It might come as a surprise to find this rockabilly artist from Stockton, California in a directory for Zouk artists, but upon hearing €Festo DJ’s outstanding remix of Isaak’s hit single “Wicked Game,” we couldn’t resist making him an “honorary zouk artist” and adding him to the Zouk Artist Directory.
The son of a fork lift driver, Christopher Joseph Isaak was born on June 26th , 1956 in Stockton, California. Borrowing his brother’s guitar, Isaak taught himself how to play and started writing songs as a teenager. He found early inspiration in country musicians, such as Hank Williams, who his father liked to listen to on the radio.
Frequenting second-hand stores with his mother, Isaak continued his musical education by buying used records and discovering first-hand the power of early rock ‘n’ roll—especially Elvis Presley’s recordings for Sun Records. This life-changing experience helped to shape Isaak’s enduring sound.
After graduating from Stagg High School as a class valedictorian, Isaak attended University of the Pacific in Stockton where he majored in English literature and Communications. Outside of his academic studies, he spent much of his time training at a boxing gym and fighting as a light heavyweight. Isaak later spent some time in Japan as an exchange student, and it was there that he first considered a career in music.
After graduating in 1980, Isaak moved to San Francisco to pursue a career in music full time. He started out as a solo act, but in the early 1980s Isaak formed a rockabilly-influenced group called Silvertone. The early days were challenging as Isaak and the band played every Bay Area bar and club trying to make their name. Isaak’s luck finally turned around when he caught the attention of producer Erik Jacobsen, best known for his work in the 60s with Lovin’ Spoonful, Tim Hardin and Norman Greenbaum. With Jacobsen’s help, Isaak scored a recording contract with Warner Bros. Records.
In 1985, Isaak released his debut album, “Silvertone.” The record received considerable critical praise, earned raves from other artists such as John Fogerty, and became a major commercial hit in a number of international markets. Backed by his bandmates—including drummer Kenney Dale Johnson and bassist Rowland Salley, who continue to play with him to this day—Isaak established a reputation as a crowd pleasing live performer wherever he went.
It was Isaak’s third album, “Heart Shaped World” (1989) that proved to be a breakthrough for the singer, when famed director David Lynch used an instrumental version of Isaak’s song “Wicked Game” for the film “Wild at Heart” (1991). A disc jockey in Atlanta took notice of the haunting track and started playing Isaak’s album version —complete with vocals—on his station. The song soon caught on with listeners, and the album started to climb the charts in America reaching as high as number six on the Billboard pop charts in 1991, while Herb Ritts’ video of the song helped make Isaak a multi-media star and sex symbol. Another track from the same album, “Don’t Make Me Dream About You,” would also earn significant airplay, turning Heart Shaped Box into a multi-platinum album in the U.S. and a smash-hit internationally.
Since then Isaak has managed to record nine more albums and in the process been nominated for two Grammy Award. In addition to a singing career, he has also managed out to carve out a successful career as an actor working in both film and television. To where for awhile he even had his own television show, appropriately titled, The Chris Isaak Show.
Isaak’s new album, Mr. Lucky, is due in stores on February 2, 2010.
Chirs Isaak’s music was featured in the third episode of the Zouk Nation Podcast.
