"I've had a thousand songs recorded, The Carpenters, you name it, and there's only one person in my whole career who ever asked me how I felt about what they did with my song, and it was Elvis Presley."
He recorded a song for Elvis Presley. Yes, that Elvis. The King. At just the age of 21 to boot. But my guest today, Chris Christian, didn't stop there. 2000 songs, 100 albums, discovering Amy Grant, and a Wikipedia page chock full of accomplishments has led Chris to release a collection of his experiences titled "A Grandmother's Prayer". Mixed in with all these stories are valuable lessons that we should all heed!
"I decided to go to L.A, and if you go to L.A and make it, you've really competed with the best in the world. The first guy I met was Robert Kardashian.. And he gets me a record deal with Boardwalk Records. Sure enough we had a top 10 record with that."
Chris has recorded music with an enormous array of musicians, owned a TV / movie production studio, and oh, right, happens to be a co-owner of the WNBA's Dallas Wings. This man has accomplished so much so far, and he's still going at it, 40+ years after Elvis recorded his song. The timing couldn't be better, as "A Grandmother's Prayer" is available on December 10th, a book filled with one great story after the next, and lessons learned and advice offered!
"I like blue jeans, t-shirts and a guitar. I am a small town guy. All the other things that happened...it just kind of comes and you deal with it the best you can. But at the core I just want to sit on a stool and write a song."
So many amazing stories in this episode! How about having lobster for breakfast courtesy of Wayne Newton? Sharing a 5 hour flight with George Harrison? How Robert Kardashian (yes, dad to the you know who's) was his best friend, manager, and signed him to a new record contract. Best of all, how Elvis sought his approval. I can't express how much of a pleasure it was to have Chris as my guest! Happy listening!
"Elvis was a character. There was him, and then there was the real Elvis, not the guy he was playing- just like an actor. He seemed to be always searching for the why. Why he has all this fame and why his character has done so well? I think a lot of us when we have big success wonder "why?". Why was I chosen / why did this happen to me and not everyone else?"
"What I really want to do when we do this tour is have an Adopt A Grandchild Foundation. There are so many children who do not have a grandparent or they are estranged from their grandparents, and we want to find people who have some expendable time and are willing to invest that time in a grandchild at least once or twice a week. We want to even connect grandparents that can't afford to see their grandchildren and pay for the flights etc. So I think this Grandmothers Prayer is not just a book, it's a movement."
Some Topics we talk about in this episode:
Intro/ Chris Christian in the building - 2:00
A Grandmothers Prayer -3:30
The beginning of an incredible journey- 4:20
The first encounter with the King of Rock and Roll- 6:25
"What did you think about what I did with your song?"- Elvis Presley - 8:39
Just the beginning -10:30
A Man of Faith-12:00
Elvis didn't want to miss heaven on a technicality- 13:00
Why me? - 14:00
The Answer to my Grandmother's Prayer- 15:00
Contemporary Christian music - 17:30
Signing Amy Grant at 16 years old- 20:10
Chris Christian the Producer - 24:00
Robert Kardashian and L.A- 25:04
I just want to be creating/ A small town guy at heart-26:10
PSA: Book release- 27:12
Wayne Newton: the greatest performer- 29:00
Kids came into the picture- 32:30
Buying a movie studio- 33:34
A call from Radio Shack to an integrated media company- 35:20
Not a book but a whole movement- 37:00
Only one real regret- 39:20
Other amazing encounters - 41:00
Definition of Success- 43:12
Hit Your Mark - 43:53
How to get involved
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