Mark Cory Rooney (born 1968) is an American record producer. He has written, produced, and developed various successful records for artists including

Mariah Carey Mariah Carey (; born March 27, 1969) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and record producer. Referred to as the " Songbird Supreme", she is noted for her five-octave vocal range, melismatic singing style and signature use of the whi ...

Mary J. Blige Mary Jane Blige ( ; born January 11, 1971) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Often referred to as the " Queen of Hip-Hop Soul" and " Queen of R&B", Blige has won nine Grammy Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, four American Music Award ...

Jessica Simpson Jessica Ann Simpson (born July 10, 1980) is an American singer, actress, entrepreneur and philanthropist. After performing in church choirs as a child, Simpson signed with Columbia Records in 1997, aged seventeen. Her debut studio album, '' Swe ...

Jennifer Lopez Jennifer Lynn Affleck (' Lopez; born July 24, 1969), also known as J.Lo, is an American singer, actress and dancer. In 1991, she began appearing as a Fly Girl dancer on the sketch comedy television series ''In Living Color'', where she rema ...

Marc Anthony Marco Antonio Muñiz Rivera (born September 16, 1968), known professionally as Marc Anthony, is an American singer, songwriter, and actor. He is the top selling tropical salsa artist of all time. A three-time Grammy Award and six-time Latin Gra ...

Thalia Thalia, Thalía, Thaleia or Thalian may refer to: People * Thalia (given name), including a list of people with the name * Thalía (born 1971), Mexican singer and actress Mythological and fictional characters * Thalia (Grace), one of the three ...

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a ...

, and

Destiny's Child Destiny's Child was an American girl group whose final line-up comprised Beyoncé Knowles, Kelly Rowland, and Michelle Williams. The group began their musical career as Girl's Tyme, formed in 1990 in Houston, Texas. After years of limited ...

Life and career

Rooney was raised in

Jamaica, Queens Jamaica is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Queens. It is mainly composed of a large commercial and retail area, though part of the neighborhood is also residential. Jamaica is bordered by Hollis to the east; St. Albans, Springfi ...

, New York City, and at an early age he was exposed to the music industry by his parents,

Herb Rooney Herbert Louis Rooney (born 1940 - c. early 1990s) was an American record producer who was responsible for writing, producing and singing bass on songs by the Exciters and for writing and producing the sample staple Synthetic Substitution by Melvin ...

and Brenda Reid of

The Exciters ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

, who toured with The Beatles in the early 1960s. His father later branched out into production and was responsible for both the piano part and production on the

Isley Brothers Isley is an English surname. The name can also be used as an anglicized variant for the German surnames Eisele and Eisler. Notable people with the surname include: *The Isley Brothers, American musical group **Ernie Isley (born 1952), American mus ...

single, "

It's Your Thing "It's Your Thing" is a funk single by The Isley Brothers. Released in 1969, the anthem was an artistic response to Motown chief Berry Gordy's demanding hold on his artists after the Isleys left the label in late 1968. The lyrics of the chorus, w ...

". When the original members disbanded, his mother, Brenda Reid, brought her children into the band to continue the group. As a teenager he was later a member of a band called The Exciters. In the 1990s Rooney and

Prince Markie Dee Mark Anthony Morales (February 19, 1968 – February 18, 2021), better known by the stage name Prince Markie Dee, was an American rapper, songwriter, producer, actor, and radio personality. Morales was a member of the Fat Boys, a pioneering hip ...

of the

Fat Boys The Fat Boys were an American hip hop trio from Brooklyn, New York, who emerged in the early 1980s. The group was briefly known originally as the Disco 3, originally composed of Mark " Prince Markie Dee" Morales, Damon "Kool Rock-Ski" Wimbley, ...

released two solo albums by Prince Markie Dee including Billboards No. 1 Rap Single "Typical Reasons (Swing My Way)" (written by EMI writer/producer and Rooney's brother-in-law Hasan Johnson). Rooney and Prince Markie Dee formed the group Soul Convention together, when they were signed by

Sony Music Sony Music Entertainment (SME), also known as simply Sony Music, is an American multinational music company. Being owned by the parent conglomerate Sony Group Corporation, it is part of the Sony Music Group, which is owned by Sony Entertainment ...

