Craig Chaquico Official Bio (Extended Version)
Craig Chaquico (pronounced Cha-KEE-so) is an American guitarist, songwriter and producer who has had fifty years of success in a variety of genres: in the 1970s as an original founding member, lead guitarist and songwriter of the gold and multi-platinum selling, Jefferson Starship, in that band’s 1980’s incarnation, Starship, and in the 1990s and 2000s as a Grammy-nominated, Billboard No. 1, million-selling contemporary jazz solo artist.
Craig Chaquico was born in Sacramento, California, on Septemeber 26, 1954 and In 1968, at the age of 12, and already playing acoustic guitar, Craig and his father, Bill, were hit nearly head on by a drunk driver, leaving Craig with two broken arms, one broken thumb, one broken wrist, one broken leg, one broken ankle and one broken foot–but an unbroken spirit. His father, also a musician, told him that if he worked hard to recover, he would buy his son a Les Paul guitar, letting him know that Les Paul had also been seriously injured but recovered sufficiently to not only play but to eventually have a guitar with his name on it. Craig diligently practiced on one string of the guitar because his fingers could only reach that one high E-string with his arms and hands in casts. He completed his surgeries, physical therapy, and the use of a wheel chair, crutches and corrective shoes, and his dad did buy him that Les Paul.
In 1974, at only 16, Chaquico, who had been performing in a Sacramento-based rock band, Steelwind, that also performed in the Bay Area, was introduced to Paul Kantner and Grace Slick by his English teacher/band leader, Jack Traylor. Kantner and Slick heard Craig play guitar and invited him to perform on their post-Jefferson Airplane solo albums, Sunfighter, Baron Von Tollbooth and the Chrome Nun and Manhole. At 19, Craig was the perfect choice to play lead guitar on the first “Jefferson Starship” tour while his band, Steelwind, opened. Craig played in both groups. When Jefferson Starship decided to begin writing and recording albums, original founding member Chaquico continued as the band’s lead guitarist, contributing songwriter, and ultimately, the only member to appear on every single Jefferson Starship, and then Starship, album, song, tour and MTV video until the latter’s disbandment in 1991. Joel Selvin of the San Francisco Chronicle said in 1974, “Guitars are the best thing about live rock bands and Chaquico is easily the best thing about Starship,” with Rolling Stone magazine stating in 1975, “The return to Jefferson Starship of Marty Balin as songwriter and singer and the emergence of guitarist Craig Chaquico resulted in the finest music since the heyday of the Haight.”
Craig is also known for writing and/or co-writing some of Jefferson Starship’s biggest hits such as the iconic, guitar-driven “Jane,” “Find Your Way Back” (that first introduced Mickey Thomas as the new hit voice of Jefferson Starship), “Layin’ It on the Line,” “Fast Buck Freddie,” and ” Black Widow” (lyrics written with Grace Slick), “St. Charles,” “Rock Music,” as well as writing all of the sci-fi music and lyrics to “Light the Sky on Fire,” which was performed by the original Jefferson Starship with Marty Balin on the infamous 1978 “Star Wars Holiday Special.”
Craig’s original, recognizable guitar licks and signature tone led the original Jefferson Starship on all of their nine gold and platinum albums, every one of their 20 Billboard Top 100 songs, including such classics as “Miracles,” “With Your Love,” “Count on Me,” “Runaway,” “Jane,” “Find Your Way Back,” “Be My Lady,” and “No Way Out.” With Starship, Craig’s signature guitar solos also stand out on three more gold albums, and six keyboard-driven Top 100 songs, including their #1 hits, “Sara” and “We Built This City,” in 1985, and the #1 song in following year, “Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now,” which was featured on the soundtrack to the film “Mannequin” and has surpassed the 100 million stream mark on Spotify, a rare achievement for a 30-year old song.
After exiting the Starship in 1991, Craig went on to forge a groundbreaking solo career in an entirely different genre as an award-winning, Billboard #1, million-selling, GRAMMY-nominated, acoustic jazz guitarist. His first album, Acoustic Highway, co-written and produced with keyboardist Ozzie Ahlers, won Billboard magazine’s Independent Album of the Year award in 1993, and included hits such as, “Acoustic Highway,” “Return of the Eagle,” and “Sacred Ground,” the latter of which was featured on the very first Harley-Davidson Road Songs collection. His second solo album, Acoustic Planet, which featured songs such as “Gathering of the Tribes,” and “Grey Wolf Hunts Again,” also debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard New Age Chart and was nominated for a GRAMMY award for Best New Age Album. Craig was a founding member of the very first Guitars & Saxes tour.
