Jim Ed Norman (born October 16, 1948) is an American musician, record producer, arranger and label-head. As an arranger and producer, he was one of the principal architects of the distinctive sound of West Coast 1970s pop and country rock. He was President of Warner Bros. Nashville from 1984 to 2004.

Early career

Having grown up in Florida, Norman pursued music at North Texas State University where he met

Don Henley Donald Hugh Henley (born July 22, 1947) is an American musician who is a founding member of the rock band the Eagles, for whom he is the drummer and co-lead vocalist, as well as its sole continuous member. Henley sang the lead vocals on Eagles ...

and joined his group, Felicity, in 1969, playing keyboards and guitar. After renaming themselves Shiloh, and by now based in Los Angeles, the group recorded an album produced by

Kenny Rogers Kenneth Ray Rogers (born Kenneth Donald Rogers) (August 21, 1938 – March 20, 2020) was an American singer and songwriter. He was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, Country Music Hall of Fame in 2013. Rogers was particul ...

(

Amos Records Amos Records was an independent record label established in Los Angeles, California by Jimmy Bowen, in 1968. The label was located on 6565 Sunset Boulevard, and had an additional office branch in New York City. With Bowen producing most of Amos Rec ...

, 1970) which bore early signs of the direction in which 1970s country-rock would soon move en masse. The group disbanded shortly after the release of the album. Norman then joined Uncle Jim's Music, a group which included award-winning singer-songwriter, Gary Nicholson. Uncle Jim's Music disbanded and he made the decision to pursue his primary interest in arranging and producing.

Music and arrangement career

Norman contributed string arrangements and piano to a series of bestselling

Asylum Records Asylum Records is an American record label, founded in 1971 by David Geffen and partner Elliot Roberts. It was taken over by Warner Communications (now the Warner Music Group) in 1972, and later merged with Elektra Records to become Elektra/As ...

albums by the

Eagles Eagle is the common name for the golden eagle, bald eagle, and other birds of prey in the family of the Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of Genus, genera, some of which are closely related. True eagles comprise the genus ''Aquila ( ...

, released between 1973 and 1980 including '' Desperado'' (1973), '' One of These Nights'' (1975) and ''

Hotel California "Hotel California" is a song by American rock band the Eagles, released as the second single of their album of the same name on February 22, 1977. The song was written by Don Felder (music), Don Henley, and Glenn Frey (lyrics), featuring H ...

'' (1976). During the same period, he wrote string and horn arrangements for

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 ...

's album, ''

Don't Cry Now ''Don't Cry Now'' is the fourth solo studio album by American singer Linda Ronstadt. It was released by Asylum Records on October 1, 1973 and contained ten tracks. While some tracks were new material, many of the songs were cover tunes. The album ...

'' (Asylum, 1973) and ''Hat Trick'' by

America The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

(

Warner Bros Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (WBEI), commonly known as Warner Bros. (WB), is an American film studio, filmed entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios Burbank, Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California and th ...

, 1973). He arranged strings for

Bob Seger Robert Clark Seger ( ; born May 6, 1945) is a retired American singer, songwriter, and musician. As a locally successful Detroit-area artist, he performed and recorded with the groups Bob Seger and the Last Heard and the Bob Seger System throu ...

's 1978 hit, "

We've Got Tonite "We've Got Tonite" is a song written by American rock musician Bob Seger, from his album ''Stranger in Town (album), Stranger in Town'' (1978). The single record charted twice for Seger, and was developed from a prior song that he had written. F ...

" (Capitol) and

Kim Carnes Kim Carnes (; born July 20, 1945) is an American singer and songwriter born and raised in Los Angeles, California, Los Angeles. A veteran writer of many of her own hits, as well as those for numerous other artists, she began her career in 1966 as ...

' albums '' St. Vincent's Court'' (EMI, 1979) and '' Romance Dance'' (EMI, 1980) among others. He would continue to accrue arrangement credits throughout his career and well into its next phase in Nashville, for artists including Garth Brooks ('' Sevens'', Capitol, 1997) and Trisha Yearwood (" In Another's Eyes", MCA, 1997).

Production career

Norman's producing career began in the mid-1970s. Among the albums he worked on, and which featured his smooth signature style, were songwriting legend

Jackie DeShannon Jackie DeShannon (born Sharon Lee Myers; August 21, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter and radio broadcaster who has had many hit song credits beginning in the 1960s, as both a singer and composer. She was one of the first female singer-son ...

