Always Runnin' : A Biography
by Roger Clough
The Facts.
Chi (pronounced "shy")
Coltrane was born on Nov. 16, 1948 in Racine, Wisconsin. Her mother was Canadian and her father, who
played violin, was born in Germany. It was a large family. There were seven children in all, which included
at least two brothers and two sisters. The family moved frequently: she attended twelve grade schools
in eight years, so that music became the only constant in her life. Chi learned to play a lot of instruments,
but was drawn most to the piano. Encouraged by her father, Chi began studying classical piano at the
age of seven and also sang in the church choir. When she was ten, her father died. No doubt the constant
moving and the death of her father were difficult for her, as they would be for anyone.
By the
age of twelve she could play six instruments. She gave a piano recital at the age of twelve. Whereas
in her childhood at home, she heard only the music of Beethoven and Bach, she now began listening to
rock music: the Beatles and the Rolling Stones. Musically she was influenced by a diversity of sources:
by traditional american songs, gospel, rhythmn and blues, rock, jazz, semi-classical and classical music.
She liked to listen to George Gershwin, Cat Stevens, Etta James, Ray Charles, Stephen Foster, Johann
Strauss, YES, Chicago, the BeeGees, Supertramp, 10cc, Alan Parsons, Cannonball Adderley, Tschaikovsky,
and the Las Vegas antics of Liberace. She also was strongly influenced by gospel music,which is evident
in her songs "Go Like Elijah" and "Whoever Told You?", even to some extent in "Thunder &Lightning.".
She can sing and play soft ballads, but she can also rock your socks off with a driving rock piano style
the equal of Jerry Lee Lewis.
At seventeen, after graduating from High School, she started a
music combo and operated a little later partly solo, partly with tape in the local hotspots, bars and
clubs. Later that year she moved to Chicago with her mother. Her mother considered remarriage at that
time with a man from there but decided against it, and Chi agreed with this choice, for she was of the
opinion that the man was ill-suited to her mother. Although she got along fine with her mother, Chi decided
that it was time for her to be on her own, and rented a room (apartment?) there.
Now out on her
own, she began playing in the local local hotspots of Chicago. She sang and played in the clubs and
bars there, and for a while had her own band called the Chicago Coltrane. She played blues and also played
with gospel bands in funky bars. She made better money playing in cocktail bars, but didn't enjoy having
to sing the old pop standards when she could be playing and singing her own earthier material. She represented
the United States in a music contest in Rio de Janiero during this period.
In 1970 she decided
to make music her career. At about the same time (November 1971), after reading the book " Peace With
God ", by Billy Graham, she became a Christian and her whole life changed:
"My voice completely changed
after then. " So dedicated was she to Christ that she later said: "I will never be able to love a man
who I do not love as much as I love Jesus. "
By 1971 she was ready for a larger audience. Using
$1000 she managed to scrape together, she made a demo tape of six songs. In September 1971 she submitted
the demo tape with six songs to CBS records. This was heard by Paul Baratta, a talent scout from Columbia
Records in LA, who helped her get her first big break. Starting in February, 1972, she recorded 11 songs
with some of the best sidemen in Hollywood, producing her first LP, "Chi Coltrane".
The release
received the following review in part by the San Francisco Chronicle, said that being a singer, songwriter
and musician was not exactly unheard of, "but she is also very good at all three. Miss Coltrane has
two things going for her beyond talent -- an engrossing urgency in her voice and a distinctive presence
and beauty... She is, all in all, the most impressive new girl singer." She has also been compared with
Carly Simon, Carole King, and Elton John, Janis Joplin, Carol King and Leon Russell. Leonard Bernstein
and Henry Mancini were both big fans of hers (see anecdotes) .
She formed another small band
and went on a promotional tour, hoping to interest radio stations in her music.At the beginning of 1972
she got a record contract with CBS. She formed another small band and went on a promotional tour, hoping
to interest radio stations in her music. She brought out the single record, "Thunder and Lightning",
to help this process. It initially broke out in Boston, then moved to Chicago and the rest of the country.
