Joe Henry

Joseph Lee Henry (born December 2, 1960) is an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer. He has released 15 studio albums and produced multiple recordings for other artists, including three Grammy Award-winning albums.

Early life

Henry was born in Charlotte, North Carolina, the state where his parents, whom he described as devout Christians, were also from. He grew up in Oakland Township, Michigan, and attended Rochester Community Schools. He graduated from Rochester Adams High School, then graduated from the University of Michigan.

Career

1985 to 2005

Henry moved to Brooklyn, New York in 1985 and began performing in local music venues. He released his first album ''Talk of Heaven'' in 1986. The album earned him a recording contract with A&M, which subsequently released the albums ''Murder of Crows'' in 1989 and ''Shuffletown'' in 1990. ''Shuffletown,'' produced by T Bone Burnett, represented a shift in musical direction towards the " alt country" genre. Henry's next two recordings, ''Short Man's Room'' (1992) and '' Kindness of the World'' (1993), featured members of the country-rock band the Jayhawks. The song "King's Highway" was recorded by Joan Baez in 2003 and Gov't Mule in 2005. For his 1996 album ''Trampoline,'' Henry incorporated guitarist Page Hamilton of Helmet and a reviewer at ''Trouserpress'' called the album "idiosyncratic broadmindedness."

1999's '' Fuse'' was recorded with producers Daniel Lanois and T Bone Burnett. The album was called an "atmospheric marvel" by one reviewer and Ann Powers of ''The New York Times'' wrote: Henry has "found the sound that completes his verbal approach."

''Scar,'' released in 2001, featured jazz musicians Marc Ribot, Brian Blade, Brad Mehldau and saxophonist Ornette Coleman on "Richard Pryor Addresses a Tearful Nation." According to AllMusic's Thom Jurek, the album is a "triumph not only for Henry—who has set a new watermark for himself—but for American popular music, which so desperately needed something else to make it sing again."

2003's self-produced '' Tiny Voices'' album was Henry's first recording on Epitaph's Anti- label. AllMusic's Jurek described this album as "the sound of....electric guitars in an abandoned yet fully furnished Tiki bar in Raymond Chandler's Los Angeles."

Henry's wife talked him into letting her send Madonna, who is her sister, a demo of his song "Stop," which was reworked and recorded as " Don't Tell Me" (from Madonna's 2000 album ''Music''). Henry's own tango-tinged version of the song appeared on ''Scar'' and was featured in an episode of ''The Sopranos''. Henry and his sister-in-law recorded a duet, "Guilty by Association," on the charity album '' Sweet Relief II: Gravity of the Situation,'' and collaborated on the songs " Jump" on '' Confessions on a Dance Floor,'' "Devil Wouldn't Recognize You" on ''Hard Candy,'' and "Falling Free" on '' MDNA.''

In the early 2000s, Henry was an inaugural member of the Independent Music Awards' judging panel to support independent artists.

2006 to present

After producing the Grammy-award-winning album '' Don't Give Up on Me'' by Solomon Burke, Henry produced additional records and in 2006 opened up a home studio where he often collaborates with recording engineer Ryan Freeland and Los Angeles-based musicians such as Jay Bellerose, Greg Leisz, David Piltch, Patrick Warren and Keefus Ciancia. In September 2006, Henry and Loudon Wainwright III began composing the music for the Judd Apatow movie ''Knocked Up'' in Henry's home studio. Some instrumentals were used as background score for the film while other songs appeared on Wainwright's 2007 ''Strange Weirdos'' which Henry produced.

In 2007, Henry released ''Civilians,'' which was described as "a rich, acoustic affair that returns us to Henry's rootsier sounds". The final track on the album, "God Only Knows," was used in a " TCM Remembers 2008" TV commercial. Bonnie Raitt's 2012 album ''Slipstream,'' which Henry produced, contained versions of two songs from ''Civilians.''

In 2009, Henry released his ninth solo record, '' Blood from Stars'' which incorporates orchestral blues with guitarist Marc Ribot, pianist Jason Moran and his son, Levon Henry, on saxophone. The album focuses on facets of blues with a sprinkling of jazz, rock and pop and traces the rugged history of American storytelling."

