Chris Stein, a renowned guitarist and songwriter, was born on January 5, 1950, in Brooklyn, New York City, to parents Ben and Estelle Stein, who were blessed with only one child.
As a young boy, Chris initially aspired to become an Egyptologist, but his interests shifted towards music after his parents purchased his first guitar at the tender age of 11.
Chris attended P.S. 199 for grades one through six, followed by junior high school at Andres Hudde, and eventually Midwood High School, where he was expelled during his junior year in 1965 due to his long hair.
However, Chris did not let this setback deter him and instead completed his high school education at the Quintanos School for Young Professionals.
In the early 1970s, Chris joined the glam-rock group the Stilettos, which featured Debbie Harry as its lead singer. After the group disbanded, Chris and Debbie formed the incredibly popular and successful punk/New Wave band Blondie.
As a songwriter, Chris penned the hit song "Sunday Girl" and co-wrote several other Blondie songs with Debbie Harry, including their breakthrough disco smash "Heart of Glass," "Dreaming," "Rapture," "Picture This," "Rip Her to Shreds," and "Island of Lost Souls."
Chris also ran the label Animal Records from 1982 to 1984.
Blondie disbanded in 1982 due to Chris's diagnosis with a rare and often fatal skin disease, pemphigus. However, Chris made a full recovery after a long battle with the illness.
In addition to his music career, Chris has also composed scores for films such as Union City (1980) and Pie in the Sky: The Brigid Berlin Story (2000),as well as co-composing scores for the movie Wild Style (1982) and the TV special When Disco Ruled the World (2005).
In the late 1990s, Chris and Debbie relaunched Blondie, and the group has since recorded two albums and continues to perform concerts worldwide.
Chris is also a skilled photographer and has used his pictures as album artwork for Lydia Lunch and Dramarama.
Chris Stein is currently married to actress Barbara Sicuranza, with whom he has two daughters, Akira and Valentina, and resides in New York City.
