Happy 70th Birthday to The Pretenders’ Chrissie Hynde! – Everett Post

Pretenders Front woman Chrissie Hynde celebrates her 70th birthday today.

Born in Akron, Ohio, Hynde moved to London in 1973 and eventually immersed himself in the city’s punk scene.

In 1978 she founded The Pretenders with the drummer Martin Chambers, Guitarist James Honeyman-Scott and bass player Pete Farndon. The band’s first single, a 1979 cover of The kinks“Stop Your Sobbing” reached number 34 on the UK charts.

The Pretenders’ 1979 self-titled debut album peaked at number 9 on the Billboard 200. It contained the band’s first US hit, “Brass in Pocket,” which peaked at number 14 on the Billboard Hot 100. The Pretenders also featured several other permanent songs including “Precious”, “Kid” and “Mystery Achievement”.

The band’s second album from 1981, The Pretenders II, reached number 10 on the Billboard 200 and featured the popular tunes “Talk of the Town” and “Message of Love”.

Tragedy struck the band in June 1982 when Honeyman-Scott, 25, died of an overdose two days after Farndon was fired for his own drug problems. In April 1983, Farndon drowned in his bathtub after a heroin overdose. He was 30.

Hynde and Chambers soon reformed The Pretenders, and the band had their biggest hit in 1982 with “Back on the Chain Gang,” which reached # 5 on the Hot 100. Other hits followed, including “Middle of the Road”. Show me ”,“ Don’t get me wrong ”and“ I stand by you ”.

Hynde also had a big hit when she teamed up with British reggae band UB40 in 1985 for a cover of Sonny & Cher’s classic duet “I Got You Babe”.

Outside of music, Chrissie has kids with two other famous singers. Her daughter Nataliewhose father is a Kinks front man Ray Davies, was born in 1983. From 1984 to 1990 Hynde was married to Simple thoughts singles Jim Kerr, and the couple’s daughter, Yasmin, was born in ’85.

Chrissie was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2005 with The Pretenders.