1941-2021
Michael Chapman
1941-2021
Michael Chapman
Michael Chapmanwas a British singer-songwriter and virtuosic guitar player, whose playing influenced David Bowie and Elton John. He was best known for his dexterity and inventiveness on the guitar and became popular in the folk clubs of the late 1960s. Michael Chapman was born on January 24, 1941, in Hunslet, Leeds, Yorkshire. He was the son of James Chapman, a steelworker, and Jane Chapman, who worked for a mail-order company. He attended Cockburn grammar school, where he played in a skiffle group (folk music with influences from blues, and jazz), and then Leeds College of Art. Chapman’s decision to play music led to a falling out with his parents, who wanted him to work in the same steelyard as his father, “but playing the guitar paid for my education.” Chapman didn’t have any formal learning on guitar, and without access to educational materials Chapman was entirely self-taught by listening to albums by other artists, “you have to learn the language before you can start to say what you want to say.” He studied jazz guitarists like Django Reinhardt, Wes Montgomery, and Jimmy Giuffre. For a brief time, Chapman gave up music to concentrate on teaching and lecturing at Bolton Art College. During this time he was married, to Margaret Fox, but started a relationship with one of his students, Andru Makin, she remained his partner for the rest of his life.
During his time Chapman also began playing jazz guitar standards and was heavily influenced by American jazz performers, like Ralph McTell, and developed his own distinct playing of jazz, folk, and ragtime music. Chapman caught his big break in 1966 when he appeared on the London and Cornwall folk music circuits. "I had an art college education and on a rainy night in 1966 I went into a pub in Cornwall, but I couldn't afford to pay to go in. So I said, I'll tell you what, I don't want to stay outside in the rain, I'll play guitar for half an hour for you. They offered me a job for the rest of the summer and I've been at it ever since." He played alongside John Martyn and Roy Harper at the Piper's Folk Club in Penzance, and his first album Rainmaker was released in 1969, produced by Gus Dudgeon, the producer for records by Elton John, David Bowie, Steeleye Span, and more. The album appealed to Elton John, who indirectly asked Chapman to join the band that would play on his 1970 album, Chapman said later, he had not realized what John was asking at the time. During the following years, Chapman continued performing, playing folk and progressive festivals of the early 1970s, with Mick Ronson, Rick Kemp, and Keef Hartley
MichaelChapman
Chapman released three more albums with his label Harvest, home to artists like Syd Barrett and Shirley and Dolly Collins., including Fully Qualified Survivor. This work earned Chapman praise from BBC Radio 1 DJ John Peel, who called Chapman “one of the most interesting and inventive guitarists around” and contained his most successful songs from the jazzy “Aviator” to the brooding, "Postcards of Scarborough".Chapman released his albums Window and Wrecked Again next, and went on tour in the U.S. with Rick Kemp. Chapman was picked up by Decca's subsidiary label, Deram, where he released his fifth studio album, Millstone Grit (1973), and switched gears from acoustic to electric guitar. Chapman continued to tour and earned recognition, particularly with his college performances in the UK and across Europe. Chapman released his next album Savage Amusement, with record producer Don Nix, which included several songs from the past. In 1977 Chapman left Decca and began working with Criminal Records and released The Man Who Hated Mornings, as well as a record of guitar instruction, 'Playing Guitar The Easy Way’. Chapman continued performing and released recordings for a number of smaller record labels, and during the 1980s released new work, but none close to the success he had in the 70s, and for a while, he supplemented his income by delivering cars. By the 1990s Chapman pivoted, and embraced the "elder statesman" role, he found a younger audience, particularly in the US, where his supporters included Thurston Moore of Sonic Youth.
Chapman earned critical acclaim for albums like Navigation, and Still Making Rain (an homage to his debut album). During this period Chapman released albums about every two years ending with his 1997 release Dreaming Out Loud. Throughout the 2000s Chapman continued playing and recording music but focused more on his guitar playing, releasing instrumentals on his album like Americana and Words Fail Me, and touring with American musicians, including Jack Rose. Chapman continued to have success and influence into the 2010s, a tribute album titled Oh Michael, Look What You've Done: Friends Play Michael Chapman was released in 2012 and included contributions from Lucinda Williams, Maddy Prior, William Tyler, Hiss Golden Messenger, and Thurston Moore. In addition, Chapman's catalog at the EMI sub-label Harvest has been re-released in both vinyl and CD formats by the label Light in the Attic, who called Chapman “a true stylist in his own right, holds a middle line between John Martyn and Bert Jansch with the provocative electric rock of Martyn juxtaposed against the traditional folk so wonderfully espoused by Jansch”. Chapman also recorded several instrumental albums for Tompkins Square Records, including Fish in 2015. In 2016, Chapman celebrated fifty years as a professional musician, towards the end of his life he still played professionally and regularly toured in the UK, Europe, and the US. In addition, he released two albums with Paradise of Bachelors, his 2016 Steve Gunn collaboration 50, and the 2019 work True North.
Chapman lived in a farmhouse in Northumbria, where he developed a passion for chainsaws and logging. He died on 10 September 2021, at the age of 80, at the time of his death he had written enough songs for a new album, which he planned to record at home, and had released over 50 albums.
