Darrell Brown is an American songwriter,

arranger In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition. Differences from the original composition may include reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or formal development. Arranging differs from orchestrat ...

, manager and

record producer A record producer or music producer is a music creating project's overall supervisor whose responsibilities can involve a range of creative and technical leadership roles. Typically the job involves hands-on oversight of recording sessions; ensu ...

who has collaborated with recording artists and contributed music to the film and television industries. Brown maintains residences in both Los Angeles, United States (US), and

Nashville Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

, US. Brown has been credited with worldwide music sales of over 80 million units, as both a songwriter and producer.

Career

Songwriting

Brown co-wrote the number 1 hit " You'll Think of Me” by

Keith Urban Keith Lionel Urban ( né Urbahn; 26 October 1967) is an Australian and American country singer, songwriter and guitarist. Recognised with four Grammy Awards, he has also received 15 Academy of Country Music Awards, including the Jim Reeves Int ...

, which won the Grammy Award for Best Male Country Vocal Performance in 2006. Brown also co-wrote Urban's smash hit " Raining on Sunday". Brown's co-written the hit single for Josh Turner, " Why Don't We Just Dance", was Number #1 on the ''Billboard'' Country Charts for four weeks in a row. The longest running number 1 single of Josh Turner's career and Turner's first Number 1 single on the Canadian Country Charts. "Why Don't We Just Dance" was the Most Played Country Single of The Year in 2010 according to

Mediabase Mediabase is a music industry service that monitors radio station airplay in 180 US and Canadian markets. Mediabase publishes music charts and data based on the most played songs on terrestrial and satellite radio, and provides in-depth analytic ...

John Mayer John Clayton Mayer ( ; born October 16, 1977) is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. He attended Berklee College of Music in Boston, but he left for Atlanta in 1997 with fellow guitarist Clay Cook, with whom he formed the short-liv ...

and

performed one of Darrell's songs "If Ever I Could Love” on (CMT) Crossroads Television Special for CMT and Brown's songs " Good Friend and a Glass of Wine” and " Nothin' Better to Do” were performed by

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 LeAnn Rimes on Crossroad's CMT Special.

Production and arrangement

Brown co-arranged and worked on

Neil Young Neil Percival Young (born November 12, 1945) is a Canadian and American singer-songwriter. After embarking on a music career in Winnipeg in the 1960s, Young moved to Los Angeles, forming the folk rock group Buffalo Springfield. Since the begi ...

release "Earth". As well as on Neil Young and Crazy Horse 2012 release, ''Americana'', and arranged and conducted a one hundred-voice choir on Neil Young's '' Living with War''; Brown also worked on Young's ''Chrome Dreams 2'' album. Brown co-produced vocals on David Gray and

LeAnn Rimes Margaret LeAnn Rimes Cibrian (born August 28, 1982) is an American singer, songwriter and actress. She originally rose to success as a country music artist at the age of 13 and has since crossed over into pop, contemporary Christian, and o ...

duet "Snow In Vegas", that was featured on David Gray's "Mutineers" Deluxe version of his Album. Brown co-produced and arranged the Blush single, "Undivided" (featuring

Snoop Dogg Calvin Cordozar Broadus Jr. ( ; born October 20, 1971), better known by his stage name Snoop Dogg (previously Snoop Doggy Dogg), is an American rapper, record producer, and actor. Rooted in West Coast hip-hop, he is widely regarded as one of t ...

), a release that reached the "#2" position 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 advertis ...

'' Dance" music chart. Their follow up single "Dance On" reached the # 1 position on "''

'' Dance" music chart. Brown produced and arranged the critically acclaimed cult record Radney Foster's, "See What You Want To See" on Arista Austin Records. The Dixie Chicks, Keith Urban, Dierks Bentley, Darius Rucker and a host of other artists and songwriters hail this recording as one of Foster's best and has influenced the cutting edge of Nashville over the last decade and a half. Songs Raining On Sunday, Godspeed, I'm In among others originally appeared on this recording. Brown is co-executive producer for the series of 2012 remixes that adapted Tammy Wynette's "Stand By Your Man" single. The first remix was released on June 5, 2012, opening a year-long celebration of the Tammy Wynette "Legacy". Brown also produced and co-wrote the #1 pop single for Jim Brickman and Rebecca Lyn Howard, "Simple Things." Brown spearheaded the Epic Records passion project "Soul Mission," co-writing and producing for the super group, which included

Steve Cropper Steven Lee Cropper (born October 21, 1941), sometimes known as "The Colonel", is an American guitarist, songwriter and record producer. He was the guitarist of the Stax Records house band, Booker T. & the M.G.'s, which backed artists such as ...

