Chris Michie

Chris Michie — played guitar for Van Morrison
April 02, 2003

Guitarist and composer Chris Michie, best known for his work with Van Morrison, died at his Marin County home Thursday after a six-year battle with melanoma. He was 55.

Mr. Michie was born Ithaca, N.Y., and lived for a time in London before moving as a teen to Madison, Wis., where he attended the University of Wisconsin. It was in Madison where he met his wife, Deborah Brown Michie, whom he married 35 years ago.

He started playing in bands as a teenager in Madison, including one called the Grapes of Wrath. He moved to the Bay Area in 1969 with another Madison rock group, Mendelbaum, whose members also included future Doobie Brothers drummer Keith Knudsen.

In 1971 Mr. Michie left the band to join Lamb, a prominent group with a major-label record deal. Lamb’s producer David Rubinson tapped Michie to be guitarist behind a new group he was producing, the Pointer Sisters.

Mr. Michie became one of the top freelance guitarists in the Bay Area and worked with Boz Scaggs, Maria Muldaur, Jerry Garcia, Link Wray and others. He served as musical director for David Soul when the «Starsky and Hutch» TV actor tried his hand at pop music.

When Chris Hayes of Huey Lewis and the News canceled a 1981 session with Van Morrison because of last-minute car trouble, Mr. Michie went into the Record Plant in Sausalito and played the lead guitar part on «Cleaning Windows» (Mark Knopfler of Dire Straits had already recorded the rhythm part). Mr. Michie toured with and recorded for Morrison for the next four years.

With his longtime partner Andy Kulberg of the Blues Project, Mr. Michie wrote and produced commercials and records, including noteworthy New Age instrumental albums with Daniel Kobialka, principal violinist of the San Francisco Symphony. Kulberg died of cancer last year.

Mr. Michie released several CDs of his own music, including an album of guitar instrumentals called «Guitars and Oranges» in 1993, a roots rock collection titled «Tough Love» in 1998, and «Seven Rivers» in 2000. His last project was composing and recording the soundtrack for the Judy Irving film «The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill.»

Besides his wife Deborah, of Fairfax, he is survived by his 22-year-old daughter, Claire, also of Fairfax.

No public service is planned.