JR Hutson (born Lee Hutson Jr.) is an American record producer, executive producer, songwriter and talent developer. He has collaborated with several notable artists including Jill Scott,

Musiq Soulchild Taalib Hassan Johnson (born September 16, 1977), better known by the stage name Musiq Soulchild or simply Musiq (pronounced "music") is an American singer and songwriter whose style blends R&B, funk, blues, jazz, and Gospel music, gospel influ ...

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, Anthony Hamilton,

Robert Glasper Robert Andre Glasper (born April 6, 1978) is an American pianist, record producer, songwriter, and musical arranger with a career that bridges several different musical and artistic genres, mostly centered on jazz. To date, Glasper has won fou ...

Lalah Hathaway Eulaulah Donyll "Lalah" Hathaway (born December 16, 1968) is an American singer. In 1990 Hathaway released her first album titled ''Lalah Hathaway''. After releasing another album, titled '' A Moment'' (1994), it debuted at number 34 on the To ...

Earth Wind & Fire Earth, Wind & Fire (EW&F or EWF) is an American band whose music spans the genres of jazz, R&B, soul, funk, disco, pop, big band, Latin, and Afro pop. They are among the best-selling bands of all time, with sales of over 90 million ...

Wayman Tisdale Wayman Lawrence Tisdale (June 9, 1964 – May 15, 2009) was an American professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association (NBA) and a smooth jazz bass guitarist. A three-time All American at the University of Oklahoma,

and

Childish Gambino Donald McKinley Glover Jr. (; born September 25, 1983), also known by his stage name Childish Gambino (), is an American entertainer, writer, director, and producer. After working in Derrick Comedy while studying at New York University, Glove ...

. Hutson has been awarded Gold and Platinum records. He has also been nominated for four Grammy Awards. He is currently producing and developing talent.

Early life

Hutson was born in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

, United States. His father is soul musician

Leroy Hutson Leroy Hutson (born June 4, 1945) is an American soul and R&B singer, songwriter, arranger, producer and instrumentalist, best known as former lead singer of R&B vocal group The Impressions. His music concerns '70s soul, as noted in the June 29 ...

, who was a member of the

Curtis Mayfield Curtis Lee Mayfield (June 3, 1942 – December 26, 1999) was an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer, and one of the most influential musicians behind soul and politically conscious African-American music.

group

The Impressions The Impressions were an American music group originally formed in 1958. Their repertoire includes gospel, doo-wop, R&B, and soul. The group was founded as the Roosters by Chattanooga, Tennessee natives Sam Gooden, Richard Brooks and Arthur Bro ...

. His mother was a professional opera singer. Hutson's first musical training came when he attended The American Boychoir School in Princeton NJ. While attending the school, Hutson traveled the country singing. The choir recorded multiple albums as well as the historic rendition of Cindy Lauper's “True Colors” for the Kodak Olympic Commercial.

Career

Singing career and music production Motown Records 1990s
He moved to

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

, as a teen and added bass, keyboards, songwriting, to his growing list of talents. In high school, he formed a vocal group called Living Proof. Hutson created and produced the music for the group. Living Proof was scouted by many major labels before signing with

RCA Records RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also A ...

. Hutson left the group, and a year later began a brief but impactful apprenticeship with

Teddy Riley Edward Theodore Riley (born October 8, 1967) is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer credited with the creation of the New Jack Swing genre. Riley credits Barry Michael Cooper with giving the genre its name.Hogan, Paul. " Tedd ...

Virginia Beach Virginia Beach is an independent city located on the southeastern coast of the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. The population was 459,470 at the 2020 census. Although mostly suburban in character, it is the most populous city ...

, Virginia. Soon after his tenure at Teddy's Future Records, Hutson signed as a solo artist to

Motown Records Motown Records is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. It was founded by Berry Gordy, Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on June 7, 1958, and incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmant ...

under the name JR Swinga. Hutson's most notable accomplishment as JR Swinga was the track "Chocolate City", a nostalgic song about life at a black college. The video for "Chocolate City" was filmed on the

Florida A&M University Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University (FAMU), commonly known as Florida A&M, is a public historically black land-grant university in Tallahassee, Florida. Founded in 1887, It is the third largest historically black university in the U ...

college campus by then budding directors Robert Hardy and Will Packer. While at Motown Records he continued to produce label-mates

Boyz II Men Boyz II Men (pronounced ''boys to men''), also known as B2M, is an American vocal harmony group from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, best known for emotional ballads and a cappella harmonies. They are currently a trio composed of baritone Nathan M ...