Mavis Staples Mavis Staples (born July 10, 1939) is an American rhythm and blues and gospel music, gospel singer and civil rights activism, activist. She rose to fame as a member of her family's band The Staple Singers, of which she is the last surviving memb ...

and Booker T. Jones. Brown's other productions include

Radney Foster Radney Muckleroy Foster (born July 20, 1959) is an American country music singer-songwriter, musician and music producer. Initially a songwriter in Nashville, Tennessee, Foster made his recording debut as part of the Foster & Lloyd duo, recordi ...

"This World We Live in" and " Revival", Ty Herndon "Right About Now",

First Call First Call was an American contemporary Christian music (CCM) group, consisting of Mel Tunney, Marty McCall, and Bonnie Keen. During their career spanning more than 30 years, the group worked with many noted producers and arrangers including D ...

"Sacred Journey",

Michelle Shocked Michelle Shocked (born Karen Michelle Johnston; February 24, 1962) is an American singer-songwriter. Her music has entered the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, been nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Folk Album, and received an award ...

"Good News", Deborah Lippmann " Vinyl" and "Christmas EP" among others.

LeAnn Rimes

In 2022 Brown co wrote and co produced

latest critically acclaimed album project, “god’s work” on (Everle Records / Thirty Tigers / Sony Orchard). Chris Willman / Variety wrote ''“god’s work”…Adventurous, accomplished and stirring, it sits with the best of Rimes’ work…”'' American Songwriter magazine wrote "''Rimes’ powerhouse vocals shine throughout as tracks dance between stripped-back new age arrangements and thunderous gospel-tinged theatrics." For those willing to take that journey - gods work will not disappoint “'' Folk Magazine posted on Twitter “''Spaceship is my 2022 song of the year..no question”'' Brown is the co-producer, arranger and co-writer for 2017 (USA) and 2016 (Uk) release of

album, '' Remnants' '' Remnants continues to garner critical acclaim alongside her prior "Spitfire" Project. With highlights being the title track "Remnants", for the emotional rawness of "Mother", for the soulfulness of "Do It Wrong With Me" and "Love is Love is Love" and for her first USA Hot AC single release off of Remnants is Long Live Love. Her dance remix of "Long Live Love" reached #1 on the Billboard Dance Club Charts with remixers Dave Aude, Ivan Gomez, DrewG and Dj Deville bringing their talents from the turntables to the dance floor.

Mark Batson Mark Christopher Batson (born 1968) is an American record producer and songwriter. He has worked on albums by artists including Alicia Keys, Dave Matthews Band, LeAnn Rimes, Anthony Hamilton, Eminem, India Arie, 50 Cent, Jay-Z, Maroon 5, Skylar ...

came aboard as co-producer and co-writer for most of the album, with Steve Jordan co -producing one track as well. Brown was also the producer, arranger and main co-writer for the 2013

album, ''

Spitfire The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft that was used by the Royal Air Force and other Allied countries before, during, and after World War II. It was the only British fighter produced continuously throughout the ...

'', the recording artist's last contractual record with

Curb Records Curb Records (also known as Asylum-Curb and formerly known as MCG Curb) is an American record label started by Mike Curb, originally as Sidewalk Records in 1963. From 1969 to 1973, Curb merged with MGM Records where Curb served as President of M ...

. Spitfire was another critically acclaimed please for Rimes. With almost every major publication stating she so far has created the best album of her career. With Alison Krauss, Jeff Beck, Rob Thomas among others joining her on tracks "What Have I Done", "Gasoline and Matches" and "Borrowed". Previously, Brown has co-written with LeAnn Rimes nine songs for her critically acclaimed release ''

Family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

'' - which includes her multi-format hit single "Nothin' Better to Do", a career charting single, the first in history making its way onto the Country Singles chart, the A/C chart and the Club play Dance Chart at the same time. "

What I Cannot Change "What I Cannot Change" is a song written by Darrell Brown, and co-written and recorded by American country artist LeAnn Rimes. The song was released to country radio in August 2008 as the third and final single from her ninth studio album, ''Famil ...

" hit number # 1 on The Billboard Dance Charts". Brown also co-produced (with

Vince Gill Vincent Grant Gill (born April 12, 1957) is an American singer, songwriter, and musician. He played in a number of local bluegrass music, bluegrass bands in the 1970s, and from 1978 to 1982, he achieved his first mainstream attention after ta ...