. Rooney was approached by Sony to sign a solo artist deal but declined. He went on to produce singles including " Real Love" and "Sweet Thing" by

and "I'll Do 4 U" by

Father MC Timothy Brown, also known as Father MC, is an American rapper who achieved success in the early 1990s on the Uptown Records label. Personal life Father MC appeared in the August 1996 issue of ''Playgirl'' in a photospread taken by Greg Weiner. ...

Uptown Records Uptown Records is an American record label, based in New York City, founded in 1986 by onetime rapper Andre Harrell. From the late 1980s into the early 1990s, it was a leader in R&B and hip hop. During the 1990s, aided by its A&R worker Sean ...

Tommy Mottola Thomas Daniel Mottola (born July 14, 1948) is an American music executive, producer and author. Mottola is currently the Chairman of Mottola Media Group and was previously the Chairman and CEO of Sony Music Entertainment, parent of the Columb ...

signed him as a producer and eventually promoted him to vice president of A&R at

Epic Records Epic Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America Sony Corporation of America (SONAM, also known as SCA), is the American arm of the Japanese conglomerate Sony Group ...

in 1994. Two years later, Rooney became VP of A&R at

Crave Records Crave Records was a record label under Sony Music Entertainment founded by Mariah Carey in February 1997, and shut down in July 1998. Groups signed to the label included DJ Company, female R&B quartet Allure, who released a self-titled album fe ...

. Mottola subsequently named him Senior VP of

Sony Music Entertainment Sony Music Entertainment (SME), also known as simply Sony Music, is an American multinational music company. Being owned by the parent conglomerate Sony Group Corporation, it is part of the Sony Music Group, which is owned by Sony Entertainment ...

in 1998. Maintaining his position both as senior executive and producer at Sony, he was offered another executive position at Casablanca Records where he also wrote

Lindsay Lohan Lindsay Dee Lohan ( ; born July 2, 1986) is an American actress and singer. Born in New York City and raised on Long Island, Lohan was signed to Ford Models at the age of three. Having appeared as a regular on the television soap opera '' An ...

's single, "

Rumors A rumor (American English), or rumour (British English; see spelling differences; derived from Latin:rumorem - noise), is "a tall tale of explanations of events circulating from person to person and pertaining to an object, event, or issue in p ...

". He also produced the album and performed keyboards and provided background vocals. His albums have sold over 100 million copies and many of his albums have sold more than one million records."Cory Rooney Entertainment." Music Industry's Best Kept Secret n. pag. Web. August 19, 2010. . He was executive producer on

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

's television series "

The Shop ''The Shop: Uninterrupted'', or simply ''The Shop'', is an American television talk show created by Paul Rivera. It stars professional basketball star LeBron James and businessman Maverick Carter, who alongside guests have conversations and deba ...

" and VH1's series "Born to Diva". "The Shop" is based out of Rooney's

barber A barber is a person whose occupation is mainly to cut, dress, groom, style and shave men's and boys' hair or beards. A barber's place of work is known as a "barbershop" or a "barber's". Barbershops are also places of social interaction and publi ...

shop, Mr. Rooney's, in Jamaica, Queens, New York. Artists including

Busta Rhymes Trevor George Smith Jr. (born May 20, 1972), known professionally as Busta Rhymes, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer and actor. Chuck D of Public Enemy gave him the moniker Busta Rhymes, after NFL and CFL wide receiver ...

, Diddy, and

Fabolous John David Jackson (born November 18, 1977), better known by his stage name Fabolous, is an American rapper. Raised in Brooklyn, he first gained recognition while still a senior in high school, when he performed live on American music executive ...

have appeared on the show for discussions on the music industry, their career, and to chat. VH1's "Born to Diva" featured Rooney as one of the panel judges, aside from his role as

executive producer Executive producer (EP) is one of the top positions in the making of a commercial entertainment product. Depending on the medium, the executive producer may be concerned with management accounting or associated with legal issues (like copyrights o ...

of the show. Rooney formed his own company, Cory Rooney Group (CRG), which manages writers, producers, and two developing artists. The company focuses on music for television, fashion, and publishing.

Songwriting and production credits

References

External links

songwriteruniverse.com page on Rooney
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rooney, Cory Songwriters from New York (state) African-American songwriters American hip hop record producers American rhythm and blues musicians Latin pop musicians Latin Grammy Award winners Living people People from Jamaica, Queens 1968 births Record producers from New York (state) 21st-century African-American people 20th-century African-American people