Few artists can boast a career as rich and influential as Jeff Christie. Best known for his timeless hit Yellow River, Jeff’s journey from a young guitarist in Leeds to an internationally celebrated singer-songwriter is nothing short of remarkable. His ability to seamlessly blend rock and pop influences has cemented his place in music history. In this exclusive interview, Jeff reflects on his early inspirations, the unexpected path that led him to front his own band, and the songwriting process that has captivated audiences for decades.
- What inspired you to embark on your journey as a singer-songwriter, and how did you develop your distinctive style that blends pop and rock elements so seamlessly?
It all happened in stages as originally at fourteen my trajectory was playing lead guitar in a band and I wasn’t interested in singing because that first band was an instrumental combo. After a couple of years the band changed course and brought in a singer who whilst being a good front man would never know all the words to the songs we played so it fell to me to spend hours with my ears pressed up to the little speaker on my Dansette record player listening and learning the lyrics for him to sing. I would eventually sing backing vocals with one of the other guys in the band and in so doing picked up a little confidence and realised that I could carry a tune. We were starting to get a good reputation and a bit of a following locally with plenty of gigs coming in. We also had a residency every Friday and Saturday night at 11pm in a local club called The Tahiti club in Leeds which allowed us to do doubles by playing pubs and workingmen’s clubs earlier on. One night the singer never turned up for the late show and the others in the band suggested I take the lead vocals on a few songs which I did reluctantly and was relieved and pleased to see that there were no boos and a fair amount of applause which gave me more confidence with lead vocals. The singer missed rehearsals a few days later and the group decided that we’d continue without him as his unreliability was just holding us back. As we progressed and had a couple of personnel changes with me doing most of lead vocals now, we then set our sights on trying to get a recording contract. We failed a couple of auditions and I remember distinctly after one of these auditions the A&R man said the group was good but we needed to write our own songs if we wanted to get a record contract. That’s how I started writing songs as no one else in the band seemed either capable or interested in doing it. I think having absorbed all of my early idols in Rock, Pop, Motown, Soul, and Blues and especially learning from the great songwriters behind these artists I was able to forge an eclectic style that was in many ways the sum of all these influences. Buddy Holly, Roy Orbison, Eddie Cochran and Chuck Berry also were big influences as they not only were great artists but great songwriters too and then there were many others like Hank Williams, Bacharach and David, Leiber and Stoller, Mann, Weill, Buddy Holly, Felice and Boudleaux Bryant who wrote great songs for the Everly bros, Roy Wood, Pete Townsend, Ray Davis and John, Paul, and George and many more.
- Your song “Yellow River” became an iconic hit. Can you share the story behind its creation, and what you believe made it resonate so strongly with audiences worldwide?
There were two things that inspired me to write this song. The first being the colourful pulp fiction Western comic book covers I would see in the market stalls in town when I was a kid like, Buck Jones, Tex Ritter, Roy Rogers, Gene Autry and Hopalong Cassidy. They fired my imagination and fostered a fascination with Wild West folklore, with the likes of Billy the Kid, Wyatt Earp etc and the American civil war and the Indian wars. All this eventually segued into a continued affection with Americana. I wrote a few more of these songs like ‘Abilene’ from the No Turn Unstoned album in 2012 and Iron Horse which was a hit record for me back in the early ‘70s. The second inspiration was after hearing Jimmy Webb’s song Galveston by the late great Glenn Campbell. I was a big fan of them both and the song’s brilliant arrangement by Campbell plus Webb’s masterful melody and lyrics had a profound effect that was a big driver to motivate me writing my own Galveston tribute bearing fruit with Yellow River. I guess there would have been more than one reason why it was so popular worldwide, one being the universal empathy with love and loss in time of war plus the non-preachy antiwar lyric that the listener could access immediately. In the US many thought it was about the Vietnam war, so much so that Vets would write to me thanking me for the song. There was a cohort from a US armoured division who adopted the song as a morale booster as it made them think of home, which moved me a lot. The song also sounded different to everything else that was around then which probably also helped
- When writing music, do you start with a melody, lyrics, or an idea? Could you walk us through your songwriting process for one of your favorite tracks?
It could be any of these depending on what impacts on me at any given time and the things people say or do that stick in my mind. Sometimes a mood develops and some kind of melodic sequence comes out and I follow whatever feeling emerges. Sometimes a lyric or sometimes an emotion like anger or remorse or a poke at the absurdities of life through a camera lens. As a spectator trying to figure out what it’s all about, like everyone else but with music and verse. ‘One In Million’ is a song from the latest album ‘Here And Now’ and is a typical example of things we all say that I just started singing one day and thought about how we all need role models and what it’s like to aspire to be a good person in a world full of doubt and insecurity, hope and fear. How sometimes we all struggle to find a balance as there is often a fine line between love and hate and even indifference which is often worse than the other two. Those feelings found their way into the lyrics and the top line melody almost at the same time as much of it was autobiographical.
- Looking back on your career, what do you consider your most significant achievement or defining moment as an artist?
Undoubtedly it would have to be the runaway success of Yellow River, spawning hundreds of covers across the world including a handful of world-famous artists and garnering a bag full of gold discs when a gold disc meant a million sales. Music Biz awards like the Ivor Novello award in the UK which is a bronze statue and the Oscar of the UK Music Industry. Over the years it has been used in countless films, foreign and English, and has become a rock/pop classic still being played around the world 55 years later.
- Having witnessed the evolution of the music industry over the decades, how do you feel it has changed, and what advice would you give to emerging artists today?
It has changed beyond all recognition in so many ways. Technology, the internet, delivery systems, the ways of accessing music. If someone would have said back in the seventies one day we’d listen to music on our phones it would have met with snorts of laughter and derision. The streaming revolution has been great for the listening public but a calamity for musicians. Songwriters are the bedrock of the music industry and they are being massively devalued and not paid their worth. Apart from a few fabulously successful artists with zillions of fans the rest are struggling. Artists today need to be social media savvy, an accountant, business man/woman, influencer and if there’s time and desire learn to play an instrument if they can find the time!
- Were there any artists or bands that significantly influenced your music or career? And if given the chance, is there someone you’d love to collaborate with now?
Too many influences to mention but here’s a few: Puccini, Tchaikovsky, Mahler and many more of the great classical composers, the Great American Songbook writers, Hank Williams, Bacharach and David, Leiber and Stoller, Mann and Weill, Elvis, Buddy Holly, The Everly Bros, Roy Orbison, Chuck berry, Muddy Waters, Sony Boy Williamson, Steely Dan, Eagles, Johnny Kidd and the Pirates, The Shadows, The Ventures, Duane Eddy, The Beatles, Stones, Kinks and The Who, Yes and Genesis, I could go on!
- As someone who has left a lasting impact on pop-rock music, how would you like your legacy to be remembered? Are there any upcoming projects or ventures that fans can look forward to?
As a good songwriter. New songs, new projects and another album in the making.