Chrissie Hynde

Notable people · Music · Entertainment · Women

Chrissie Hynde

Akron-born singer, guitarist and songwriter who founded the Pretenders in London in 1978 and wrote 'Brass in Pocket', 'Back on the Chain Gang' and 'My City Was Gone', her lament for downtown Akron.

Born September 7, 1951, Akron

Harmony Gerber from Los Angeles | Orange County, USA / CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons

At a glance

Born: September 7, 1951, Akron (Summit County) source
Also known as: Chrissie Hynde
Known as: Music, Entertainment, Women

Chrissie Hynde is living. This page covers their public life only, from published sources. Correct this page · hello@crackedbuckeye.com

Life story

Chrissie Hynde was born in Akron in 1951, grew up in neighbouring Cuyahoga Falls, and graduated from Firestone High School in Akron, where she sang in the choral groups; as a teenager she went to Cleveland to see any band she could. She studied art at Kent State University for three years, played in a band with Devo's Mark Mothersbaugh, and was caught up in the Kent State shootings of 4 May 1970. In 1973 she moved to London, wrote for the New Musical Express, returned briefly to play R&B in Cleveland in 1975, and in 1978 formed the Pretenders, whose 'Brass in Pocket' and debut album both reached No. 1 in Britain in January 1980. Her 1982 song 'My City Was Gone' mourns the demolition of South Howard Street and old downtown Akron, and later became the theme of Rush Limbaugh's radio show. She has kept ties to Akron, opening the vegan restaurant VegiTerranean there (2007-2011) and campaigning for downtown renewal and public transit; the Pretenders entered the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2005.

Ohio ties

Akron (1951-1973; later returns)
birthplace and hometown; graduated from Firestone High School Summit County · source
Cuyahoga Falls (childhood)
where she grew up Summit County · source
Kent (Kent State University) (c. 1969-1972)
studied at the art school for three years; played in Sat. Sun. Mat. with Mark Mothersbaugh; caught up in the 4 May 1970 shootings Portage County · source
Cleveland (1960s; 1975)
went to see bands as a teenager; in 1975 sang with the R&B group Jack Rabbit and with bluesman Mr. Stress Cuyahoga County · source
Akron (VegiTerranean, Northside district) (2007-2011)
vegan restaurant she opened and ran in her hometown Summit County · source
Akron (Akron Civic Theatre) (2008)
opened for Devo at a benefit concert on 17 October 2008, with the Black Keys also on the bill Summit County · source
Cleveland (Rock and Roll Hall of Fame) (1995; 2019)
the only Ohio native invited to play the museum's 1995 opening concert; its library holds a collection of clippings about her that her family gave in 2019 Cuyahoga County · source

Timeline

1951 Born in Akron on 7 September. source
1969 Became a vegetarian at 18. source
1960s Graduated from Firestone High School in Akron, where she sang in the choral groups, and enrolled in art at Kent State University. source
1970 Was caught up in the Kent State shootings of 4 May; the boyfriend of one of her friends was among the four students killed. source
1973 Moved to London in May, worked at an architectural firm and then wrote for the New Musical Express. source
1975 Came back to Cleveland and sang with the R&B group Jack Rabbit before returning to Europe. source
1978 Formed the Pretenders in Hereford, England, with Pete Farndon, James Honeyman-Scott and Martin Chambers. source
1980 'Brass in Pocket' and the album Pretenders both reached No. 1 in the UK on 19 January; the opening track 'Precious' name-checks 'the Cleveland heat'. source
1982 Released 'My City Was Gone', about returning to Akron to find South Howard Street and the old downtown torn down, as the B-side of 'Back on the Chain Gang'. source
1984 Learning to Crawl, including 'My City Was Gone', reached No. 5 in the US. source
1995 Was the only Ohio native invited to play the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's inaugural concert in Cleveland. source
2005 Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with the Pretenders, introduced by Neil Young. source
2007 Opened VegiTerranean, a vegan Italian-Mediterranean restaurant in Akron's Northside, performing three songs there before it opened. source
2008 Released Break Up the Concrete, whose title track addresses urban sprawl, and joined efforts to revitalise downtown Akron and improve its bus system. source
2008 Opened for Devo at a benefit concert for Barack Obama at the Akron Civic Theatre on 17 October. source
2011 VegiTerranean closed on 2 October, which she blamed on the economy. source
2015 Published her autobiography, Reckless: My Life as a Pretender. source
2019 A collection of press clippings, posters and tour itineraries about her, gathered by her mother, was given to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Library and Archives. source

Stories

'I went back to Ohio, but my city was gone'

Hynde wrote 'My City Was Gone' as an American living in London, after going home to Akron and finding the places of her youth demolished. The lyric names South Howard Street, the historic heart of Akron that was cleared for a plaza of three towers and two parking decks, and mourns that there was 'no train station' and 'no downtown'. It first came out in October 1982 as the B-side of 'Back on the Chain Gang', the band's first single after guitarist James Honeyman-Scott died, and then on Learning to Crawl in 1984. The opening bass riff, which bassist Tony Butler used as a warm-up, became one of the best-known intros on American radio.

