This year, as in past years, the Empress Theatre in Vallejo has offered the opportunity for people to have a rockin’ New Year’s party outside of their home. What better band to provide a soundtrack to this party than a band that made waves in the ‘60s San Francisco music scene: Marin County’s very own Sons of Champlin.

Sons of Champlin were the project of singer/keyboardist/guitarist Bill Champlin, who was a member of The Opposite Six when he was attending Tamalpais High School in Mill Valley. The Opposite Six eventually morphed into Sons of Champlin, a group that blended the psychedelic sound of the time with funk and R&B.

In an interview with the Herald, Champlin said that his early vocal influences included soul singers like Lou Rawls and Ray Charles. As the years went on, he started taking cues from Stevie Wonder and The Beatles.

“You would hear how well they could craft a song, and that’s a good place to listen to when you’re putting together your song,” he said.

The late ‘60s was a very fruitful era for San Francisco rock musicians, and Sons of Champlin flourished in that scene. They would play shows at Fillmore West and the Avalon Ballroom and share bills with such legendary Bay Area bands as The Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane, Country Joe and the Fish and Quicksilver Messenger Service.

“Everybody knew each other no matter where they lived,” Champlin said. “We didn’t even realize we were part of the San Francisco music scene until we started seeing our names on posters for years afterwards. We felt we would go over the bridge, play our gig, go back to Marin County and hide.”

Sons of Champlin initially disbanded in 1970, but they would reform many times over the years. Nonetheless, Champlin remained busy throughout. Notably, he joined Chicago in the early ‘80s for what turned out to be a very successful decade for the band. He shared lead vocals with Peter Cetera on the 1984 hit “Hard Habit to Break” and sang lead on the track “Look Away,” which Billboard had named the No. 1 song of 1989 in terms of chart success.

Champlin also had success as a session musician and songwriter. He performed with the likes of Elton John, REO Speedwagon, Patti LaBelle, Donna Summer, Neil Diamond, Amy Grant and Kenny Rogers.

Champlin said his proudest moments included winning Grammy Awards for helping write two tracks that won R&B Song of the Year: Earth, Wind & Fire’s “After the Love Has Gone” and George Benson’s “Turn Your Love Around” in 1980 and 1983 respectively. However, Champlin said he does not keep up with the Grammys anymore.

“I don’t recognize anybody that’s playing,” he said. “Maybe two people here and there, but not everybody. It’s like ‘Who’s that?’”

Meanwhile, Champlin’s family has also had musical success. His wife Tamara is a session singer who has become a full-time member of Sons of Champlin. Additionally, his son Will is also a singer who placed third on the fifth season of NBC’s “The Voice.” Will is also a pianist, and he and his father have played music together.

“Whenever I need a really good piano player and he’s around, I say ‘Will, can you give me 15 minutes to pump out a piano part or synthesizer part?’” the elder Champlin said.

Now, the eight-member Sons of Champlin— including Bill and Tamara and ’60s members Tim Cain and Geoff Palmer— will be playing a New Year’s Eve show at the Empress. Champlin said the show is a bit of a throwback as the band had played a New Year’s Eve concert with The Grateful Dead at the Winterland Ballroom in 1972. They were also set to open for The Dead for a New Year’s Eve concert in 1976, but Champlin said they had to cancel because of snowy weather in Colorado.

“We were recording there and got stuck in the snow,” he said. “We couldn’t get down to Boulder, let alone Denver, so we had to bail out.”

With no weather to hold them back, Sons of Champlin are all ready for this upcoming show, which was brought forth by Don Bassey, a former general manager for the Empress and a Sons fan. Following Bassey’s departure over the summer, new general manager Kevin Frazier filled in for the rest of the process.

In addition, there will be special guests. The Madmen, led by vocal coach Amber Morris, will be opening. In the middle of their set, Sons of Champlin will be joined by Norman Greenbaum of “Spirit in the Sky” fame.

“Norman’s kind of getting back into it,” Champlin said. “He had a bad car accident a couple years ago, and it slowed him down a bit.”

“He’s a sweet guy,” Champlin added.

With this funky blend of different styles, Champlin believes the show will provide a great trip down memory lane— and a great New Year’s Eve party in general.

“The Empress Theatre’s a damn good place to spend New Year’s Eve, and when you have a Sons gig, you’ll probably run into people you’ve known for years,” he said. “The Sons concerts in the last four or five years have all been about having fun.”

The concert will begin at 9:30 p.m., Saturday, Dec. 31, and the doors will open at 8:30 p.m. The Empress Theatre is located at 330 Virginia St. Tickets range from $40 to $85. For more information or to buy tickets, visit EmpressTheatre.org.