Jimmy Demers is an American singer-songwriter, best known as "the original voice" of the "
Always Coca-Cola" ad campaign. He is a contributor to ''
The Huffington Post
''HuffPost'' (formerly ''The Huffington Post'' until 2017 and sometimes abbreviated ''HuffPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and ...
''.
Demers was born and raised in
Worcester
Worcester may refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* Worcester, England, a city and the county town of Worcestershire in England
** Worcester (UK Parliament constituency), an area represented by a Member of Parliament
* Worcester Park, London, Englan ...
, Massachusetts.
He moved to Los Angeles to pursue a career in music and was soon one of the first artists signed by John McClain to
Interscope Records
Interscope Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group through its Interscope Geffen A&M imprint. Founded in late 1990 by Jimmy Iovine and Ted Field as a $20 million joint venture with Atlantic Records of Warner Mus ...
. Throughout the 1990s, Demers recorded
jingles for many high-profile clients, including
Chevrolet
Chevrolet ( ), colloquially referred to as Chevy and formally the Chevrolet Motor Division of General Motors Company, is an American automobile division of the American manufacturer General Motors (GM). Louis Chevrolet (1878–1941) and ous ...
,
AOL
AOL (stylized as Aol., formerly a company known as AOL Inc. and originally known as America Online) is an American web portal and online service provider based in New York City. It is a brand marketed by the current incarnation of Yahoo (2017� ...
,
McDonald's
McDonald's Corporation is an American Multinational corporation, multinational fast food chain store, chain, founded in 1940 as a restaurant operated by Richard and Maurice McDonald, in San Bernardino, California, United States. They rechri ...
and the groundbreaking worldwide campaign of "Always Coca-Cola". He was a member of an R&B/pop group, Truth Inc.
Demers has traveled widely, singing in, among other venues, Shanghai, where he performed at the closing ceremonies for the
Special Olympics World Summer Games, and
Versailles
The Palace of Versailles ( ; french: Château de Versailles ) is a former royal residence built by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, about west of Paris, France. The palace is owned by the French Republic and since 1995 has been managed, u ...
. He has been a featured singer to sports organizations in the United States and has sung the
U.S. national anthem
"The Star-Spangled Banner" is the national anthem of the United States. The lyrics come from the "Defence of Fort M'Henry", a poem written on September 14, 1814, by 35-year-old lawyer and amateur poet Francis Scott Key after witnessing the bo ...
at the
Los Angeles Coliseum,
Arthur Ashe Stadium,
Dodger Stadium and
Chase Field.
Shortly after the
2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami
An earthquake and a tsunami, known as the Boxing Day Tsunami and, by the scientific community, the Sumatra–Andaman earthquake, occurred at 07:58:53 local time (UTC+7) on 26 December 2004, with an epicentre off the west coast of northern Suma ...
, Demers, along with other celebrities and high-profile supporters, went to
Kuala Lumpur
, anthem = '' Maju dan Sejahtera''
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, pushpin_map = Malaysia#Southeast Asia#Asia
, pushpin_map_caption =
, coordinates =
, su ...
to lend his support to the Force of Nature concert for
Tsunami Aid
Tsunami Aid: A Concert of Hope was a worldwide benefit held for the tsunami victims of the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake. It was broadcast on NBC and its affiliated networks of USA Network, Bravo, PAX, MSNBC, CNBC, Sci-Fi, Trio, Telemundo and ...
. While in Kuala Lumpur, Demers sang for the King and Queen of
Malaysia
Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...
at the Royal Palace.
Demers has worked with music industry figures
Diane Warren
Diane Eve Warren (born September 7, 1956) is an American songwriter. She has received several awards including a Grammy Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, two Golden Globe Awards, three ''Billboard'' Music Awards and an Honorary Academy Award.
Wa ...
,
David Foster,
Giorgio Moroder
Giovanni Giorgio Moroder (, ; born 26 April 1940) is an Italian composer, songwriter, and record producer. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Father of Disco", Moroder is credited with pioneering euro disco and electronic dance mu ...
and
Tim Rice
Sir Timothy Miles Bindon Rice (born 10 November 1944) is an English lyricist and author. He is best known for his collaborations with Andrew Lloyd Webber, with whom he wrote, among other shows, ''Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat'', ' ...
. He has recorded back-up vocals for many artists, including
Garth Brooks
Troyal Garth Brooks (born February 7, 1962) is an American country music singer and songwriter. His integration of pop and rock elements into the country genre has earned him popularity, particularly in the United States with success on the co ...
,
Patti LaBelle
Patricia Louise Holte (born May 24, 1944), known professionally as Patti LaBelle, is an American R&B singer, actress and businesswoman.
LaBelle is referred to as the " Godmother of Soul".
She began her career in the early 1960s as lead singe ...
and
Cher
Cher (; born Cherilyn Sarkisian; May 20, 1946) is an American singer, actress and television personality. Often referred to by the media as the Honorific nicknames in popular music, "Goddess of Pop", she has been described as embodying female ...
. His debut album ''Dream A Little'', produced by
Terry Coffey for the
Concord Music Group
Concord Music Group was an American independent music company based in Beverly Hills, California, with worldwide (including the U.S.) distribution through Universal Music Group. The company specialized in recordings ( Fearless Records, Concord R ...
was released to critical praise. His brother
Donnie Demers
Donnie Demers is an American musician and multi-platinum selling songwriter. Donnie's songs have been recorded and performed by various artists from around the world, including Amir Haddad and Joanna Forest.
Life and work
Born with muscular dy ...
wrote the words and music to several of the songs, including "It's A Lonely World" (which was featured on the Sirius radio show of author
Deepak Chopra
Deepak Chopra (; ; born October 22, 1946) is an Indian-American author and alternative medicine advocate. A prominent figure in the New Age movement, his books and videos have made him one of the best-known and wealthiest figures in alternati ...
.)
Paula Abdul
Paula Julie Abdul (born June 19, 1962) is an American singer, dancer, choreographer, actress, and television personality. She began her career as a cheerleader for the Los Angeles Lakers at the age of 18 and later became the head choreograph ...
has referred to Demers as "the greatest male vocalist in the world" and hosted ''An evening with Jimmy Demers'' in Los Angeles. A&M Record's co-founder
Herb Alpert, Billie Dee Williams and model
Cheryl Tiegs were among those who joined Abdul as Jimmy and Donnie performed to a capacity audience.
Demers has headlined sold-out shows at the
Oak Room at the
Algonquin Hotel
The Algonquin Hotel is a hotel at 59 West 44th Street in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, United States. The 181-room hotel, opened in 1902, was designed by architect Goldwin Starrett for the Puritan Realty Company. The hotel has hosted numer ...
and Lowes Regency Hotel in New York City. He performed at the
Sheldonian Theatre in Oxford, England, with Donnie Demers, for The Skoll World Forum Awards.
Demers currently resides in California. He practices
Transcendental Meditation
Transcendental Meditation (TM) is a form of silent mantra meditation advocated by the Transcendental Meditation movement. Maharishi Mahesh Yogi created the technique in India in the mid-1950s. Advocates of TM claim that the technique promotes a ...
.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Demers, Jimmy
American male singers
Concord Records artists
Living people
Singers from Massachusetts
Year of birth missing (living people)