James Stroud is an American musician and record producer who works in
pop,
rock
Rock most often refers to:
* Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids
* Rock music, a genre of popular music
Rock or Rocks may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...
,
R&B, soul, disco, and
country music
Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...
. He played with the Malaco Rhythm Section for
Malaco Records
Malaco Records is an American independent record label based in Jackson, Mississippi, United States, that has been the home of various major blues and gospel acts, such as Johnnie Taylor, Bobby Bland, Mel Waiters, Z. Z. Hill, Denise LaSalle, La ...
.
In the 1990s, he was the president of
Giant Records
In folklore, giants (from Ancient Greek: '' gigas'', cognate giga-) are beings of human-like appearance, but are at times prodigious in size and strength or bear an otherwise notable appearance. The word ''giant'' is first attested in 1297 fr ...
(a subsidiary of
Warner Bros. Records
Warner Records Inc. (formerly Warner Bros. Records Inc.) is an American record label. A subsidiary of the Warner Music Group, it is headquartered in Los Angeles, California. It was founded on March 19, 1958, as the recorded music division of the ...
) and held several credits as a session drummer. He later worked for
DreamWorks Records
DreamWorks Records (often referred in copyright notices as SKG Music, LLC) was an American record label founded in 1996 by David Geffen, Steven Spielberg and Jeffrey Katzenberg as a subsidiary of DreamWorks Pictures. The label operated until 200 ...
Nashville and in 2008 founded his own label,
Stroudavarious Records
R&J Records is an American independent record label specializing in country music. It was founded in May 2011 by James Stroud and Rick Carter. Stroud is a record producer and former president of Giant Records and DreamWorks Records. In 2008, Stro ...
.
Biography
Stroud began playing drums at local bar bands in
Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...
and Louisiana. Stroud worked with musicians such as
Paul Davis in the 1960s. He and Davis also took on songwriting duties for Jackson, Mississippi-based
Malaco Records
Malaco Records is an American independent record label based in Jackson, Mississippi, United States, that has been the home of various major blues and gospel acts, such as Johnnie Taylor, Bobby Bland, Mel Waiters, Z. Z. Hill, Denise LaSalle, La ...
. He played with and produced many acts throughout the 1960s and 1970s. While involved at Malaco, he worked with R&B artists, including
Dorothy Moore
Dorothy Moore (born October 13, 1946) is an American blues, gospel, and R&B singer best known for her 1976 hit song, "Misty Blue".
Career
Moore's parents were Mary Moore and Melvin Hendrex Senior. Her father performed under the stage name Melv ...
,
King Floyd
King Floyd (February 13, 1945 – March 6, 2006) was a New Orleans soul singer and songwriter, best known for his top 10 hit from 1970, "Groove Me".
Early career
King Floyd III was born in New Orleans in 1945. His musical career started as a s ...
,
Frederick Knight,
Jackie Moore,
The Controllers
The Controllers are a fictional extraterrestrial race existing in the DC Universe. They first appear in '' Adventure Comics'' #357 (June 1967), and were created by Jim Shooter, Mort Weisinger, and Curt Swan.
Fictional character biography Pre-C ...
,
Fern Kinney
Fern Kinney (born Fern Kinney-Lewis, July 11, 1949), is an American R&B and disco singer, who is best remembered for her releases, " Groove Me" and " Together We Are Beautiful".
Career
Born in Jackson, Mississippi, United States, Kinney orig ...
, and
Anita Ward
Anita Ward (born December 20, 1956 or 1957) (sources differ) is an American singer and musician from Memphis, Tennessee. Beginning her professional music career in the late 1970s, Ward is best known for her 1979 million-selling chart-topper R&B/ ...
.
He co-produced and played on
Dorothy Moore
Dorothy Moore (born October 13, 1946) is an American blues, gospel, and R&B singer best known for her 1976 hit song, "Misty Blue".
Career
Moore's parents were Mary Moore and Melvin Hendrex Senior. Her father performed under the stage name Melv ...
's "
Misty Blue
Misty may refer to:
Music
* ''Misty'' (Ray Stevens album), an album by Ray Stevens featuring the above song
* ''Misty'' (Richard "Groove" Holmes album), an album by Richard "Groove" Holmes featuring the above song
* ''Misty'' (Eddie "Lockjaw" ...
", which was a major US and UK hit, going on to sell over four million copies.
