Chris Barron (born Christopher Gross; born February 5, 1968) is an American singer and songwriter, best known as the lead singer of

Spin Doctors Spin Doctors are an American alternative rock band from New York City, best known for their early 1990s hits "Two Princes" and "Little Miss Can't Be Wrong", which peaked on the Billboard Hot 100, ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart at No. 7 and N ...

Biography

Christopher Gross was born February 5, 1968, in

Honolulu Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the isla ...

, where his father was stationed during the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

. Barron spent his childhood in the

Bronx The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...

and

Rye, New York Rye is a coastal suburb of New York City in Westchester County, New York, United States. It is separate from the Town of Rye, which has more land area than the city. The City of Rye, formerly the Village of Rye, was part of the Town until it r ...

, and later moved to

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

for over three years when he was eight years old. He went to primary school in

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mounta ...

. When his family returned 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 Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

, Barron attended

Princeton High School Princeton High School may refer to: *Princeton High School (Illinois), Princeton, Illinois *Princeton Community High School, Princeton, Indiana *Princeton High School (Minnesota), Princeton, Minnesota *Princeton Junior-Senior High School, Princeton ...

Princeton, New Jersey Princeton is a municipality with a borough form of government in Mercer County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It was established on January 1, 2013, through the consolidation of the Borough of Princeton and Princeton Township, both of w ...

, the same school as

John Popper John Popper (born March 29, 1967) is an American musician and songwriter, known as the co-founder, lead vocalist, and frontman of the rock band Blues Traveler. Early life John Popper was born in Chardon, Ohio. His father was a Hungarian immig ...

, and the two became close friends. Barron and Popper would jam together after school. He attended

Bennington College Bennington College is a private liberal arts college in Bennington, Vermont. Founded in 1932 as a women's college, it became co-educational in 1969. It claims to be the first college to include visual and performing arts as an equal partner in ...

Vermont Vermont () is a U.S. state, state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York (state), New York to the west, and the Provin ...

for one year. There, he was a member of two local bands: Dead Alcoholics With Boners and the Funbunnies. After leaving Bennington, Barron returned to Princeton, got a job at a restaurant, and immersed himself in music. During this time, he wrote "Jimmy Olsen's Blues" and " Two Princes".

Career

One night,

's band

Blues Traveler Blues Traveler (formerly known as "The Establishment" or "The Black Cat Jam" or "The Establishment Blues Band") is an American rock band that formed in Princeton, New Jersey in 1987. They are known for extensive use of segues in live performan ...

was in town. After hanging out for a night and hearing Barron's songs, Popper invited Barron to move in with them in New York City, and so Barron moved to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

in 1988, with $100 and an

acoustic guitar An acoustic guitar is a musical instrument in the string family. When a string is plucked its vibration is transmitted from the bridge, resonating throughout the top of the guitar. It is also transmitted to the side and back of the instrument, ...

. He joined the band Trucking Company with Popper and Canadian guitarist Eric Schenkman. Popper left this side project to focus on his main gig with Blues Traveler full-time. With a name change to Spin Doctors, as well as the addition of Aaron Comess and Mark White, the classic lineup was in place by the spring of 1989. On May 17, 1999, just two weeks before the release of the band's album '' Here Comes the Bride'', Barron woke up unable to talk. He lost his voice due to a rare acute form of

vocal cord In humans, vocal cords, also known as vocal folds or voice reeds, are folds of throat tissues that are key in creating sounds through vocalization. The size of vocal cords affects the pitch of voice. Open when breathing and vibrating for speec ...

paralysis that severely affected his ability to talk, let alone sing. He was told he had a 50-50 chance of ever talking or singing normally again. Band keyboardist

Ivan Neville Ivan Neville (born August 19, 1959) is an American multi-instrumentalist musician, singer, and songwriter. He is the son of Aaron Neville and nephew to members of The Neville Brothers. Career He has released four solo albums and had a Top 30 ...

took over vocal duties for a few dates, but the band eventually cancelled the remainder of its tour. Barron's voice came back in early 2000 (first comeback oloshows in March 2000), at which point he began performing with his band and the Give Daddy Five. Barron undertook what he calls "a journeyman songwriting experience," composing tunes with Blues Traveler's John Popper and with former BMI executive Jeff Cohen. A solo album called ''Shag'' was released in 2001, featuring diverse influences, including rock,

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, whi ...

, and

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African Americans in the mi ...

. In late 2001, after the World Trade Center attacks, Chris composed and recorded the gripping and potent hard rock anthem, We're All New Yorkers Now. The song became part of Empty Skyline, a multi-artist compilation CD of the most passionate, powerful and diverse songs created in the wake of September 11. Released in 2015, the CD can be found at museums and libraries around New York. Spin Doctors remained inactive as a band until September 2001, when news about the closing of legendary NYC venue

Wetlands A wetland is a distinct ecosystem that is flooded or saturated by water, either permanently (for years or decades) or seasonally (for weeks or months). Flooding results in oxygen-free (anoxic) processes prevailing, especially in the soils. The p ...

sparked the original four members to reunite. On September 7, 2001, the original line-up took the stage for the first time since 1994 to play at Wetlands. It was the final closing week of the club. The landmark show was a great success for the fans and the band. In 2009, he put out a solo album called ''Pancho and the Kid'', and a year later he released an EP called ''Songs from the Summer of Sangria''. In 2012, Barron took part in the Norwegian selection for the

Eurovision Song Contest The Eurovision Song Contest (), sometimes abbreviated to ESC and often known simply as Eurovision, is an international songwriting competition organised annually by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), featuring participants representing pr ...

, with The Canoes. In 2017, Barron released ''Angels and One Armed Jugglers'' to positive reviews.

Personal life

Barron met Laura Benanti in the early 2000s. They married on July 25, 2005, but by the end of the year were going through what Benanti has called a "terrible divorce." They were divorced in 2006. He then married actress Lindsay Nicole Chambers, the lead in the Broadway tour of '' Kinky Boots''.

Discography

* ''Shag'' – 2001 * "We're All New Yorkers Now" – 2001 (9/11 memorial CD single) * ''Pancho and the Kid'' – 2006 * ''Songs from the Summer Sangria'' – 2010 (Chris Barron and the Time Bandits) * ''Angels and One Armed Jugglers'' – 2017

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Barron, Chris 1968 births American rock singers Spin Doctors members Living people American people of Jewish descent American expatriates in Australia People from Princeton, New Jersey Princeton High School (New Jersey) alumni