's ''You're The Only Dancer'' (Amherst, 1977) and ''Quick Touches'' (Amherst, 1978), the first of which restored DeShannon to the pop charts with the spirited anthem "Don't Let The Flame Burn Out". Other productions included albums by

New Riders of the Purple Sage New Riders of the Purple Sage is an American country rock band. The group emerged from the psychedelic rock scene in San Francisco in 1969 and its original lineup included several members of the Grateful Dead. The band is sometimes referred to ...

(''Marin County Line'', MCA, 1977),

Glenn Frey Glenn Lewis Frey (; November 6, 1948 – January 18, 2016) was an American musician. He was a founding member of the rock band Eagles, for whom he was the co-lead singer and frontman, roles he came to share with fellow member Don Henley, with ...

(''No Fun Aloud'', Elektra, 1982), and

Jennifer Warnes Jennifer Jean Warnes (born March 3, 1947) is an American singer and songwriter who has performed as a vocalist on a number of film soundtracks. She has won two Grammy Awards, in 1983 for the Joe Cocker duet " Up Where We Belong", and in 1987 fo ...

's first hit, " Right Time of the Night" (Arista, 1977, US #6). From 1977 onwards, Norman produced a large portion of

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 ...

's platinum-selling output, including '' Let's Keep It That Way'' (Capitol, 1978), '' New Kind of Feeling'' (Capitol, 1979), and '' I'll Always Love You'' (Capitol, 1979). Notoriously hard-to-please critic

Robert Christgau Robert Thomas Christgau ( ; born April 18, 1942) is an American music journalist and essayist. Among the most influential music critics, he began his career in the late 1960s as one of the earliest professional rock critics and later became a ...

credited these albums with Murray's "gradual revitilazation..." thanks to Jim Ed Norman's "...clean, honest, Nashville-quality work". The albums were platinum-selling successes, spawning multiple hit singles including the US #1 " You Needed Me", which went on to win the

Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance The Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance was a Grammy Award recognizing superior vocal performance by a female in the pop category, the first of which was presented in 1959. It was discontinued after the 2011 Grammy season. The awar ...

, and a string of US AC chart-toppers – "

I Just Fall in Love Again "I Just Fall in Love Again" is a song written by Larry Herbstritt, with co-writers Steve Dorff, Harry Lloyd, and Gloria Sklerov. Herbstritt had composed the melody and chords for the chorus and a chord progression for the verse, which he took to ...

", " Shadows in the Moonlight", " Broken Hearted Me", and "

Daydream Believer "Daydream Believer" is a song composed by American songwriter John Stewart shortly before he left the Kingston Trio. It was recorded by the Monkees, with Davy Jones singing the lead. The single reached No. 1 on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot 100 ...

". Norman's work with Murray extended well into the 1980s during which he produced the Grammy-winning ''A Little Good News'' (Capitol, 1983) and ''Heart Over Mind'' (Capitol, 1984), both of which won CMA

awards An award, sometimes called a distinction, is given to a recipient as a token of recognition of excellence in a certain field. When the token is a medal, ribbon or other item designed for wearing, it is known as a decoration. An award may be d ...

. ''A Little Good News'' marked the first time that the CMA Album of the Year award had been won by a solo female act. While Norman had been known for providing arrangements and keyboards on albums that typified the lush, Californian sound of the seventies, as a producer his natural inclination towards country music became increasingly prominent through his work with such artists as

Hank Williams Jr. Randall Hank Williams (born May 26, 1949), known professionally as Hank Williams Jr. or Bocephus, is an American singer-songwriter and musician. His musical style has been described as a blend of rock, blues, and country. He is the son of count ...

Crystal Gayle Brenda Gail Webb (born January 9, 1951), known professionally as Crystal Gayle, is an American country music singer widely known for her 1977 hit " Don't It Make My Brown Eyes Blue". Initially, Gayle's management and record label were the same ...

Michael Martin Murphey Michael Martin Murphey (born March 14, 1945) is an American singer-songwriter. He was one of the founding artists of progressive country. A multiple Grammy nominee, Murphey has six gold albums, including ''Cowboy Songs (Michael Martin Murphey alb ...

, BJ Thomas,

Mark O'Connor Mark O'Connor (born August 5, 1961) is an American fiddle player, composer, guitarist, and mandolinist whose music combines bluegrass, country, jazz and classical. A three-time Grammy Award winner, he has won six Country Music Association Mu ...

, Victoria Shaw,

Mickey Gilley Mickey Leroy Gilley (March 9, 1936 – May 7, 2022) was an American country music singer, businessman, actor, and musician. Among his hits are " Room Full of Roses", " Don't the Girls All Get Prettier at Closing Time", and “ Lonely Nights”. ...

