Craig Chaquico

Craig Chaquico (born September 26, 1954) is an American guitarist of Portuguese descent. He has had over thirty years of success in a variety of genres: in the 1970s with the post-Summer of Love Jefferson Starship, in that band's 1980s incarnation, Starship, and in the 1990s and 2000s as a contemporary jazz, blues, and new-age solo artist.

He was named Best Pop Instrumental Guitarist in Guitar Player magazine's 1997 Readers' Poll.

Chaquico was born on September 26, 1954, in Sacramento, California, where he attended La Sierra High School.

He grew up in a musical household; his mother played piano and organ while his father played the saxophone and accordion. As Chaquico recalls, "My mom and dad were musicians and played around the house all the time. I thought everybody played the piano and organ like mom and the sax and accordion like Dad together after dinner." 

Chaquico began playing the guitar as a young boy when his parents bought him his first guitar at the age of 10. By the time he was 14, he was playing professionally in nightclubs.

Tragedy struck for Chaquico and his family when he and his father were involved in a serious automobile accident, caused by a drunk driver. The head-on collision left the 12-year-old Chaquico with two broken arms, a broken rib, broken wrist, broken thumb, broken ankle, and a broken foot. In the physical therapy that followed, Chaquico's father made a deal with him. "He told me that Les Paul had once been in a terrible accident and played guitar the whole time to help him heal... My dad said that if I stayed with it and got to the light at the end of the tunnel, once I was back up to speed, he would buy me a Les Paul guitar." 

Despite the fact that he could only play on the high E string of his acoustic guitar (due to his casts from the injury), the therapy helped Chaquico make a full recovery, saying, "it was a great place for my spirit to go." The accident and recovery would later push Chaquico to support organizations and efforts that use music as a therapeutic, healing power for injured, traumatized, and elderly people.

Jefferson Airplane/Starship and Starship

For much of his career, Chaquico has lived in nearby San Francisco and has been closely associated with the music of that city. Paul Kantner of Jefferson Airplane saw him play as a 16-year-old and invited Chaquico to join him for a series of recording sessions and concerts. During this period members of the Airplane, the Grateful Dead, Quicksilver Messenger Service, and Crosby, Stills and Nash often appeared together in concerts and recordings, and Chaquico played alongside a number of musicians including Jerry Garcia, David Crosby, David Freiberg, and Carlos Santana. His first recording was with Kantner and Grace Slick in 1971 on their duo album Sunfighter, followed by Baron von Tollbooth & the Chrome Nun.

After informally joining the newly renamed Jefferson Starship Chaquico expected to go back to school after one tour. Instead, Slick and Kantner approached him in 1974, inviting him to join the band permanently. He jumped at the chance.

Chaquico played a crucial role in launching Jefferson Starship into commercial success, as the band eventually earned 20 platinum and gold albums. Despite members joining and leaving, Chaquico was the only member to appear in every recording, album, tour, and music video over the course of the band's tenure in the rock and roll scene, except for the band's debut album, Blows Against the Empire.

Chaquico remained when Kantner left and the band morphed into Starship. Many people remember his guitar riffs from We Built This City, as well as his flowing long brown hair in the accompanying video. He co-wrote one of Starship's most memorable songs, "Find Your Way Back" from 1981's Modern Times LP, with Tom Borsdorf. A smooth jazz version of this same tune also appears on Chaquico's 1994 solo CD Acoustic Planet.

Post-Starship and solo career

When Starship broke up, Chaquico formed Big Bad Wolf, a hard rock band continuing in the same vein as Starship, recording one eponymously titled album before disbanding. He then forged a new career as a contemporary jazz/New Age guitarist. As a solo artist, he quickly gained popularity, combining his rock and blues roots with that new age style, sending him back to the top of the charts. 

He has collaborated with Ozzie Ahlers for his ten solo albums since 1993, the most famous of which is the second, 1994's Acoustic Planet, which garnered Chaquico a Grammy Nomination for Best New Age album. His song "Just One World" off of the same album became a part of NASA's Ark Project, which now permanently remains in orbit above the Earth. Since then, Chaquico has cemented his standing as one of the top-selling contemporary jazz/New Age artists, selling over a million copies of his solo material.

