Brian Ahern, CM (born 1945) is a Canadian record producer and guitarist. He has produced albums for a wide variety of artists, including 12 albums for

Anne Murray Morna Anne Murray (born June 20, 1945) is a retired Canadian country, pop and adult contemporary music singer who has sold over 55 million album copies worldwide during her over 40-year career. Murray has won four Grammys including the Grammy ...

; 11 albums for

Emmylou Harris Emmylou Harris (born April 2, 1947) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, bandleader, and activist. She is considered one of the leading music artists behind the country rock genre in the 1970s and the Americana (music), Americana genre ...

(to whom he was also married for seven years); he also produced discs for

Johnny Cash John R. Cash (born J. R. Cash; February 26, 1932 – September 12, 2003) was an American singer-songwriter. Most of his music contains themes of sorrow, moral tribulation, and redemption, especially songs from the later stages of his career. ...

Willie Nelson Willie Hugh Nelson (born April 29, 1933) is an American singer, guitarist, songwriter, actor and activist. He was one of the main figures of the outlaw country subgenre that developed in the late 1960s as a reaction to the conservative restr ...

George Jones George Glenn Jones (September 12, 1931 – April 26, 2013) was an American Country music, country musician, singer, and songwriter. He achieved international fame for a long list of hit records, and is well known for his distinctive voice an ...

Roy Orbison Roy Kelton Orbison (April 23, 1936 – December 6, 1988) was an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist known for his distinctive and powerful voice, complex song structures, and dark, emotional ballads. Orbison's most successful periods were ...

Glen Campbell Glen Travis Campbell (April 22, 1936 – August 8, 2017) was an American country musician and actor. He was best known for a series of hit songs in the 1960s and 1970s, and for hosting ''The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour'' on CBS television from ...

Don Williams Donald Ray Williams (May 27, 1939 – September 8, 2017) was an American country music singer, songwriter, and 2010 inductee into the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, Country Music Hall of Fame. He began his solo career in 1971, singing p ...

Jesse Winchester James Ridout "Jesse" Winchester Jr. (May 17, 1944 – April 11, 2014) was an American-Canadian musician and songwriter. He was born and raised in the southern United States. Opposed to the Vietnam War, he moved to Canada in 1967 to avoid ...

, and

Linda Ronstadt Linda Maria Ronstadt (born July 15, 1946) is an American singer who has performed and recorded in diverse genres including rock, country, light opera, the Great American Songbook, and Latin music. Ronstadt has earned 11 Grammy Awards, three A ...

. Ahern was inducted into the Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame in 2006 in

Saint John, New Brunswick Saint John () is a port#seaport, seaport city located on the Bay of Fundy in the province of New Brunswick, Canada. It is Canada's oldest Municipal corporation, incorporated city, established by royal charter on May 18, 1785, during the reign ...

. He was given the Lifetime Achievement Award for Producer/Engineer during The Americana Music Association Awards at the

Ryman Auditorium Ryman Auditorium (originally Union Gospel Tabernacle and renamed Grand Ole Opry House for a period) is a historic 2,362-seat live-performance venue and museum located at 116 Rep. John Lewis Way North, in the downtown core of Nashville, Tennesse ...

, in Nashville, TN on Thursday, 9 September 2010 by former wife Emmylou Harris and musician

Rodney Crowell Rodney Crowell (born August 7, 1950) is an American musician, known primarily for his work as a singer and songwriter in country music. Crowell has had five number one singles on Hot Country Songs, all from his 1988 album '' Diamonds & Dirt''. ...

. Ahern became renowned for his recording studio Enactron Truck, which produced over 40 gold and platinum records (including

Bette Midler Bette Midler ( ;''Inside the Actors Studio'', 2004 born December 1, 1945) is an American actress, comedian, singer, and author. Throughout her five-decade career Midler has received List of awards and nominations received by Bette Midler, numero ...

's '' The Rose'' and

Barbra Streisand Barbara Joan "Barbra" Streisand ( ; born April 24, 1942) is an American singer, actress, songwriter, producer, and director. With a career spanning over six decades, she has achieved success across multiple fields of entertainment, being the ...

's '' A Star Is Born'').

Los Angeles years

When

was contracted to

Reprise In music, a reprise ( , ; from the verb 'to resume') is the repetition or reiteration of the opening material later in a composition as occurs in the recapitulation of sonata form, though—originally in the 18th century—was simply any re ...

, Ahern was specifically assigned to produce her records. Harris' Reprise debut '' Pieces of the Sky'' was released in 1975. Ahern and Harris assembled many of the musicians who had played on Gram Parsons solo albums, including

James Burton James Edward Burton (born August 21, 1939, in Dubberly, Louisiana, United States) is an American guitarist. A member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame since 2001 (his induction speech was given by longtime fan Keith Richards), Burton has also ...

, Glen D. Hardin, and Ron Tutt for the sessions. Ahern had signed

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

songwriter

to his publishing company prior to starting work with Harris, and introduced Harris to Crowell's songs. Harris would record a number of Crowell's songs on her Ahern-produced albums including "Till I Gain Control Again," "Leaving Louisiana In The Broad Daylight," "Ashes By Now," "You're Supposed To Be Feelin' Good," "Angel Eyes (Angel Eyes)," and "I Don't Have To Crawl." Ahern produced all of Harris' Warner Bros/Reprise recordings through 1983's '' White Shoes'', including #1 albums '' Elite Hotel'' (1975) and '' Luxury Liner'' (1977). On 9 January 1977, Ahern and Harris were married at his home in Halifax, Nova Scotia. They had one daughter together in 1979. Ahern and Harris divorced in 1984. While in Los Angeles, Ahern also produced Rodney Crowell's debut album '' Ain't Living Long Like This,''

's ''

Silver Silver is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag () and atomic number 47. A soft, whitish-gray, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical conductivity, thermal conductivity, and reflectivity of any metal. ...

'' (including the hit "Ghost Riders in the Sky"), and two albums by Mary Kay Place.

Nashville years

In Nashville he produced Ricky Skaggs,

Marty Robbins Martin David Robinson (September 26, 1925 – December 8, 1982), known professionally as Marty Robbins, was an American country and western singer and songwriter. He was one of the most popular and successful singers of his genre for most o ...

, and

. Ahern continued to produce Emmylou Harris, the last recording being '' All I Intended to Be'' in 2008.

Honours

On December 28, 2019, Governor General Julie Payette announced that Ahern had been appointed as a member of the Order of Canada.

References

External links

Brian Ahern – Interview by Mix Magazine. 1996. Vol. 20, No. 7

Brian Ahern – Canadian County Music Hall of Fame
* *
Article at thecanadianencyclopedia.ca

Brian Ahern and Emmylou Harris – Video of 'Here, There and Everywhere'
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ahern, Brian Living people Canadian record producers Musicians from Halifax, Nova Scotia 1945 births Members of the Order of Canada