Ross Childress
| Ross Childress | |
|---|---|
| Born |
September 8, 1971 Stockbridge, Georgia, USA |
| Occupation(s) | Musician |
| Instruments | Guitar, Keyboards, Vocals |
| Associated acts |
Collective Soul Hurst Starfish and Coffee |
Ross Childress (born September 8, 1971) is an American musician. He was the original lead guitarist and co-songwriter for the rock band Collective Soul.[1]
Life and career
Childress was born on September 8, 1971 in Stockbridge, Georgia, USA.
Collective Soul
Childress grew up with and had played with the original band members of Collective Soul before the group signed to Atlantic Records in early 1994. Over a period of eight years with the band, he recorded on, and toured in support of, five studio albums that have sold over seven million copies and generated seven #1 singles on the U.S. Billboard Mainstream Rock charts. He left the band in September 2001 after the release of the greatest hits compilation 7even Year Itch. Much debate still exists regarding the reason for his departure. The band had released a brief statement on its website urging fans to understand that the situation was very personal.
During his time with Collective Soul, Childress was known for his metallic guitar sounds and heavy riffs incorporating elements of metal and blues in his playing. Along with songwriter Ed Roland, he penned many of the band's popular "hooks." Childress wrote, sang lead vocals, and performed guitar on the song "Dandy Life" on the 1999 release Dosage. This was the first time that a member other than Ed Roland had sung lead on a studio recording.
Childress left the band in 2001, with Joel Kosche taking his place. Collective Soul performed their first concert without Childress in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia on September 5, less than two weeks before the release of the greatest hits compilation 7even Year Itch.
Other projects
In 2004/2005 Ross returned to recording music as a studio musician for the Trevor Hurst project entitled "Hurst". He contributed in many ways, including co-writing & producing. The band recruited a few other musicians to join. The album has done moderately well in Canada since its release in June 2005. Touring with Trevor as "Early Moses," named after the Basquiat painting of the same name, Ross played a few shows, but decided not to play live and remain in the background.
In November 2006, Ross was mentioned on the myspace.com page of Atlanta-based Metal/Rockabilly band "The Hot Rods" as the producer of their debut album "Rumble Seat" slated for release in January 2007.
In December 2006, a myspace.com page for Ross appeared. It spoke of a new project entitled "Ross Childress Experience", consisting of himself on vocals/guitar, and two musician friends on bass and drums. With the addition of a second backup singer/guitarist in 2007, "Ross Childress Experience" was renamed "Starfish and Coffee," and their self-titled debut album was released on April 29, 2008.
On November 23, 2010, Ross released his first solo album, the 10 track "Music Box". Ross has been featured in the coverband GoBox.
Discography
Studio albums
| Year | Title |
|---|---|
| 2015 | Acoustically Speaking
|
|2010 |Music Box
- Released: November 23, 2010
- Label: Fire Island
- Formats: CD, DI
|}
Extended plays
| Year | Title |
|---|---|
| 2014 | Made in Atlanta
|
Singles
As featured artist
| Year | Song | Album |
|---|---|---|
| 2015 | "Soaked in Gasoline" (Lynnay Della Lucé featuring Ross Childress) |
none |
With Collective Soul
- Studio albums
| Year | Album details | Peak chart positions | Certifications (sales thresholds) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US | US Ind. |
AUS | CAN | NZ | |||
| 1993 | Hints Allegations and Things Left Unsaid | 15 | — | — | 5 | 46 | |
| 1995 | Collective Soul
|
23 | — | 23 | 8 | 1 | |
| 1997 | Disciplined Breakdown
|
16 | — | 37 | 5 | 3 | |
| 1999 | Dosage
|
21 | — | 48 | 5 | 21 | |
| 2000 | Blender
|
22 | — | — | 3 | — | |
- Compilation albums
| Year | Album details | US | AUS | CAN | NZ | Certifications |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Seven Year Itch: Greatest Hits, 1994-2001
|
50 | 98 | 9 | 49 |
CAN: Gold[7] |
With Hurst
| Year | Title |
|---|---|
| 2005 | Wanderlust
|
With Starfish and Coffee
| Year | Title |
|---|---|
| 2008 | Starfish and Coffee
|
Other appearances
Release contributions
| Year | Song | Album |
|---|---|---|
| 2014 | "Air" | none |
| "Nestmas" | none | |
Guest appearances
| Title | Year | Other artist(s) | Album |
|---|---|---|---|
| "Land and Sea" | 2013 | Abel, Rawls & Hayes | Are We On Our Way |
See also
References
- ↑ Strong, Martin Charles (2002). The great rock discography (6th ed.). The National Academies. ISBN 9781841953120.
- 1 2 3 4 5 "Collective Soul - Billboard Albums". Allmusic. Retrieved October 12, 2013.
- ↑ "Australian Charts - Collective Soul". australian-charts.com. Retrieved October 12, 2013.
- ↑ "Collective Soul Top Albums/CDs positions". RPM. Retrieved October 12, 2013.
- 1 2 "New Zealand Charts - Collective Soul". australian-charts.com. Retrieved October 12, 2013.
- 1 2 3 4 5 "RIAA certifications". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved October 12, 2013.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Gold Platinum Database: Collective Soul". Canadian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved October 12, 2013.
- ↑ "The ARIA Report, Issue 603" (PDF). Pandora Archive. Retrieved October 12, 2013.
External links
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