Steve Greenberg is an American

record producer A record producer is a recording project's creative and technical leader, commanding studio time and coaching artists, and in popular genres typically creates the song's very sound and structure.Virgil Moorefield"Introduction" ''The Producer as ...

currently heading the

S-Curve Records S-Curve Records was founded in 2000 by former Mercury Records executive Steve Greenberg. It is based in New York City. In 2001 the label established a distribution and licensing agreement with EMI Records. Among the hits released by S-Curve be ...

label. He also manages the pop band

AJR AJR may refer to: * AJR (motorcycle), Scotland * AJR (band), a pop band from New York City, United States *Abdominojugular test, to measure venous pressure * Academy for Jewish Religion (New York) * ''American Journal of Roentgenology'' * ''Ameri ...

and is the host/writer of the podcast "Speed of Sound". He is noted for "discovering" popular musical acts such as

Hanson Hanson or Hansson may refer to: People * Hanson (surname) * Hansson (surname) * Hanson (wrestler), ringname of an American professional wrestler Musical groups * Hanson (band), an American pop rock band * Hanson (UK band), an English rock ...

, Baha Men,

Jonas Brothers The Jonas Brothers () are an American pop rock band. Formed in 2005, they gained popularity from their appearances on the Disney Channel television network. They consist of three brothers: Kevin Jonas, Joe Jonas, and Nick Jonas. Raised in ...

Joss Stone Joscelyn Eve Stoker (born 11 April 1987), known professionally as Joss Stone, is an English singer, songwriter and actress. She rose to prominence in late 2003 with her multi-platinum debut album, ''The Soul Sessions'', which made the 2004 Merc ...

and

. He received a 2000

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pr ...

in the "Best Dance Recording" category as a producer of " Who Let the Dogs Out?" by Baha Men. Greenberg also won a 2019

in the "Best Album Notes" category for his essay featured in the " Stax '68: A Memphis Story" boxed set. From 2005 to 2006, he served as the president of

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese conglomerate Sony. It was founded on January 15, 1889, evolving from the A ...

, where he produced the debut album by the Jonas Brothers. Prior to founding S-Curve Records, he was Head of Artists & Repertoire for

Mercury Records Mercury Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group. It had significant success as an independent operation in the 1940s and 1950s. Smash Records and Fontana Records were sub labels of Mercury. In the United States, it ...

, where he served as executive producer of Hanson's single "

Mmmbop "MMMBop" is a song written and performed by American pop rock band Hanson. It was released on April 15, 1997, as the lead single from their debut full-length studio album, '' Middle of Nowhere'' (1997). The song was nominated for two Grammys at ...

", which spent three weeks at number one on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large adverti ...

Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streaming ...

chart, and their debut album '' Middle of Nowhere''. S-Curve's roster/catalog includes

Duran Duran Duran Duran () are an English rock band formed in Birmingham in 1978 by singer and bassist Stephen Duffy, keyboardist Nick Rhodes and guitarist/bassist John Taylor. With the addition of drummer Roger Taylor the following year the band we ...

Andy Grammer Andrew Charles Grammer (born December 3, 1983) is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. He is signed to S-Curve Records. His debut album, '' Andy Grammer'', was released in 2011 and spawned the singles " Keep Your Head Up" and " F ...

, '

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilto ...

' star Leslie Odom Jr., 2018

Eurovision The Eurovision Song Contest (), sometimes abbreviated to ESC and often known simply as Eurovision, is an international songwriting competition organised annually by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), featuring participants representing pri ...

winner

Netta Barzilai Netta Barzilai ( he, נטע ברזילי; born 22 January 1993), also known mononymously as Netta, is an Israeli singer. After winning the fifth season of '' HaKokhav HaBa'', she earned the right to represent her country at the Eurovision Song ...

, reggae artist Conkarah, Tinted Windows, Fountains of Wayne,

Nikki Jean Nicholle "Nikki" Jean Leary is an American singer. After studying theatre, Jean began her career as the lead singer of the Philadelphia-based band Nouveau Riche. She began posting acoustic music online. Jean gained major recognition after bein ...

We The Kings We the Kings is an American rock band from Bradenton, Florida. The band's eponymous full-length debut album, released in 2007, included the platinum single "Check Yes Juliet", and went on to sell over 250,000 copies in the US. The group's seco ...