) the LeAnn Rimes album, '' Lady & Gentlemen'', and the singles, " Crazy Women" and " Give". Brown also co-produced Rimes on the track "Smokin' In The Boys Room" for the ''Nashville Outlaws: A Tribute to Mötley Crüe'' a 2014 studio album released via

Big Machine Records Big Machine Records is an American record label, distributed by Universal Music Group. Big Machine is based on Music Row in Nashville, Tennessee. The label was founded in September 2005 by former DreamWorks Records executive Scott Borchetta and ...

. It is a

tribute album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track or cassette), or digital. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century a ...

to the heavy metal band

Mötley Crüe Mötley Crüe is an American Heavy metal music, heavy metal band formed in Hollywood, California, in 1981 by bassist Nikki Sixx and drummer Tommy Lee, with guitarist Mick Mars and lead vocalist Vince Neil joining right after. The band has sol ...

, featuring covers of their songs performed by various

country music Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...

artists. Brown executive produced Rimes Greatest Hits Dance Remix Collection titled "Dance Like You Don't Give A ...." on Curb Records. The Collection of mostly newly remixed greatest hits went Number 1 on the iTunes Dance Charts on its first days of release.

Film and television

Brown was contributed songs and music to films such as Steven Soderbergh's film "Logan Lucky", for Coen Brothers "Gambit", "My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2, "Cruel Intentions", CSI Vegas among others. Brown co-wrote and co-produced with Nathan Chapman and Rita Wilson the end title song "Even More Mine" for the movie, "Big Fat Greek Wedding 2". Brown co-wrote with

and co-produced with Dave Aude three new Holiday songs for 2018 Hallmark Channel's Christmas Movie "It's Christmas,Eve" All songs are included on the soundtrack for the movie available on EverLE Records / Thirty Tigers. Brown co-wrote and produced songs for the Michael Hoffman-directed film, ''

Gambit A gambit (from Italian , the act of tripping someone with the leg to make them fall) is a chess opening in which a player sacrifices with the aim of achieving a subsequent advantage. The word '' gambit'' is also sometimes used to describe si ...

''. starring

Cameron Diaz Cameron Michelle Diaz (born August 30, 1972) is an American actress. Prolific in both comedy and drama, Cameron Diaz filmography, her films have grossed over $3 billion in the U.S. box-office. Her output of romantic comedies in the late 1990s a ...

Colin Firth Colin Andrew Firth (born 10 September 1960) is an English actor and producer. He is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Colin Firth, several accolades, including an Academy Award, two British Academy Film Awards, BAFTA Aw ...

, and

Alan Rickman Alan Sidney Patrick Rickman (21 February 1946 – 14 January 2016) was an English actor and director. Known for his distinctive deep, wikt:languid#Etymology 1, languid voice, he trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London and b ...

, with a script by the

Coen brothers Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, together known as the Coen brothers (), are an American filmmaking duo. Their films span many genres and styles, which they frequently subvert or parody. Among their most acclaimed works are '' Blood Simple'' (198 ...

. Brown has also written and produced music that has appeared in both film and television; the former includes productions such as Gambit, ''

Like Dandelion Dust ''Like Dandelion Dust'' is a 2009 drama film directed by Jon Gunn and based on the novel by the same name by Karen Kingsbury. The film won 26 awards at 23 film festivals. Plot Two police officers knock on the door of a home and a drunk man an ...

'', and ''Cruel Intentions'', while television series ''

Cold Case ''Cold Case'' is an American police procedural crime drama television series. It ran on CBS from September 28, 2003, to May 2, 2010. The series revolved around a fictionalized Philadelphia Police Department division that specializes in invest ...

'', ''

Rookie Blue ''Rookie Blue'' is a Canadian police procedural television series starring Missy Peregrym and Gregory Smith. It was created by Morwyn Brebner, Tassie Cameron, and Ellen Vanstone. The series premiered on June 24, 2010, and aired on Global in ...

'', ''One Tree Hill'', ''

Angela's Eyes ''Angela's Eyes'' is an American crime drama series that aired from July 16 until October 15, 2006 on Lifetime (TV network), Lifetime, running for 13 episodes on Sunday evenings. Lifetime announced that the show would not be picked up for a seco ...

