Blondie Chaplin

Blondie Chaplin
Chaplin performing at Woodstock, 1979
Background information
Birth name	Terrence William Chaplin
Born	(1951-07-07) 7 July 1951 (age 65)
Genres	Rock, pop
Occupation(s)	Musician, songwriter
Instruments	Vocals, guitar
Years active	1968–present
Labels	Brother Records, Reprise Records, Capitol Records, Columbia Records, Asylum Records
Associated acts	The Beach Boys, The Flames, Rick Danko, Paul Butterfield, David Johansen, The Rolling Stones, The Byrds 20th Anniversary Celebration, The Band, Brian Wilson, Jeff Beck
Notable instruments
Gibson Les Paul Junior Fender Telecaster Fender Jazz Bass

Terence William "Blondie" Chaplin (born 7 July 1951) is a singer and guitarist from Durban, South Africa, where he played in the band The Flames in the mid-to late-1960s. He became known to international audiences in the early 1970s as a singer and guitarist for The Beach Boys. He is a long-term backing vocalist, percussionist, and acoustic rhythm guitarist for English band The Rolling Stones on their recordings and tours over a 10-year period, starting in 1997. To date he has released two solo studio albums.

Both Chaplin and Ricky Fataar were members of Durban-based rock band The Flames, which they joined at ages 13 and 9, respectively. Their 1968 album Soulfire produced a hit in South Africa: the band's cover of "For Your Precious Love" was #1 on white radio for thirteen weeks.

Beach Boy Carl Wilson heard The Flames while the band was performing in London. Wilson signed them to the Beach Boys' Brother Records label and produced their self-titled album, The Flame (changed from Flames, to avoid confusion with the group that played with James Brown), which featured soulful rock/pop songs in the vein of The Beach Boys and Badfinger. The Flames were the only band aside from The Beach Boys to record for Brother Records.

Chaplin, along with drummer Ricky Fataar, joined the Beach Boys when original drummer Dennis Wilson suffered a hand injury that left him unable to play the drums for almost two years. For the Beach Boys, it was a period in which long-time member Bruce Johnston had departed the band, and one-time leader Brian Wilson's participation in the group was very limited. As a result, Chaplin and Fataar joined the Beach Boys as full-fledged members and not merely as backing musicians. Chaplin left the group in 1973 after a dispute with the Beach Boys' management; Fataar remained with the band until the following year.