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'''Kip Winger''' is an American rock musician.
{{Short description|American rock musician}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2022}}
{{Infobox musical artist
| name = Kip Winger
| birth_name = Charles Frederick Winger
| image = Winger 11.jpg
| caption = Kip Winger in 2007
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1961|6|21}}
| birth_place = [[Denver]], [[Colorado]], U.S.
| instrument = {{flatlist|
* Vocals
* bass guitar
<!-- only main instruments -->
}}
| genre = {{flatlist|
* [[Hard rock]]
* [[glam metal]]
* [[Heavy metal music|heavy metal]]
* [[progressive metal]]
* [[progressive rock]]
*[[classical music]]
}}
| occupation = Musician
| years_active = 1978–present
| label = [[Frontiers Records]]
| current_member_of = * [[Winger (band)|Winger]]
| past_member_of = {{flatlist|
* [[Alice Cooper]]
* [[The Mob (American rock band)|The Mob]]
* Blackwood Creek
}}
| website = {{URL|kipwinger.com}}
}}


'''Charles Frederick Winger''' (born June 21, 1961) is an American singer and bass guitarist, active as a member of the rock band [[Winger (band)|Winger]] and as a solo artist.<ref name=GL>{{cite web|work=[[Grantland]]|url=http://grantland.com/hollywood-prospectus/a-very-serious-conversation-with-kip-winger-about-being-taken-seriously-prog-rock-and-metallicas-scorn/|title=A Very Serious Conversation With Kip Winger About Being Taken Seriously, Prog-Rock, and Metallica's Scorn|date=April 24, 2014|first=Steven|last=Hyden}}</ref> He initially gained notability as a member of [[Alice Cooper]]'s band, contributing bass to his ''[[Constrictor (album)|Constrictor]]'' (1986) and ''[[Raise Your Fist and Yell]]'' (1987) albums.
'''The Early Days'''


== Biography ==
Born in Denver, Colorado in 1961. His parents were Jazz musicians and growing up Kip was always involved in music. At the age of 5 he was enrolled in a pilot Yamaha music program for preschoolers. Blessed with supportive parents, he was given music lessons and supplied with instruments. When he was 7 years old, Kip, his brothers and a neighborhood friend, Pete Fletcher, started a band, "Blackwood Creek". Kip grew up listening to pop radio and what is now considered progressive rock. As a band his favorites were Yes, Jethro Tull, Uriah Heep, Rush, Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin, Alice Cooper, C.S.N.Y, and, of course, the Beatles.
=== Early days ===
Winger was born in Colorado to parents who were both musicians. At age 16, Winger began studying [[classical music]] after hearing the works of composers such as [[Debussy]], [[Ravel]], and [[Stravinsky]] in [[ballet]] class. At that time he sent a demo [[compact cassette|tape]] to [[Alan Parsons]], from whom he received a personal reply.{{efn|Years later, when Winger was chosen to be the lead singer of The Alan Parsons Live Project, he presented Parsons with that letter from 30 years prior.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.ccbanana.com/sludge/rewindkipwinger.htm |title=Metal Sludge Rewind with Kip Winger |website=Ccbanana.com|access-date=January 1, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20090101015859/http://www.ccbanana.com/sludge/rewindkipwinger.htm |archive-date=January 1, 2009 }}</ref>}}


As a teenager, Winger played in a band named Blackwood Creek with his brothers Nate and Paul plus friend Peter Fletcher (formerly in [[Pigmy Love Circus]]). Blackwood Creek disbanded in 1980. Kip, his brothers, and Fletcher also played the Denver area bar scene as the band Colorado. Winger's first release was a [[Rainbow Music Hall]] live recording of the song "Wizard of the Key" on the ''KAZY Thunder on the Mountain'' compilation in 1980 under the band name Winger which was the Colorado band line-up under a different name.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://thecorroseum.org/comps/kazy.html|title=KAZY: Thunder on the Mountain LP 1980|website=TheCorroseum.org|access-date=February 20, 2021}}</ref>
When Kip was 9, he did a gig at his elementary school and later a few gigs at different schools. Kip eventually left school after the tenth grade because he felt school was getting in the way of his musical education. Around that time, 1976, Kip became interested in classical music and started studying classical guitar. At the same time he started appreciating dance. Kip's girl friend at the time wanted to take ballet, and since none of her friends would do it with her, she convinced Kip to. This was a broadening experience for him, considering his eclectic schedule--in the morning ballet class listening to Tchaikovsky or Mozart, then on to the gig, doing a sound check, and playing Van Halen and Zepplin all night.


In 1982, he studied with Sam Guarnaccia in Denver then moved to New York City and waited tables while studying composition with Edgar Grana.<ref>{{Cite web |url= https://myspace.com/discover/featured|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081114180429/http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile|url-status= dead |title= Featured Content on Myspace|archive-date=November 14, 2008|website=Myspace.com}}</ref>
Later that year, Kip's manager Cliff Powers was back stage at a Heart concert and met another Denver local, Beau Hill. He asked him to produce a demo tape for Kip's fledgling band. They were the first band, other than Beau's own, that Beau produced. At that time the band were calling themselves Colorado but the group changed their name to Wingerz. A lot of writing and recording went on in those days despite Wingerz lacking an actual record deal.


