-- Greg Rule, Keyboard Magazine
Bill Champlin was born in Oakland, California on May 21, 1947 to a musical family. His grandparents, mother and sisters have all been singers. Bill is married to Tamara Champlin, a singer/songwriter in her own right, and is the father of three children. His youngest, Will Champlin, is building a name for himself as a prolific songwriter with a distinct sound.
Champlin’s musical career began in 1961 when he formed a band called the Opposite Six. A year later he began writing music. After forming the Sons of Champlin in 1967 he focused his songwriting talents on producing material for the Sons. “They were breathing fire. They were the most talented of all the San Francisco bands”, said Mickey Hart of the Grateful Dead. The Sons’ first album, “Loosen Up Naturally”, was released in 1969, followed by six more albums before they broke up in 1977. Many of these have been re-released as CD’s and are currently available for purchase.
After the breakup of the Sons, Bill moved to Los Angeles and worked as a session lead and background vocalist on numerous recordings from 1977-1985. Some of the artists that he has worked with include Patti LaBelle, Lou Rawls, Elton John, Boz Scaggs, Donna Summer, Nancy Wilson, George Benson, Jimmy Smith, Amy Grant, Neil Diamond and Kenny Rogers. In 1978 he released “Single”, his first solo album. In 1979 he won his first Grammy award for co-writing “After the Love is Gone”, which was later recorded by Earth, Wind & Fire. During the recent Chicago/EWF tours in 2004 and 2005, Champlin was asked to perform this song with them, as lead singer.
The National Association of Recording Arts and Sciences (NARAS) awarded Bill the Most Valuable Player peer award for male background vocalists in 1980. In 1981 he won another Grammy for co-writing Turn Your Love Around for George Benson, and released his second solo album that year, “Runaway”. In 1982 he joined Chicago to record Chicago 16. “Bill’s exactly what we’ve been looking for,” said Chicago’s Robert Lamm. His very distinctive and expressive vocals can be heard on Chicago's hit, "Hard Habit to Break".
In 1988 Bill’s recording of the song, “In the Heat of the Night”, was picked up as a show opener by the television show of the same name. The following year Chicago released the song of the year, “Look Away”, featuring Champlin on lead vocals. In 1990 Bill released the critically acclaimed “No Wasted Moments”. That same year he was asked to perform two songs from “No Wasted Moments” at the Tokyo Music Festival, and was presented with their songwriter of the year award.
Next came four solo albums, “Burn Down The Night” (1992), “Through It All” (1994), “He Started To Sing” (1995) and “Mayday” (1996). In July, 1997, “Here in my Heart” topped the adult contemporary charts for Chicago, featuring Champlin on lead vocals. 1997 also saw an a capella release of “West Coast All Stars”, a project he did with Jason Scheff of Chicago, and Toto’s Bobby Kimball and Joseph Williams.
The Sons of Champlin reunited in 1997, with a loyal group of enthusiastic fans traveling great distances to see them perform. They recorded “Live At The Luther Burbank Center” in 1998, as well as “Secret” (CD and DVD) and “Hip Lil' Dreams’ in 2002.
Bill’s newest release is the solo CD / DVD “No Place Left To Fall”. It was recorded at the Barber Shop Studios in Hopatcong, New Jersey for the DreamMakers Music label. It was first released by JVC Japan on September 24, 2008, as well as being release for digital downloading, and later released in Europe by Zink Music on December 10, 2008. The U.S. release by DreamMakers was on August 4, 2009.
With “No Place Left to Fall”, Bill Champlin has made the album he was born to make, a career-defining record with an honesty and immediacy that reflect his old-school approach to music – and his complete disregard for the old-model music industry.
“It’s not completely auto-tuned and processed like a lot of CDs are lately,” says Champlin. “It may not be dead-on perfect, but I think the dead-on perfect records are just that - dead.”
“No Place Left to Fall” captures the many sides of Champlin, thanks to Mark Eddinger and Dennis D’Amico at indie label DreamMakers Music who helped him sort through four CDs worth of material to find the 13 gems that best exemplified the range of his artistry. Rather than insist Champlin deliver a particular kind of album that would fit neatly within a genre bin of the now nearly extinct species we knew as record stores, they encouraged him to do it all – ballsy blues numbers, jazz, straight ahead rock ‘n’ roll, funk, R&B and achingly beautiful pop songs that don’t give a damn if they exceed three minutes. “I felt Bill deserved to make a record without having a set of rules,” says Eddinger.
“I went, ‘Wow, you mean somebody wants me to be myself? Dig that!’” says Champlin, who has time and again had to tell major label executives that no, he wasn’t interested in making an album that sounds like the latest flavor of the month. (Go to Champlin’s MySpace page and you’ll see only one artist listed after the obligatory “sounds like” section: Bill Champlin.)
“A lot of times somebody from a band puts out a solo album and you realize it’s just an extension of that band,” says Champlin, who hit the road in November in support of his new album. “That ain’t what this is. This album is an extension of what I do and where I’ve been coming from. Just wait ‘til you hear the live versions of these songs!”
Bill has also left Chicago. According to his official his press release, after 28 years with Chicago, singer-songwriter-keyboardist Bill Champlin is parting ways with the classic jazz/rock band to focus once again on his solo career. The announcement comes on the heels of the August 4th release of “No Place Left to Fall”. “This music is callin’ me,” said Champlin.
