Bill Champlin

Bill Champlin's multifaceted work as a vocalist, songwriter, keyboardist, and guitarist has marked him as a rock veteran whose professional path extends to the 1960s. From 1966 onward he served as the central force in the San Francisco ensemble Sons of Champlin, a band that continued to form and release recordings at irregular intervals for more than ten years while attracting limited attention. He joined Chicago in 1981 and has maintained an uninterrupted role in the group's recording and touring activities, issuing solo projects from time to time, some of which appeared solely in Japan. Two of his singles reached the charts in 1982, "Tonight Tonight" and "Sara." In 1987 he shared vocals with Patti LaBelle on "The Last Unbroken Heart," featured on the Miami Vice television soundtrack, and in 1991 he performed with Brenda Russell on jazz saxophonist Tom Scott's album Keep This Love Alive.