=== Success ===
In 1979, now a three-piece band, Kip and the boys ventured to New York to try to "make it." They played all over a tri-state area and opened for bands that were big in clubs at the time like Twisted sister, Zebra, and The Good Rats. They had no luck getting a record deal, and after about eight months, the group decided to go back to Denver and concentrate on writing and recording. Unfortunately, soon after the band started drifting apart wanting to go in different directions. Kip was living near Denver University, and after he got his GED, Kip enrolled in music theory, guitar, voice, and acting. He obtained a small role that year in Follies, a musical by Sondheim and got a small taste of musical theatre, but Kip knew that school wasn't for him. Kip was really into writing songs and dance classes, and he soon started taking dance classes with the Colorado State Ballet. Because of the shortage of guys, Kip got recruited into the company. When Kip wasn't painting apartments as a job, he was Studying dance three hours a day, then going home to write songs or going to a gig to do 3 sets of Heavy metal. The myth of Kip being a "dancer" is bogus, although studied ballet for years.
Kip Winger's first commercial break came in 1984, when he co-wrote the song "Bang Bang" for [[Kix (band)|Kix]]'s third album, ''[[Midnite Dynamite]]''.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Gallagher|first=Mitch|title=Interview with Kip Winger – Sweetwater Minute Vol. 216|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mJQXAAxUmw0 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211222/mJQXAAxUmw0 |archive-date=December 22, 2021 |url-status=live|access-date=October 18, 2020|website=YouTube|date=November 22, 2013 }}{{cbignore}}</ref> During that time he was working closely with the record producer [[Beau Hill]], [[sound recording and reproduction|recording]] bass and vocals on various [[Gramophone record|records]]. While [[Reb Beach]] was working on [[Fiona (singer)|Fiona Flanagan]]'s ''[[Beyond the Pale (Fiona album)|Beyond the Pale]]'' record at [[Atlantic Records|Atlantic]], Winger and Beach were introduced to each other and later began recording demos. In 1985, Winger joined [[Alice Cooper]]'s band. After making two albums and touring with Cooper, much of the time alongside keyboardist/guitarist [[Paul Taylor (keyboardist)|Paul Taylor]], Winger left in March 1987 to focus on his own band.


Winger returned to New York to work on songs with Reb Beach, and they were soon joined by Paul Taylor and drummer [[Rod Morgenstein]]. They initially performed under the name Sahara, but eventually changed their name to [[Winger (band)|Winger]], at Alice Cooper's suggestion.
Kip stayed in Denver writing and studying for about two years, but he desperately wanted a record deal, and it wasn't happening anytime soon. So, Kip set off to New York again in 1982 at the age of 21. Beau Hill was in and out of New York and had a place across the river in Hoboken, NJ. He let Kip stay there. Kip slept on his living room floor for a year or so and got a job waiting tables at the Madison Café on the corner of 14th and Washington. He had an 8-track tape machine, and Kip wrote and recorded songs when he wasn't working.


The band Winger released three albums (''[[Winger (album)|Winger]]'' (1988), ''[[In the Heart of the Young]]'' (1990), and ''[[Pull (Winger album)|Pull]]'' (1993)) before moving on to solo careers.
It was at that time that Kip met Sandy Stewart, who had previously written songs with Stevie Nicks. She was writing for her second album, and the two co-wrote a lot of songs, but none of them made it to her second LP, Blue Yonder.


=== Solo career ===
Kip also found himself studying composition with Edgar Grana on 53rd Street. This was a profound and enlightening experience for Kip. He encouraged Kip to analyze music by deconstructing and reconstructing. It was late 1984, and Kip had written 57 songs that year. Beau was starting to have a lot of success, having just produced a then new band called Ratt, which was really taking off. He hired Kip to do bass and vocals here and there, and Kip got his first writing credit on "Bang Bang," a song on an album by Kix called "Midnight Dynamite."
Kip Winger then moved to [[New Mexico]] to work on his solo career, and study with Richard Hermann at the [[University of New Mexico]].


He worked and recorded three solo records in [[Santa Fe, New Mexico]]: ''[[This Conversation Seems Like a Dream]]'', ''[[Down Incognito]]'' and ''[[Songs from the Ocean Floor]]''.
Beau was working on Fiona's (Flanagan) second LP, Beyond the Pale, and for that, Kip had also written a chorus part on a song called "Tragedy." One day Kip was introduced to Reb Beach, a new studio guitar player. The two hit it off, and Kip had him play on his demos. This group, besides Kip, consisted of Reb, and a drummer named David Rosenberg. They called themselves ViceVersa. But they still had no luck getting a record deal.


In 2002 Winger moved to [[Nashville, Tennessee]] and began working on his fourth solo record, ''[[From the Moon to the Sun]]'' (2008), which he co-produced with Cenk Eroglu.
Beau's next production was Alice Cooper. Kip had been a big Alice fan for a long time. Fortunately for Kip, Alice and Kane Roberts needed a bass player for the Constrictor album. It was Kane who suggested that Kip tell Alice that if he needed a bass player on the road, he'd love to go. A few months later Kip got a call to come to L.A. and start rehearsing for "The Nightmare Returns" tour. This was when Kip met Paul Taylor.