By September, 1972, it began to rise on the charts. On Nov. 18, 1972, just after she turned 24, "Thunder
and Lightning", rose to number 17 on the Billboard list. Stimulated by the rise of the single, her album
"Chi Coltrane" simultaneously rose on the charts and stayed there for three months. She issued another
single from the album, the gospel-driven "Go Like Elijah". This got substantial airplay, but not enough
to make it rise on the charts.
In 1973 the entire music press celebrated her as the "New Woman
of Rock ". Shortly afterward, she made another single, "You Were My Friend." In 1973 she moved permanently
to Los Angeles, in the Hollywood Hills. No doubt her longing for roots from her childhood made her want
to have a permanent home.
She made a second LP, "Road To Tomorrow", but by then she needed and
took a break. Later she said, " I never wanted to end things. I can't live without music. But I knew
that I needed a break. I broke the contract, dismissed my management and withdrew into my house, around
familiar things to consider what I should do next. "
She attended the Salter School of Music in
L.A. for two years. She occasionally played piano and sang in a church there.
The financial
aspects of the music business were another source of irritation. Later she said, "As a musician I was
adjusted to success. I knew that it would occur one day at a time. But I failed as a business-woman.
" (from New Anfank with T.K. record.).
These issues came out publicly in a 1973 feature on the
singer in Cosmopolitan magazine. Coltrane lamented the costs of trying for stardom, both in terms of
money (she lost a lot) and the strain on her private life-- with the demands of a career, she didn't
have much of one.
Also in 1973 she made her first appearance in Germany with Mike Leckebusch in
the "Musikladen " (radio Bremen). She sang two songs :"Thunder and Lightning " and " I Won't Dance "
(The latter was a protest song against US president at that time Richard Nixon and the Vietnam War ).
There was a short interview after the program It was transmitted on Feb.21, 1973 This program was recently
rebroadcast there in early Aug., 1999.
Between 1974 and the time of her withdrawal in the early
nineties, she
did a lot of commuting between Los Angeles and Europe.
With solid hits to
her credit, Columbia encouraged Coltrane to do another album. The result was "let it Ride", which was
issued in early 1974 to a positive reaction. Zoo World, a music magazine, said it surpassed her first
magazine in every way, and compared her to Elton John. It also credited her for taking over production
of the release.
However, despite the reviews and additional promotional work by Columbia, "Let it
Ride" didn't rise on the charts.
Musically she was influenced by a diversity of sources: by traditional
american songs, gospel, rhythmn and blues, rock, jazz, semi-classical and classical music. She liked
to listen to George Gershwin, Cat Stevens, Etta James, Ray Charles, Stephen Foster, Johann Strauss, YES,
Chicago, the BeeGees, Supertramp, 10cc, Alan Parsons, Cannonball Adderley, Tschaikovsky, and the Las
Vegas antics of Liberace. She also was strongly influenced by gospel music,which is evident in her songs
"Go Like Elijah" and "Whoever Told You?", even to some extent in "Thunder &Lightning.". She can sing
and play soft ballads, but she can also rock your socks off with a driving rock piano style the equal
of Jerry Lee Lewis.
In the period 1974-76, Chi made a couple of more LPs, did concert tours
in the US, and did some radio and TV interviews and some concerts in Europe. After the two LP's came
out, her manager ran off with the money. Another loss of faith, and so for a while she left the music
business, which may be a clue to why she later disappeared in the 1990's. During that time she wrote
more than 50 songs, regrouped her efforts and came out with her third album, "The Road to Tomorrow"
(1977). The title song is hopeful, looking to the future, and this has been referred to as her "comeback"
album. She cut another single in the late 70's, "What's Happening to Me."