, A-WA,

Betty Wright Bessie Regina Norris (December 21, 1953 – May 10, 2020), better known by her stage name Betty Wright, was an American soul and R&B singer, songwriter and background vocalist. Beginning her professional career in the late 1960s as a teen ...

, Little Jackie,

Tom Jones Tom Jones may refer to: Arts and entertainment *Tom Jones (singer) (born 1940), Welsh singer *Tom Jones (writer) (1928–2023), American librettist and lyricist *''The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling'', a novel by Henry Fielding published in 1 ...

Daisy the Great Daisy the Great is an American indie pop band led by singer-songwriters Kelley Nicole Dugan and Mina Walker. They rose to prominence with their 2017 debut single "The Record Player Song". Later, a remix of the song called "Record Player", was re ...

Care Bears On Fire Care Bears on Fire was a Brooklyn, New York-based band that consisted of Sophie (vocals and guitar) and Izzy (drums). The group originally formed in 2005 with the Care Bears—singer-guitarist Sophie Kasakove, 11, bassist-singer Lucio Westmorel ...

, David Broza, Rachel Crow, Broadway star Joshua Henry,

A Great Big World A Great Big World is an American musical duo from New York made up of singer/songwriters Ian Axel and Chad King and signed to Epic Records. The group is best known for their single "This Is the New Year", which was performed by the cast in an epis ...

Maxi Priest Max Alfred "Maxi" Elliott (born 10 June 1961), known by his stage name Maxi Priest, is a British reggae vocalist of Jamaican descent. He is best known for singing reggae music with an R&B influence, otherwise known as reggae fusion. He was one ...

and

Diane Birch Diane Birch (born January 24, 1983) is an American singer-songwriter. Early life Birch was born in Michigan. At the age of seven she began studying piano using the Suzuki method. While growing up she listened to opera, classical and church mu ...

. Greenberg co-produced

's triple-platinum single " Honey I'm Good", which was one of the 10 biggest-selling singles of 2015, according to

Soundscan Luminate (formerly Nielsen SoundScan, Nielsen Music Products, and MRC Data) is a provider of music sales data. Established by Mike Fine and Mike Shalett in 1991, data is collected weekly and made available every Sunday (for albums sales) and eve ...

and did additional production on Grammer's debut platinum-certified single " Keep Your Head Up". Together with

and

Michael Mangini Michael may refer to: People * Michael (given name), a given name * Michael (surname), including a list of people with the surname Michael Given name "Michael" * Michael (archangel), ''first'' of God's archangels in the Jewish, Christian an ...

, he produced

's "

The Soul Sessions ''The Soul Sessions'' is the debut studio album by English singer and songwriter Joss Stone, released on 16 September 2003 by S-Curve Records. The album consists of cover versions of soul songs from the 1960s and 1970s, in addition to a cover ...

" and "

Mind Body & Soul ''Mind Body & Soul'' is the second studio album by English singer and songwriter Joss Stone, released on 15 September 2004 by S-Curve Records. The album received generally favourable reviews from music critics and earned Stone three Grammy Aw ...

" albums, the latter which received a

Grammy The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

nomination for "Best Pop Album" in 2005. This same production troika produced the 2009 debut album by Diane Birch, ''

Bible Belt The Bible Belt is a region of the Southern United States in which socially conservative Protestant Christianity plays a strong role in society and politics, and church attendance across the denominations is generally higher than the nation's a ...

''. Greenberg also co-produced with Wright and Mangini two tracks on

's 2008 album "24 Hours," and the 2019 O'Jays' album "The Last Word," the latter of which was co-produced by

Sam Hollander Sam Hollander is an American songwriter. He has collaborated with the likes of Panic! at the Disco, One Direction, Fitz and the Tantrums, Train, Weezer, Blink-182, Ringo Starr, Def Leppard, Katy Perry, Carole King, Jewel, Pentatonix, Daugh ...

. He was co-Executive Producer of "Betty Wright: The Movie" by

and

The Roots The Roots are an American hip hop band formed in 1987 by Tariq "Black Thought" Trotter and Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. The Roots serve as the house band on NBC's ''The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy F ...

, which was nominated for a 2011

in the Best Traditional R&B Performance category. In 2012, he co-produced and executive produced

's "The Soul Sessions: Vol. II," the long-awaited sequel to her debut album. "The Soul Sessions: Vol. II" reached the Top 10 on both the U.S. and U.K album charts. He co-produced

's single "Everybody Else" with

S*A*M and Sluggo S*A*M and Sluggo was the American record production and songwriting team, composed of Sam Hollander and Dave "Sluggo" Katz. Formed in 2005, the duo first collaborated on the popular theme song "Snakes on a Plane (Bring It)" by Cobra Starship, ...