In May 2011, Henry released the album '' Reverie'' with simple acoustic instrumention on guitar, upright bass, piano and drums. "When you listen to ''Reverie'', especially on headphones, you can hear traffic in the background or a neighbor calling her dog. It's not always a pristine recording environment. Henry not only left the windows open at his basement studio, but also put microphones on them." "But there was this singer-songwriter environment, this post-Dylan fallout, of people who think that pages of your diary set to music are songs, and that the more 'honest' songs are, the better they are. And that's the greatest misconception of American popular music: that if you're being honest, you're being entertaining."

In June 2014, Henry released his thirteenth album, '' Invisible Hour''. It was recorded at his LA home studio, The Garfield House, in 2013 with his regular band of musicians (Jay Bellerose, Jennifer Condos, Levon Henry, Greg Leisz, John Smith, and David Piltch). Guests providing backing vocals on the album included The Milk Carton Kids and Lisa Hannigan. '' Paste'' magazine described it as "11 impossibly beautiful songs" and "Joe Henry's masterpiece".

In October 2017, Henry released ''Thrum.''

In June 2019, Henry recorded what was intended to be demos of 13 new songs. Those demos became his 15th studio album, "The Gospel According To Water", which was released on November 15, 2019.

Reception

Henry has been described as "a modest-selling 'critic's darling' with a reputation for pushing the envelope" and who writes "songs hatdon't fit into an easily defined box" and instead is influenced by folk, blues, jazz, rock and country.

Personal life

Henry married Melanie Ciccone in 1987. They have two children. Melanie is the sister of Madonna.

In 2013, Henry and his brother David released a biography of Richard Pryor, titled ''Furious Cool: Richard Pryor and the World That Made Him''.

Joe Henry and his family moved out of their home (and his long-time recording space), The Garfield House, in early 2015.

In May 2019 Joe Henry revealed that a few months earlier he was diagnosed with stage four prostate cancer. He further advised that he has responded well to the treatment he has received, and that his prognosis for now is very encouraging.

Discography

Studio Albums

* ''Talk of Heaven'' (1986)
* ''Murder of Crows'' (1989)
* ''Shuffletown'' (1990)
* ''Short Man's Room'' (1992)
* '' Kindness of the World'' (1993)
* ''Trampoline'' (1996)
* '' Fuse'' (1999)
* ''Scar'' (2001)
* '' Tiny Voices'' (2003)
* ''Civilians'' (2007)
* '' Blood from Stars'' (2009)
* '' Reverie'' (2011)
* '' Invisible Hour'' (2014)
* ''Thrum'' (2017)
* '' The Gospel According to Water'' (2019)
* ''All the Eye Can See'' (2022)

Live albums

* '' Shine a Light: Field Recordings from the Great American Railroad'' (with Billy Bragg) (2016)

EPs

* '' Fireman's Wedding'' (1994)