Source

Rush Limbaugh's theme song

From 1984 Rush Limbaugh used the instrumental opening of 'My City Was Gone' as the theme of his talk show, first on KFBK in Sacramento and then nationally. In 1999 Rolling Stone reported that it had never been licensed, and EMI sent a cease-and-desist letter after Limbaugh called Hynde an 'animal-rights wacko'. Hynde, whose parents in Ohio were fans of the show, did not object. A licensing deal was struck, and she gave the payments to PETA, later writing that Limbaugh could keep the song because he had backed a PETA campaign against animal testing. The show dropped the song in May 2022, the year after Limbaugh's death.

Source

Coming home to fight sprawl

In 2008, nearly 30 years after the Pretenders' debut, Hynde released Break Up the Concrete, whose title track was read as a comment on what had happened to Akron. She had taken a place in Akron, telling the New York Times it gave her a chance to champion causes like mass transit and urban renewal, and to be near her elderly parents. The Akron Beacon Journal reported that she had joined the push to revitalise downtown, praised city officials, and argued for better buses and more walkable streets; she did not drive. She had opened a vegan restaurant in the city the year before, partly so she would have somewhere to eat on visits home.

Source

Sites to know

Homes, graves, markers, museums and monuments; the numbered ones are on the map.

1 Firestone Community Learning Center (formerly Harvey S. Firestone High School)
Akron Summit County · source
2 Kent State University, site of the 4 May 1970 shootings
Kent Portage County · source
3 Akron Civic Theatre
Akron Summit County · source
Former VegiTerranean restaurant (2007-2011) (unknown)
Northside, Akron Summit County · source
4 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (Pretenders, 2005; Terry Hynde Collection on Chrissie Hynde in the Library and Archives)
1100 Rock and Roll Boulevard, Cleveland Cuyahoga County · source
5 Agora Theatre and Ballroom (Pretenders' December 2006 homecoming show)
Cleveland Cuyahoga County · source

Ohio places

Where Chrissie Hynde was born, lived, worked and is remembered, with the ZIP code, town and county pages for each.

Born: Akron, Summit County Akron · Summit County
Connected: Akron, Summit County Akron · Summit County
Connected: Cuyahoga Falls, Summit County Cuyahoga Falls · Summit County
Connected: Kent, Portage County Kent · Portage County
Connected: Cleveland, Cuyahoga County Cleveland · Cuyahoga County
Connected: Akron, Summit County Akron · Summit County
Connected: Akron, Summit County Akron · Summit County
Connected: Cleveland, Cuyahoga County Cleveland · Cuyahoga County

Myths and corrections

Things often said about Chrissie Hynde, and what the record shows.

Often said Hynde fought Rush Limbaugh's use of 'My City Was Gone' as his theme.

The record EMI, her label, sent the cease-and-desist letter in 1999. Hynde said she did not mind, since her parents were fans of the show; she let him keep the song under a licence and gave the payments to PETA. source

Documents

Primary records: patents, letters, court and government files, nominations and old county histories, each at the archive that holds it.

Terry Hynde Collection on Chrissie Hynde (ARC-1116), finding aid, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Library and Archives 1975-2010, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Library and Archives
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 2005 induction page for the Pretenders, with essay by Jaan Uhelszki 2005, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
Alan Light, New York Times profile of Hynde and Break Up the Concrete, 5 October 2008 2008, New York Times

Pictures

Free to use with the credit shown. Select a picture for the original and its license.

Brandon Flowers (with Chrissie Hynde), Brixton Academy, London
Drew de F Fawkes / CC BY 2.0
Brandon Flowers (with Chrissie Hynde), Brixton Academy, London
Drew de F Fawkes / CC BY 2.0
Brandon Flowers (with Chrissie Hynde), Brixton Academy, London
Drew de F Fawkes / CC BY 2.0
Brandon Flowers (with Chrissie Hynde), Brixton Academy, London
Drew de F Fawkes / CC BY 2.0
Brandon Flowers (with Chrissie Hynde), Brixton Academy, London
Drew de F Fawkes / CC BY 2.0
Brandon Flowers (with Chrissie Hynde), Brixton Academy, London
Drew de F Fawkes / CC BY 2.0
Brandon Flowers (with Chrissie Hynde), Brixton Academy, London
Drew de F Fawkes / CC BY 2.0
Brandon Flowers (with Chrissie Hynde), Brixton Academy, London
Drew de F Fawkes / CC BY 2.0
Brandon Flowers (with Chrissie Hynde), Brixton Academy, London
Drew de F Fawkes / CC BY 2.0
Brandon Flowers (with Chrissie Hynde), Brixton Academy, London
Drew de F Fawkes / CC BY 2.0
Brandon Flowers (with Chrissie Hynde), Brixton Academy, London
Drew de F Fawkes / CC BY 2.0
Brandon Flowers (with Chrissie Hynde), Brixton Academy, London
Drew de F Fawkes / CC BY 2.0