Chrissie Hynde

Christine Ellen Hynde (born September 7, 1951) is an American-British singer, songwriter, and musician. She is a founding member of the rock band the Pretenders and is the band's lead vocalist, guitarist, and primary songwriter. Hynde is the band's only original member and is the only continuous member of the Pretenders, having appeared on every studio album released by the band.

Hynde formed the Pretenders in Hereford, England, in 1978, with Pete Farndon, James Honeyman-Scott, and Martin Chambers. She has also recorded a number of songs with other musicians, including Frank Sinatra, Cher, and UB40. Hynde recorded her first solo album, Stockholm, in 2014. She was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2005 as a member of the Pretenders.

Hynde was born in Akron, Ohio, United States, the daughter of a part-time secretary and a Yellow Pages manager, and grew up in nearby Cuyahoga Falls. She graduated from Firestone High School in Akron but stated: "I was never too interested in high school. I mean, I never went to a dance, I never went out on a date, I never went steady. It became pretty awful for me. Except, of course, I could go see bands, and that was the kick. I used to go to Cleveland just to see any band. So I was in love a lot of the time, but mostly with guys in bands that I had never met. For me, knowing that Brian Jones was out there, and later that Iggy Pop was out there, made it kind of hard for me to get too interested in the guys that were around me. I had, uh, bigger things in mind."

Hynde became interested in hippie counterculture, Eastern mysticism, and vegetarianism. While attending Kent State University's Art School for three years, she joined Sat. Sun. Mat., a band which included Mark Mothersbaugh, later of Devo. Hynde was also caught up in the Kent State massacre on May 4, 1970, in which the boyfriend of one of her friends was among the four victims.

In May 1973, Hynde moved to London. With her art background, she got a job in an architectural firm but left after eight months. It was then that she met rock journalist Nick Kent and landed a position at the music magazine NME (New Musical Express), writing what she subsequently described as "half-baked philosophical drivel and nonsensical tirades." Afterwards Hynde got a job at Malcolm McLaren and Vivienne Westwood's clothing store, Sex. Hynde attempted to start a band in France, before her return to Cleveland in 1975, and joined a rhythm and blues group, Jack Rabbit.

Biography summary from English Wikipedia, photograph via Wikimedia Commons.