'', ''

Las Vegas Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

'', and ''Man of the People'' have utilized Brown's musical work. Since 2014 Brown plays himself in

and

Eddie Cibrian Edward Carl Cibrian ( ; born June 16, 1973) is an American actor. He is best known for his roles as Cole Deschanel on the television series ''Sunset Beach (TV series), Sunset Beach'' and List of Third Watch characters#James 'Jimmy' Doherty, Jimmy ...

's TV Reality show "LeAnn & Eddie" on

VH1 VH1 (originally an initialism for Video Hits One) is an American basic cable television network that launched on January 1, 1985, and is currently owned by the MTV Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Global's networks division based in New Y ...

Video games

Brown is responsible for the creation and production of specific rock, pop and country music that has been written and designed for the internationally renowned hit EA video game franchise

The Sims ''The Sims'' is a series of life simulation video games developed by Maxis and Video game publisher, published by Electronic Arts. The franchise has sold nearly 200 million copies worldwide, and is one of the List of best-selling video game fran ...

The Sims 3 ''The Sims 3'' is a 2009 social simulation video game developed by the Redwood Shores studio of Maxis, and published by Electronic Arts. Part of ''The Sims'' series, it is the sequel to ''The Sims 2''. It was released on June 2, 2009, for Micros ...

and for underscore music for other video games for EA and EA sports that include

Nintendo Wii The Wii ( ) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was released on November 19, 2006, in North America, and in December 2006 for most other regions of the world. It is Nintendo's fifth major home game console, ...

Boogie and Playground. Brown completed production on EA Sims 3 Video game expansion pack producing Simlish vocals on

Martina McBride Martina Mariea McBride (née Schiff, July 29, 1966) is an American country music singer and songwriter. She is known for her soprano singing range and her country pop material. McBride was born in Sharon, Kansas, and relocated to Nashville, T ...

Luke Bryan Thomas Luther "Luke" Bryan (born July 17, 1976) is an American country music singer, songwriter, and television personality. Bryan is a five-time "Entertainer of the Year", being awarded by both the Academy of Country Music Awards and the Count ...

Lady Antebellum Lady A, known until 2020 as Lady Antebellum, is an American country music group formed in Nashville, Tennessee, in 2006. The group is composed of Hillary Scott (lead and background vocals), Charles Kelley (lead and background vocals, guitar ...

, Thompson Square and The Lunabelles.

Special projects

Brown and Rimes co-authored a tome based on the song "What I Cannot Change" for Harper Studio Book Publishers, based on the letters received from people around the world who were moved and inspired by the song.

NARAS ( Grammy )

Brown currently serves on the board of governors for NARAS. Brown served as musical director and co-creative producer for the Grammy Preservation and Legacy concerts that occurred every year during Grammy week leading up to the Grammy Awards. Brown has worked as MD and co creative producer for many Grammy Events around the country working with Solomon Burke, Ed Sheeran, Natasha Bedingfield, Dionne Warrick, Jason Mraz, Emmy Lou Harris and Rodney Crowell, Ledisi, Yolanda Adams, Christette Michele, The Fray, Lianne Van Havas, Musiq Soulchild, Jeff Beck, Melanie Fiona, Jerry Lee Lewis, John Fogerty, BeBe Winans, Joe Nichols, Colby Callait, Sarah Barrellis, The Fray, Trombone Shorty, Mavis Staples, Dave Koz, Shelby Lynn, Robert Cray, Martina Mcbride, Garth Brooks, Kid Rock, Gretchen Wilson, Loretta Lynn, Jonny Lang, Bret Michaels, Lee Ann Womack, Jimmy Webb, JD Souther, Dan Wilson, Joy Williams, Johnny Rzeznik, Jeff Barry, Allen Shamblin, Mike Reid, Bonnie Raitt, Kris Kristofferson, Steve Cropper, Valerie Simpson, Skylar Grey, Gavin Degraw, Aloe Blacc, Melissa Etheridge, Plain White T's, Walk The Moon, Deborah Cox and Willie Nelson among many others.

