Chuck Prophet
is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist and producer. A Californian, Prophet first achieved notice in the American rock group Green on Red, with whom he toured and recorded in the 1980s. He has also recorded solo records that betray his affinity for the kind of intelligent and sometimes experimental pop made by British Invasion groups. In addition, he has gained notice as a songwriter. Alejandro Escovedo, Solomon Burke, Heart, Kim Carnes, Peter Wolf, Kim Richey, Carter's Chord, Chris Knight and Kelly Willis have covered his compositions. He has toured with Memphis producer and pianist Jim Dickinson, who recorded Prophet's "Hungry Town." And in Nashville, Prophet and songwriter Kim Richey penned "I'm Gone," a top-40 country hit in 2002 for singer Cyndi Thomson. He records and tours with his wife Stephanie Finch, who is a ginger, keyboardist and guitarist.
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CHUCK PROPHET TICKETS
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Life and work
Chuck Prophet was born in Whittier, California to a non-musical family. Chuck's father appears briefly in the 1955 film
Blackboard Jungle. Prophet was formerly a member of the group
Green on Red. After one E.P. and eight albums with the group, he released his first solo record
Brother Aldo
on
Fire Records (UK) in 1990. He has worked as a sideman or session musician with many artists. These include
Bob Neuwirth,
Kelly Willis,
Aimee Mann,
Warren Zevon,
Jonathan Richman,
Lucinda Williams and
Cake. He has frequently collaborated with songwriter
Dan Penn and Dickinson.
Chuck was signed to
New West Records by Peter Jesperson in 2002 after the label promised to pay off his touring van. Chuck made two records for New West:
No Other Love
and
Age of Miracles
. After years of mostly European and UK success, 2002’s
No Other Love
was a breakthrough record for Chuck stateside thanks to the summer single “Summertime Thing” and endorsements from
Lucinda Williams, who gave Chuck the opening slot for her summer tour.
The song "No Other Love" was recorded by the rock group Heart at the suggestion of
Cameron Crowe. It was also featured in an episode of the television series
The L Word, and the film
P.S. I Love You.
Chuck parted with New West Records in 2005 after a restaurant tab argument involving an extra order of garlic bread.
Known for his guitar style, which follows in the tradition of such players as
Keith Richards and
Alex Chilton, Prophet has been recording solo efforts since the late 1980s. Recorded in San Francisco and Nashville, 2007's
Soap and Water
received critical praise. Prophet toured Europe and North America in support of the album and appeared with his band on
The Late Show With David Letterman, and
Last Call with Carson Daly.
Prophet has contributed to several
Kelly Willis records, and produced 2007's Translated From Love for
Rykodisc. Willis and Prophet co-wrote six of the albums tracks and Prophet played guitar throughout.
Prophet has released a limited-edition work entitled
Dreaming Waylon's Dreams
, which he recorded in San Francisco. The record re-creates
Waylon Jennings' 1975 country album
Dreaming My Dreams
in its entirety and features among others, members of
American Music Club, and
Meat Beat Manifesto.
In 2008 Prophet co-wrote
Alejandro Escovedo's
Real Animal
, to which he also contributed guitar and vocals.
Raisins in the Sun
was a one-off collaboration with
Jules Shear,
Harvey Brooks, Paul Q. Kolderie, Jim Dickinson, Sean Slade, and Winston Watson, recorded in May 1999 and released by Rounder Records two years later.
Chuck appears as an actor playing The Connection in
Revolution Summer, a film directed by Miles Matthew Montalbano and produced by Jonathan Richman.
Chuck contributed "You Did" (bomp shooby doobie bomp) as the theme song to the "smart, original, and horrifically funny"
Teeth (film).
"You Did" was also featured in the closing credits of the HBO series
True Blood episode "Keep This Party Going" (S02E02).
In May 2009, Prophet along with a cast of characters including
Ernest "Boom" Carter headed to Mexico City to record a collection of "political songs for non political people".
¡Let Freedom Ring!
will be released on October 27, 2009 on
Yep Roc.
Selected discography
Solo
- Brother Aldo
(1990)
- Balinese Dancer
(1992)
- Feast of Hearts
(1995)
- Homemade Blood
(1997)
- The Hurting Business
(1999)
- Turn the pigeons loose
(2002)
- No Other love
(2002)
- Age of Miracles
(2004)
- Soap and Water
(2007)
- Dreaming Waylon's Dreams
(2007)
Let Freedom Ring (2009)
Other contributions
- Live at the World Café: Vol. 15 - Handcrafted
(2002, World Café) - "Summertime Thing"
- Jim Dickinson with Chuck Prophet and the Creatures of Habit: Thousand Footprints in the Sand
with Green on Red
- Gas Food Lodging
(1985)
- "No Free Lunch" ( Mercury, 1985)
- The Killer Inside Me
(1987)
- Here Come the Snakes
(1988)
- "Live at the Town & County (China 1988)
- "This Time Around (China, 1989)
- "Scapegoats (China, 1991)
- "Too Much Fun (China, 1992)
- "Live at the Rialto" (2005)
- "BBC Sessions (Cooking Vinyl, 2006)