Chris Emerson 'Chris Emerson' album

CHRIS EMERSON's self-titled debut album can be found in the strangest places. The talented Boston-based singer-songwriter chuckles when asked about one of his most memorable moments in a fledging music career that is about to take full flight. "I got an email from a girl recently who said she was walking down a street in Boston and found a copy of my CD on the ground," remembers Emerson. "She had some friends with her who made fun of her for picking up the CD."

This eagle-eyed sidewalk consumer is the one doing the laughing now. Like a growing number of fans around the country, she emailed Emerson to say how his album had quickly become her favorite, particularly after she heard the song "All Because Of You" on the hit WB series Dawson's Creek.

Emerson, who describes his style as being in the tradition of pop-rock artists like Steve Winwood and Don Henley ("Henley is a huge vocal influence"), thinks his music appeals to men and women of all ages. "I get emails from all over the world, split evenly between men and women, who say they like my music," says Emerson. "I'm just happy that it's resonating with people."

Taking an interest in music at a young age, Emerson began singing at age five, while growing up in the small town of Cambridge, Maryland. When his family moved to the Boston area, Emerson formed several high school bands, and after a detour as a student at the Massachusetts College of Art, Emerson began following his passion for music big time. Meeting a local R&B producer, Emerson started writing and recording throw-down, urban songs that paid tribute to R&B classics like Marvin Gaye and Al Green. He took his passion for this style of music even further by forming his own R&B vocal trio.

Although his love for R&B was still strong, Emerson decided to infuse his soulful style into the pop-rock arena. He built a strong writing partnership with Mariah Carey's keyboardist Andrew Sherman, which spurred the ever-positive Emerson along. Soon after, he met Linda Mason, owner of Monomoy Records and a true Emerson believer. She not only signed Emerson as her first artist but formed the label just so she could sign him. "She formed the label because she believed in my career," says a grateful Emerson.

Chris' debut is a labor of love that took 10 months to complete. The prolific Emerson wrote most of the album in one month before heading into the studio. Mixed by John Luongo (Don Henley, Tina Turner, Aerosmith, Mariah Carey, Bryan Adams, and Hall & Oates) at Daryl Hall's studio in New York, this self-titled album is a direct reflection of Emerson's continued growth as an artist and a songwriter.

The album's blue-eyed soul-based roots-rock is tailor-made for radio and a wide demographic of listeners. In fact, multi-format radio is already busy adding "All Because Of You," and the word on Chris Emerson has also been filtering out to major entertainment companies who are talking about using his music in several high profile soundtrack projects. Emerson, who describes himself as a "blue jeans and T-shirt kind of guy," remains pragmatic in his approach to his music. "Sure, I'd like to sell a ton of records, who wouldn't? Mostly, I love to perform live and can't wait to meet new people when I go out on tour. I look back, and it's been a long road to get to this point. I've got lots to prove to a lot of people who, over the years, both encouraged and discouraged me." Emerson might be a tourist when he comes to your town to ply his trade, but once his ever-burgeoning audience gets to know him, he most definitely won't be a stranger.

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Chris Emerson - Chris Emerson