Jason Weaver Jason Michael Weaver (born July 18, 1979) is an American actor and singer best known for his roles as Marcus Henderson on The WB sitcom ''Smart Guy,'' Jerome Turrell on the short-lived sitcom '' Thea'' from 1993 to 1994, and the pre-teenaged ...

, Whitehead Bros., 702 & Jazz artist

’s very first single called “Circumstance”. Hip hop production and labels 1990s
Hutson also had a string of notable productions coming out of his native miami. Connecting with Slip N Slide Records, he produced among others a track Featuring Trick Daddy and J-Shin called “You, Me & She”, as well as a host of other local miami rap talent. Hutson also scored his first deal for a hip hop artist he developed named Sianhide. Warner Brothers then executive KRS-One tapped Hutson for his artist and he subsequently dropped the single “We Gon Ride” on KRS's “Temple Of HipHop Kulture” compilation. Los Angeles and Hidden Beach tenure 2000s to 2007
In the early 2002, Hutson moved to Los Angeles, California, after spending a few weeks producing and developing Vannessa Marquez. While in LA, Hutson reconnected with long time Champion Steve Mckeever who now had an imprint on Sony named Hidden Beach Recordings. Re-kindling his artist passion, Hutson wrote, produced & performed “I Choose You” on the hidden hits compilation. Also, Hutson penned & produced “Wonderful & Special” for HB artist Mike Phillips in which he was the featured singer. After producing many projects for Hidden Beach, it was A&R Charles Whitfield who made a recommendation to HB marquee artist Jill Scott that she collaborate with Hutson on her next album. Legend has it that the Hutson composed instrumental CD that Whitfield gave to Scott is what ultimately became the core of her album, '' The Real Thing: Words and Sounds Vol. 3''. The two formed a very fruitful creative relationship. In an interview with

HitQuarters HitQuarters was an international music industry publication and contact database founded in 1999. It was noted for its in-depth interviews with industry figures, as well as its A&R and manager contact directory, free artist promo pages and song ...

, producer JR Hutson commented on the creation of the song "Whenever You're Around":
"I tried to take a real Quincy Jones approach to that record. I brought in a lot of musicians and we were just vibing to a few different things, and that was one of the tracks that stood out to me in the jam session that day. So I tweaked and tweaked the track, edited it and reformatted it, and then eventually ended up with that track." 2008 ''The Light Of The Sun'' to present
In 2008, Hutson connected with

to produce the successful ballad "

SoBeautiful "SoBeautiful" is the third single from Musiq Soulchild's fifth studio album, ''OnMyRadio''. It was sent to US radio stations for airplay consideration in January 2009. It was nominated for a Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY) ...

". In 2010, Hutson and Jill Scott officially began production on Scott's album ''

The Light of the Sun ''The Light of the Sun'' is the fourth studio album by American singer Jill Scott. It was recorded after Scott's four-year break from her music career and departure from her former label, Hidden Beach Recordings. ''The Light of the Sun'' was rec ...

''. Hutson acted as executive producer and co-wrote multiple songs on the album. Recording took place in several locations including 9th Street Studios, Studio 609, Fever Recording Studios in

North Hollywood, California North Hollywood is a neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, located in the San Fernando Valley. The neighborhood contains the NoHo Arts District, the El Portal Theatre, several art galleries, and the Academy of TV Arts and Sciences. The North H ...

, Threshold Sound & Vision in Santa Monica, California, The Studio in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, The Boom Boom Room in Burbank, California, and The Village Studios in West Los Angeles, California. It features collaborations from Anthony Hamilton,

Eve Eve (; ; ar, حَوَّاء, Ḥawwāʾ; el, Εὕα, Heúa; la, Eva, Heva; Syriac: romanized: ) is a figure in the Book of Genesis in the Hebrew Bible. According to the origin story, "Creation myths are symbolic stories describing how the ...

Doug E Fresh Doug E. Fresh (born September 17, 1966) is a Barbados-born American rapper, record producer, and beatboxing, beatboxer, also known as the "Human Beat Box". The pioneer of 20th-century American beatboxing, Fresh is able to accurately imitate drum ...

, and

Paul Wall Paul Michael Slayton (born March 11, 1981), better known by his stage name Paul Wall, is an American rapper and DJ. He has spent much of his career affiliated with Swishahouse Records, and has released several albums under the label and collabor ...