He was also a
session musician
Session musicians, studio musicians, or backing musicians are musicians hired to perform in recording sessions or live performances. The term sideman is also used in the case of live performances, such as accompanying a recording artist on a ...
working with the band,
Sparks which he provided guitar, drums and keyboards. He also started playing drums and synthesizer with
Paul Davis, taking influences from rock and R&B artists. In the early-1980s, he began playing for
Eddie Rabbitt
Edward Thomas Rabbitt (November 27, 1941 – May 7, 1998) was an American country music singer and songwriter. His career began as a songwriter in the late 1960s, springboarding to a recording career after composing hits such as "Kentucky Rain" ...
.
From there, Stroud had become a prolific session drummer in
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the List of muni ...
, backing
Ronnie Milsap
Ronnie Lee Milsap (born Ronald Lee Millsaps; January 16, 1943) is an American country music singer and pianist. He was one of country music's most popular and influential performers of the 1970s and 1980s. Nearly completely blind from birth, ...
,
K.T. Oslin
Kay Toinette Oslin (May 15, 1942 – December 21, 2020) was an American country music singer-songwriter. She had several years of major commercial success in the late 1980s after signing a record deal at age 45. Oslin had four number one hits and ...
and others. He was also a member of the
Marshall Tucker Band
The Marshall Tucker Band is an American rock band from Spartanburg, South Carolina. Noted for incorporating blues, country, and jazz into an eclectic sound, the Marshall Tucker Band helped establish the Southern rock genre in the early 1970s. Wh ...
. He is noted for discovering
Taylor Swift
Taylor Alison Swift (born December 13, 1989) is an American singer-songwriter. Her discography spans multiple genres, and her vivid songwriting—often inspired by her personal life—has received critical praise and wide media coverage. Bor ...
.
In the late-1980s, Stroud founded The Writers' Group, a publishing company. He also took up producing, and in 1989 was named by the
Academy of Country Music
The Academy of Country Music (ACM) was founded in 1964 in Los Angeles, California as the Country & Western Music Academy. Among the founders were Eddie Miller, Tommy Wiggins, and Mickey and Chris Christensen. They wanted to promote country music ...
as Producer of the Year.
When
Warner Bros. Records
Warner Records Inc. (formerly Warner Bros. Records Inc.) is an American record label. A subsidiary of the Warner Music Group, it is headquartered in Los Angeles, California. It was founded on March 19, 1958, as the recorded music division of the ...
founded the
Giant Records
In folklore, giants (from Ancient Greek: '' gigas'', cognate giga-) are beings of human-like appearance, but are at times prodigious in size and strength or bear an otherwise notable appearance. The word ''giant'' is first attested in 1297 fr ...
branch, Stroud became president of the new label and produced several of its acts, including
Carlene Carter
Carlene Carter (born Rebecca Carlene Smith; September 26, 1955) is an American country music singer and songwriter. She is the daughter of June Carter Cash and her first husband, Carl Smith.
As of 2020, since 1978, Carter has recorded 12 album ...
,
Dennis Robbins
Dennis Anthony Robbins (born August 23, 1949) is an American musician who first made himself known as a guitarist in the band Rockets. After his departure from The Rockets, he began a career in country music, recording three major-label albums an ...
,
Tracy Lawrence
Tracy Lee Lawrence (born January 27, 1968) is an American country music singer, songwriter, and record producer. Born in Atlanta, Texas, and raised in Foreman, Arkansas, Lawrence began performing at age 15 and moved to Nashville, Tennessee, in ...
,
Daryle Singletary
Daryle Bruce Singletary (March 10, 1971 – February 12, 2018) was an American country music singer. Between 1995 and 1998, he recorded for Giant Records, for which he released three studio albums: '' Daryle Singletary'' in 1995, '' All Because ...
,
Daron Norwood
Daron Jay Norwood (September 30, 1965 – July 22, 2015) was an American country music singer. He released two albums for Giant Records and charted six times on Hot Country Songs.
Musical career
Signed to Giant Records in 1993, he released tw ...
and
Clay Walker
Ernest Clayton Walker Jr. (born August 19, 1969) is an American country music artist. He made his debut in 1993 with the single " What's It to You", which reached Number One on the '' Billboard'' Hot Country Singles & Tracks (now Hot Country Son ...
.
At the same time, he produced acts not signed to the label. Between 1993 and 1994, twenty-one singles produced by Stroud reached the top of the country charts.
After Giant Records closed in 2000, Stroud moved to
DreamWorks Records
DreamWorks Records (often referred in copyright notices as SKG Music, LLC) was an American record label founded in 1996 by David Geffen, Steven Spielberg and Jeffrey Katzenberg as a subsidiary of DreamWorks Pictures. The label operated until 200 ...