Songwriting Credits, Partial Discography

The Crystal Method
"Grace" Keith Urban
"Georgia Woods"
"Right On Back To You"
"If Ever I Could Love"
"You'll Think Of Me" #1
"Raining On Sunday" #3
"Live To Love Another Day"
"Used To The Pain" Ariana Grande
"The Beauty Within You" Bon Jovi
"Work For The Working Man"
"Lonely" Stevie Nicks
"Borrowed" Faith Hill
"Wish For You"
"Never Been So In Love" Josh Turner
"Why Don't We Just Dance" #1 LeAnn Rimes "Nothin' Better To Do" #10
"What Have I Done"
"Who We Really Are"
"Spitfire"
"What I Cannot Change" #1
"You've Ruined Me"
"Borrowed"
"A Waste Is A Terrible Thing To Mind"
"I Do Now"
"Just A Girl Like You"
"God Takes Care Of Your Kind"
"I Wish i Was Wrong"
"Some People"
"Good Friend and a Glass of Wine"
"Fight"
"Something I Can Feel"
"Pretty Things"
"For the First Time"
"One Day Too Long"
"Upper Hand"
"Today Is Christmas"
"I Still Believe In Santa Claus"
"Joy"
"Love Line" #5
"Outrageous Love"
"Mother"
"Remnants"
"Long Live Love" #1
"Learning Your Language"
"Love is Love is Love" #1
"Humbled"
"Give Me Something (I Can't Give Myself)"
"Do It Wrong With Me"
"Dang Dang"
"You and Me and Christmas"
"It's Christmas Eve"
"The Gift Of Your Love"
"How Much A Heart Can Hold"
"The Only"
"The Wild"
"Awakening"
"Spaceship"
"Imagined With Love”"
"Innocent"
"God’s Work"
"Something Better’s Coming"
"There Will Be A Better Day"
“Throw My Arms Around The World” Little Big Town
"Lonely Enough" Rascal Flatts
"Better Now" Richard Marx
"Front Row Seat" Dolly Parton
"The River UnBroken" #34 Wilson Phillips
"Next To You (Someday I'll Be)" Rita Wilson
"Crying Crying"
"Forgiving Me Forgiving You"
"There Will Be A Better Day"
"Even More Mine" Brooks and Dunn
"Again"
"Drunk On Love" Louise Goffin
"Get With The World" Blackberry Smoke
"I'd Be Lying" Trace Adkins
"Southern Hallelujah" Sara Evans
"Brooklyn and Austin"
"A Little Revival" Jack Ingram
"Heartache" Jason Jones
"Hang Around" Jim Brickman
Simple Things w/ Rebecca Lyn Howard #1
When It Snows Ty Herndon
"Right About Now"
"In The Arms Of The One Who Loves Me"
"Mighty Mighty Love"
"Mercy Line"
"There Will Be A Better Day"
"If I Could Only Have Her Love Back" Radney Foster
"Raining On Sunday"
"Drunk On Love"
"Again"
"A Little Revival"
"Everything I Should Have Said"
"You Were So Right"
"What It Is That You Do"
"Another Way To Go"
"Big Idea"
"New Zip Code"
"I Won't Lie To You"
"Until It's Gone"
"Shed A little Light On It"
"I Made Peace With God"
"Suitcase"
"IF You Want To Be Loved" Jo Dee Messina
"Think About Us" Jack Ingram
"Heartache" Lila McCann
"Mighty Mighty Love" Michael McDonald
"Searching For Understanding" Kenny Loggins
"This Too Will Pass" Berlin
"Scream"
"Down and Dirty"
"Too Far To Fall"
"Once Upon A Time" Russ Taff
"Table In The Wilderness"#1
"The River Unbroken" #1
"It Was Love" #1
"Take My Hand"#5
"Go On" Mavis Staples
"Some Sweet Day" with Soul Mission Willie Dixon
"Long Legged Goddess" w/ Willi Jones Sharon Cuneta
"You're The Only One" John Farham
"Beyond The Call"#3
"It All Comes Back To You" Deborah Lippmann
"Make Me Love You"
"This One's On Me"
"Beautifully Obvious" Cliff Richard
"The Day That I Stop Loving You"
"How Did She Get Here" Dionne Warwick
"Dangerous" Alexander Acha
"On My Own" ¿Quien Soy Yo? Robby Armstrong
"Smoking and Drinking"
"As Long As Your Happy"
"Cool Cool Country"
"The First"
"Rodeo"
"Birthday Happy"
"Married Man"
"One Life To Love"

Terri Nunn Terri Kathleen Nunn (born June 26, 1961) is an American singer and actress. She is known as the vocalist of the 1980s New wave music, new wave and synth-pop band Berlin (band), Berlin. Biography Nunn was born in Los Angeles, California on June 2 ...

"Once Upon a Time" ('' Moment of Truth'' album, 1991)
"Too Far to Fall" (''Moment of Truth'' album, 1991)

References

External links

ASCAP songwriting list

Darrel Brown
at the Video Hits One {{DEFAULTSORT:Brown, Darrell American male songwriters Living people Place of birth missing (living people) Year of birth missing (living people)