Even though her albums
and records did not rise on the American charts, she did not give up. Instead, she struck out in a new
direction. At about the time of the release of "Road to Tomorrow" (1997) she visited europe, and was
seen by one fan in the Atlantic restaurant in Stockholm just when "Road to Tomorrow" had been released
and at around the same time in Göta Lejon, supporting Randy Newman. Her management at that time was Toby
Management.
After 1977 she began commuting more to Europe. Perhaps she sought to be in Germany
to discover her German roots. But she had a lot of fans there as well, for "Thunder and Lightning" rose
to number 4 on the German Hit List. She also spent time in Switzerland, giving a concert Geneva in 1982.
And at that time, her agent, in Zurich, was Alex Grob, and her manager was Wolfgang Sobrowsky. Her "Live"
album was recorded in Europe in the spring of 1982
A fan club was started in the Netherlands.
Following this, fan clubs were formed Germany and then again in the Netherlands: Chi Coltrane World Service
in Bonn and Chi Coltrane Information, publishing a highlights newletter three times a year called "CHIghlights"
from Apeldoorn, Netherlands. Unfortunately, these fan clubs have disbanded and the telephones at the
above sites are now disconnected.
Chi Coltrane World Service was disbanded around 1987.
This
period was a time of sometimes intense concert activity in Europe, where she gave the following concerts
in Europe and Scandanavia, Switzerland, the Netherlands and Germany:
Sometime in 1977 she gave
concerts in Sweden, perhaps in Stockholm, and with Randy Newman in Göta Lejon, Sweden.
Around
1978 she thought of becoming an actress, saying, " I love Music - however I might consider a second career,
perhaps in the film. " I personally think she already was an actress, so expressive is her voice, and
with her good looks, I believe this could well have come true if she desired it.
She toured Germany
in 1978 and gave the following concerts:
Mar. 3, 1978 at the Kongresshalle "Testkonzert" in Husum,
Germany
Mar. 7, 1978 at the Hansehalle in Luebeck, Germany
Mar. 8,1978 at the Philharmonie in
Berlin, Germany
Mar. 9, 1978 at the Niedersachsenhalle in Hannover, Germany
Mar. 10, 1978 at the
Congress-Centrum in Hamburg, Germany.
Mar.11, 1978, at the Schloss in Kiel, Germany
Mar. 12, 1978
at the Guerzenich in Koeln, Germany
Mar. 13, 1978 at the Philshalle inDuesseldorf, Germany.
Mar.
14, 1978 at the Audimax in Muenchen, Germany
Mar. 15, 1978 at the Liederhalle in Stuttgart, Germany
Mar. 16, 1978 at the Kongresshalle in Augsburg, Germany
Mar. 17, 1978 at the Kongresshalle in Saarbruecken,
Germany
Mar. 1, 1978 at the Europahalle in Trier, Germany
Mar. 19, 1978 at the Elzer Hof in Mainz,
Germany
Mar. 20, 1978 at the Stadthalle in Heidelberg, Germany
Mar. 21, 1978 at the Otto-Berndt-Halle
in Darmstadt, Germany
Mar. 24, 1978 in the Stadthalle in Erlangen, Germany
Mar 15, 1978 at the
Stadthalle in Offenbach, Germany
Mar. 26, 1978 in the Circus Krone in Muenchen, Germany
Mar. 27,
1978 in the Stadthalle in Kassel, Germany
Mar. 28, 1978 in the Stadthalle in Neuss, Germany
Mar.
