Singer-songwriter Chris Rea, inspired by blues legend Charley Patton, taught himself to play slide guitar while working at his father’s ice cream shop in Middlesbrough, England. ∙ After stints with the bands Magdalene and Beautiful Losers, he landed a solo deal with Magnet Records, which paired him with Elton John producer Gus Dudgeon for his first two albums. ∙ Rea’s 1978 debut, Whatever Happened to Benny Santini?, produced the Top 20 hit “Fool (If You Think It’s Over)” and earned him a Grammy Award nomination for Best New Artist. ∙ He originally intended to give his 1988 song “Driving Home for Christmas” to Van Morrison, but he wound up recording it himself and scoring a massive UK holiday hit. ∙ In 1989, The Road to Hell topped the charts in the UK and Germany, while also reaching the Top 10 in Austria, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, and Switzerland. ∙ An avid auto racing fan and collector of sports cars, Rea featured a painting of his prized Caterham 7 on the cover of his multiplatinum 1991 album, Auberge. ∙ He has sold more than 40 million albums worldwide.