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CHIP DAVIS
Grammy Award winning composer/musician Chip Davis is one of the most
successful innovators and entrepreneurs in music today. He is the creator
of Mannheim Steamroller, the #1 Christmas music artist in history and one
of the top best-selling artists of all times with over 40 million records
sold, 28 million in the Christmas genre alone.
Last year marked the 40th Anniversary of his first Fresh Aire album, which
introduced his innovative “Mannheim” style to America, and the 30th
Anniversary of his first Christmas album and holiday tour. This year’s 2015
Mannheim Steamroller Christmas Tour - the 31st national tour - begins
November 10th, 2015.
Davis transformed popular instrumental music by combining classical
compositions, rock rhythm, harpsichords and recorders with electric bass
and synthesizers, which he dubbed “18th Century Classical Rock”. He is
credited with creating the New Age music genre and then going on to
revolutionize the sounds of Christmas, transforming the holiday music
season into the huge industry it is today.
Davis produced and recorded his first Fresh Aire album in 1974, releasing it
under the name Mannheim Steamroller, the name reflected an early
German orchestra known for building intensity by adding musical layers of
sound, color, texture, and volume. The technique was designed to “flatten”
the listener, so Davis jokingly referred to it as “The Steamroller”.
While the music industry responded favorably to the album, no record label
would take it because of its unique style. So Davis formed his own label,
American Gramaphone, which went on to become one of the most
successful independent music franchises in the industry.
In 1984 he decided to create a Christmas album even though holiday music
wasn’t considered a major category. Music industry executives told him
that Christmas albums were generally the last stop for an artist before the
end of a career. But he went ahead and released Mannheim Steamroller
Christmas on his own. That’s when everything exploded with five million
copies immediately flying off the shelves. Davis had changed the sounds of
Christmas forever.
Today, with 19 gold, 8 multi-platinum and 4 platinum certified records, Chip
is among an elite group of artists including U2, Jay-Z and The Beach Boys
with the most certifications among all recording artists.
All told, Davis has created a remarkably varied body of work: he has
written, arranged and produced over 35 albums, including eight in the
Fresh Aire series; 12 Christmas title CDs and four Halloween albums. He is
the author of five children’s books and his sixth children’s book will be
released mid-2015.
He has an entire line of food, apparel, gift and other products bearing the
Mannheim Steamroller name. Additionally, he has a patented system,
Ambient Therapy, which is used in hospitals and facilities as Mayo Clinic to
help with surgery and medical recovery.
Davis has three children. He lives on a 150-acre farm in Omaha, NE, along
with six horses, a pet turkey, ducks and two timber wolves.