Уильям Брэдфорд Чэмплин: Музыкальная карьера и творчество

American musician (born 1947)

William Bradford Champlin (born May 21, 1947) is an American singer, keyboardist, guitarist and songwriter. He formed the band Sons of Champlin in 1965, which still performs today, and was a member of the rock band Chicago from 1981 to 2009. He performed lead vocals on three of Chicago's biggest hits of the 1980s, 1984's "Hard Habit to Break" and 1988's "Look Away" and "I Don't Wanna Live Without Your Love". During live shows, he sang the lower, baritone, vocal parts originally performed by founding guitarist Terry Kath, who had died in 1978. He has won multiple Grammy Awards for songwriting.

As a child, Champlin demonstrated a talent for piano and eventually picked up the guitar after being inspired by Elvis Presley. He started a band called The Opposite Six while at Tamalpais High School in Mill Valley, California. He then studied music in college, but was encouraged by a professor to drop out and pursue music professionally.

David Foster produced two solo albums for Champlin: Single (1978) and Runaway (1981). Both albums sold poorly due to lack of adequate promotion by his record company, although the latter album did include a pair of minor hits on the Billboard Hot 100 ("Sara" and "Tonight, Tonight"). In the 1990s, Champlin released five more solo albums: No Wasted Moments, Burn Down the Night, Through It All, He Started to Sing, and Mayday. The last was a live recording of songs from his career, and included musicians Greg Mathieson, Jerry Lopez, Eddie Garcia, Tom Saviano, and Rochon Westmoreland. In September, 2008, Champlin released No Place Left To Fall and a companion DVD in Japan on JVC/Victor. The record was produced by Champlin and Mark Eddinger, and featured musicians Bruce Gaitsch, George Hawkins, Jr., Billy Ward, Tamara Champlin, Will Champlin, and Eddinger, with guest appearances by Steve Lukather, Peter Cetera, Michael English, Jerry Lopez, and enlisted such songwriting/player greats as Jay Graydon, Andreas Carlsson, Diane Warren, Michael Caruso, Tom Saviano, and Dennis Matkosky. The record was released in Europe by Zinc Music in December, 2008, and in the U. S. by DreamMakers Music in August, 2009. In January, 2021, Champlin's solo album "Livin For Love" was released by Imagen Records and featured Champlin on keyboard and guitars as well as players Bruce Gaitsch, Carmen Grillo, Steve Porcaro, Vinnie Colaiuta, George Hawkins Jr., Greg Mathieson, Gordon Campbell, Lenny Castro, Marc Russo, Alan Hertz, Tal Morris, Jason Scheff, and Abraham Laboriel. Singers included Bill Champlin on lead and background vocals, Tamara Champlin, Gary Falcone, Jason Scheff, and Andreas Carlsson. Tracks were composed by Bill Champlin, Tamara Champlin, Bruce Gaitsch, Michael Caruso, Greg Mathieson, Jason Scheff, and Gary Falcone.

In 1978, the day after Chicago guitarist Terry Kath died, the band reached out to Champlin suggesting that he audition to take Kath's place. Champlin turned down the offer, saying he could not fill that role. In early 1981, Champlin collaborated with Chicago's drummer, Danny Seraphine, by singing some backgrounds with Peter Cetera on a non Chicago project. Seraphine and Champlin co wrote a few songs for Chicago that year, and Champlin was invited to sing one of those songs, "Sonny Think Twice", as a guest vocalist. Champlin suggested to Seraphine that David Foster might be a good choice as a producer for Chicago at that time. Seraphine began a campaign to get Champlin into the group, and he joined before the end of 1981. The band did collaborate with Foster on their next album, 1982's platinum certified Chicago 16. Champlin was featured singing several songs, including "Bad Advice", "Follow Me", and "Sonny Think Twice". Champlin also shared vocals with Cetera on "Waiting for You to Decide". 1984's Chicago 17 enhanced Champlin's presence in the group, when he wrote several songs ("Please Hold On" and "Remember the Feeling") and sang (with Cetera) the hit single "Hard Habit to Break". In 1988, Champlin's voice appeared prominently on several major hit singles from Chicago 19: "Look Away", "I Don't Wanna Live Without Your Love", and "You're Not Alone". That year, he also sang the theme to the television show In the Heat of the Night. In 1990, Champlin wrote, produced, and sang lead on "Hearts in Trouble", a song for the movie soundtrack of Days of Thunder. Originally a solo song, the producers of the movie decided, for marketing purposes, that it be released under the name of Chicago. The band's horn section added a brass arrangement to the track, and subsequently it was released as a single. In the summer of 1990, Chicago launched its Hearts in Trouble Tour. In 1991, Chicago released the album Twenty 1, featuring the Champlin sung hit "Chasin' the Wind", which peaked at No. 39 on the Billboard Hot 100, the band's last top 40 hit on that chart. In 1993, Chicago recorded its "lost album", not released until 2008 as Chicago XXXII: Stone of Sisyphus. Champlin sings on the tracks "Mah Jong", "Cry for The Lost", "The Show Must Go On", and "Plaid". Champlin made major contributions to Chicago's big band tribute Night & Day Big Band in 1995 and to the 1998 Christmas album Chicago XXV: The Christmas Album, including the additional track "What's It Gonna Be, Santa?" on the album's 2003 re release. Champlin co wrote four of the songs on the band's 2006 album Chicago XXX. In 2009, Chicago and Champlin announced he would be leaving the group during the band's summer tour with Earth, Wind & Fire. Chicago's management released a statement saying, "Bill Champlin is no longer in Chicago. He was a long time band member and we wish him all the best as he embarks on his new solo project, for which he's worked long and hard". A statement by Champlin's publicist said, "After 28 years with Chicago, singer songwriter keyboardist Bill Champlin is parting ways with the classic jazz/rock band to focus once again on his solo career". Later, Champlin would state that the abrupt decision was a surprise to him, and that he had no input in it.

Champlin formed a band in 2018, entitled "Bill Champlin and the WunderGround" that included members singer guitarist Gary Falcone; singer Tamara Champlin; bass player Bill Bodine; Ambrosia's drummer Burleigh Drummond; and keyboardist singer Mary Harris, releasing an album Bleeding Secrets and playing shows in the Los Angeles, California area, to promote and support the music.

In 2012 Champlin joined Joseph Williams and Peter Friestedt, who had been previously releasing an album under the name "Williams Friestedt" in 2011, for a European tour. As a result of the tour, a Live DVD/CD, recorded in Gothenburg on March 25, 2012, was released under the name "Bill Champlin Joseph Williams Peter Friestedt *All Star Band*" and hit the top of the Swedish charts. Champlin knew both Williams and Friestedt well, as they had worked together in the past during the recordings of Friestedt's solo albums "The L. A. project" and "The L. A. project Vol. 2". They decided to join forces and subsequently released under the name "Champlin Williams Friestedt" several singles, a self titled album "Champlin Williams Friestedt" in 2015, and "2" in 2020.

Bill Champlin resides in Los Angeles, California. He has two sisters, Mimi Champlin and Sally Champlin. Champlin was married in the 1970s and had two children, Bradford Raymond Champlin and Amy Jo Kelly. Champlin has been married since 1982 to his second wife, singer songwriter Tamara Champlin, and together they have son Will Champlin, who finished third on Season 5 (2013) of The Voice. In 1983, the same year son Will was born, Bill and Tamara performed music together on screen in the film Copper Mountain. On September 13, 2016, Champlin's son Bradford died from complications due to esophageal cancer. He was 51.