Barry James Eastmond is an American musician, composer, songwriter, and record producer. Eastmond is an adjunct professor at

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, the ...

Steinhardt Performing Arts Department in songwriting and is part of the NYU Summer Songwriting Workshop.

Biography

Eastmond was born in Brooklyn, New York on January 11, 1959. He is the youngest of three children of Wilfred and Eileen Eastmond. He is married to songwriter Maria Eastmond and they have two children, Melodie and Barry Jr. Eastmond started his musical career as pianist at the age of four. Between the ages of seven and ten, he received classical music training at the

Juilliard School of Music The Juilliard School ( ) is a private performing arts conservatory in New York City. Established in 1905, the school trains about 850 undergraduate and graduate students in dance, drama, and music. It is widely regarded as one of the most elit ...

's preparatory school. While in high school, Eastmond began playing in local top 40 and wedding bands in

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

. Soon, he became a touring pianist and keyboardist for female R&B singers such as

Melba Moore Beatrice Melba Hill or Beatrice Melba Smith (sources differ) (born October 29, 1945), known by her stage name Melba Moore, is an American singer and actress. Biography Early life and education Moore was born Beatrice Melba Hill or Beatrice Melba ...

Phyllis Hyman Phyllis Linda Hyman (July 6, 1949 – June 30, 1995) was an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Hyman is best known for her music during the late 1970s through the early 1990s, some of her most notable songs were "You Know How to Love Me" ...

Angela Bofill Angela Tomasa Bofill (born May 2, 1954) is an American singer-songwriter of Cuban- Puerto Rican origins. A New York native, Bofill began her professional career in the mid-1970s. Bofill is most known for singles such as, "This Time I'll Be Sweete ...

, and

Chaka Khan Yvette Marie Stevens (born March 23, 1953), better known by her stage name Chaka Khan (), is an American singer. Her career has spanned more than five decades, beginning in the 1970s as the lead vocalist of the funk band Rufus. Known as the " Qu ...

, eventually becoming Moore, Hyman, and Bofill's musical director. At the same time, he worked as a session musician for production duo

Gamble & Huff Kenneth Gamble (born August 11, 1943, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) and Leon A. Huff (born April 8, 1942, Camden, New Jersey) are an American songwriting and production team credited for developing the Philadelphia soul music genre (also known as ...

and established himself as a songwriter and arranger. In 1985, Eastmond wrote and produced singer

Freddie Jackson Frederick Anthony Jackson (born October 2, 1956) is an American singer. Originally from New York, Jackson began his professional music career in the late 1970s with the California funk band Mystic Merlin. Among his well–known R&B/soul hits are ...

's "

You Are My Lady You Are My Lady is a 1985 single by Freddie Jackson that followed his debut single, "Rock Me Tonight (For Old Times Sake)." It was the second single from his debut album, ''Rock Me Tonight''. Like his debut single, "You Are My Lady" hit number ...

," his first professional producer credit. The second single from Jackson's debut album ''

Rock Me Tonight ''Rock Me Tonight'' is the platinum selling 1985 debut album from American R&B/Soul singer Freddie Jackson. Released on April 28, 1985, the album yielded four top–10 singles on the U.S. R&B chart, with the first two, "You Are My Lady" and "Ro ...

'' (1985), it peaked at number one on the US ''Billboard''

Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by '' Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 ...

, prompting

Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007) is an American record label distributed by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-based record label of note ...

to hire Eastmond as the album's main producer. Eastmond's success with Jackson led him to work with

Billy Ocean Leslie Sebastian Charles, (born 21 January 1950), better known by his stage name Billy Ocean, is a British recording artist who had a string of R&B international pop hits in the 1970s and 1980s. He was the most popular British R&B singer-son ...

, Britney Spears, Kenny Lattimore, Aretha Franklin, Whitney Houston, Al Jarreau, George Benson, Vanessa Williams, Steve Perry, Michael Bolton,

Jeffrey Osborne Jeffrey Linton Osborne (born March 9, 1948) is an American singer-songwriter, musician, and lyricist. He is the former drummer and lead singer of the American R&B/soul group L.T.D., with whom he began his musical career in 1970. Biography Earl ...

Phil Perry Philip Eugene Perry (born January 12, 1952) is an American R&B singer, songwriter, musician and a former member of the soul group, The Montclairs, from 1971 to 1975. He was also known for performing the opening song to Disney’s sitcom, ''Goof ...

Jonathan Butler Jonathan Kenneth Butler (born 10 October 1961) is a South African singer-songwriter and guitarist. His music is often classified as R&B, jazz fusion or worship music. Biography Born and raised in Athlone, Cape Town, South Africa, during Ap ...

Regina Belle Regina Elaine Belle (born July 17, 1963) is an American singer-songwriter who started her career in the mid-1980s. Known for her singles " Baby Come to Me" (1989) and "Make It Like It Was" (1990), Belle's most notable for two hit duets, both with ...

, and Barry White, as well as many others. In 1994, he and

Gordon Chambers Gordon Anthony Chambers (c. 1969) is an American singer-songwriter and record producer who has written songs for more than 75 recording artists including Angie Stone, Yolanda Adams, The Isley Brothers, Brandy, Trey Songz, Chaka Khan, Patti LaBell ...

co-wrote with

Anita Baker Anita Denise Baker (born January 26, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter. She is one of the most popular singers of soulful ballads, especially renowned for her work during the height of the quiet storm period in the 1980s. Starting her career ...

" I Apologize," which earned Baker a Grammy Award for Best R&B Vocal. In 1996, he was hand-picked by

Sylvia Rhone Sylvia Rhone (born March 11, 1952) is an American music industry executive. Since 2019, she is the chair and CEO of Epic Records, a label owned by Sony Music Entertainment. Rhone served previously in senior positions at Vested In Culture, Unive ...

to write and produce "

Missing You Missing You, Missin' You, or Missing U may refer to: Film and television * ''Missing You'' (2008 film), a Singaporean film * ''Missing You'' (2016 film), a South Korean film * ''Missing U'' (film), a 2013 short animated film by Brooke Wagstaff ...

Brandy Brandy is a liquor produced by distilling wine. Brandy generally contains 35–60% alcohol by volume (70–120 US proof) and is typically consumed as an after-dinner digestif. Some brandies are aged in wooden casks. Others are coloured with ...

Gladys Knight Gladys Maria Knight (born May 28, 1944), known as the "Empress of Soul", is an American singer, actress and businesswoman. A seven-time Grammy Award-winner, Knight recorded hits through the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s with her family group Gladys Kn ...

Tamia Tamia Marilyn Washington Hill (born May 9, 1975) is a Canadian singer, songwriter, and producer. Born and raised in Windsor, Ontario, Tamia performed in various singing and dancing competitions as a child. In 1994, after signing a development dea ...

, and Khan's song for the '' Set It Off'' soundtrack. Eastmond continues his production and songwriting chores with a new album by Billy Ocean ''One World'', a song on Steve Perry's ''Traces'' album - "You Belong To Me" and a song on Diana Ross's new album ''Thank You'' - "The Answer's Always Love".

References

External links

*
Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Eastmond, Barry Living people American record producers Year of birth missing (living people)