=== Reunited Winger ===
Kip roomed with Ken Mary, the drummer who went on to House of Lords and is currently producing. Ken and Kip were conceptualizing a band and began including Paul Taylor who was a good writer. After about nine months on the road with Alice, there was a break before the recording of Raise Your Fist and Yell. During the break Ken, Paul and Kip went to Boulder to record demos. Kip's brother, Paul, had a studio, and he let the group record there. The group worked a week with the working title, Rome. They recorded four songs. "Miles Away," which Paul had written a few years earlier, was one of them. The tape was sent around without much luck. It was time to return to L.A. to begin recording Raise Your Fist. This album was produced by Michael Wagner. To his own delight, Kip got to write a little classical bit which ended up as "Gail."
[[File:Winger 23.jpg|thumb|upright=1.25|Kip Winger performing with Winger in 2007]]
In September 2006, it was announced that Winger would be reformed, with the ''Pull'' era line-up, to record the band's fourth studio album, ''[[IV (Winger album)|IV]]'', and to go on [[concert tour|tour]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.kipwinger.com/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060904150249/http://www.kipwinger.com/i_tour.htm|url-status=dead|title=C F Kip Winger – Official Website|archive-date=September 4, 2006|website=Kipwinger.com|access-date=March 29, 2020}}</ref> to support it. During this tour, Winger recorded ''[[Winger Live]]'' which was released on CD and DVD in 2007. It was also confirmed that an anthology of rare tracks and early recordings, ''[[Demo Anthology]]'' (2007) would be released, as well as an autographed [[Special edition|limited-edition]] album, ''Seventeen: The Demos'', where only 300 copies were made.


In 2009, Winger recorded their fifth studio album, ''Karma'', which was hailed as their best record.<ref>{{cite web|title=Winger CD 'Karma'|url=http://www.bravewords.com/news/129364|work=WINGER – Karma Hits Top Album Lists For 2009 Worldwide}}</ref> The band toured the US, Europe and South America.
'''The Winger Days'''


=== Classical music ===
All this time Kip had been in contact with Reb, who was becoming quite the session guitarist in New York. Twisted Sister wanted him to go on the road at the same time as Alice was getting ready to go back out. This was the turning point. Reb and Kip made a pact not to take anymore outside work and just write and record. A friend and potential manager, Eiichi Naito, currently the owner of Domo Records, let them use a room in his office to work. Reb and Kip pulled out all their best riffs and just went for it. 6 months later, they got signed to Atlantic. Ironically, the song that got them signed was "State of Emergency," which never really did anything on the charts.
Following the release of ''[[From the Moon to the Sun]]'', Winger studied with Michael Kurek and composed a thirty-minute [[Symphony|symphonic]] piece, "Ghosts", written for strings, piano and harp for a ballet commission. The work had its premiere with the [[Tucson Symphony Orchestra]] on November 14–15, 2009. Choreographer [[Christopher Wheeldon]] created the ballet "Ghosts", which premiered at the [[San Francisco Ballet]] on February 9, 2010, with set design by Laura Jellinek, lighting design by M.L. Geiger and costume design by Mark Zappone.<ref>For a review of the work: [https://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/12/arts/dance/12opus.html The New York Times]</ref>


Winger was nominated for an Isadora Duncan Award for Excellence in Music.<ref>{{cite web|title=CF Kip Winger Award Nomination|url=http://izzies.org/pressroom/|work=Ghosts|access-date=September 9, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304023933/http://izzies.org/pressroom/|archive-date=March 4, 2016|url-status=usurped}}</ref> The ballet was a hit and was brought back for a second season in 2010.
In 1988, the boys went into the studio. Kip knew Paul would be in the band, but he was still touring with Alice. They did manage to get Rod to do the album. Going into the studio, the group spent about four months on the first album. Reb and Kip went through a lot of band name ideas. Call Your Doctor was one that stuck for awhile. They ended up with the name Sahara, but changed it when they received a letter from another band's attorney stating that they already owned the name. Alice Cooper had suggested Winger. Kip didn't like the name, but they were under the gun, and without any better ideas. Thus, they became Winger. They decided to call the album Sahara, but there was a communication breakdown at Atlantic, and that fell through the cracks. (But if you look at the bottom right, you'll see the word Sahara.)


Winger then composed a four-part work entitled ''[[C.F. Kip Winger: Conversations with Nijinsky]]'', intended to celebrate the life of ballet dancer and choreographer [[Vaslav Nijinsky]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://finance.yahoo.com/news/c-f-kip-winger-celebrates-123500216.html |title=C.F. Kip Winger Celebrates the Life of Dancer and Choreographer Vaslav Nijinsky |access-date=January 16, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160823010041/http://finance.yahoo.com/news/c-f-kip-winger-celebrates-123500216.html |archive-date=August 23, 2016 |url-status=dead }}</ref> The album was recorded by the [[San Francisco Ballet]] Orchestra and reached the top of the Traditional Classical Chart on the ''[[Billboard charts|Billboard]]'' music charts.<ref>[http://www.billboard.com/biz/search/charts?f0=ss_chart_search_title%3A%22C.F.%20Kip%20Winger%3A%20Conversations%20With%20Nijinsky%22&f1=itm_field_chart_id%3A1182&refine=1] {{dead link|date=March 2020}}</ref>
The album was stagnant at first before it finally broke. MTV put "Madalaine" on Headbangers' Ball, then radio picked it up. The group also went on six weeks of a Scorpion's tour to help boost popularity. When the second single, "Seventeen," came out, they decided to go all-out on a tour. Winger were on the road for over a year, writing as they went along. After the first tour, Kip took about two weeks off before starting work on the second LP. The second album took about six months. Two versions were made. The first version had "All I Ever Wanted," and "Never." Everyone had a listen, and the group decided to go back to the drawing board to write a couple more songs. Those sessions produced "Can't Get Enough," and "Easy Come, Easy Go." They replaced the other two songs and used them for B sides.