Nashville, where he worked as a producer for several artists including
Darryl Worley
Darryl Wade Worley (born October 31, 1964) is an American country music singer and songwriter. Signed to DreamWorks Records Nashville in 1999, Worley released four albums for the label: ''Hard Rain Don't Last'' (2000), '' I Miss My Friend'' (20 ...
. After the label closed down in 2005, Stroud joined
Universal Music Group
Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as just Universal Music) is a Dutch– American multinational music corporation under Dutch law. UMG's corporate headquarters are located in Hilversum, Netherlands and its ...
(DreamWorks' parent company) and served as co-
CEO
A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...
alongside Luke Lewis until 2007.
In July 2008 he founded a new label,
Stroudavarious Records
R&J Records is an American independent record label specializing in country music. It was founded in May 2011 by James Stroud and Rick Carter. Stroud is a record producer and former president of Giant Records and DreamWorks Records. In 2008, Stro ...
, to which he signed Worley as the flagship artist.
Collaborations
With
Joe Cocker
John Robert "Joe" Cocker (20 May 1944 – 22 December 2014) was an English singer known for his gritty, bluesy voice and dynamic stage performances that featured expressive body movements. Most of his best known singles were recordings of son ...
* ''
Civilized Man'' (Capitol Records, 1984)
With
Dionne Warwick
Marie Dionne Warwick (; born December 12, 1940) is an American singer, actress, and television host.
Warwick ranks among the 40 biggest U.S. hit makers between 1955 and 1999, based on her chart history on ''Billboards Hot 100 pop singles cha ...
* ''
No Night So Long'' (Arista Records, 1980)
With
Glen Campbell
Glen Travis Campbell (April 22, 1936 – August 8, 2017) was an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, actor and television host. He was best known for a series of hit songs in the 1960s and 1970s, and for hosting ''The Glen Campbell Goodt ...
* ''
Walkin' in the Sun'' (Capitol Records, 1990)
* ''
Unconditional Love
Unconditional love is known as affection without any limitations, or love without conditions. This term is sometimes associated with other terms such as true altruism or complete love. Each area of expertise has a certain way of describing uncon ...
'' (Liberty Records, 1991)
With
Paul Simon
Paul Frederic Simon (born October 13, 1941) is an American musician, singer, songwriter and actor whose career has spanned six decades. He is one of the most acclaimed songwriters in popular music, both as a solo artist and as half of folk roc ...
* ''
There Goes Rhymin' Simon
''There Goes Rhymin' Simon'' is the third solo studio album by American musician Paul Simon released on May 5, 1973. It contains songs spanning several styles and genres, such as gospel (" Loves Me Like a Rock") and Dixieland (" Take Me to the ...
'' (Columbia Records, 1973)
With
Melissa Manchester
Melissa Manchester (born February 15, 1951) is an American singer, songwriter and actress. Since the 1970s, her songs have been carried by adult contemporary radio stations. She has also appeared on television, in films, and on stage.
Early l ...
* ''
Melissa Manchester
Melissa Manchester (born February 15, 1951) is an American singer, songwriter and actress. Since the 1970s, her songs have been carried by adult contemporary radio stations. She has also appeared on television, in films, and on stage.
Early l ...
'' (Arista Records, 1979)
* ''
For the Working Girl'' (Arista Records, 1980)
With
Tracy Lawrence
Tracy Lee Lawrence (born January 27, 1968) is an American country music singer, songwriter, and record producer. Born in Atlanta, Texas, and raised in Foreman, Arkansas, Lawrence began performing at age 15 and moved to Nashville, Tennessee, in ...
* ''
Sticks and Stones'' (Atlantic Records, 1991)
* ''
Alibis'' (Atlantic Records, 1993)
* ''
I See It Now
''I See It Now'' is the third studio album by American country music artist Tracy Lawrence. Released in 1994 on Atlantic Records, the album produced four singles: the title track, "If the World Had a Front Porch", "Texas Tornado", and "As Any Fo ...
'' (Atlantic Records, 1994)
With
Michael Martin Murphey
Michael Martin Murphey (born March 14, 1945) is an American singer-songwriter best known for writing and performing Western music, country music and popular music. A multiple Grammy nominee, Murphey has six gold albums, including ''Cowboy Songs' ...
