by William RuhlmannSinger, guitarist, and bandleader Chris Daniels grew up in St. Paul, MN, and was first attracted to folk music, picking up the guitar at age ten. As a teenager, he moved to New York to be in a band led by David Johansen that predated the New York Dolls. In 1971, he settled in Colorado, where he played in an acoustic band called Magic Music for a number of years. He went to Boston to attend the Berklee College of Music and earned a B.A. degree, eventually getting a masters in American History and Folklore. Returning to Colorado, he formed a band called Spoons that recorded an album. But his main unit was the Kings, formed in May 1984, with whom he earned a regional following playing in a jump blues style. Starting in the mid-'80s, Chris Daniels & the Kings recorded a series of albums -- Has Anybody Seen My Keys?, When You're Cool, That's What I Like About the South, In Your Face, Is My Love Enough?, Live Wired, Louie Louie, and the compilation Choice Cuts: The Best of Chris Daniels & the Kings...So Far. The band often toured Europe in addition to its stateside work. As of the release of their ninth album, The Spark, in 2003, the Kings consisted of Kevin "Bro" Lege (bass), Dean "Frenchman" LeDoux (keyboards), Colin "Bones" Jones (guitar), Jim Waddell (saxophone), Randy Amen (drums), and Darryl "Doody" Abrahamson (trumpet).