''C.F. Kip Winger: Conversations with Nijinsky'' was nominated in the Best Classical Contemporary Composition category at the [[59th Annual Grammy Awards]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.stereogum.com/1914931/kip-winger-nominated-for-a-grammy-in-classical-category/news/|title=Kip Winger Nominated For A Grammy In Classical Category|website=Stereogum.com|date=December 6, 2016}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.grammy.com/grammys/artists/c-f-kip-winger|title=C. F. Kip Winger|date=November 19, 2019|website=Grammy.com|access-date=March 29, 2020}}</ref>
In the Heart of the Young came out in 1990 and went gold in two weeks. Winger jumped on the Kiss tour and started the touring process over again. The second tour was even longer than the first. However, it wasn't long before the group wanted to take a break. During the tour in Europe the Gulf War broke out. Winger cancelled a few dates in England and went home. Without a place to go, Kip headed to New York and got a loft in Tribecca. It was during this period that Paul decided to go a different direction, and he left in November of '91. Reb, Rod and Kip pressed on. However, grunge was hitting big, and Kip began to feel unsure of the group's place in the rock world now that the scene was changing.


=== Get Jack'', A Musical Thriller'' ===
All in all, it took a year to write Winger's next album, Pull, which Kip noted was his favorite Winger album. During the second tour, Winger managed to get Mike Shipley to do the record.
Kip Winger's theatrical composing debut is the musical thriller ''[https://www.getjack.com/ Get Jack]'', with book/lyrics by Damien Gray (''Atomic the Musical'', ''[[Animagique]]'', ''Sing On Tour''). The story revolves around the five female victims of [[Jack the Ripper]]: [[Mary Ann Nichols]], [[Annie Chapman]], [[Elizabeth Stride]], [[Catherine Eddowes]], and [[Mary Jane Kelly]]—known as the "canonical five"—who rise from the dead to track down Jack and take revenge.


''Get Jack'' is currently on development stage, with director [[Kelly Devine]] and musical director Andy Peterson, and was presented in concert in October 2019 in New York.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/Jackie-Evancho-Eden-Espinosa-Jeanna-De-Waal-and-More-Star-in-GET-JACK-In-Concert-20191007|title=Jackie Evancho, Eden Espinosa, Jeanna De Waal and More to Star in GET JACK In Concert|website=BroadwayWorld.com|access-date=March 29, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.playbill.com/article/eden-espinosa-to-headline-concert-of-new-musical-thriller-get-jack|title=Eden Espinosa to Headline Concert of New Musical Thriller Get Jack|first=Adam|last=Hetrick|date=October 9, 2019|website=Playbill.com|access-date=March 29, 2020}}</ref>
During work in the studio, Kip bought a house just north of South Beach. Reb and Kip were finishing up the writing, and, one day Reb played a riff on the acoustic, C D C G. Kip quickly grabbed the guitar away from him and messed around with a couple of other chords and "Who's the One" was born. It went on to be Kip's favorite Winger song. The group also continued to record Pull in L.A. for about six months. Grunge had taken over, and the perception of Winger was far from cool. Despite the musical climate at the time, Pull did pretty well. John Roth took Paul Taylor's place on guitar and keyboards. The tour lasted six months ending in Japan.


Winger and Gray released the rock/orchestral ''Get Jack'' concept album in July 2019, which entered at #7 on ''[[Billboard charts|Billboard]]''{{'}}s Cast Albums chart.
'''Solo Career'''


=== Miscellaneous ===
Afterwards, Kip went back to Florida to start thinking about his solo career. He eventually moved on to Santa Fe, and took a long break, spending the better part of eight months swinging a hammer under the direction of his old friends, Kevin Walsh, who helped Kip remodel and build a studio in his home. Without expectation, Kip began experimenting with different sounds seperate from Winger. After three or four months a few songs began to emerge. "Monster" was the first song Kip felt was strong enough for an album, and the rest unfurled from there. Many of the songs Kip wrote during this time ended up as out-takes that didn't fit the sound he was going for at the time. The album was finished around July of 1996. Kip was already working on the follow-up music to This Conversation, because he had some time before the release.
Winger's composition "Blue Suede Shoes" from the album ''IV'' honored the service and sacrifice of United States armed forces and their families. In appreciation, General Harold Cross presented Winger with an honorary plaque and historic United States of America flag. The presentation occurred in a surprise ceremony during the taping of the [[PBS]] television program ''Legends & Lyrics''.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://legendsandlyrics.com/events/69#4 |title= Episode 105 / Season 1 |access-date=July 13, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160312090459/http://www.legendsandlyrics.com/events/69#4| website= legendsandlyrics.com| publisher= |archive-date=March 12, 2016 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.artisttrove.com/artist/265389465470/Kip+Winger/videos/197024550314812 |title= Kip Winger – U.S. Govt Award |website= artisttrove.com| publisher= |access-date=July 13, 2016 |archive-date=August 16, 2016 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160816054935/http://www.artisttrove.com/artist/265389465470/Kip+Winger/videos/197024550314812 |url-status=dead }}</ref>


