Biography
Born July 30, 1944, in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, Chris Darrow grew up under a military father whose prompt relocation of the household placed the family in Southern California, the area that remained Darrow’s base thereafter. From an early age he taught himself to play every stringed instrument within reach, eventually establishing himself as one of the most in-demand multi-instrumentalists across the professional music world. Soon after finishing high school he formed the bluegrass ensemble Dry City Scat Band alongside David Lindley, Steve Cahill, Richard Greene, and Pete Madlem; within two years the group ranked among Southern California’s premier bluegrass acts. In summer 1964 the Scat Band secured steady employment at Disneyland, enabling Darrow to provide for his newlywed wife. Around this time, signs of impending stylistic shifts began surfacing among even the most devoted bluegrass players. Bandmate Richard Greene introduced Darrow to an acquaintance from the Chad Mitchell Trio who had just returned from England brimming with enthusiasm for the British music explosion. Darrow had never encountered anyone sporting Beatle boots and long hair; the visitor was future Byrds founder Roger McGuinn. Later that summer the Scat Band yielded its Disneyland slot to the Scottsville Squirrel Barkers, whose mandolinist Chris Hillman, still a committed bluegrass traditionalist, confided sheepishly to Darrow that he had joined a rock & roll outfit called the Byrds purely for the money.
During the latter half of the 1960s Darrow achieved his initial major breakthrough by assembling Kaleidoscope with David Lindley, Solomon Feldthouse, and Max Buda. The group’s fusion of American folk, Middle Eastern modalities, country & western, and blues—elements that might have seemed incompatible—proved commercially viable and won the band a devoted audience. Led Zeppelin’s Jimmy Page once declared Kaleidoscope his favorite band of all time. Although the ensemble issued several late-’60s albums without producing hit singles, it cultivated a cult following that has continued to expand.
In late 1967 Darrow was recruited by the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band to play fiddle and sing, filling positions vacated by Jackson Browne, who departed for a solo career, and Bruce Kunkel, who left over philosophical disagreements. Ironically, the band soon embraced a more electric approach—the very direction Kunkel had advocated—while Darrow’s tenure contributed to its visibility through an appearance in the hit musical-comedy film Paint Your Wagon. The Dirt Band’s brief commercial peak led to an eventual dissolution and later reorganization with new members. Darrow, possessing multiple artistic dimensions, instead opened himself to a wide array of fresh projects.
One such opportunity arose through an introduction by former Monkee Michael Nesmith, who had produced singles for the Corvettes, a band Darrow founded with ex-Dirt Band colleague Jeff Hanna; this connection initiated an intermittent collaboration with Linda Ronstadt. The Corvettes subsequently became Ronstadt’s backing group after she learned of them via Nesmith, author of her hit single “Different Drum.” Darrow remained with Ronstadt’s ensemble on and off for several years, during which Bernie Leadon replaced Hanna following the latter’s decision to exit and reconstitute the Dirt Band.
United Artists offered Darrow a recording contract in 1972. He completed the self-titled album Chris Darrow that year and followed it in 1973 with Under My Own Disguise. The track “Whipping Boy” from the first release earned critical praise and later became a frequently covered song. Over subsequent decades numerous artists sought his versatile contributions on their recordings; among them were James Taylor, Sonny & Cher, Gene Vincent, Helen Reddy, and John Fahey.
By the mid-1990s Darrow began recording for Germany’s Taxim label. In 2000 the label issued the two-CD set Coyote: Straight from the Heart, containing a 40-minute instrumental suite together with 20 original compositions. Taxim also released Fretless, Southern California Drive, Los Chumps (with Max Buda), and Mojave, a Darrow-produced project featuring musicians from Emmylou Harris’ band, Lone Justice, and the Byrds. In early 2001 England’s BGO Records reissued Chris Darrow and Under My Own Disguise as a combined two-for-one package.
All of Kaleidoscope’s early recordings were later reissued by Demon Records in England and Sony/Legacy in the United States. Darrow’s acclaimed slide-guitar performances appeared on the compilation Everybody Slides, Vol. 2 alongside tracks by Lowell George, John Hammond, David Lindley, and Rory Block. He is also featured on two Takoma Records anthologies, Takoma Slide and Takoma Eclectic Sampler, Vol. 2.