, Johnny Lee, John Anderson,

TG Sheppard William Neal Browder (born July 20, 1944) is an American country music singer, known professionally as T. G. Sheppard. He had 14 number-one hits on the US country charts between 1974 and 1986, including eight consecutive number ones between 19 ...

Gary Morris Gary Gwyn Morris (born December 7, 1948) is an American singer and stage actor who charted a string of hits on the country music charts throughout the 1980s. Morris is known for the 1983 ballad " The Wind Beneath My Wings", although his cred ...

Clay Walker Ernest Clayton Walker Jr. (born August 19, 1969) is an American country music artist. He made his debut in 1993 with the single " What's It to You", which reached Number One on the ''Billboard'' Hot Country Singles & Tracks (now Hot Country Son ...

, Pinkard & Bowden,

Mac McAnally Lyman Corbitt McAnally Jr. (; born July 15, 1957), known professionally as Mac McAnally, is an American singer-songwriter, session musician, and record producer. In his career, he has recorded ten studio albums and eight singles. Two of his sing ...

and

Brenda Lee Brenda Mae Tarpley (born December 11, 1944), known professionally as Brenda Lee, is an American singer. Primarily performing rockabilly, pop, country and Christmas music, she achieved her first ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' hit aged 12 i ...

among others. Norman was named Producer of the Year by Cashbox in 1989. During the 1990s, Nashville became home to a migration of

singer/songwriter A singer-songwriter is a musician who writes, composes, and performs their own musical material, including lyrics and melodies. In the United States, the category is built on the folk- acoustic tradition with a guitar, although this role has ...

s and the city gradually became known for embracing that genre. In 1990 Norman added his production talents to this emergent trend, producing the breakthrough self-titled

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 ...

album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...

by singer/songwriter

Beth Nielsen Chapman Beth Nielsen Chapman (born September 14, 1958) is an American singer and songwriter who has written hits for country and pop music performers. She was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2016. She is a two-time Grammy Award ...

. He resumed duties for Nielsen Chapman's follow-up, '' You Hold the Key'' (Warner Reprise, 1993).

Time at Warner Nashville

After joining Warner Bros. Nashville as Head of A&R in 1983, Norman became President of the company in 1984. There, he was responsible for nurturing the talents of

Randy Travis Randy Bruce Traywick (born May 4, 1959), known professionally as Randy Travis, is an American country and gospel music singer and songwriter, as well as a film and television actor. Active since 1979, he has recorded over 20 studio albums and ...

Faith Hill Audrey Faith McGraw (; born September 21, 1967), known professionally as Faith Hill, is an American Country music, country singer. She is one of the most successful country music artists of all time, having sold almost 50 million albums worldwide ...

Blake Shelton Blake Tollison Shelton (born June 18, 1976) is an American country music, country singer, songwriter and television personality. In 2001, he made his debut with the single "Austin (Blake Shelton song), Austin" from his Blake Shelton (album), self ...

Travis Tritt James Travis Tritt (born February 9, 1963) is an American country music, country singer-songwriter. He signed to Warner Bros. Records in 1989, releasing seven studio albums and a greatest hits package for the label between then and 1999. In t ...

Dwight Yoakam Dwight David Yoakam (born October 23, 1956) is an American singer-songwriter, actor, and filmmaker. He first achieved mainstream attention in 1986 with the release of his debut album ''Guitars, Cadillacs, Etc., Etc.''. Yoakam had considerable s ...

Hank Williams Jr Randall Hank Williams (born May 26, 1949), known professionally as Hank Williams Jr. or Bocephus, is an American singer-songwriter and musician. His musical style has been described as a blend of rock music, rock, blues, and country music, count ...

Big & Rich Big & Rich is an American country music duo composed of Big Kenny and John Rich, both of whom are songwriters, vocalists, and guitarists. Before the duo's foundation, Rich was bass guitarist in the country band Lonestar, while Kenny was a sol ...

and

among others. His new role was also notable for the fact that it did not curtail his direct creative involvement in music, and he continued to produce and arrange.

Diversity at Warner Bros.

Norman was influential at Warner Bros. Nashville, demonstrating an inclination to increase the company's range of genres. To this end, he was involved in the successful expansion of the label's reach to include the WB Gospel and Christian division, and the launches of the Warner Western imprint, featuring Native American and Cowboy artists, and a

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

label – Warner Discos. In addition, Norman created the Progressive division, signing artists including multi-Grammy-winning

Take 6 Take 6 is an American a cappella gospel sextet formed in 1980 on the campus of Oakwood College in Huntsville, Alabama. The group integrates jazz with spiritual and inspirational lyrics. Take 6 has received several Grammy Awards as well as D ...

