Great Black Music Project INTERVIEW: Gavin Christopher

Gavin Christopher is a R&B singer and musician, born on May 1, 1949 in Chicago, Illinois where he started out playing music at a very early age. Having been schooled by the likes of Oscar Brown Jr., Donny Hathaway and later on Curtis Mayfield, he honed his writing and singing skills and began his career, first in a band called Lyfe (which also included Chaka Khan). Khan then left and joined Rufus (scoring several pop and R&B hits with them). Christopher later joined another band called High Voltage with future Rufus members Bobby Watson and Tony Maiden, as well as Lalomie Washburn, who later wrote several Rufus songs. Christopher himself would also become associated with Rufus, as he penned the song "Once You Get Started," which was later recorded by the band and hit #10 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1975.

Christopher relocated to Los Angeles, California where he was signed to his first recording contract with Island Records. He later moved back to Chicago to record and work with Curtis Mayfield on the Curtom/RSO record label. He worked with Herbie Hancock, writing and singing on several of his albums. Christopher also penned the Hancock song, "Stars in Your Eyes".

Category:

Entertainment

Tags:

• R&B
• GBMP
• Gavin Christopher
• AACM
• Rufus
• Songwriting
• Duke Ellington
• Oscat Brown Jr
• Joseph Jarman
• Roscoe Mitchell
• Anthony Braxton
• Muhal Richard Abrams
• Herbie Hancock
• Afrika Bambatta