CHRIS WHITE
Born 1943 03 07
Bands The Zombies
Chris White was the bassist and, more important, one of the two primary songwriters of the Zombies. If people know any of the individual Zombies members, they tend to befamiliar with just Rod Argent, who played electric keyboards and wrote their three big hits, and lead singer Colin Blunstone. White, however, wrote about as many of the Zombies' songs as Argent did. Remarkably, his songwriting style was quite similar to that of Argent's: heavy on the enchanting minor melodies and wispy harmonies. It was White's misfortune, however, never to have an A-side that became a hit. Still, his writing was nearly on the same level as Argent's, and some of the best Zombies songs were White's work. These compositions would include "Leave Me Be," "I Must Move," "Remember You," and, on Odessey & Oracle, "Maybe After He's Gone," "Changes," and the sublime "Beechwood Park." Odessey and Oracle also contained White's sole lead vocal with the band, "Butcher's Tale (Western Front 1914)," as it was felt that his thin, trembling voice suited the song's gothic chronicle of World War I horror. In fact, it was chosen as the first US single from the LP, although it flopped.