As the son of an Air Force officer from Bowling Green, Chris was born in San Antonio, Texas, but Bowling Green became his home when his father retired from the military in 1975. He began playing the violin at age 12. After his family relocated to Bowling Green, he began private violin studies with WKU professor Betty Pease.
In his late teens, Chris started putting bands together with local musicians such as guitarists Bill Sacrey and Bobby Baldwin. After leaving WKU in his sophomore year, he joined and toured with the Dixie Line Band before joining Las Vegas entertainer Joe Savage’s “Savage Experience” in 1986. After settling in Nashville in late 1988, he was signed as an artist to Atlantic Records in New York as leader of the hard rock band, Fifteen Strings. He also signed as a staff songwriter to Warner/Chappell Music publishing in New York.
“Bowling Green is a major place… a natural place to be because it was en route from Louisville to Nashville. I was inspired by local musicians… I was the lucky beneficiary of a time when there were still supper clubs, Billy Vaughn was playing at the Branding Iron… Bands had two tuxedos from which to choose, either the powder blue or the lime green. This was still happening.”
Chris has enjoyed a stellar recording career, working worldwide from his Bowling Green recording studio as an arranger and musician for renowned artists such as Taylor Swift, Buddy Guy, Sheryl Crow, Lionel Richie, Norah Jones, and Steve Earle. His work has been featured on numerous Platinum and Gold selling records and multiple Grammy award-winning recordings.