Beyond music, Darrow demonstrated skill in business and photography; he intended to publish a collection of his photographs, many of which had adorned album covers. He acknowledged that his decision to pursue photojournalism professionally followed learning that the man with whom his wife had left was himself a photographer.
Looking back, the late 1960s and 1970s witnessed an intricate web of associations that would shape the subsequent development of country-rock throughout the remainder of the twentieth century and beyond. Chris Darrow stood at the center of that network and proved instrumental in the formation and success of numerous contemporaries. In 2013 Drag City reissued his 1972 debut with considerable attention, appending several bonus tracks to the original album. Chris Darrow died January 15, 2020, at age 75 from complications of a stroke.
During the latter half of the 1960s Darrow achieved his initial major breakthrough by assembling Kaleidoscope with David Lindley, Solomon Feldthouse, and Max Buda. The group’s fusion of American folk, Middle Eastern modalities, country & western, and blues—elements that might have seemed incompatible—proved commercially viable and won the band a devoted audience. Led Zeppelin’s Jimmy Page once declared Kaleidoscope his favorite band of all time. Although the ensemble issued several late-’60s albums without producing hit singles, it cultivated a cult following that has continued to expand.
In late 1967 Darrow was recruited by the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band to play fiddle and sing, filling positions vacated by Jackson Browne, who departed for a solo career, and Bruce Kunkel, who left over philosophical disagreements. Ironically, the band soon embraced a more electric approach—the very direction Kunkel had advocated—while Darrow’s tenure contributed to its visibility through an appearance in the hit musical-comedy film Paint Your Wagon. The Dirt Band’s brief commercial peak led to an eventual dissolution and later reorganization with new members. Darrow, possessing multiple artistic dimensions, instead opened himself to a wide array of fresh projects.
One such opportunity arose through an introduction by former Monkee Michael Nesmith, who had produced singles for the Corvettes, a band Darrow founded with ex-Dirt Band colleague Jeff Hanna; this connection initiated an intermittent collaboration with Linda Ronstadt. The Corvettes subsequently became Ronstadt’s backing group after she learned of them via Nesmith, author of her hit single “Different Drum.” Darrow remained with Ronstadt’s ensemble on and off for several years, during which Bernie Leadon replaced Hanna following the latter’s decision to exit and reconstitute the Dirt Band.
United Artists offered Darrow a recording contract in 1972. He completed the self-titled album Chris Darrow that year and followed it in 1973 with Under My Own Disguise. The track “Whipping Boy” from the first release earned critical praise and later became a frequently covered song. Over subsequent decades numerous artists sought his versatile contributions on their recordings; among them were James Taylor, Sonny & Cher, Gene Vincent, Helen Reddy, and John Fahey.
By the mid-1990s Darrow began recording for Germany’s Taxim label. In 2000 the label issued the two-CD set Coyote: Straight from the Heart, containing a 40-minute instrumental suite together with 20 original compositions. Taxim also released Fretless, Southern California Drive, Los Chumps (with Max Buda), and Mojave, a Darrow-produced project featuring musicians from Emmylou Harris’ band, Lone Justice, and the Byrds. In early 2001 England’s BGO Records reissued Chris Darrow and Under My Own Disguise as a combined two-for-one package.
All of Kaleidoscope’s early recordings were later reissued by Demon Records in England and Sony/Legacy in the United States. Darrow’s acclaimed slide-guitar performances appeared on the compilation Everybody Slides, Vol. 2 alongside tracks by Lowell George, John Hammond, David Lindley, and Rory Block. He is also featured on two Takoma Records anthologies, Takoma Slide and Takoma Eclectic Sampler, Vol. 2.
Beyond music, Darrow demonstrated skill in business and photography; he intended to publish a collection of his photographs, many of which had adorned album covers. He acknowledged that his decision to pursue photojournalism professionally followed learning that the man with whom his wife had left was himself a photographer.
Looking back, the late 1960s and 1970s witnessed an intricate web of associations that would shape the subsequent development of country-rock throughout the remainder of the twentieth century and beyond. Chris Darrow stood at the center of that network and proved instrumental in the formation and success of numerous contemporaries. In 2013 Drag City reissued his 1972 debut with considerable attention, appending several bonus tracks to the original album. Chris Darrow died January 15, 2020, at age 75 from complications of a stroke.
Albums
