Country
United States
Chuck Day
Informacje o wykonawcy Chuck Day
Miasto rodzinne
Chicago, IL, United States
Miejsce urodzenia
August 5, 1942
Gatunek
Country
Guitarist Chuck Day forged one of the most distinctive and enduring riffs in rock & roll history when he joined singer Johnny Rivers for the 1966 classic "Secret Agent Man." Born in Chicago on August 6, 1942, Day began playing guitar at age seven, drawing inspiration from legends like Hank Williams and Jimmy Reed -- at 15, he auditioned for King Records and landed a record deal that same day, issuing his 1957 debut single, "Pony Tail Partner," under the alias Ford Day. The record stiffed, and in the wake of the follow-up "Rain Silver Dollar," he signed to Mercury for 1958's "Poor Stagger Lee." Day's second Mercury effort, the jazz-inspired "Mama's Place," cracked the Billboard Hot 100, but he never again charted, and following 1960's "How Do I Do It," the label cut him loose.
After relocating to Los Angeles in 1965, Day signed on with Rivers, the earthy singer/songwriter famed for a series of crossover R&B covers including "Memphis," "Mountain of Love," and "Seventh Son." Day's arrival coincided with Rivers' shift toward more personal, soulful material, a transformation that yielded the chart-topping 1966 ballad "Poor Side of Town." Songwriters P.F. Sloan and Steve Barri teamed to write "Secret Agent Man," the theme for the TV series Secret Agent -- Rivers' cover remains the definitive rendition, galvanized by Day's chiming, indelible riff (itself inspired by composer Monty Norman's immortal theme for the James Bond films). In 1967, Day joined the Mamas & the Papas as a guitarist and bassist, appearing on sunshine pop landmarks like "California Dreamin'" and "Monday, Monday" -- Day also sired Mama Cass Elliot's daughter Owen, although the singer never identified him as the girl's father either privately or publicly prior to her 1974 death, and he did not learn Owen was his child until she tracked him down decades later.
Day settled in Fairfax, CA, in 1969, and while he remained a sought-after session player, contributing to motion picture soundtracks for films including Fritz the Cat, Switchblade Sisters, and Blacula, he focused most of his creative energy into performing live, emerging as an institution of the Marin County club scene. For 15 years Day hosted the Blue Monday Jam at the Fairfax saloon 19 Broadway, and in 1987 formed his own Chuck Day Band, later superseded by the Burning Sensations, who in 1997 released the album Desperate Measures. Around the time Day self-released 2007's Live at Peri's, cut at the Fairfax club Peri's Silver Dollar, his health began to fail, and he was later too ill to attend a tribute festival in his honor -- he died March 10, 2008, with a Fairfax memorial parade following on March 22. ~ Jason Ankeny
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