, Bela Fleck and the Flecktones,

and American guitar virtuoso

Shawn Lane Shawn Lane (March 21, 1963 – September 26, 2003) was an American musician who released two studio albums and collaborated with a variety of musicians including Ringo Starr, Kris Kristofferson, Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, Reg ...

Post-Warner Bros.

Norman left Warner Bros in 2004 and relocated to

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...

. There, he quickly became involved in music, organizing a music business program between the

University of Hawaii A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly ...

and Belmont University, Nashville. In a short space of time, he was widely noted for his largesse, and his commitment to and support of local talent, which also benefitted Honolulu Community College, with the creation of the MELE program. In 2010 he returned to Nashville to produce a variety of artists, notably

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 ...

star,

Dylan Scott Dylan Scott Robinson (born October 22, 1990) is an American country singer and songwriter, better known by his stage name Dylan Scott. He is signed to Curb Records. Career Scott's debut single, "Makin' This Boy Go Crazy", was released in June ...

, for whom he co-produced the 2016 US Country Airplay #1 hit "My Girl" and the follow-up success, "Hooked" (2017). Norman joined Curb Records in 2012 and during his tenure served as CEO.

Awards and philanthropy

In 1990, Norman was given the Andrew Heiskell Community Service Award – a

Time Warner Warner Media, LLC ( doing business as WarnerMedia) was an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate owned by AT&T. It was headquartered at the 30 Hudson Yards complex in New York City. It was established as Time Warne ...

award designed to recognise those who have contributed outstanding degrees of community service. In 1993, he received the Anti-Defamation League Johnny Cash Americanism Award, given to recognise individuals who have fought against racism, prejudice and bigotry. Norman was the Founding President of Leadership Music, an organisation that brings together music industry personnel, encouraging community spirit, education, the cross-pollination of ideas, and issue-based interaction. In 2019, Leadership Music celebrated its 30th anniversary. In acknowledgement of his efforts to link the Nashville community at large with the entertainment industry, Norman was given the Leadership Music Bridge Award (subsequently renamed the Dale Franklin Leadership Music Award) in 1996. Norman was presented with the Bob Kingsley Living Legend Award February 24, 2016 on stage at the Grand Ole Opry House. The award is annually presented to someone who has made a lasting impact on the country music business. Artists present to perform and pay tribute to Norman were

, Michael Martin Murphy,

, Mo Pitney,

Jeff Hanna Jeffrey R. Hanna (born July 11, 1947) is an American singer-songwriter and performance musician, best known for his association with the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band. His professional music career has spanned six decades. Early life Hanna was born in ...

Lee Brice Kenneth Mobley Brice Jr. (born June 10, 1979), known professionally as Lee Brice, is an American country music singer and songwriter, signed to Curb Records. Brice has released five albums with the label: ''Love Like Crazy'', ''Hard 2 Love (Lee B ...

and

made an unannounced rare public appearance. Norman was the original Fund Raising Chair and past President of the W.O. Smith Nashville Community Music School, which provides private music instruction for the children of low income families given by an all-volunteer faculty at 50 cents a lesson

The present

In 2021, Norman won a Best Roots Gospel Album Grammy for the

Fisk Jubilee Singers The Fisk Jubilee Singers are an African-American a cappella ensemble, consisting of students at Fisk University in Nashville, Tennessee, Nashville, Tennessee. The first group was organized in 1871 to tour and raise funds for college. Their early ...

150th anniversary album, ''Celebrating Fisk!'' (Curb Records, 2020). He continues to produce a wide variety of artists, most notably

, for whom he co-produced the #1 single "Nobody" (Curb Records, 2021) and the 2022 single, "New Truck" ''Dylan Scott Cuts His Losses With New Heartbreak Single''
Taste Of Country (Curb Records). He is currently on the road with the Eagles' ''Hotel California Tour'', conducting the 50-piece orchestra and the 20-member choir, recreating his original arrangements from the iconic, multi-platinum-selling album.

Discography

Albums

References

External links

Jim Ed Norman at AllMusic
{{DEFAULTSORT:Norman, Jim Ed Living people Record producers from Florida Record producers from Tennessee 1948 births People from Fort Myers, Florida Musicians from Nashville, Tennessee Guitarists from Florida Guitarists from Tennessee American male guitarists American keyboardists American music arrangers American male conductors (music) 20th-century American guitarists 20th-century American pianists American male pianists 20th-century American conductors (music) 21st-century American conductors (music) 21st-century American pianists 20th-century American male musicians 21st-century American male musicians