. In 2013, he produced several tracks on

's "Speak a Little Louder" album. He also traveled to Jerusalem to co-produce, with

Steve Earle Stephen Fain Earle (; born January 17, 1955) is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, author, and actor. Earle began his career as a songwriter in Nashville and released his first EP in 1982. Initially working in the country music ...

, the album "East Jerusalem/West Jerusalem" by the Israeli singer David Broza, backed by a half-Israeli, half-Palestinian ensemble. He appears in the documentary film on the making of "East Jerusalem/West Jerusalem." That year, he also began managing the band

whose debut single "I'm Ready", was certified Platinum in the U.S. and Australia, and who have subsequently has hits with songs from their albums "The Click", "Neotheater", and "OK Orchestra". He has co-written songs for

Boyzone Boyzone were an Irish boy band, created in 1993 by talent manager Louis Walsh. Before even recording any material, Boyzone made an appearance on RTÉ's '' The Late Late Show''. Their most successful line-up was composed of Keith Duffy, Steph ...

, Baha Men,

The O'Jays The O'Jays are an American R&B group from Canton, Ohio, formed in 1958 and originally consisting of Eddie Levert, Walter Lee Williams, William Powell, Bobby Massey, and Bill Isles. The O'Jays made their first chart appearance with the minor ...

Leslie Odom, Jr. Leslie Lloyd Odom Jr. (; born August 6, 1981) is an American actor and singer. He made his acting debut on Broadway in 1998 and first gained recognition for his portrayal of Aaron Burr in the musical ''Hamilton'', which earned him a Tony Award f ...

and others. He was also nominated for

Grammy Awards The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pre ...

in 1992 in the "Best Historical Album" category as producer of "The Complete Stax/Volt Singles 1959-1968" boxed-set and in 1995 in the "Best Album Notes" category for "Otis! the Essential

Otis Redding Otis Ray Redding Jr. (September 9, 1941 – December 10, 1967) was an American singer and songwriter. He is considered one of the greatest singers in the history of American popular music and a seminal artist in soul music and rhythm and blues. ...

. In 2020, Greenberg launched the pop music history podcast "Speed of Sound," produced by iHeart Media. Greenberg is the host, writer and co-producer of the podcast. He contributed the chapter on

Sugarhill Records Sugar Hill Records is an American bluegrass and Americana record label. It was founded in Durham, North Carolina in 1978 by Barry Poss and David Freeman, the owner of County Records and Rebel Records. Poss acquired full control of Sugar Hil ...

to the book "The Vibe Magazine History of Hip Hop" (1999) and the chapter on pop music in the 1980s to the collection "Living In the '80's" (

Gil Troy Gil Troy (born 1961) is an American presidential historian and a popular commentator on politics and other issues. He is a professor of history at McGill University. Troy is the author of nine books, and the editor of two. He writes a column for '' ...

, ed.), published by

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print book ...

(2009). In 2014, he published his first book, called "How

the Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...

Went Viral In '64", about the Beatles' rise to U.S stardom. The book was excerpted as a cover story in ''

'' magazine in January, 2014. In the early 1980s, he was a DJ on the

Voice of Peace Voice of Peace ( he, קול השלום, ''Kol HaShalom'') was an offshore radio station that broadcast in the Middle East for 20 years from the former Dutch cargo vessel ''MV Peace'' (formally ''MV Cito''), anchored off the Israeli coast ...

radio station off the coast of Israel and was a news correspondent for Israel Radio, based in Tel Aviv. He holds an M.A. in Applied Communication Research from

Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is conside ...

and a B.A in International Relations from

American University The American University (AU or American) is a private federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C. Its main campus spans 90 acres (36 ha) on Ward Circle, mostly in the Spring Valley neighborhood of Northwest D.C. AU was cha ...

. In 2020, he won the

for "Best Album Notes" for

Stax Records Stax Records is an American record company, originally based in Memphis, Tennessee. Founded in 1957 as Satellite Records, the label changed its name to Stax Records in 1961. It also shared its operations with sister label Volt Records. Stax was ...

album, ''Stax ’68: A Memphis Story''.Grammy Winners List 2020
by Zoe Haylock, Vulture.com, January 27, 2020.

References

Further reading