Production credits

* '' Strange Angels'' by Kristin Hersh (co-producer, 1998)
* '' I Oughtta Give You a Shot in the Head for Making Me Live in This Dump'' by Shivaree (co-producer, 1999)
* ''Teddy Thompson'' by Teddy Thompson (co-producer, 2000)
* ''Dim Stars, Bright Sky'' by John Doe (co-producer, 2002)
* '' Don't Give Up on Me'' by Solomon Burke (producer, 2002)
* '' Drill a Hole in That Substrate and Tell Me What You See'' by Jim White (co-producer, 2004)
* '' Knuckle Down'' by Ani DiFranco (co-producer, 2005)
* '' The Forgotten Arm'' by Aimee Mann (producer, 2005)
* '' Hope and Desire'' by Susan Tedeschi (producer, 2005)
* '' I've Got My Own Hell to Raise'' by Bettye LaVette (producer, 2005)
* ''I Believe to My Soul'' by various artists (producer, 2005)
* '' Our New Orleans: A Benefit Album for the Gulf Coast'' by various artists (co-producer, 2005)
* ''The River in Reverse'' by Elvis Costello and Allen Toussaint (producer, 2006)
* ''Between Daylight and Dark'' by Mary Gauthier (producer, 2007)
* '' Strange Weirdos'' by Loudon Wainwright III (co-producer, 2007)
* '' Sex & Gasoline'' by Rodney Crowell (producer, 2008)
* '' Recovery'' by Loudon Wainwright III (producer, 2008)
* '' The Bright Mississippi'' by Allen Toussaint (producer, 2009)
* ''La Différence'' by Salif Keita (producer, 2009)
* '' A Stranger Here'' by Ramblin' Jack Elliott (producer, 2009)
* '' Genuine Negro Jig'' by Carolina Chocolate Drops (producer, 2009)
* ''The Way of the World'' by Mose Allison (producer, 2010)
* ''I Know I've Been Changed'' by Aaron Neville (producer, 2010)
* ''The Long Surrender'' by Over the Rhine (producer, 2011)
* '' Let Them Talk'' by Hugh Laurie (producer, 2011)
* ''Passenger'' by Lisa Hannigan (producer, 2011)
* ''Weather'' by Meshell Ndegeocello (co-producer, 2011)
* ''Slipstream'' by Bonnie Raitt (co-producer, 2012)
* ''Kin: Songs by Mary Karr & Rodney Crowell'' by various artists (producer, 2012)
* '' Devil In Me'' by Natalie Duncan (producer, 2012)
* '' Tooth & Nail'' by Billy Bragg (producer, 2013)
* '' Didn't It Rain'' by Hugh Laurie (producer, 2013)
* ''Meet Me at the Edge of the World'' by Over the Rhine (producer, 2013)
* '' The Wexford Carols'' by Caitríona O'Leary (producer, 2014)
* '' Worthy'' by Bettye LaVette (co-producer, 2015)
* '' Dig In Deep'' by Bonnie Raitt (co-producer, 2016)
* '' American Tunes'' by Allen Toussaint (producer, 2016)
* ''Dorado'' by Son of the Velvet Rat (producer, 2016)
* ''Real Midnight'' by Birds of Chicago (producer, 2016)
* '' Lovers and Leavers'' by Hayes Carll (producer, 2016)
* '' I Am the Rain'' by Chely Wright (producer, 2016)
* '' Whistle Down the Wind'' by Joan Baez (producer, 2018)
* ''The Nomad'' by Guy Pearce (producer, 2018)
* ''All the Things That I Did and All the Things That I Didn't Do'' by The Milk Carton Kids (producer, 2018)
* '' There Is No Other'' by Rhiannon Giddens (producer, 2019)
* ''Speak to Me'' by Julian Lage (producer, 2024)

Songwriting credits

* " Don't Tell Me" by Madonna (co-writer, 2000; based on his song "Stop")
* "Hope Against Hope" by Rosanne Cash (co-writer, 2003)
* " Jump" by Madonna (co-writer, 2005)
* "Devil Wouldn't Recognize You" by Madonna (co-writer, 2008)
* "Love and Treachery" by Madeleine Peyroux (co-writer, 2009)
* "Falling Free" by Madonna (co-writer, 2012)
* "At the Heart of Me" by Chely Wright (co-writer, 2016)
* "Holy War" by Chely Wright (co-writer, 2016)
* "See Me Home" by Chely Wright (co-writer, 2016)

References

External links

Official website


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* ttps://archive.today/20130115202751/http://exclaim.ca/articles/multiarticlesub.aspx?csid1=136&csid2=946&fid1=40690 Interview at Exlaim
Interview with HitQuarters

Interview on Music Makers and Soul Shakers Podcast, Part 1Part 2

{{DEFAULTSORT:Henry, Joe
1960 births
Living people
American male singer-songwriters
Grammy Award winners
University of Michigan alumni
Record producers from Michigan
Singers from Detroit
Guitarists from Detroit
American male guitarists
20th-century American guitarists
20th-century American male musicians
Musicians from Charlotte, North Carolina
Singer-songwriters from Michigan
Anti- (record label) artists