29, 1978 in the Glocke in Bremen, Germany
Also around Oct. 1979 in Kiel, Germany
Swiss
Tour:
Mar. 5,19?? at Brig in theSimplonhalle
Mar. 6, at Wohlen in the Casino
Mar. 7, at the
Theater am Kirchplatz in Schaan, Switzerland
Mar. 11 at the Casino in Frauenfeld, Switzerland
Mar.
at the Casino in. Zug, Switzerland
Mar. 13 at the Stadt-Casino in Basel, Switzerland
Mar. 14 at
the Kongresshaus Schuetzengarten, in St.Gallen, Switzerland
Mar. 16 at the Volkshaus in Zuerich, Switzerland
Mar. 18 at the Kongresshalle in Luzern, Switzerland
Mar. 19 at the Palazzo dei Congressi in Laguno,
Switzerland
Mar. 21. at the Hotel National in Bern, Switzerland
Mar. 23 at Victoria Hall in Geneve,
Switzerland
The tour continued and ended in Germany:
Mar. 24 at the Paulussaal in Freiburg,
Germany
Mar. 25 at the Hotel Bahnhof in Rheinfelden, Germany
Mar. 28 at the Saalbau in Aarau,
Germany
Mar. 30 at the Temple du bas in Neuchatel, Germany
Mar. 31 at the Select in. Fribourg,
Germany
April 1 at the Select in. Fribourg, Germany
April 2 at the Kongresshaus in Biel, Germany
April 3 at the Mehrzweckhalle in Sargans, Germany
April 4 at the Schaffhauser-Hof in Schaffhausen,
Germany
Following that tour, other concerts were given:
In 1981 she was the show opener
for Joan Armatrading on their German tour. She also sang with Armatrading on her " Tokyo " tour. On Oct.
22, 1981 there was a further television appearance with "Ohne Filter (Unfiltered), "Bios Station "(in
the year of Silk & Steel). In November of 1977 she performed on a recording of a Fernsehshow (45minutes)
with the title "Session " in Saarbrucken and on the Oestereichi television in the program "Tape Runs
" . And around Nov. 1981, there was a concert at the Burgerhaus in Koln, Germany.
Other concerts
at this time were:
Dec. 20, 1982, Victoria Hall, Geneva, Switzerland
Aug. 18-21, 1983 at the
Flevo Totaal Festival (Youth For Christ), at Flevohof, Holland
Nov. 24, 1984, at the Alter Wartesaal
in Koln, Germany
Sometime in 1984, at the Batschkaap in Darmstadt, Germany
Feb. 2, 1985, Muziekcentrum
Vredenburg, Utrecht, Netherlands
Feb. 9, 1985, Meervaart, Amsterdam, Netherlands
Sometime in 1986,
the Paleo Festival In Nyon, Switzerland.
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On Mar. 13, 1985 she gave a concert at the Schlachthof (in Hamburg ?)
Concerts in the DDR were
planned in 1985. In 1985, there was
concert in Cologne "Alter Wartesaal" with only 250 attending,
usually
20-30 years old. (The concert at which Faber's pictures in the Photo Gallery were made)
Cologne is the city in Europe where car thefts were common: before a concert in Germany their
BMW was stolen and she had with a borrowed car, arrived an hour late for her show (See also anecdotes).
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The Message Tour
Apr. 28,
1986, Capitol, Mannhein, Germany
April 30, 1986, HDK, Berlin, Germany
May 2, 1986, Fabrik, Hamburg,
Germany
May 3, 1986, Colosseum, Lubeck, Germany
May 5, 1986, Schlachthof, Bremen, Germany
May
7, 1986, Borse, Wuppertal, Germany
May 8, 1986, Glasshouse, Bad Salzuflen, Germany
May 9, 1986,
Jovel-Cinema, Munster, Germany
May 10, 1986, Live-Station, Dortmund, Germany
May 13, 1986, Alter
Wartesaal, Koln, Germany
May 14, 1986, Batschkapp, Frankfort, Germany
May 15, 1986, Palace, Hannover,
Germany
May 16, 1986, Herderschule, Rendsburg, Germany
May 21, 1986, Schloss, Kiel, Germany
May
22, 1986, JZ Papestr., Essen, Germany
May 23, 1986, NL-Hoorn (Huesmolen) , Hoorn, Netherlands
May
24, 1986, NL-Groningen ('t Te Huis), Groningen, Netherlands
May 25, 1986, NL-Helmond , Helmond, Netherlands
May 26, 1986, Paradiso, Amsterdam, Netherlands
May 27, 1986, NL-Utrect (Muziekcentrum Vredenburg),
Utrect, Netherlands
May 28, 1986, Mozartsaal, Stuttgart, Germany
May 30, 1986, Stadthalle, Kirchheim-Bolanden,
Germany
May 31, 1986, University Audimax, Saarbrucken, Germany
June 1, 1986, Alabama, Munchen,
Germany
Other concert dates: 5,5,1986 - Bremen / Kesslhalle of the slaughterhouse
2,4,19??