The two-time GRAMMY® award winner then launched a successful West Coast tour beginning in November of 2009, with the Bill Champlin Band promoting "No Place Left To Fall", followed by a Sons of Champlin tour in March, 2010. He was also invited to Norway last year by the Norwegian Kringkastings Orchestra to perform with his wife, Tamara Champlin, in Oslo. April 28th-30th, 2011, the Bill Champlin Band was live at the Cotton Club In Japan. The Band, since renamed "Champlin", also features Will Champlin, Tamara Champlin, Carmen Grillo, Bobby Watson and Herman Matthews. This current lineup is now performing in Kuwait and Iraq as part of Bobby Kimball's USO Tour. They will return to the States to play a showcase engagement at the Canyon Club July 7, 2011.
In the words of drummer, Billy Ward, “I became a Bill Champlin fan in the early seventies when he led, what was to me, a ground-breaking band, The Sons Of Champlin. He's written and sang on probably over 400 hit songs, the later ones with the band Chicago. His organ playing has him ranked on most peoples "A" list and he plays the heck out of the guitar as well! He is one of the finest musicians I've ever gotten the privilege to play with.” Dennis Cook, in Jambase and Relix Magazine adds, “Age has done nothing to diminish his powers, and in fact, brings nuances to the material that a young cat just can't muster.”
Satisfaction
Bill Champlin Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
When we were young
We thought the rain would never fall
We had forever for awhile
Every together has an ending
Someone is always standing in line
You were tryin' to save me from myself
When you fell in love with someone else
All my dreams were gone
Something went wrong
And the fool is all alone
Back when the time was standin still
We fell in love
We thought the rain would never fall
While I was searchin' for a thrill
You went away, now I'm feelin' stranded
Took you for granted for too long
I was tryin' to love somebody else
You were tryin' to save me from myself
When you fell in love with someone else
All my dreams were gone
Something went wrong
And the fool is all alone
The song "Satisfaction" by Bill Champlin is a story about lost love and the regret that comes with it. The first two lines in the lyrics talk about the memories of a time when they were young and the belief that the rain would never fall. This represents a time when they were happy and carefree, and everything seemed perfect.
The next few lines suggest that every good thing comes to an end and that there is always someone waiting in line to replace us in someone's life. The singer tries to love someone else and the partner tries to save them from themselves, but ultimately, their love fades away as the partner falls in love with someone else. This leaves the singer feeling alone, confused, and regretful of taking their partner for granted.
The singer remembers the times when they fell in love and thought that the rain would never fall. But now, they are left searching for a thrill and feeling stranded without their partner. The lyrics show the pain of lost love and the feeling of being alone when something goes wrong.
Overall, "Satisfaction" is a powerful song that tells a story that many people can relate to. It explores the themes of lost love, regret, and the pain of being alone. The beautiful composition and captivating lyrics make it a classic song that continues to resonate with listeners even today.
Line by Line Meaning
I still remember you and me
The singer reminisces about a past relationship.
When we were young
At the time of the relationship, they were both youthful.
We thought the rain would never fall
They were naive and believed that the good times would last forever.
We had forever for awhile
Despite their youth, they felt like they had all the time in the world together.
Every together has an ending
The artist acknowledges that all relationships come to an end eventually.
Someone is always standing in line
There will always be others waiting to take someone's place.
I was tryin' to love somebody else
The singer was attempting to move on from the past relationship.
You were tryin' to save me from myself
The artist's former partner wanted to help them, but it wasn't enough.
When you fell in love with someone else
The artist's former partner moved on and found someone else to love.
All my dreams were gone
The end of the relationship shattered the artist's hopes and aspirations.
Something went wrong
There was a problem in the relationship that caused it to end.
And the fool is all alone
The artist feels foolish for believing that the relationship would last, and is now alone.
Back when the time was standin still
The relationship was in a happy, stable time.
We fell in love
The two parties experienced mutual romantic feelings for one another.
While I was searchin' for a thrill
The singer was actively trying to find excitement and happiness outside the relationship.
You went away, now I'm feelin' stranded
The artist's partner left, leaving them feeling lost and uncertain.
Took you for granted for too long
The artist realizes that they didn't appreciate their partner enough while they were together.
Contributed by Lucas B. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Victor Dieleanora
Great song, great album musicianship and vocals. Loved him in Chicago.
AaronOsheroff
Bill in his prime. Absolutely freaking phenomenal.
Matt Foley
Sounds like Chicago 16 album that Foster produced and played on.
Hansum joe
love to see the JerryHey-inspired horn track...make the players heads roll back and say 'do what??'
Ariel Cohen
@Hansum joe : me 3...........
Nagroddy
JR Robinson on drums! Robinson played on MANY major hits by Michael Jackson, Rufus, Chaka Khan and many many more. For decades Robinson has been Quincy Jones and David Fosters first call drummer. Bill Chaplin was a member of the band Chicago for more than 20 years.
Jason Nadle
Chicago should've gone in this direction once Bill joined them.
Kevin Herbert
superbo....
Da Honu
Bill. I saw you do this song with the C word. You played two keyboards and still did the vocals. I needed to change my underwear after. The “Chicago Horns” couldn’t keep up
D
Victor Dieleanora
Sorry but that is nonsense.