Christopher Wyze has played in several blues cover bands but never expected to write his own songs.
A longtime Carmel resident whose actual last name is Wirthwein, Wyze didn’t think his German name would work well on a blues record. In July, the song “Back to Clarksdale” reached No. 1 on the RMR, or Roots Music Report, song chart. The album, Christopher Wyze & The Tellers’ “Stuck In The Mud,” reached No. 2 on the RMR blues chart based on worldwide radio play.
Wyze co-wrote all the songs, is the lead vocalist and plays harmonica. The Tellers’ name comes from songs as a form of storytelling.
“These aren’t pop songs,” Wyze said. “This is about people with real stuff going on in their lives. They’re not doing very well.”
Wyze, 67, wrote eight songs with Ralph Carter, a Los Angeles producer, who he met in Mississippi.
“Having written 42,000-word books, this is like 200 words,” Wyze said. “I almost can’t believe people get paid to do this. It’s very short form, but it’s fun.”
Carter was a bandmate and musical tour director for Eddie Money.
“Ralph was in that big rock ‘n’ roll world and I met him at (a) blues camp in Mississippi,” Wyze said. “I started to learn the harmonica. Ralph said you have to start writing songs. I said, ‘Yeah, right. I don’t write.’ I hadn’t written any songs.”
Approximately three years ago, Wyze saw a Wall Street Journal article about a new recording studio in Muscle Shoals, Ala. He sent it to Carter, half-jokingly writing that it would be a good place to record the album. But Carter said Wyze needed to write the songs and they would do the album together.
Six months later, Wyze had written the songs and he and Carter had turned them into music.
“Carter had auditioned and hired the studio musicians,” Wyze said. “We packed up and went to Muscle Shoals, where all the great musicians in the world recorded and we recorded the record.”
That was in May 2022. Wyze spent the next year trying to find a record label, which some music people told him would be too difficult. Wyze joined the Nashville Songwriters Association. After a critique of his songs, Wyze was given a mentor. He got positive feedback from the mentor, Jim Reilley, a producer, who had been with a band called The New Dylans.
“He said, ‘This is good stuff. I would buy it,’” Wyze said.
Reilley tried to encourage Wyze to publish them himself, but Wyze knew the value of having a publisher or label behind him. Wyze said he has written five books and each has a publisher. Two of the books were written with golf designers Pete and Alice Dye.
“I know how to sell and market ideas,” Wyze said. “I sold publishers on publishing my books.”
Reilley introduced him to John Phillips of Select-O-Hits, which was started by Phillips’ father and his uncle Sam Phillips, who founded Sun Records.
Wyze was signed by Big Radio, a division of Select-O-Hits, in December 2023. Wyze said his publicist, Betsy Brown, is one of the best in the blues music industry.
“She represented some tremendous artists,” Wyze said. “She took me on because she knew Ralph Carter and he’s the real deal.”
In March, Wyze traveled to Clarksdale, Miss., and recorded three more songs and a video.
One of the band members is Wyze’s friend, Westfield resident and bass player Gerry Murphy, who co-wrote two songs, including “Back to Clarksdale.” One of the musicians on the album was Eric Deaton, a guitarist who also plays with the Black Keys.
“He’s a monster talent,” Wyze said of Deaton.
Wyze said some of his favorite blues artists are Howlin’ Wolf, Junior Wells and Jimmy Reed.
Wyze owned and operated his own advertising company called 5MetaCom. He sold the company but still works for it.
Murphy said he isn’t surprised Wyze was able to secure a label.
“Chris is a smart, hardworking businessman,” Murphy said. “(I’m) impressed by the stamina to perform in such a competitive profession like the music production business, for sure. We have been involved in several locally successful efforts since our meeting in 2006. In that time, we’ve been bandmates, we’ve been friends, we’ve become writing partners and now business partners. Being able to help drive (Wyze’s) original music of the Americana, blues and roots genre is just huge.”
Wyze and Murphy play together in the band Factory Authorized Technicians, but they haven’t played recently.
“I spend 40 to 50 hours a week on this project,” Wyze said.
Wyze’s goal is to have a band play the songs on the festival circuit in Europe in 2025.
“We’ll probably do a show in Memphis or Clarksdale this fall,” he said.
For more, visit christopherwyzeandthetellers.com.