On the television program ''[[Beavis and Butt-Head]]'', one of the recurring characters, Stewart Stevenson, wears a Winger T-shirt<ref name=BB>{{cite magazine|magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]| title=Beavis and Butt-Head Return to MTV – with Licensed Videos|first=Phil|last=Gallo|date=August 1, 2011 |url= http://www.billboard.com/articles/news/468739/beavis-and-butt-head-return-to-mtv-with-licensed-videos}}</ref> in contrast to the AC/DC and Metallica shirts worn by Beavis and Butt-Head.<ref name=BB />
On a cold November day, Kip's wife at the time died in a tragic car accident. After the burial in December, Kip went to Egypt to escape. The music he heard in Egypt became very influential on the songs he was working on. With a DAT, Kip recorded a lot of sound from his travels, many of which showed up on Kip's latest record, Songs From the Ocean Floor.


He has participated and performed as head counselor in the ''Rock 'n' Roll Fantasy Camp'' with other musicians including [[Roger Daltrey]], [[Steven Tyler]], [[Todd Rundgren]], [[Jack Blades]], [[Kelly Keagy]], [[Bruce Kulick]], [[Bill Leverty]], [[Steve Lukather]], [[Duff McKagan]], [[Mark Slaughter]], [[Carmine Appice]], and [[Rudy Sarzo]]. He was featured in an episode of the American TV show ''[[Pawn Stars]]'' in May 2013 as helping the host, [[Rick Harrison]], through Rock Fantasy Camp.
THIS CONVERSATION SEEMS LIKE A DREAM was released in February of 1997. Kip toured solo acoustic to support it. In total he performed 110 shows in the U.S., Europe and Japan. The response to the album and to the acoustic shows was a warm one, although nowhere near matching the success of the Winger years. However, the positive feedback inspired Kip to release an acoustic record. The record was released in three incarnations. In Europe it is called, Made By Hand, in Japan it is called Another Way, and in the U.S. it is called Down Incognito. The difference is that Down Incognito has two live cuts from a show in Paris in 1998.


In the early 1990s, the Jackson Guitar Company made a Kip Winger Signature Bass.
In May of 1998, Kip produced an album for a very talented acoustic guitar player named Rob Eberhard Young. The mostly instrumental album is called Speak.


Meanwhile, during this time Kip had been working on Ocean Floor. On six of these songs, Noble Kime co-wrote lyrics with Kip. Unlike Conversation, Kip knew which songs would work all along. Songs From the Ocean Floor became the culmination of all of Kip's influences in music. False speculation arose soon after release that Conversation was the album that reflected Kip's process about Beatrice's death. In actuality, the album was a culmination of songs dealing with loss, redemption, and struggles we all have in common.


'''Currently'''


== Discography ==
In 1999, Kip scored the music to a movie called 'The Greenskeeper" and in 2004 Kip also scored another movie called "Sorority".


=== Studio albums ===
In 2002, WINGER reformed to do the Poison tour. After the tour Kip moved to Nashville and remodled another house while keeping busy with various projects in between all of his acoustic performances.
*''[[This Conversation Seems Like a Dream]]'' (1997)
*''[[Down Incognito]]'' (1999)
*''[[Songs from the Ocean Floor]]'' (2001)
*''[[From the Moon to the Sun]]'' (2008)
*''Ghosts – Suite No. 1'' (2010)
*''Conversations with Nijinsky'' (2016)


=== Soundtrack albums ===
During this time, Kip was also offered the position of lead singer in The Alan Parsons Project. Kip sang for them briefly, but scheduling problems made it impossible for Kip to be a peminant member.
*''Get Jack'' <small>with Damien Gray</small> (2019)


=== Box sets ===
In 2003, Kip went on the Whitesnake's "Rock never stops" tour as a solo acoustic performer.
*''Solo Box Set Collection'' (2018)


=== with Winger ===
Currently, Kip is recording a new solo cd, a record with Cenk, working with the power trio "Blackwood Creek", producing a band "Ligion" and studying with composer Michael Kurek.
*''[[Winger (album)|Winger]]'' (1988)
*''[[In the Heart of the Young]]'' (1990)
*''[[Pull (Winger album)|Pull]]'' (1993)
*''[[IV (Winger album)|IV]]'' (2006)
*''[[Karma (Winger album)|Karma]]'' (2009)
*''[[Better Days Comin']]'' (2014)
*''[[Seven (Winger album)|Seven]]'' (2023)


=== with Alice Cooper ===
{{hairmetal-stub}}
*''[[Constrictor (album)|Constrictor]]'' (1986)
{{bassist-stub}}
*''[[Raise Your Fist and Yell]]'' (1987)
[[Category:Bassists|Winger, Kip]]
* ''[[Trash (Alice Cooper album)|Trash]]'' (1989)
[[Category:Hair metal musicians|Winger, Kip]]
* ''[[Welcome 2 My Nightmare]]'' (2011)

=== with Fiona ===
*''[[Heart Like a Gun]]'' (1989)

=== with The Mob ===
*''[[The Mob (American rock band)|The Mob]]'' (2005)

=== with Blackwood Creek ===
*''Blackwood Creek'' (2009)

