THE GAINES STORY

Family

Father: Gene Gaines - former swim coach for Long Beach State University and former coach of both the U.S. and Australian Olympic swim teams.

Mother: Carolyn Johnns-Gaines - former swimmer for the Australian Olympic team and Commonwealth Games medalist.


     Chris was born August 10, 1967 in Brisbane, Australia. His family moved to the Los Angeles area when he was five years old. As an only child, Chris was expected by many to carry the torch in the Olympic waters. The young Gaines, however, defied expectations of an athletic future and developed a life-long passion for music, a passion so great Chris decided to quit school his senior year at Morningside High School to pursue his music professionally (although he did complete his G.E.D. in 1987).

     Chris joined his best friend Tommy Levitz along with Marc Obed in the band CRUSH. The band signed with Capitol Records in 1985 and released their self-titled debut album in 1986. The second single, "My Love Tells Me So," was a smash and one of the year's most successful songs. But the band's success was short-lived when lead singer Tommy Levitz died in a plane crash later that year.

     For the next two years, Joe Smith of Capitol Records and Chris discussed the possibility of a Chris Gaines solo career, and in 1989, Chris debuted his solo album, Straight Jacket. Both the public and the music industry responded favorably; the album spent an extraordinary 224 weeks on the Billboard Top 200 Albums Chart and won the Grammy Award for Album of the Year. The album, which featured the hits "Maybe," "White Flag," and "Digging for Gold," is still Chris' biggest-selling album to date.

     Tragedy struck again when Chris' father died in the fall of 1990 after his long battle with cancer. Almost a year to the day later, Chris released his second solo album, Fornucopia. Even though it was a very dark and angry album, it debuted at #1 and spent a combined 18 weeks on the top of the Billboard Top 200 Albums Chart. The album included the soulful remake of the 1972 Ramsay Sellers classic, "It Don't Matter to the Sun," and the instant classic, "Main Street."

     In the winter of 1992, Chris was involved in a violent single-car crash that nearly ended his life. Chris spent six weeks in the hospital and over two years undergoing extensive plastic surgery on his face, shoulder and hands. Although he would not allow himself to be seen or photographed, Chris released his third solo album, Apostle, in the winter of 1994. Without any artist promotion, the album still managed to spend a combined 8 weeks atop the Billboard Top 200 Albums Chart, and featured the singles "Way of the Girl" and "Unsigned Letter."

     Finally, in the winter of 1996, Chris re-emerged into public view for the first time with Triangle. Chris was dubbed "The New Prince" by the media because of his new look and the fact that his music showed a move towards R&B - a distinct change in musical style from his past. "Driftin' Away," "That's the Way I Remember It," and "Snow in July" are the featured hits on the album.

     Now, on the eve of the millennium, Chris has assembled his greatest hits, as well as two new songs, "Lost in You" and "Right Now." Chris' Greatest Hits is the perfect bridge between his upcoming solo album, The Lamb, (which the critics are already predicting will be the "definitive album of the new millennium") and the albums that have defined our times over the last decade.