- Hamburg / market hall (a tour from Mar. 20 to April 4, with further dates in Berlin / accomodation
Latin, Cologne / Luxor, Frankfurt /Batschkapp, Stuttgart / Maxim, Munich / theatre factory)
At
this time she was lving in Switzerland.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Oct. 17, 1986, Tor 3, Dusseldorf, Germany
Oct. 18, 1986, Theater Ohne Namen, Goettingen, Germany
Oct. 20, 1986, Aula On Kreuzkirch, Germany
Oct. 30, 1986, Christothek Mic-Mac, Kaltenkirchen, Germany
- sang three songs on television
Feb. 6, 1987, Druckhaus, Hanau, Germany
Feb. 20, 1987, Capitol,
Hannover, Germany
Feb. 21, 1987, Cafe Exit, West Berlin, Germany
Feb. 27, 1987, Montgolfiere, Frankfurt,
Germany
Feb. 28, 1987, Tennisbar, Bad Homburg, Germany
June 12 , 1987, Open air Wilhelm-Strassenfest,
Wiesbaden, Germany
June 13, 1987, Open air Wilhelm-Strassenfest, Wiesbaden, Germany
A
fan club was started in the Netherlands. Following this, fan clubs were formed Germany and then again
in the Netherlands: Chi Coltrane World Service in Bonn and Chi Coltrane Information, publishing a highlights
newletter, in Apeldoorn, Netherlands. However, these fan clubs have disbanded and the telephones at
the above sites are now disconnected.
It was not an easy life. Chi spoke out about the disadvantages
of women in the Rock Business and difficulties with male "coworkers " (musician, producer, light technician,
camera men...): "If you have a Penis, ou can write, arrange and sing. But if you don't, what can you
do then but bear children? "
We do not know much about her actitivies in the period 1987-1991.
Chi Coltrane World service in Bonn, Germany closed (1987?) -
She made the theme song for a
German made-for-TV movie, "Crime Scene with Chief Commissioners Schimanski and Thanner: Big Trouble".
This was first shown on TV 06/09/91 in Germany. It was later released on an album with music by Tangerine
Dream.
Chi's interests, besides music, include jogging, painting, and riding a sport bicycle.
At this she had difficulties (renegotiating a contract) with CBS, even though 3 LPs were gold
records in Switzerland as well. I personally believe that CBS was not aware of what a popular rock star
she had become in Europe. This ended her relationship with CBS and when her next LP, " LIVE! " appeared,
it was issued on a small label "Musikvertrieb AG ". And only a year later she was with Teldec in Switzerland.
At that time she became more involved in Christian activities and in an interview in a German magazine
at that time said she was looking for a sign from the Lord whether to continue with her music or not.
She then returned to America, probably after the TV show, sometime in the early 1990's, and completely
dropped out of sight. On of her former sidemen ran into her in a train station in Zurich in 1992 or 1993,
and she told told him at that time that she was fine and had moved to Los Angeles, probably about in
1992. Later in the mid-late 1990's some "best of" type collections were issued. See Discography. Recently
(8/99) we have heard from her through a third party, a friend of hers.
She is fine and planning on
putting up an Official Chi Coltrane Website.