=== Other contributions ===
* [[Kix (band)|Kix]] – ''[[Midnite Dynamite]]'' (1985)
* [[Fiona (singer)|Fiona]] – ''[[Beyond the Pale (Fiona album)|Beyond the Pale]]'' (1986)
* [[Alice Cooper]] – ''[[Trash (Alice Cooper album)|Trash]]'' (1989)
* [[Kane Roberts]] – ''Kane Roberts'' (1987)
* [[Twisted Sister]] – ''[[Love Is for Suckers]]'' (1987)
* [[Bob Dylan]] – ''[[Down in the Groove]]'' (1988)
* Various artists – [[Hearts of Fire (soundtrack)|''Hearts of Fire'' soundtrack]] (1987)
* Blue Yonder – ''[[Blue Yonder (album)|Blue Yonder]]'' (1987)
* Orange Swirl – ''Orange Swirl'' (1998)
* Seven Days – ''Ride'' (1998)
* Rob Eberhard Young – ''Speak'' (1999)
* Under Suspicion – ''Under Suspicion'' (2001)
* [[Jordan Rudess]] – ''[[Rhythm of Time]]'' (2004)
* [[Twenty Flight Rockers]] – ''The New York Sessions 1988'' (2004)
* XCarnation – ''Grounded'' (2005)
* Jordan Rudess – ''[[The Road Home (Jordan Rudess album)|The Road Home]]'' (2007)
* [[Northern Light Orchestra]] – ''Orchestra Arrangements'' (2009)
* [[Alice Cooper]] – ''[[Welcome 2 My Nightmare]]'' (2011)

=== Tributes ===
* "[[Space Truckin']]" – ''Smoke on the Water – A Tribute to Deep Purple'' (1994)
* "[[I'm in Love with My Car]]" – ''[[Stone Cold Queen: A Tribute]]'' (2001)
* "I Want You" – ''[[Spin the Bottle: An All-Star Tribute to Kiss]]'' (2004)
* "[[A Love Like Yours (Don't Come Knocking Everyday)]]" – ''What's Love? a Tribute to Tina Turner'' (2004)
* "[[Limelight (Rush song)|Limelight]]" & "[[The Spirit of Radio]]" – ''Subdivisions: A Tribute to Rush'' (2005)
* "[[Send Her My Love]]" – ''An '80s Metal Tribute to Journey'' (2006)
* "[[Drive My Car (song)|Drive My Car]]" – ''Butchering the Beatles: A Headbashing Tribute'' (2006)
* "[[Holding Back the Years]]" (by Simply Red) – ''Hair Metal Greatest Power Ballad Covers'' (2009)

=== Videos/DVDs ===
* [[Alice Cooper]] – ''[[The Nightmare Returns]]'' (1986)
* Winger – ''The Videos, Vol. 1'' (1989)
* Winger – ''In the Heart of the Young, Vol. 1'' (1990)
* Winger – ''In the Heart of the Young, Vol. 2'' (1991)
* Winger – ''Live in Tokyo'' (1991)
* Winger – ''The Making of Pull'' (1993)
* Various artists – ''VH1 Metal Mania Stripped Across America Tour Live'' (2006)
* Winger – ''The Making of Winger IV'' (2007)
* ''[[Winger Live]]'' (2007)
* Winger DVD – ''Then & Now: The Making of Pull & Winger IV'' (2009)

== Notes ==
{{notelist}}

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== Reviews and interviews ==
* [http://www.rockreport.be/review.asp?id=2065 RockReport Review] May 2008
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20090101015859/http://www.ccbanana.com/sludge/rewindkipwinger.htm Metal Sludge Rewind with Kip Winger] Retrieved on 2009-01-01.
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20081010175232/http://www.komodorock.com/interviews/interviews/komodo-rock-talks-with-kip-winger-200810098490/ Kip Winger Interview] October 2008
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20170221032358/http://www.hardharderheavy.de/interviews/interview_winger_en.shtml Kip Winger-Interview] November 2007
* [http://www.sfbaytimes.com/index.php?sec=article&article_id=12431/Dreams, Ghosts and Simpler Times by Mike Ward San Francisco Bay Times] February 2010
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20131221182130/https://www.sfcv.org/news-reviews/music-news/music-news-february-16-2010#anchor7/Wheeldon-Winger: No Pride in Prejudice By Janos Gereben – Classical Voice] February 2010
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20120325103517/http://sitemason.vanderbilt.edu/vanderbiltview/articles/2010/06/01/whole-new-world.116804/A rock star reinvents himself with the help of Blair professor Michael Kurek by Jim Patterson – Vanderbilt View] June 2010
* [http://www.noisecreep.com/2010/10/19/kip-winger-ballet/?/Kip Winger's True Passion: Music For Ballet by Amy Sciarretto] October 2010

== External links ==
{{Commons category}}
* {{Official website|http://www.kipwinger.com}}

{{Winger}}
{{Alice Cooper}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Winger, Kip}}
[[Category:1961 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:American heavy metal bass guitarists]]
[[Category:American male bass guitarists]]
[[Category:Glam metal musicians]]
[[Category:Alice Cooper (band) members]]
[[Category:Winger (band) members]]
[[Category:Musicians from Denver]]
[[Category:Songwriters from Colorado]]
[[Category:Progressive rock musicians]]
[[Category:Progressive metal musicians]]
[[Category:Guitarists from Colorado]]
[[Category:20th-century American guitarists]]
[[Category:20th-century American male singers]]
[[Category:20th-century American singers]]
[[Category:21st-century American guitarists]]
[[Category:21st-century American male musicians]]
[[Category:Frontiers Records artists]]
[[Category:Domo Records artists]]
[[Category:The Mob (American band) members]]

