Bill Champlin

Born: May 21, 1947

Bill grew up listening to his mother play the piano, and, at the young age of 3, he began taking piano lessons. He played the piano avidly until the age of 11, and then he began to learn the guitar. Picking up music easily, he began to explore his vocal ability, and he tried out for choir and began auditioning for bands during high school. One of the bands he was in was called the Opposit Six, who played R&B. In 1966, the Opposit Six developed into the Sons of the Champlin, or SOC. SOC became very popular on the San Francisco psychedelic set, and they went on to release seven albums throughout the 70's. In 1977, Champlin left the group and moved to L.A. in search of a solo career. In 1982, however, he became a member of Chicago, and changed their sound forever. Champlin's very distinctive and expressive vocals can be heard on Chicago's smash hits "Hard Habit to Break" and "Stay the Night." Throughout the years, Bill also found time to release many solo albums, which have received much attention throughout the music community. Champlin is known as a musician's musician, a person in great demand in and out of the studio. He still works with Chicago, as well as with the Sons of the Champlin, and he still produces his own solo albums.

Instruments Played / Skills:

Keyboards Vocals Guitar Songwriter Organ