CHRIS WHITLEY

blues-rock singer-guitarist

“My dad turned me on to Zeppelin when I was nine.

“But I got some money from my grandmother for my birthday, and I bought three albums. I think it was 1971, so I was about 11 years old, and I bought ‘Smash Hits’ by Hendrix, Creedence Clearwater’s ‘Bayou Country’ and ‘Stand’ from Sly & the Family Stone.

“It seems like kind of a weird bunch now, but it made sense to me at the time. ”