Latest revision as of 07:42, 29 October 2024

Kip Winger
Kip Winger in 2007
Kip Winger in 2007
Background information
Birth nameCharles Frederick Winger
Born (1961-06-21) June 21, 1961 (age 63)
Denver, Colorado, U.S.
Genres
OccupationMusician
Instruments
  • Vocals
  • bass guitar
Years active1978–present
LabelsFrontiers Records
Member of
Formerly of
Websitekipwinger.com

Charles Frederick Winger (born June 21, 1961) is an American singer and bass guitarist, active as a member of the rock band Winger and as a solo artist.[1] He initially gained notability as a member of Alice Cooper's band, contributing bass to his Constrictor (1986) and Raise Your Fist and Yell (1987) albums.

Biography

[edit]

Early days

[edit]

Winger was born in Colorado to parents who were both musicians. At age 16, Winger began studying classical music after hearing the works of composers such as Debussy, Ravel, and Stravinsky in ballet class. At that time he sent a demo tape to Alan Parsons, from whom he received a personal reply.[a]

As a teenager, Winger played in a band named Blackwood Creek with his brothers Nate and Paul plus friend Peter Fletcher (formerly in Pigmy Love Circus). Blackwood Creek disbanded in 1980. Kip, his brothers, and Fletcher also played the Denver area bar scene as the band Colorado. Winger's first release was a Rainbow Music Hall live recording of the song "Wizard of the Key" on the KAZY Thunder on the Mountain compilation in 1980 under the band name Winger which was the Colorado band line-up under a different name.[3]

In 1982, he studied with Sam Guarnaccia in Denver then moved to New York City and waited tables while studying composition with Edgar Grana.[4]

Success

[edit]

Kip Winger's first commercial break came in 1984, when he co-wrote the song "Bang Bang" for Kix's third album, Midnite Dynamite.[5] During that time he was working closely with the record producer Beau Hill, recording bass and vocals on various records. While Reb Beach was working on Fiona Flanagan's Beyond the Pale record at Atlantic, Winger and Beach were introduced to each other and later began recording demos. In 1985, Winger joined Alice Cooper's band. After making two albums and touring with Cooper, much of the time alongside keyboardist/guitarist Paul Taylor, Winger left in March 1987 to focus on his own band.

Winger returned to New York to work on songs with Reb Beach, and they were soon joined by Paul Taylor and drummer Rod Morgenstein. They initially performed under the name Sahara, but eventually changed their name to Winger, at Alice Cooper's suggestion.

The band Winger released three albums (Winger (1988), In the Heart of the Young (1990), and Pull (1993)) before moving on to solo careers.

Solo career

[edit]

Kip Winger then moved to New Mexico to work on his solo career, and study with Richard Hermann at the University of New Mexico.

He worked and recorded three solo records in Santa Fe, New Mexico: This Conversation Seems Like a Dream, Down Incognito and Songs from the Ocean Floor.

In 2002 Winger moved to Nashville, Tennessee and began working on his fourth solo record, From the Moon to the Sun (2008), which he co-produced with Cenk Eroglu.

Reunited Winger

[edit]
Kip Winger performing with Winger in 2007

In September 2006, it was announced that Winger would be reformed, with the Pull era line-up, to record the band's fourth studio album, IV, and to go on tour[6] to support it. During this tour, Winger recorded Winger Live which was released on CD and DVD in 2007. It was also confirmed that an anthology of rare tracks and early recordings, Demo Anthology (2007) would be released, as well as an autographed limited-edition album, Seventeen: The Demos, where only 300 copies were made.

In 2009, Winger recorded their fifth studio album, Karma, which was hailed as their best record.[7] The band toured the US, Europe and South America.

Classical music

[edit]

Following the release of From the Moon to the Sun, Winger studied with Michael Kurek and composed a thirty-minute symphonic piece, "Ghosts", written for strings, piano and harp for a ballet commission. The work had its premiere with the Tucson Symphony Orchestra on November 14–15, 2009. Choreographer Christopher Wheeldon created the ballet "Ghosts", which premiered at the San Francisco Ballet on February 9, 2010, with set design by Laura Jellinek, lighting design by M.L. Geiger and costume design by Mark Zappone.[8]

Winger was nominated for an Isadora Duncan Award for Excellence in Music.[9] The ballet was a hit and was brought back for a second season in 2010.

Winger then composed a four-part work entitled C.F. Kip Winger: Conversations with Nijinsky, intended to celebrate the life of ballet dancer and choreographer Vaslav Nijinsky.[10] The album was recorded by the San Francisco Ballet Orchestra and reached the top of the Traditional Classical Chart on the Billboard music charts.[11]

C.F. Kip Winger: Conversations with Nijinsky was nominated in the Best Classical Contemporary Composition category at the 59th Annual Grammy Awards.[12][13]

Get Jack, A Musical Thriller

[edit]

Kip Winger's theatrical composing debut is the musical thriller Get Jack, with book/lyrics by Damien Gray (Atomic the Musical, Animagique, Sing On Tour). The story revolves around the five female victims of Jack the Ripper: Mary Ann Nichols, Annie Chapman, Elizabeth Stride, Catherine Eddowes, and Mary Jane Kelly—known as the "canonical five"—who rise from the dead to track down Jack and take revenge.

