Bill Champlin interview

Here'a recent article about Bill Champlin:

Saturday, September 2, 2000

Resonating memories

Chicago's Champlin has heard it all

By LISA WILTON, CALGARY SUN

Bill Champlin has seen the best and worst of the music industry during a career that has spanned more than 35 years.

The long-time singer, guitarist and keyboardist of adult-contemporary jazz-pop outfit,

Chicago, recalls one the brightest moments being the night he shared the stage with legendary bluesman B.B. King at L.A.'s Shrine Auditorium.

"It was 1967 and we were playing a gig with the Yardbirds and B.B. King," says Champlin, who was then the leader of psychedelic San Francisco rock band, Sons of Champlin.

"B.B. was going to have his organ player use bass pedals on our Hammond organ, but right after our set, our Hammond took a dive. It needed a fuse."

Without the use of the Sons' Hammond, B.B's organist couldn't play the proper bass notes, prompting the show's promoter to search for a replacement bassist.

"(Our bass player) went to grab his guitar," he remembers.

"And I walked over to him said, 'Al, have you ever heard of B.B. King?' and he said, 'No.' And then I asked him if he could name me a B.B. King song and he couldn't. So I went, 'Give me that thing! You're not going down there, I'm going down there.'

"So I played a set with B.B. King, and to this day, it's probably one of my greatest moments."

Since joining Chicago in 1981, Champlin -- who plays a special benefit blues concert at The Cave Youth Centre tonight -- has enjoyed several Top 10 singles, but has also felt the disappointment and frustration of seeing what would have been the band's 22nd album, Stone of Sisyphus, scrapped by its record label.

"I still like that album," says Champlin during an interview at River Rock recording studio, where he is lending some backing vocals to the debut album of local 17-year-old singer Julie Conrad.

"I don't like all of it. I think it was a little overproduced in a way, but I think it's a good record."

Chicago -- best known for the 1972 feel-good hit Saturday in the Park and the singles Hard Habit to Break and You're the Inspiration from its massive-selling 1984 album, Chicago 17 -- is still on the road several weeks a year and is thinking of recording a new album in the near future.

"We were smart enough and had good enough management to keep going at times when maybe we shouldn't have," says Champlin when asked about Chicago's longevity.

"We're still doing it. Chicago's still there.

"I've been with the band for 19 years and I'm still the new guy!"

Tickets for tonight's show are available at the The Cave (Silver Springs Plaza, 5720 Silver Springs Blvd. N.W.) and are $15 for adults and $5 for youths under 18. Show starts at 8 p.m.