. The album was released for pre-order days before it was officially released on June 21, 2011. It debuted at #1 on the US ''Billboard'' 200 chart, with 135,000 copies sold in its first week, becoming her first #1 debut on the chart. In 2012,

Dave Pensado Dave Pensado is a Grammy Award-winning mix engineer. His career began in Atlanta in the 1970s and 1980s doing live and studio sound engineering. He has lived in Los Angeles since 1990. He mixes between 200 and 250 songs a year at Larrabee Studios ...

featured a "J.R." Hutson produced song called "Missing You" on his "Pensado's Place: Into The Lair Episode #37". Dave explains his mixing techniques for pad synths on the song. In 2013, Hutson accomplished another line item on his wish list by writing and producing a song for

’s ''

Now, Then & Forever ''Now, Then & Forever'' is the twentieth studio album by American band Earth, Wind & Fire, released on September 10, 2013, by Legacy Recordings/Sony Music. The album reached No. 11 on the US ''Billboard'' 200 and No. 6 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Alb ...

'' album. This album marked the return of the original EWF line up complete with keyboardist

Larry Dunn Larry is a masculine given name in English, derived from Lawrence or Laurence. It can be a shortened form of those names. Larry may refer to the following: People Arts and entertainment * Larry D. Alexander, American artist/writer *Larry Boone ...

as well as the original EWF horns. It was the first record the group had recorded after a 10-year recess. Hutson’s track, “Love is Law” is the 2nd track on the album.

Discography

1994
State of Emergency: Society in Crisis, Vol. 1 (Motown Records) * J.R. Swinga - "Chocolate City" Rick Simon - Flavors of Love * "Just Say The Word" * "Shorties" * "Flavors Of Love" * "Play Her Violins" * "Cause & Cure" * "Carve Our Name"

On Bended Knee "On Bended Knee" is a song by American R&B group Boyz II Men for the Motown label. The song, which was written and produced by Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, was released in November 1994 as the second single from their second album, '' II'' (1994 ...

(Remix Producer) (Motown Records) * On Bended Knee (Swingamix) Whitehead Bros. - Forget I Was A G (Remix Producer) (Motown Records) * JR Swinga Remix 1995

- Power Forward (Motown Records) * "Circumstance"

- Love Ambition (Motown Records) * For The Love Of You * Pretty Brown 1996

- In The Zone (Motown Records) * "These Feelings" 1997
Zhane - Saturday Night (Motown Records) * "This Song If For You" 1999
The Temple Of Hiphop Kulture - Criminal Justice: From Darkness To Light (Reprise/Warner Bros.) * "Siahnide - "We Gon' Ride" J-Shin - My Soul, My Life (Slip-n-Slide Records/Atlantic Records) * "I'll Do It" * "Givin' U Luv" * "U Me & She” Feat. Trick Daddy 2000
Vanessa Marquez - (Unreleased) * "Want You To Know" * "Keep On Askin' " 2001
Latrelle - Dirty Girl, Wrong Girl, Bad Girl (Unreleased) (Arista Records) * "Wrong Girl Interlude" * "Wrong Girl" * "Deal With The Pain" 2002
Mike Phillips -You Have Reached Mike Phillips (Hidden Beach/Sony) * "Wonderful & Special (Feat. “J.R.”) 2003

SWV SWV (Sisters with Voices) is an American R&B vocal trio from New York City whose members are Cheryl (Coko) Gamble, Tamara (Taj) Johnson, and Leanne (Lelee) Lyons. Formed in 1988 as a gospel group, SWV became one of the most successful R&B g ...

- Gold And Platinum Collection (BMG Records) * "Mystery" * "Can't Cope" Hidden Hits Vol. 1 - ''(Hidden Beach/Sony)'' * "I Choose You" (Performed By JR Hutson) 2005
Mike Phillips - Uncommon Denominator (Hidden Beach/Sony) * "Uncommon Denominator" * "If It Takes All Night (Feat. Trina Powell) * "G Money" * “Mike & Michaella (Interlude)” 2007
Jill Scott - The Real Thing: Words and Sounds Vol. 3 (Hidden Beach/Sony) * "Come See Me" * "Crown Royal" * "Whenever You're Around" (featuring George Duke) * "Wanna Be Loved” * "Imagination" I-15 - '(Zone 4/Interscope) * "Lost In Love" * "Whit Nike Ya" * "Shorties" * "Drug Of Choice" 2008

- OnMyRadio (Atlantic Records) * "SoBeautiful" Jill Scott - Live In Paris (Hidden Beach/Sony) 2009

Eric Roberson Eric Roberson (born September 27, 1976) is an American singer, songwriter, former rapper and music producer. He is sometimes referred to simply as Erro, the name which he later used as part of his label Blue Erro Soul. His first single, "Represen ...