In 1995’s “Gumby: The Movie,” it’s Craig’s electric guitar you hear when Gumby the guitarist is performing.
In 1997, Craig was voted Best Pop Instrumental Guitarist in Guitar Player magazine’s Reader’s Poll, while Jazziz magazine listed him as one of the Top 100 Most Influential. Guitarists of All Time.
Craig has since released ten more solo albums, including his greatest hits album, Panorama, And in yet another genre, Craig’s first blues album, Fire Red Moon, debuted at No. 15 on Billboard’s National Blues Chart.
Craig has had two Signature Model guitars created for him, the Washburn Craig Chaquico EA26, and the Kiesel Craig Chaquico Signature CC275 (formerly Carvin CC275), and he enjoys giving back by performing for children and adults in hospitals and memory care facilities, as well as serving as an artist representative for the American Music Therapy Association, Beamz and Guitars in the Classroom.
Currently, Craig Chaquico is composing and recording an album for the Circle of Discovery National Parks Service in the State of Jefferson (Southern Oregon/Northern California).
Craig Chaquico Official Bio (Shorter Version – Under 500 words)
Born in 1954, Craig Chaquico (pronounced Cha-KEE-so) is an American guitarist, songwriter and producer who has had fifty years of success in a variety of genres: in the 1970s as an original founding member, lead guitarist and songwriter of the gold and multi-platinum selling, Jefferson Starship, in that band’s 1980’s incarnation, Starship, and in the 1990s and 2000s as a Grammy-nominated, Billboard No. 1, million-selling contemporary jazz solo artist.
By the age of 19, guitar whiz kid, Chaquico had already performed on three of Grace Slick and Paul Kantner’s solo albums, alongside established Bay Area artists who were 20 years his senior. In 1974, Craig was a natural fit on lead guitar for Slick and Kantner’s new band, Jefferson Starship. Craig’s original, recognizable guitar licks and signature tone helped to define the sound of the original Jefferson Starship which led to nine gold and platinum albums as well as 20 Billboard Top 100 hits including songs such as “Miracles,” “With Your Love,” “Count on Me,” “Jane,” and “Find Your Way Back.”
Also a prolific songwriter, Craig is known for having written, or co-written, some of Jefferson Starship’s biggest hits such as the iconic, guitar-driven “Jane,” “Find Your Way Back”, “Layin’ It on the Line,” “Fast Buck Freddie,” ” Black Widow,” “St. Charles,” “Rock Music,” as well as writing all of the sci-fi music and lyrics to “Light the Sky on Fire,” which was performed by the original Jefferson Starship on the 1978 infamous “Star Wars Holiday Special.”
With Starship, Craig’s signature guitar solos also stand out on three more gold albums, and six Top 100 songs, including the #1 hits, “Sara”, “We Built This City,” and “Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now,” which has surpassed the 100 million stream mark on Spotify, a rare achievement for a 30-year old song.
The last original Jefferson Starship to exit the band, in 1991, Craig had earned the distinction of being the ONLY band member to have performed on every album, single, hit song and video of BOTH Jefferson Starship and Starship during their entire original durations.
Chaquico went on to forge a very successful solo career as an acoustic contemporary jazz guitarist with his first album in 1993, Acoustic Highway, earning Billboard’s Independent Album of the Year Award, and his second, 1994’s Acoustic Planet, debuting at #1 on the Billboard New Age Chart and receiving a GRAMMY nomination for Best New Age Album. Craig has since released ten more solo albums including his first blues album, Fire Red Moon, which debuted at #15 on Billboard’s National Blues Chart.
Craig has helped to design two Craig Chaquico Signature Guitars, including the acoustic-electric Washburn E26 and the Kiesel CC275 (formerly Carvin CC275).
Craig is currently composing, recording and producing an album of acoustic music for the Circle of Discovery National Park Service in the State of Jefferson (Northern California-Southern Oregon).
Craig Chaquico Official Bio (Shortest Version – Under 100 words)
Born in 1954, Craig Chaquico (pronounced Cha-KEE-so) is an American guitarist, songwriter and producer who has had fifty years of success in a variety of genres: in the 1970s as an original founding member, lead guitarist and songwriter of the gold and multi-platinum selling, Jefferson Starship, in that band’s 1980’s incarnation, Starship, and in the 1990s and 2000s as a GRAMMY-nominated, Billboard No. 1, million-selling contemporary jazz solo artist.
For further reading, we recommend this brilliant biographical interview by Michael D. McClellan “Craig Chaquico – String Theory”:
http://www.fifteenminuteswith.com/2016/04/01/craig-chaquico-string-theory/
and to learn more about Craig Chaquico’s Signature Model Guitar, visit the Kiesel Guitars Website: