James Merrill Brickman (born November 20, 1961) is an American pop songwriter, pianist and radio host. Brickman has earned two

Grammy The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious a ...

nominations for his albums ''Peace'' (2003) for Best Instrumental, and ''Faith'' (2009) for Best New Age Album.The 52nd annual Grammy Awards nominees list
He won a Canadian Country Music Award, a

Dove Award A Dove Award is an accolade by the Gospel Music Association (GMA) of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the Christian music industry. The awards ceremonies presented annually and have been held in Nashville, Tennessee exce ...

presented by the

Gospel Music Association The Gospel Music Association (GMA) is a nonprofit organization founded in 1964 for the purpose of supporting and promoting the development of all forms of gospel music. As of 2011, there are about 4,000 members worldwide. The GMA's membership c ...

, and was twice named Songwriter of the Year by

SESAC SESAC is a for-profit performance-rights organization in the United States. Founded in 1930 as the Society of European Stage Authors and Composers, it is the second-oldest performance-rights organization in the United States.

. ''Billboard'' lists 22 of his albums reaching No. 1 on the New Age chart, and 16 of his songs reaching Top 10 on the

Adult Contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the 1980s to the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul ...

chart. Four of his albums were certified Gold by the

Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

(RIAA). Since 1997, he has hosted his own radio show, ''The Jim Brickman Show'', which is carried on radio stations throughout the United States. Brickman has collaborated with

Lady A 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 ...

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Michael Bolton Michael Bolotin (born February 26, 1953), known professionally as Michael Bolton, is an American singer and songwriter. Bolton performed in the hard rock and heavy metal music genres from the mid-1970s to the mid-1980s, both on his early solo a ...

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, Mat & Savanna Shaw, and many others.

Early life

Brickman was born and raised in

Shaker Heights, Ohio Shaker Heights is a city in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city's population was 29,439. Shaker Heights is an inner-ring streetcar suburb of Cleveland, abutting the eastern edge of the c ...

, and began playing piano at the age of five. His Jewish parents took him to services at Suburban Temple-Kol Ami in nearby Beachwood, where Brickman was

confirmed In Christian denominations that practice infant baptism, confirmation is seen as the sealing of the covenant created in baptism. Those being confirmed are known as confirmands. The ceremony typically involves laying on of hands. Catholicis ...

in his teens. He attended

Shaker Heights High School Shaker Heights High School is a public high school located in Shaker Heights, Ohio, a suburb of Cleveland. The high school is the only public high school in the Shaker Heights City School District, which serves Shaker Heights and a small part ...

, and he performed on piano with the high school orchestra. He heard fellow student

Anne Cochran Anne Cochran is a singer-songwriter from Cleveland, Ohio. She is best known as the lead touring vocalist for pianist and songwriter Jim Brickman, with whom she shared the top 5 Adult Contemporary radio format hit single "After All These Years" ...

sing in a musical, and introduced himself, asking her to join him in performing piano-vocal material. Together, they won a talent competition hosted by the WGCL "G98" radio station. Another high school friend named Meg Tippett convinced Brickman to join the Heights Youth Theatre as accompanist, which grew into four years as musical director. Brickman studied composition and performance at the

Cleveland Institute of Music The Cleveland Institute of Music (CIM) is a private music conservatory in Cleveland, Ohio. The school was founded in 1920 by a group of supporters led by Martha Bell Sanders and Mary Hutchens Smith, with Ernest Bloch serving as its first dire ...

while taking business classes at

Case Western Reserve University Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) is a Private university, private research university in Cleveland, Ohio, United States. It was established in 1967 by a merger between Western Reserve University and the Case Institute of Technology. Case ...

. In 1980, Brickman founded his own advertising music company called The Brickman Arrangement, writing commercial jingles for many companies across the country such as

McDonald's McDonald's Corporation, doing business as McDonald's, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational fast food chain store, chain. As of 2024, it is the second largest by number of locations in the world, behind only the Chinese ch ...

Pontiac Pontiac most often refers to: * Pontiac (Odawa leader) ( – 1769), Native American war chief *Pontiac (automobile), a former General Motors brand Pontiac may also refer to: Places and jurisdictions Canada * Pontiac, Quebec, a municipality ** Apo ...

, City of Cleveland, Ohio Lottery, and

Isuzu , commonly known as Isuzu (, ), is a Japanese multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture. Its principal activity is the production, marketing and sale of Isuzu commercial vehicles and diesel engines ...

Musical career

Brickman signed to

Windham Hill Records Windham Hill Records was an independent record label that specialized in instrumental acoustic music. It was founded by guitarist William Ackerman and Anne Robinson (née McGilvray) in 1976 and was popular in the 1980s and 1990s. The label was ...

in 1994 and released his first album, ''No Words'' featuring the song "Rocket to the Moon" which became his first solo instrumental to be ranked 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 ...

'' charts. The songs "Angel Eyes" and "If You Believe" gained radio airplay from Brickman's second release, ''By Heart'' on the Windham Hill label in 1995. The following year, the CD's title track, "By Heart", became his first top 20

adult contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the 1980s to the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul ...

(AC) hit. In 1997, Brickman released the album ''Picture This'', adding a vocal performance, " Valentine", sung by

. By the end of the year, Brickman issued the first of many Christmas CDs, ''The Gift'', with the title song featuring

Collin Raye Floyd Elliot Wray (born August 22, 1960), known professionally as Collin Raye and previously as Bubba Wray, is an American country music singer. He initially recorded as a member of the band The Wrays between 1983 and 1987. He made his solo debut ...

and

Susan Ashton Susan Ashton (born Susan Rae Hill; July 17, 1967) is an American contemporary Christian music and country music artist who topped the Christian charts throughout the 1990s. In 1991 she began using her mother's maiden name, Ashton, when she reco ...

, topping three different charts; for this album, Brickman received a

from the

. He later produced several other Christmas-themed albums, ''Peace'' (2003), ''Christmas Romance'' (2006), ''Homecoming'' (2007), and ''The Hymns and Carols of Christmas'' (2008); and his two albums ''Grace'' (2005) and ''Faith'' (2008) concentrated on arrangements of well-known Christian music. During his career, four albums have sold over 500,000 copies; ''By Heart'' (1995), ''Picture This'' (1997), ''The Gift'' (1997), and ''Destiny'' (1999), qualifying them as Gold records in the United States. In November 2005, three of Brickman's albums, ''The Disney Songbook'' (2005), ''Grace'' (2005) and ''Greatest Hits'' (2004), held the top three spots on ''Billboard'''s

New Age New Age is a range of Spirituality, spiritual or Religion, religious practices and beliefs that rapidly grew in Western world, Western society during the early 1970s. Its highly eclecticism, eclectic and unsystematic structure makes a precise d ...

chart. He also received a

nomination in 2003, an

"Songwriter of the Year" award, and a Canadian Country Music Award for "Best Vocal/Instrumental Collaboration". The 2008 album ''Faith'' was nominated for the 2009 Grammy Award for Best New Age Album. Brickman composes a variety of music, and is known for his success in radio's

format. He has collaborated with artists from all genres with songs like "Love of My Life" with

, "You" with

, "Never Alone" with country group

, "After All These Years" with

, and "Never Far Away" with Christian contemporary group

Rush of Fools Rush of Fools is an American Christian rock/contemporary Christian music band from Birmingham, Alabama. They are known for their 2007 hit single "Undo", co-written with producer Scott Davis, which was the most played song of 2007 on Adult Cont ...

, among others. Because of his long association with Windham Hill, his work is sometimes classified in the

new-age New Age is a range of spiritual or religious practices and beliefs that rapidly grew in Western society during the early 1970s. Its highly eclectic and unsystematic structure makes a precise definition difficult. Although many scholars consid ...

genre, although Brickman considers his style to be broader than that. In May 2006, Brickman left Windham Hill and signed with

Savoy Label Group Savoy Records is an American record company and label established by Herman Lubinsky in 1942 in Newark, New Jersey. Savoy specialized in jazz, rhythm and blues, and gospel music. In September 2017, Savoy was acquired by Concord Bicycle Music. ...

(SLG) to release music under his own Brickman Music Group imprint. The album ''Escape'' was his first release distributed by SLG, following ''Pure Jim Brickman'', a career-spanning compilation from Windham Hill. In 2015, Brickman released the first album in the Soothe series for relaxation, meditation, yoga and massage. ''Soothe, Vol. 1'' came with an audiobook. Three more volumes in the series followed through 2019.

Radio show

Making its debut in January 1997, ''Your Weekend with Jim Brickman'' is a four-hour radio show that has been heard across the US featuring music blended with celebrity interviews, lifestyle features and entertainment reports. In 2018, ''The Jim Brickman Show Podcast'' debuted on Pandora. Two years later, his podcast moved to Spotify as ''The Brickman Bedtime Story''.

Television

Brickman filmed the

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...

specials ''My Romance: An Evening with Jim Brickman'' (2000), ''Love Songs & Lullabies'' (2002), ''The Disney Songbook'' (2005), and ''Beautiful World'' (2009). He has appeared on various TV shows such as ''

Good Morning America ''Good Morning America'', often abbreviated as ''GMA'', is an American breakfast television, morning television program that is broadcast on American Broadcasting Company, ABC. It debuted on November 3, 1975, and first expanded to weekends wit ...

'' and ''

Live with Regis and Kathie Lee ''Live with Kelly and Mark'' (or simply ''Live'') is an American syndicated morning talk show hosted by Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos. Executive produced by Michael Gelman, the ''Live with...'' show formula has aired under various hosts sinc ...

''.

Personal life

Brickman grew up in Cleveland. He has a residence there as well as in New York City.

Other media

Brickman appeared on the September–October 2013 cover of '' Making Music Magazine'' to discuss his life and career.

Brickhouse Direct

Brickman founded Brickhouse Direct (BHD) in 2003 to provide

internet marketing The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a network of networks that consists of private, publ ...

and e-commerce solutions. They specialized in promoting new acts and reinvigorating the careers of veteran musicians. In 2005, Brickhouse bought the online marketing firm Viawerk, bringing Viawerk co-founder Rod Flauhaus on board as partner. Flauhaus co-wrote the album ''Homecoming''. Brickman's younger brother Michael served as president of Brickhouse. Brickhouse marketing clients included, Amy Grant, Michael W. Smith, Richie McDonald (Lonestar), Point of Grace and many others. The label also published works by saxophonist

Dave Koz David Stephen Koz (born March 27, 1963) is an American saxophonist, composer, record producer, and radio personality based in Los Angeles, California. Early life Dave Koz was born in Encino, California, to Jewish parents: Norman, a dermatologis ...

, comedian

Anita Renfroe Anita Renfroe is an American comedian from Atlanta, Georgia, the wife of a Baptist pastor and the mother of three children. She is a regular commentator on ''Good Morning America''. She became famous after her comic rendition of everything that a ...

, singer

Chris Sligh Charles Christopher Sligh (; born April 13, 1978) is an American singer, songwriter, producer and pastor who was a finalist on the sixth season of '' American Idol'', finishing in tenth place. He has released 14 albums since 2001 as a solo artist, ...

and singer Mark Masri. Brickman's own 2012 album ''Blessings'' was released on the Brickhouse Direct label.

Discography

Albums

Singles

* ^A "Valentine" was originally only released to Adult Contemporary and charted on Hot Country Songs as an album cut. It was remixed and released to country radio the following year. It also peaked at No. 50 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. * ^B "Sending You a Little Christmas" also peaked at No. 15 on

Hot Christian Songs Hot Christian Songs is a music chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. It ranks the popularity of Christian songs using the same methodology developed for the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, the magazine's flagship songs c ...

. * ^C "Escape" peaked at No. 17 on Hot Contemporary Jazz Songs. * ^D Peak position from Christmas version titled "Merry Christmas Beautiful". * ^E "The Gift" was not eligible to enter the Billboard Hot 100, but instead peaked No. 65 on the

Billboard Hot 100 Airplay The Radio Songs chart (previously named Hot 100 Airplay until 2014 and Top 40 Radio Monitor until July 1993) is released weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine and measures the airplay of songs being played on radio stations throughout the United States ...

Music videos

Awards

* 1998 –

Canadian Country Music Association The Canadian Country Music Association (CCMA) was founded in 1976 as the Academy of Country Music Entertainment to organize, promote and develop a Canadian country music industry. The groundwork for the association began on June 3, 1973, when a gr ...

Award, Vocal Collaboration of the Year, for "Your Love" with

Michelle Wright Michelle Wright (born July 1, 1961) is a Canadian country music artist. She won the Canadian Country Music Association's Fans' Choice Award twice (1993 and 1995). In 2011, Wright was inducted into the Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame. Wright ...

* 1998 –

presented by the

for "The Gift" with

and

* 1998 –

Songwriter of the Year * 1999 – SESAC Songwriter of the Year * 2002 – SESAC: Performance award, for ''Simple Things'' * 2003 – SESAC: New Adult Contemporary album, for ''Love Songs and Lullabies'' * 2003 – Grammy nomination for Best Pop Instrumental Album, for ''Peace'' * 2009 – Grammy nomination for Best New Age Album, for ''Faith''

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Brickman, Jim 1961 births Living people Songwriters from Ohio American pop pianists Composers for piano Cleveland Institute of Music alumni Jewish American songwriters American light music composers New-age pianists American ballad musicians Musicians from Cleveland Musicians from Shaker Heights, Ohio American country pianists American male pianists Windham Hill Records artists American radio personalities 20th-century American pianists Case Western Reserve University alumni Country musicians from Ohio 21st-century American pianists 20th-century American male musicians 21st-century American male musicians American male songwriters