Commentary and Speculations.
Chi was friendly,
but it is said that she was not easy to get to know. She was a private person, but she totally opened
herself in her music. In reply to a request for some details from her personal life, she responded through
her publicist (name unknown) that the only way to get to know her was through her songs. "Listen to my
lyrics--", she said, "my songs tell more about me than anything I could ever say." See Lyrics.
Why did she drop out of sight? Some say (The Billboard Book of One-Hit Wonders in a somewhat sour article)
that she became bitter for lack of fame. There is a grain of truth in the word "bitter", but not for
lack of fame. She had dropped out of music for a while in Chicago, but it was not lack of fame, but a
betrayal by her manager that soured her. On the other hand, she followed a spiritual path, and said
that at one time Jesus appeared before her. On the other hand, the song "Life is Like a Ferris Wheel"
suggests that she may have believed in reincarnation as well. Perhaps her spiritual leanings took her
to a whole new vocation, but she said that she was more inclined to follow the Bible than any organized
religion. I tend to believe that the reasons are more complex. On the one hand, like Louise Brooks and
Greta Garbo, her desire for personal privacy conflicted with what is expected in the public life of a
celebrity. Fame has its price. And like Louise Brooks, she was soured by the "politics" involved, and
didn't like being manipulated by the people involved on the business side. After moving to Los Angeles
in 1992 she probably has continued writing songs.
While she had talent, an engrossing urgency
in her voice and a distinctive presence and beauty going for her, she had two things going against her.
We've mentioned the desire for privacy. In addition, as one observer has remarked, her song writing was
unfortunately a little ahead of its time... it's brutally honest. If she were singing today, she would
be a solid competitor to the likes of Jewel, Sarah McLachlin, Fiona Apple, Imogen Heap and Tori Amos.
From my own life, during the first half of which which I unknowingly suffered from depression,
I find parallels in Chi's life. The sadness, even grief, the "crying out" in many of her songs points
to depression. I myself wrote a lot of sad poetry. Her search for meaning, for God, parallels my own
search for meaning in philosophy and religion. For when life offers few joys, you search for meaning.
And her desire to withdraw again is characteristic of my own life. The last characteristic is that her
music, her lyrics, and her performances all demonstrate that she is very much in touch with her feelings.
The constant and powerful feelings that depression engenders force one to be very much in touch with
one's feelings. This is the bright side of depression, and it comes as no surprise that many of the most
talented artists and novelists suffured from the disease. It is in fact a very common disease. The parallel
with Chi in my own life is I am a composer, and love music, and I believe my own depression has actually
helped me write music, because the essence of music is feeling. I'm not saying that she suffers from
depression, because I don't know her, only that her life shows the characteristic behavior of a depressive.
Another observation is that Chi's music touches places in me that no other musician has. I
suspect it is the sad spot I have somewhere. But it is a place, as Gerard Columbat has so brilliantly
observed, both sweet and sour. It is not all sadness. Whatever it is, this resonance is why her music
has meant so much to me. But I also suspect that some people can be made uncomfortable when these places
are touched, and that may be another reason why superstardom eluded her. As T.S. Eliot observed, "mankind
cannot bear very much reality."
History has not been kind, and that is a major reason we put up
this web site. Chi is probably one of the most talented but least recognized rock artists. Part of the
reason, we suspect, is that she spent the second half of her career in Germany, which was not followed
by the american media. And part of the reason, as we observed above, was her honesty about her spiritual
leanings and her desire to be private. The recent book (1999) "Whatever Happened To...." by Bill Harry,
Blandford, London, doesn't even list her. She is not even listed in the encyclopedias of rock, including
several on the web, which I have examined. I find all of this very short-sighted, because of her enormous
songwriting talent. To me-- although she an entirely unique vocalist-- her voice has the emotional impact
of a Judy Garland or Celine Dion, and I used to play her LP's over and over again.
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