On the career switch and success, Chaquico commented, "My wife became pregnant in 1990 ... and the acoustic guitar became a lot more welcome around the house than the electric, and I had no idea that it would lead to a Grammy nomination and selling more than a million albums."

In early 1995, he contributed guitar tracks for Art Clokey's animated children's film Gumby: The Movie, most notably in the scenes where Gumby plays his guitar solos in his concerts.

In addition to his work with the various incarnations of Jefferson Starship, Chaquico also has worked regularly for the last 25 years as a studio musician with a wide range of artists, including Commander Cody, Mickey Thomas, Tom Scott, and Rippingtons' guitarist Russ Freeman.

Chaquico became a believer in the healing power of music after recovering from a car crash when he was twelve. With the National Association of Music Therapy, Beamz, Remo, and Washburn Guitars, he provided instruments to patients in hospitals. He has become an Artist Advocate for organizations such as the American Music Therapy Association and Memory and Music which use music as a therapeutic, healing power for injured and traumatized people of all ages as well as those with various forms of dementia. With the support of these organizations, Craig has brought music into hospitals, prisons, schools and other places where music can provide healing.

He is a member of Bikers for Charity, a group run by Harley Davidson that supports the Muscular Dystrophy Association. When he negotiated a contract to make his Washburn signature guitar, the two parties pledged to plant a tree for every signature guitar manufactured. He supports Guitars in the Classroom, a group with the mission to train and equip teachers to transform learning into a creative, musical process.

• Acoustic Highway (Higher Octave, 1993)
• Acoustic Planet (Higher Octave, 1994)
• A Thousand Pictures (Higher Octave, 1996)
• Once in a Blue Universe (Higher Octave, 1997)
• From the Redwoods to the Rockies with Russ Freeman (Windham Hill, 1998)
• Four Corners (Higher Octave, 1999)
• Shadow and Light (Higher Octave, 2002)
• Midnight Noon (Higher Octave, 2004)
• Holiday (Higher Octave, 2005)
• Follow the Sun (Shanachie, 2009)
• Fire Red Moon (Blind Pig, 2012)

With Jefferson Starship

• Dragon Fly (Grunt, 1974)
• Red Octopus (Grunt, 1975)
• Spitfire (Grunt, 1976)
• Earth (Grunt, 1978)
• Freedom at Point Zero (Grunt, 1979)
• Modern Times (Grunt, 1981)
• Winds of Change (Grunt, 1982)
• Nuclear Furniture (Grunt, 1984)

With Starship

• Knee Deep in the Hoopla (Grunt, 1985)
• No Protection (RCA/Grunt, 1987)
• Love Among the Cannibals (RCA, 1989)

With Paul Kantner, Grace Slick

• Sunfighter (Grunt, 1971)
• Baron von Tollbooth & the Chrome Nun (Grunt, 1973)
• Planet Earth Rock and Roll Orchestra (RCA, 1983)

With Grace Slick

• Manhole (Grunt, 1973)

With Jack Traylor and Steelwind

• Child of Nature (Grunt, 1973)

With Big Bad Wolf

• Big Bad Wolf (1998)

As guest

With 3rd Force

• 3rd Force (Higher Octave, 1994)
• Force of Nature (Higher Octave, 1995)
• Vital Force (Higher Octave, 1997)
• Force Field (Higher Octave, 1999)
• Gentle Force (Higher Octave, 2002)

With others

• Joan Burton, Only a Moment Away (1993)
• Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen, Rock 'n Roll Again (1977)
• Cusco, Apurimac III: Nature Spirit Pride (1997)
• Russ Freeman, From the Redwoods to the Rockies (1998)
• Gregg Rolie, Gregg Rolie (1985)
• Tom Scott, New Found Freedom (2002)
• Mickey Thomas, Alive Alone (1981)