Chrissie Hynde ✝

Christine Ellen Hynde (born September 7, 1951) is an American musician who is best known as a founding member of the rock band the Pretenders.\n', ' Inspired by hippie counter-culture, Hynde worked in London with Malcolm McLaren and Vivienne Westwood at their clothing store, SEX. In 1978, she formed her own band, Pretenders, with Pete Farndon, James Honeyman-Scott and Martin Chambers. As singer, songwriter and guitarist, she has been the only constant member of the band throughout its history. She has also released a number of songs with other musicians including Frank Sinatra, Cher and UB40. Chrissie Hynde and The Pretenders were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2005.\n', ' Hynde was born in Akron, Ohio, the daughter of a part-time secretary and a Yellow Pages manager. She graduated from Firestone High School in Akron, but stated that "I was never too interested in high school. I mean, I never went to a dance, I never went out on a date, I never went steady. It became pretty awful for me. Except, of course, I could go see bands, and that was the kick. I used to go to Cleveland just to see any band. So I was in love a lot of the time, but mostly with guys in bands that I had never met. For me, knowing that Brian Jones was out there, and later that Iggy Pop was out there, made it kind of hard for me to get too interested in the guys that were around me. I had, uh, bigger things in mind."\n', '