CHRIS MARION TIMELINE BIO
1962 – January 8, Chris is born in Belton TX as an illegitimate love child. Elvis celebrates 27th birthday. Events not related…or are they? 4 months later, Chris is adopted by Rhoda and Jake Marion and is moved to Chilhowie, VA
1966 - Chris and Rhoda travel with an evangelist singing a cappella. Sounds like and resembles Alfalfa but not offered role in Little Rascals revival. With Liberace as a role model, Chris begins to take piano lessons.
1968 – begins elementary school in Chilhowie, VA – single handedly re-establishes bangs as the vogue hairstyle for 1st grade
1976 – hears Michael McDonald doing “Takin’ It To The Streets” and realizes his special rock and roll purpose.
1976 – gets his first french kiss and realizes there’s something more powerful than rock and roll.
1980 – spring - graduates from high school as salutatorian; “always the bridesmaid, never the bride” syndrome begins.
1980 – fall – instead of taking a full scholarship to a Georgia technical school, chooses major school loan debt to go to Carson Newman College and majors in music. Performs “Bridge Over Troubled Water” to audition for department chairman; accepted anyway.
1982 – changes major to psychology after advisor warns if he drops out of music department, he will never have a career in music (at least any music that advisor liked). Psychological training comes in handy later in Chris’ musical career…
1984- spring – graduates “praise the laude” from CN with a degree in psychology and spends a few years working with troubled youth – fitting.
1987 – Chris move to Nashville, TN to pursue music. Never catches it.
1988 – Chris begins playing for 4th grade children’s choir eventually leading to a successful career in children’s music, 4 GMA Dove nominations, various VBS and Quarterly accounts and a perpetually childish outlook on life.
1988-1991 – works with various artists including Steven Curtis Chapman, Tony Elenburg, Keith Longbotham, Brent Lamb and others. This concludes the plugging of anyone that “made me what I am and made it happen for me” with all love and due respect. Checks are in the mail…
1992 – meets Danny Myrick on a background vocal session. Engineer unwittingly suggests that we have a nice blend and we should get a bus and start a band: brilliant!
1993 – we sign a record deal as Western Flyer on Step One Records and spend the next 4 years huddled together on a 40 foot house trailer on wheels touring the 48 contiguous states amassing tens on fans
1994 – Chris is part of a production team that works with Garth Brooks, Doug Stone, Oak Ridge Boys and Charlie Chase. Making coffee and copies: critical creative component.
1997 – after 2 CD’s, 3 videos, and several hundred thousand dollars toward “livin’ the dream”, Western Flyer plays it’s last show on a flatbed trailer for a charity walkathon; temperature is 45 degrees. Well, we did manage to play for a president, a “King”, chart a few singles, and come within a couple hundred dollars of recouping.
1998 – tours with James Bonamy on keys and road management
1999 – begins doing Arizona Winter Tour with Keith Longbotham: 50 – 65 shows for snowbird retirees in the “frigid” AZ winters.
2000 – in an immortal example of the last words of a red neck (“watch this”), goes off the top of a 35 foot waterfall on a family camping trip. Proving it’s the landing that hurts, takes a 4 inch chunk out of his right femur, loses half his body’s blood, spends 2 weeks in hospital, 6 weeks in PT, and 6 months on crutches trying to walk. Titanium leg and rehab: $40,000, being able to stand and breath without a ventilator: priceless. Routine cavity search after setting off TSA alarm at airport: to be determined…
2000 – spring – 1st Dove nomination for Dr. Newheart’s Neck Up Check Up
2001 – beings touring with Beth Moore and Living Proof, does shows with country band Shenandoah
2002 – begins touring with Shannon Brown
2003 – 2nd Dove nomination for “Operation Christmas Child”
2004 – first show with Little River Band. Invited to join band as keyboardist/vocalist shortly after public announcement by music industry that Chris was in fact the last keyboard player in Nashville. Receives 3rd Dove nomination for “Christmas SOCCER Team” -
2005 – 4th Dove nomination for “Holy Moses”
2005 - continues touring worldwide with Little River Band
2006 – with LRB, records “Rearranged”, versions of greatest hits with current personnel.
2006 Fall – always on the cutting edge, hears about this thing called myspace…
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