label Messenger and released several albums. He probably never should have been on a major label in the first place. Whitley was forced to cancel a 2005 tour due to illness. He died of lung cancer on Nov. 20, 2005 at age 45. Here's Chris Whitley performing I Forget You Every Day on German TV 1992.
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