-- 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.”
Tonight Tonight
Bill Champlin Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I stayed at home
Another sleepless night
Here by a telephone
That never seems to
Ring a ray of hope
Into a man so all alone
And i tried to let you go
Time after time
I lost my mind
Suddenly late last night
You finally called and
All my dreams came true today
You're coming home to stay
[Chorus]
Tonight, tonight
You'll be back in my arms
Back in my life
So right, so right
We'll never have to
Say goodbye because
Tonight, tonight
The love we used to have
Is gonna return
Tonight, tonight
The love that went away
Is coming home to stay
You are my happiness
One kiss can change the past
And cast it all away
Nothing will ever
Change the way i feel
And i can hardly wait to see you
You're coming home at last
[Chorus]
Tonight, tonight
The love we had is returning
Make it right tonight
The love that went away
Is coming home to stay
You are my love
My everlasting love
Everlasting love
In Bill Champlin's song titled Tonight Tonight, the artist paints a picture of someone who has lost an important part of their life- love, as it went away from them. The singer of the song, after a sleepless night, sits by a phone waiting for it to ring- and the phone which had never rung before now represents hope to him. The artist reflects on how he tried to let it go, but time and time again, he lost his mind. And suddenly, one late night, the much-awaited call came through - his love was coming back, which meant that everything would become right again. The chorus of the song, with its repetition of the phrase "tonight tonight," reflects the idea of newfound hope- the singer is delighted to have his lost love coming back that night. The artist highlights how this love is his happiness, and how a single kiss from that someone could blow the past away, and make it all disappear.
Through the song, the artist manages to explore the theme of hope, loss, and reunion. The singer in the song had lost his love and spent nights waiting for that one call that could bring it back. The lyrics, "You are my happiness. One kiss can change the past, And cast it all away," reflect the idea of how the return of love could change everything for the better. Champlin highlights how this love is his "everlasting love," which emphasizes the intense and pure nature of their bond. Through its soulful melody, Tonight Tonight resonates with anyone who has lost someone important in their life and gives hope to the possibility of reunion and a fresh start.
Line by Line Meaning
Love lost her way again
Love sometimes gets lost and can't find its way back.
I stayed at home
I stayed at home waiting for something to happen.
Another sleepless night
I had another night where I couldn't sleep.
Here by a telephone
I was waiting by the telephone for a call that never came.
That never seems to ring a ray of hope
The phone never rang and I was losing hope.
Into a man so all alone
The situation made me feel alone.
And i tried to let you go
I tried to move on from you.
Time after time
I tried and failed many times.
I lost my mind
I was going crazy with the waiting.
Suddenly late last night
Finally, late last night something happened.
You finally called and
I received your call that I was waiting for.
All my dreams came true today
My dream of hearing from you finally came true.
You're coming home to stay
You're coming back and staying with me.
Tonight, tonight
Tonight is the night that everything will change.
You'll be back in my arms
I'll finally have you back with me.
Back in my life
You'll be a part of my life again.
So right, so right
It all feels so perfect.
We'll never have to say goodbye because
We'll never have to be apart again.
The love we used to have
We used to have a love that was real.
Is gonna return
That love is coming back.
You are my happiness
You are the source of my happiness.
One kiss can change the past
A single kiss from you can make everything better.
And cast it all away
It can get rid of all the pain and hurt.
Nothing will ever
Nothing will ever change my love for you.
Change the way i feel
My love for you will never fade.
And i can hardly wait to see you
I'm so excited to see you again.
You're coming home at last
You're finally coming home to me.
The love we had is returning
Our love is coming back to us.
Make it right tonight
We're going to fix everything tonight.
You are my love
You are the one I love.
My everlasting love
My love for you will last forever.
Everlasting love
Our love is forever.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: DAVID W. FOSTER, RAY KENNEDY
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
J. GRINNELL
Great tune. originally called, "My Everlasting Love". Written and originally performed by Ray Kennedy(David Foster co-wrote). Song title was changed to 'TONIGHT TONIGHT" and Bill Champlin added some lyrics and made it a TOP 100 hit back 1981. Check out Ray's original take on this song.
Victor Dieleanora
Great album by a great and gifted artist who can't get along with others...
Bill Fleck
Bill at his best!
Ashira_ric
One of my fave,never get tired of this beautiful song 💋
Budi Rahmanto
O man..i miss this kind of music...thinking about how much fun times use to be, these times was the best
bienvenido del mundo
Me too dude, I badly miss my college days. Those were the days. Simple life and simple living.
psychodelicide
This song has an Earth, Wind & Fire vibe to it. I can just hear Philip Bailey singing this song. Great tune!
Chrls5
Great song!
violetncurls
I just can't get over this song....... am wishing somebody to sing this and meaning the lyrics for me.....
You are my happiness
One kiss can change the past
And cast it all away
Nothing will ever
Change the way I feel
And I can hardly wait to see you
You're coming home at last
LeeTav Music
I’ve just recently heard this song and album, and this particular verse is simply perfect… Bill sings it sublimely, so much meaning and soul to the way he sings it, perfect 🎤👌