The music world is mourning the loss of Chris Rea, the singer-songwriter whose career spanned slick adult-oriented rock anthems and raw, passionate blues. The artist, best known for the perennial festive hit Driving Home for Christmas and the chart-topping The Road to Hell, has died at the age of 74.
A Reluctant Hitmaker
Despite achieving significant commercial success, Chris Rea's relationship with fame and the music industry was famously fraught. His debut single, Fool (If You Think It's Over), was a transatlantic hit in 1978 and earned him a Grammy nomination for Best New Artist, which he lost to Billy Joel. Yet, Rea later stated he "despised" the song, feeling it was not a true reflection of himself.
This tension with his commercial image was a constant theme. His debut album was pointedly titled Whatever Happened to Benny Santini? after his record label suggested he adopt a stage name. He frequently clashed with producers, accusing them of making his sound too glossy. Even at the height of his success, he resisted the machinery of stardom, declining to tour America extensively and turning down an appearance on MTV Unplugged, which he compared unfavourably to the BBC's Pebble Mill at One.
The Pivotal Turn to the Blues
A life-threatening illness in the late 1990s, which required major surgery and left him without a pancreas, proved a profound turning point. During his recuperation, Rea had an epiphany after rediscovering an old Sister Rosetta Tharpe album. This ignited a fierce desire to pursue the blues music he had always loved.
This new direction led to a final rupture with his record company. When they rejected his 2002 album Dancing Down the Stony Road for being too raw and uncompromised, and instead suggested a duets album, Rea walked away. He set up his own label and spent the subsequent two decades self-releasing the music he wanted to make, from the jazz-inflected Hofner Blue Notes to the monumental 11-CD, 137-track set Blue Guitars in 2005.
A Legacy of Friction and Authenticity
While he could be dismissive of his earlier hits, Rea's gift for melodic, adult-oriented rock (AOR) was undeniable. Songs like Josephine, On the Beach, and All Summer Long remain impeccably crafted. Yet, even within his commercial period, he subverted expectations with lengthy, atmospheric tracks like the eight-minute Hired Gun or the dark, ambient opener The Road to Hell (Part One).
His later blues work, characterised by a gritty, unvarnished sound where you could hear his guitar's fretboard buzz, was what he considered his true calling. Albums like Santo Spirito Blues and Road Songs For Lovers traded platinum sales and arena tours for artistic integrity—a trade-off Rea seemed to welcome. "I found fame really annoying," he once said. "Anything to do with celebrity, I just don't get it."
Chris Rea's career was a testament to principled passion, a journey from the smooth highways of pop to the stony backroads of the blues, driven by an authentic voice that never settled for the easy route.
