Josh Leo (born 1953 in

Des Moines, Iowa Des Moines is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Iowa, most populous city in the U.S. state of Iowa. It is the county seat of Polk County, Iowa, Polk County with parts extending into Warren County, Iowa, Wa ...

) is an American

guitarist A guitarist (or a guitar player) is a person who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of guitar family instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselve ...

songwriter A songwriter is a person who creates musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music genre and film scoring. ...

, 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 ...

active in

Nashville, Tennessee 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 ...

. Leo was born in Des Moines, Iowa, but was raised in

Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City, Missouri, abbreviated KC or KCMO, is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri by List of cities in Missouri, population and area. The city lies within Jackson County, Missouri, Jackson, Clay County, Missouri, Clay, and Pl ...

. In 1976, he moved to

Chicago, Illinois Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

and subsequently became a guitarist of the short-lived Eddie Boy Band. The band then traveled to

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

two years later, where they recorded an album for

MCA Records MCA Records was an American record label owned by MCA Inc. established in 1972, though MCA had released recordings under that name in the UK from the 1960s. The label achieved success in the 1970s through the 1980s, often by acquiring other ...

(which was the first record Leo had made). The Eddie Boy Band, however, was unsatisfied with the sound quality of the album, and they disbanded shortly afterward. In 1979, four years after the Eddie Boy Band broke up, Leo began touring with J. D. Souther as a guitarist. And over the next few years, he would record and tour with the likes of Kim Carnes, Jimmy Buffett and

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 ...

. During this time, Leo also began a songwriting career. In 1983, he scored his first hit when Crystal Gayle reached Number One 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 ...

'' Country Singles chart with his composition, " Baby, What About You." That same year, Leo recorded a pop album for

Warner Bros. Records Warner Records Inc. (known as Warner Bros. Records Inc. until 2019) is an American record label. A subsidiary of Warner Music Group, it is headquartered in Los Angeles, California. It was founded on March 19, 1958, as the recorded music division ...

titled ''Rockin' on 6th'', and he made his first venture into

music production 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 ...

, when he produced Timothy B. Schmit's 1984 album, ''Playin' It Cool''. In 1985, Leo moved to Nashville, Tennessee to focus more on his writing and producing careers. The first album he produced while in Nashville was the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band's 1987 project, '' Hold On''. One of the tracks from that album, "Baby's Got A Hold On Me" an up-tempo song he co-wrote with Jeff Hanna and Bob Carpenter, scored him his first hit as a producer on the R&R charts. Throughout the late 1980s and 1990s, Leo wrote songs and produced albums for many country music artists and groups, such as

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

Restless Heart Restless Heart was an American country music band from Nashville, Tennessee. The band's longest-tenured lineup consisted of Larry Stewart (singer), Larry Stewart (lead vocals), John Dittrich (drums, vocals), Paul Gregg (bass guitar, vocals), Dav ...

Kathy Mattea Kathleen Alice Mattea (born June 21, 1959) is an American country music and bluegrass singer. Active since 1984 as a recording artist, she has charted more than 30 singles on the ''Billboard'' Hot Country Songs charts, including four that reac ...

Reba McEntire Reba Nell McEntire ( ; born March 28, 1955), or simply Reba, is an American country music, country singer and actress. Dubbed "Honorific nicknames in popular music, The Queen of Country", she has sold more than 75 million records worldwide. Sin ...

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 ...

, among others. Also during this time, he spent four years serving as vice president and head of A&R at RCA Records' Nashville division. Among the artists he signed during his tenure at RCA Nashville were

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 ...

and

Lari White Lari Michele White Cannon (, ; May 13, 1965 – January 23, 2018) was an American country musician, singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. She made her debut in 1988 after winning ''You Can Be a Star'', a televised talent competition o ...

. As of 2021, Leo continues to be active in the music business. Among his more recent projects are writing songs and producing albums for the likes of

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 ...

Lynyrd Skynyrd Lynyrd Skynyrd (, ) is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Jacksonville, Florida in 1964. The group originally formed as My Backyard and comprised Ronnie Van Zant (vocals), Gary Rossington (guitar), Allen Collins (guitar), Larry Junstrom ...

Bad Company Bad Company were an English rock supergroup formed in London in 1973 by singer Paul Rodgers and drummer Simon Kirke (both ex- Free), guitarist Mick Ralphs (ex- Mott the Hoople) and bassist Boz Burrell (ex-King Crimson). Kirke was the only m ...

Kenny Chesney Kenneth Arnold Chesney (born March 26, 1968) is an American country singer. With 30 million albums sold worldwide, he released his debut, '' In My Wildest Dreams'', in 1994, and has since released 19 follow-ups. His albums spawned 27 singles tha ...

and

Dustin Lynch Dustin Charles Lynch (born May 14, 1985) is an American country music singer and songwriter, signed to Broken Bow Records. Lynch has released six albums and one EP for the label: a Dustin Lynch (album), self-titled album in 2012, ''Where It's At ...

, as well a collaboration project with other fellow Nashville musicians, naming themselves the Vinyl Kings. His projects in the late 2000s include the production of two

Emerson Drive Emerson Drive was a Canadian country music band consisting of Brad Mates (lead vocals), Danick Dupelle (guitars, backing vocals), Mike Melancon (drums), and Dale Wallace (keyboards, backing vocals). The band was founded in 1995 as 12 Gauge, which ...

albums, '' Countrified'' and ''

Believe Believe may refer to: *Belief, a psychological state in which an individual holds a proposition or premise to be true, with or without proof for such proposition *Faith, a belief in something which has not been proven Arts, entertainment, and me ...

'', both of which Leo co-produced with Alabama bass guitarist Teddy Gentry. Additionally, Leo has also produced the 2012 self-titled second album from the group Love and Theft and their 2015 album, ''Whiskey on my Breath''. All told, he has performed on over 150 records, produced 21 singles that reached No. 1 on the ''

'' Top Country Albums chart, written six singles that reached No. 1 on the ''Billboard'' Country Singles chart, and won 6 BMI Millionaire awards.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Leo, Josh American country guitarists American male guitarists American country songwriters American male songwriters Record producers from Iowa Living people 1953 births Musicians from Des Moines, Iowa Writers from Des Moines, Iowa Songwriters from Iowa Guitarists from Iowa 20th-century American guitarists Coral Reefer Band members 20th-century American male musicians