Christopher Lloyd Darrow (July 30, 1944 – January 15, 2020) was an American multi-instrumentalist and singer-songwriter.[1] He was considered to be a pioneer of country rock music in the late-1960s and performed and recorded with numerous groups, including Kaleidoscope and the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band.[2]
Darrow was born in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, but grew up in the Los Angeles suburb of Claremont, California, listening to Ritchie Valens and the Everly Brothers on the radio. He began playing ukulele, but purchased his first guitar at age 13. His father Paul had played clarinet with traditional jazz band The Mentor Street Maniacs.
Attending Pitzer College, Darrow spent two years assisting folklorist Guy Carawan, who taught American Folk Life Studies. Darrow's interest in folk and bluegrass music sparked the formation of his first band, the Reorganized Dry City Players in 1963, followed by the Mad Mountain Ramblers.[3]
In 1964, Darrow formed the bluegrass band The Dry City Scat Band with David Lindley, Richard Greene, Steve Cahill, and Pete Madlem. In 1964, the Scat Band performed regularly at Disneyland and at the Ash Grove in Hollywood.[4]
Darrow also attended Claremont graduate school, getting his master's degree in art.[5] During this time, Darrow met fellow bluegrass artist Chris Hillman, and Hillman's transition to playing rock music with The Byrds had a profound effect on Darrow.[6]
Darrow's first rock band was the Floggs, which also included Roger Palos (bass), Bill Stamps (lead guitar), Tommy Salisbury (drums), and Hugh Kohler (keyboards).[3]
Darrow then joined Lindley in the psychedelic band Kaleidoscope, which also included Solomon Feldthouse and Max Buda. The band blended Middle Eastern, country, folk, blues and psychedelia, incorporating the Turkish oud and saz. Darrow, who composed and sang lead vocal on a number of songs, quit Kaleidoscope shortly after completion of Beacon From Mars.[7][8]
In 1976, Kaleidoscope reunited to record the album When Scopes Collide and then, in 1991, Greetings From Kartoonistan... We Ain't Dead Yet.[3]
In 1969, Darrow and Jeff Hanna formed The Corvettes, releasing two singles produced by Mike Nesmith for Dot Records. Linda Ronstadt recruited the band to be her touring band.[13] When Hanna left the Corvettes to return to the Dirt Band, he was replaced by Bernie Leadon.[4]
In 1972, Darrow released his first album Artist ProofonFantasy. It was reissued with bonus tracks in 2012 by Drag City Records.[10][14] Personnel included Mickey McGee (drums), Ed Black (pedal steel guitar), Arnie Moore (bass), Loren Newkirk (piano), John Ware (drums), and Claudia Linear and Jennifer Warnes (backing vocals).[15]
His next two albums Chris Darrow and Under My Own Disguise were released by United Artists.[4][16]Chris Darrow was recorded with members of Fairport Convention, the Jeff Beck Group, and Elton John's band.[17] After Darrow took Ben Harper under his wing, Harper recorded a cover of Darrow's song "Whipping Boy" as the lead single for his major label debut album.[18]
In the mid-'90s, Darrow recorded for the German label Taxim. In 2000, he released the two-CD set Coyote: Straight from the Heart which includes a 40-minute instrumental suite and 20 original songs.
In 1973, Darrow and Bob MosleyofMoby Grape recorded three demos as the Darrow/Mosley Band. These were later released on Desert Rain on the Shagrat label. They were joined by Frank Reckard (lead guitar), Loren Newkirk (keyboards) and Johnny Craviotto (drums).[19]
Darrow took photographs since age 9, and shot album cover photographs for Starr Parodi, David Lindley and Henry Kaiser, Mojave, The Cache Valley Drifters, Swampdogs, and Los Chumps.[20]
2014: Jo Jo Clark – New Hound in Town (Fuel 2000) – track 9, "King of the Cowboys"; track 12, "Goin' Back To Texas" (both songs co-written with Kim Fowley)