- (Dome Records) * "Dealing" (Featuring Lalah Hathaway) 2011
Jill Scott -

- (Warner Bros.)
JR Hutson Executive Producer * "So in Love" (featuring Anthony Hamilton) (co-writer) * "Shame" (featuring Eve and The A Group) * "All Cried Out Redux" (featuring Doug E. Fresh) * "Le Boom Vent Suite” * "So Gone (What My Mind Says)" (featuring Paul Wall) * "Hear My Call” * "Making You Wait" * "Missing You" * "When I Wake Up" * "Rolling Hills"

Keke Wyatt Ke'Tara Shavon "Keke" Wyatt (born March 10, 1982) is an American singer-songwriter, actress and television personality. After performing in a number of girl bands and working as a songwriter during her teenage years, in 2000 she garnered nation ...

- Unbelievable (Shanachie Records) * "Saturday Love"

Jordan Knight Jordan Nathaniel Marcel Knight (born May 17, 1970) is an American singer-songwriter and actor. He is a singer in the boy band New Kids on the Block (NKOTB), who rose to fame in the 1980s and 1990s, using a falsetto style of singing influenced by ...

- Unfinished * "O Face" Carl Thomas - Conquer (Blue Note Records) * "The Night Is Yours"

- Where It All Begins (Concord Music Group) * "Small Of My Back" * " Wrong Way Map" 2013

- Now, Then & Forever (Sony Records) * "Love Is Law" 2014

Leela James Aleicha Janeice Campbell (born May 22, 1973) known professionally as Leela James, is an American R&B and soul singer-songwriter. Music career James made her debut on the soundtrack to the 2000 Jamie Foxx film '' Bait'' on The Roots song "Work ...

- Fall For You- * "Stay With Me" 2015

Kenny Lattimore Kenny Lattimore (born April 10, 1970) is an American R&B singer. Early life Lattimore first developed his interest for music in the high school band program at Eleanor Roosevelt High School in Greenbelt, Maryland. He often acknowledges Dr ...

- Anatomy Of A Love Song- (E1 Records.)
JR Hutson Executive Producer * "Still Good" (featuring Da' T.R.U.T.H. and Shanice) * "Back 2 Cool" (featuring Kelly Price) * "Built To Last" * "Beautiful Nowheres"

Maysa Maysa Figueira Monjardim (June 6, 1936 – January 22, 1977), better known as Maysa Matarazzo, was a Brazilian singer-songwriter, performer and actress. She is also associated with Bossa nova music but is widely known as a torch song (''fossa' ...

- Back to Love (Shanachie Records) * "Miracle" * "Smiling" * "The Radio Played Our Song" Malcolm Jamal Warner's Miles Long - Selfless
JR Hutson Executive Producer * "Brand New Day" Feat. Ledisi & Robert Glasper * “Training Daze”

Awards

Grammy Awards

The

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

s are awarded annually by the

National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences The Recording Academy (formally the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences; abbreviated NARAS) is an American Learned society, learned academy of musicians, producers, recording engineers, and other musical professionals. It is famous f ...

of the United States. , - , 2008 , The Real Thing: Words And Sounds Vol. 3
( Jill Scott's album) (as producer) , Best R&B Album , , - , 2010 , SoBeautiful (

's album) , Best Male R&B Performance , , - , 2015 , Because The Internet (

's album) , Best Rap Album , , - , 2016 , Covered: Recorded Live At Capitol Studios (

's album) , Best Jazz Instrumental Album ,

Ascap Awards

American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers The American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) () is an American not-for-profit performance-rights organization (PRO) that collectively licenses the public performance rights of its members' musical works to venues, broadca ...

(ASCAP) is a non-profit performance rights organization that also holds a series of annual awards shows. , - , 2010 , SoBeautiful by

(co-writer) , Award Winning R&B Song , , - , 2012 , So In Love ( Jill Scott Feat. Anthony Hamilton) (co-writer) , Award Winning R&B Song ,

Chart positions

Notable studio albums

Notable singles

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hutson, JR Living people African-American songwriters Record producers from Illinois Songwriters from Illinois American soul musicians Year of birth missing (living people) 21st-century African-American people