Chris Stills (born April 19, 1974 in Boulder, Colorado) is a musician and actor. He is the son of American rock musician Stephen Stills and French singer-songwriter
Véronique Sanson
Véronique Marie Line Sanson (; born 24 April 1949) is a three-time Victoires de la Musique award-winning French singer-songwriter and record producer with an avid following in her native country.
Ten years after Barbara, Véronique Sanson beca ...
. He has played with both his father and his mother.
Biography
When Chris was a child, his mother taught him how to play the piano, and though he also played drums, it wasn't until Chris was 12 that he picked up the guitar. On the road with
Crosby, Stills, & Nash
Crosby, Stills & Nash (CSN) were a folk rock supergroup made up of American singer-songwriters David Crosby and Stephen Stills and English singer-songwriter Graham Nash. When joined by Canadian singer-songwriter Neil Young as a fourth member ...
one day, one of the band's guitar techs put a spare guitar in the young Stills' hands. Upon learning some simple chords and a song, Chris was hooked. His parents divorced in 1978, and at 13 he went to live with his mother in
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...
. He attended the
American School of Paris
The American School of Paris (ASP), established in 1946, is a coeducational, independent international school in Saint-Cloud, France, in the Paris metropolitan area.
The school has over 800 students from pre-kindergarten to Grade 12 and post-B ...
while there, and at 16 Chris wrote his first song, "If I Were a Mountain."
After graduating from high school in 1993, Chris moved back to the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
,
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...
, and worked as a roadie for his father. He lived in New York for a few years, forming a band at one point with another American School alum, Adam Cohen, son of singer/songwriter
Leonard Cohen
Leonard Norman Cohen (September 21, 1934November 7, 2016) was a Canadian singer-songwriter, poet and novelist. His work explored religion, politics, isolation, depression, sexuality, loss, death, and romantic relationships. He was inducted in ...
. Stills later signed with Atlantic Records (the same label as his father's band), and released his solo debut album, ''100 Year Thing'', in January 1998.
Growing up listening to the classics like
Buffalo Springfield
Buffalo Springfield was a rock band formed in Los Angeles by Canadian musicians Neil Young, Bruce Palmer and Dewey Martin and American musicians Stephen Stills and Richie Furay. The group, widely known for the song "For What It's Worth", rele ...
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin were an English rock band formed in London in 1968. The group comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham. With a heavy, guitar-driven sound, they are ci ...
, and
the Police
The Police were an English rock band formed in London in 1977. For most of their history the line-up consisted of primary songwriter Sting (lead vocals, bass guitar), Andy Summers (guitar) and Stewart Copeland (drums, percussion). The Polic ...
The Black Crowes
The Black Crowes are an American rock band formed in Atlanta, Georgia, in 1984. Their discography includes eight studio albums, four live albums and several charting singles. The band was signed to Def American Recordings in 1989 by producer Ge ...
. Chris also drew influences from both parents (especially watching them perform live on the road) to create his own blend of 1960s-inspired rock, folk, and blues on ''100 Year Thing''. Other influences came from Chris' experience playing over the years with acts like the Jayhawks and Alt. Country singer
Ryan Adams
David Ryan Adams (born November 5, 1974) is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, artist, and poet. He has released 23 albums, as well as three studio albums as a former member of alt-country band Whiskeytown.
In 2000, Adams lef ...
.
Chris's 2nd solo album, ''Chris Stills'', was released overseas in October 2005 after he was signed by then president of
V2 Records
V2 Records (or V2 Music; V2 being an abbreviation for Virgin 2) is a record label that was purchased by Universal Music Group in 2007 and sold to IASin 2013. In the Benelux, V2 operates separately from PIAS, as the label bought itself out from ...
Alain Artaud. The record was released to Canada and the United States the following May 2006.
He also supported
Richard Ashcroft
Richard Paul Ashcroft (born 11 September 1971) is an English singer and songwriter. He was the lead singer and occasional rhythm guitarist of the alternative rock band The Verve from their formation in 1990 until their original split in 1999. So ...
on a European Tour.
Recorded at the Studio du Palais, the live EP ''When the Pain Dies Down: Live in Paris'' appeared later.
Beginning in August 2007, Chris toured with
Mandy Moore
Amanda Leigh Moore (born April 10, 1984) is an American singer, songwriter and actress. She rose to fame with her debut single, "Candy (Mandy Moore song), Candy", which peaked at number 41 on the Billboard Hot 100, ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Her de ...
in a small venue tour, opening for her in 15+ shows across the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
and
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
.
Chris played in France in 2009 the role of
Julius Caesar
Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, ...
in the musical ''Cleopatre - La Derniere Reine d'Egypte''. It was the 2nd top grossing show in France for 2009 only after
Johnny Hallyday
Jean-Philippe Léo Smet (; 15 June 1943 – 5 December 2017), better known by his stage name Johnny Hallyday, was a French rock and roll and pop singer and actor, credited for having brought rock and roll to France.
During a career spanning 57 ...
.
The day after the play wrapped, Chris went on his first movie audition, where he landed the role of Alexander Child in the French film by first time director Jerome LeGris called ''Requiem for a Killer'' in 2010. The cast included
Melanie Laurent
Melanie is a feminine given name derived from the Greek μελανία (melania), "blackness" and that from μέλας (melas), meaning "dark".Clovis Cornillac and Tcheky Karyo.
During the making of movie, between shooting, Chris was working on a record entirely in French with producer Pierre Jaconelli for Alain Artaud. They had almost finished the making of the record, but things fell apart when Artaud, then president of Polydor/Universal, was abruptly fired. Chris then pulled the plug on the entire project, terminated his contract with Universal and returned to his home in Los Angeles.
In February 2012, Chris reconnected with
Ryan Adams
David Ryan Adams (born November 5, 1974) is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, artist, and poet. He has released 23 albums, as well as three studio albums as a former member of alt-country band Whiskeytown.
In 2000, Adams lef ...
and opened up for him on a 3-week European tour.
In November 2012 Chris produced an EP with Grammy nominated producer Dan Burns. The 6 song EP entitled ''Chris Stills - Let it Rain'' is due out around April/May 2013 digitally online and in limited 10' Vinyl.
In 2014, Chris announced on his
Twitter
Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...
account that he would be part of the cast on the 4th season of '' Shameless''.