Get Jack is currently on development stage, with director Kelly Devine and musical director Andy Peterson, and was presented in concert in October 2019 in New York.[14][15]

Winger and Gray released the rock/orchestral Get Jack concept album in July 2019, which entered at #7 on Billboard's Cast Albums chart.

Miscellaneous

[edit]

Winger's composition "Blue Suede Shoes" from the album IV honored the service and sacrifice of United States armed forces and their families. In appreciation, General Harold Cross presented Winger with an honorary plaque and historic United States of America flag. The presentation occurred in a surprise ceremony during the taping of the PBS television program Legends & Lyrics.[16][17]

On the television program Beavis and Butt-Head, one of the recurring characters, Stewart Stevenson, wears a Winger T-shirt[18] in contrast to the AC/DC and Metallica shirts worn by Beavis and Butt-Head.[18]

He has participated and performed as head counselor in the Rock 'n' Roll Fantasy Camp with other musicians including Roger Daltrey, Steven Tyler, Todd Rundgren, Jack Blades, Kelly Keagy, Bruce Kulick, Bill Leverty, Steve Lukather, Duff McKagan, Mark Slaughter, Carmine Appice, and Rudy Sarzo. He was featured in an episode of the American TV show Pawn Stars in May 2013 as helping the host, Rick Harrison, through Rock Fantasy Camp.

In the early 1990s, the Jackson Guitar Company made a Kip Winger Signature Bass.


Discography

[edit]

Studio albums

[edit]

Soundtrack albums

[edit]
  • Get Jack with Damien Gray (2019)

Box sets

[edit]
  • Solo Box Set Collection (2018)

with Winger

[edit]

with Alice Cooper

[edit]

with Fiona

[edit]

with The Mob

[edit]

with Blackwood Creek

[edit]
  • Blackwood Creek (2009)

Other contributions

[edit]

Tributes

[edit]

Videos/DVDs

[edit]
  • Alice Cooper – The Nightmare Returns (1986)
  • Winger – The Videos, Vol. 1 (1989)
  • Winger – In the Heart of the Young, Vol. 1 (1990)
  • Winger – In the Heart of the Young, Vol. 2 (1991)
  • Winger – Live in Tokyo (1991)
  • Winger – The Making of Pull (1993)
  • Various artists – VH1 Metal Mania Stripped Across America Tour Live (2006)
  • Winger – The Making of Winger IV (2007)
  • Winger Live (2007)
  • Winger DVD – Then & Now: The Making of Pull & Winger IV (2009)

Notes

[edit]
  1. ^ Years later, when Winger was chosen to be the lead singer of The Alan Parsons Live Project, he presented Parsons with that letter from 30 years prior.[2]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Hyden, Steven (April 24, 2014). "A Very Serious Conversation With Kip Winger About Being Taken Seriously, Prog-Rock, and Metallica's Scorn". Grantland.
  2. ^ "Metal Sludge Rewind with Kip Winger". Ccbanana.com. Archived from the original on January 1, 2009. Retrieved January 1, 2009.
  3. ^ "KAZY: Thunder on the Mountain LP 1980". TheCorroseum.org. Retrieved February 20, 2021.
  4. ^ "Featured Content on Myspace". Myspace.com. Archived from the original on November 14, 2008.
  5. ^ Gallagher, Mitch (November 22, 2013). "Interview with Kip Winger – Sweetwater Minute Vol. 216". YouTube. Archived from the original on December 22, 2021. Retrieved October 18, 2020.
  6. ^ "C F Kip Winger – Official Website". Kipwinger.com. Archived from the original on September 4, 2006. Retrieved March 29, 2020.
  7. ^ "Winger CD 'Karma'". WINGER – Karma Hits Top Album Lists For 2009 Worldwide.
  8. ^ For a review of the work: The New York Times
  9. ^ "CF Kip Winger Award Nomination". Ghosts. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved September 9, 2011.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  10. ^ "C.F. Kip Winger Celebrates the Life of Dancer and Choreographer Vaslav Nijinsky". Archived from the original on August 23, 2016. Retrieved January 16, 2017.
  11. ^ [1] [dead link‍]
  12. ^ "Kip Winger Nominated For A Grammy In Classical Category". Stereogum.com. December 6, 2016.
  13. ^ "C. F. Kip Winger". Grammy.com. November 19, 2019. Retrieved March 29, 2020.
  14. ^ "Jackie Evancho, Eden Espinosa, Jeanna De Waal and More to Star in GET JACK In Concert". BroadwayWorld.com. Retrieved March 29, 2020.
  15. ^ Hetrick, Adam (October 9, 2019). "Eden Espinosa to Headline Concert of New Musical Thriller Get Jack". Playbill.com. Retrieved March 29, 2020.
  16. ^ "Episode 105 / Season 1". legendsandlyrics.com. Archived from the original on March 12, 2016. Retrieved July 13, 2016.
  17. ^ "Kip Winger – U.S. Govt Award". artisttrove.com. Archived from the original on August 16, 2016. Retrieved July 13, 2016.
  18. ^ a b Gallo, Phil (August 1, 2011). "Beavis and Butt-Head Return to MTV – with Licensed Videos". Billboard.

Reviews and interviews

[edit]
[edit]
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