Chris Isaak

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Chris Isaak.

Chris Isaak in concert at the Chumash Casino Resort in Santa Ynez, California, April 6, 2006.

Christopher Joseph Isaak (born June 26, 1956 in Stockton, California) is an American indie rock, pop and rock and roll singer, songwriter, and occasional actor.

Isaak's music can be described as a blend of country, blues, rock and roll, pop and surf rock.

He signed a contract to Warner Bros. Records in 1984 for his first album Silvertone. Isaak's contract was renewed in 1988 when Warner Bros. moved him to their Reprise Records label.

His best-known song is "Wicked Game." Though released on the 1989 album Heart Shaped World, an instrumental version of the song was later featured in the David Lynch film Wild at Heart (and also years later in the 2000 film The Family Man). Lee Chesnut, an Atlanta radio station music director who was obsessed with David Lynch films, began playing the full version and it quickly became a nationwide top ten hit. The music video for the song was directed by Herb Ritts and was a big MTV and VH1 hit; shot in black and white, it starred Isaak and model Helena Christensen rolling on the beach, embracing and whispering in each others' ears.

In 1999, Isaak's "Baby Did a Bad, Bad Thing" was featured in Stanley Kubrick's final film, Eyes Wide Shut, starring Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman.

Isaak also composed a theme song for US late-night television variety/talk show, The Late Late Show with Craig Kilborn.

In 2001, Chris Isaak starred in his own television show, The Chris Isaak Show. It aired from March 2001 to March 2004 in the United States on the cable television network Showtime. This adult comedy show featured Chris Isaak and his band playing themselves with the episode plots based on fictional accounts of the backstage world of Chris Isaak--the rock star next door.

In 2004, his track "Life Will Go On" was featured on the Chasing Liberty soundtrack, which starred Mandy Moore and Matthew Goode.

Isaak has also appeared in numerous films, mostly playing minor cameo roles, though he starred with Keanu Reeves and Bridget Fonda in the 1993 Bernardo Bertolucci-directed Little Buddha, and also played a major role in David Lynch's Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me (1992). Other motion pictures include Married to the Mob (1988), The Silence of the Lambs (1991), That Thing You Do! (1996), and A Dirty Shame (2004). He also guest-starred on the Super Bowl Sunday (1996) edition of the television sitcom Friends and on the HBO miniseries, From the Earth to the Moon .

Isaak is also an amateur boxer, a former Golden Gloves champion and an avid surfer.

Isaak is currently a correspondent for the Tonight Show with Jay Leno.

[edit] Discography

Main article: Chris Isaak discography

Isaak's longtime producer, Erik Jacobsen, was instrumental in his sound for 15 years. Jacobsen is known for his production work with The Lovin' Spoonful, and solo albums from Spoonful's John Sebastian and Jerry Yester. Isaak ceased working with Jacobsen on his 2001 album, Always Got Tonight.

[edit] Singles

[edit] External links

• Official site of Chris Isaak
• Chris Isaak at the Internet Movie Database
• Chris Isaak landing page: The singer who's known as Stockton's most famous native son is profiled in this collection from The Record.