* ''
River of Time'' (Warner Bros. Records, 1988)
With
Patrick Hernandez
Patrick Pierre Hernandez (born 6 April 1949) is a French singer who had a worldwide hit with "Born to Be Alive" in 1979.
Biography
Born to a Spanish father and an Italian mother in Le Blanc-Mesnil, Seine-Saint-Denis, Hernandez grew up in the 1 ...
* ''
Born to Be Alive
''Born to Be Alive'' is the first studio album by Patrick Hernandez, released internationally in 1978 and in the US in 1979. It features the eponymous disco hit "Born to Be Alive" as well as a less-successful single, "Disco Queen".
Background
W ...
'' (Columbia Records, 1979)
With
Tim McGraw
Samuel Timothy McGraw (born May 1, 1967) is an American country singer, songwriter, record producer, and actor. He has released 16 studio albums (11 for Curb Records, four for Big Machine Records and one for Arista Nashville). 10 of those album ...
* ''
Tim McGraw
Samuel Timothy McGraw (born May 1, 1967) is an American country singer, songwriter, record producer, and actor. He has released 16 studio albums (11 for Curb Records, four for Big Machine Records and one for Arista Nashville). 10 of those album ...
'' (Curb Records, 1993)
With
Nick Kamen
Ivor Neville "Nick" Kamen (15 April 1962 – 4 May 2021) was an English singer-songwriter, musician and model. He was best known for "Turn It Up" from 1989, the singles "Each Time You Break My Heart" from 1986 and "I Promised Myself" from 1990, ...
* ''Nick Kamen'' (WEA, 1987)
With
Eddie Rabbitt
Edward Thomas Rabbitt (November 27, 1941 – May 7, 1998) was an American country music singer and songwriter. His career began as a songwriter in the late 1960s, springboarding to a recording career after composing hits such as "Kentucky Rain" ...
* ''
Horizon
The horizon is the apparent line that separates the surface of a celestial body from its sky when viewed from the perspective of an observer on or near the surface of the relevant body. This line divides all viewing directions based on whether i ...
'' (Elektra Records, 1980)
* ''
Step by Step'' (Elektra Records, 1981)
* ''
Radio Romance'' (Warner Bros. Records, 1982)
* ''
I Wanna Dance with You
''I Wanna Dance with You'' is the eleventh studio album by American country music artist Eddie Rabbitt, released by RCA Records in 1988. The album produced four singles including the I Wanna Dance with You (song), title track, a cover of Dion DiMu ...
'' (RCA Records, 1988)
With
Ronnie Milsap
Ronnie Lee Milsap (born Ronald Lee Millsaps; January 16, 1943) is an American country music singer and pianist. He was one of country music's most popular and influential performers of the 1970s and 1980s. Nearly completely blind from birth, ...
* ''
Keyed Up
''Keyed Up'' is the fifteenth studio album by American country music artist Ronnie Milsap, released in 1983. It featured the No. 5 country chart hit "Stranger in My House", plus the No. 1 country hits "Don't You Know How Much I Love You ...
'' (RCA Records, 1983)
With
Mark Collie
George Mark Collie (born January 18, 1956) is an American country music singer, songwriter, musician, actor, record producer, and fundraiser for Type 1 diabetes study. He has won awards and acclaim for his music, his acting, and his philanthrop ...
* ''
Tennessee Plates
''Tennessee Plates'' is the fifth studio album by American country music singer-songwriter Mark Collie. It was
his only album for Giant Records. It featured 3 singles. "Three Words, Two Hearts, One Night" charted at number 25, while "Steady as S ...
'' (Giant, 1995)
With
Anne Murray
Morna Anne Murray (born June 20, 1945) is a retired Canadian singer. Her albums, consisting primarily of pop, country, and adult contemporary music, have sold over 55 million copies worldwide during her over 40-year career.
Murray was the fir ...
* ''
Heart Over Mind'' (Capitol Records, 1984)
With
Crystal Gayle
Crystal Gayle (born Brenda Gail Webb; January 9, 1951) is an American country music singer widely known for her 1977 hit "Don't It Make My Brown Eyes Blue". Initially, Gayle's management and record label were the same as that of her oldest sist ...
* ''
True Love'' (Elektra Records, 1982)
* ''
Straight to the Heart'' (Warner Bros. Records, 1986)
With
Neal McCoy
Hubert Neal McGaughey Jr. (born July 30, 1958), known professionally as Neal McCoy, is an American country music singer. He has released 10 studio albums on various labels, and has released 34 singles to country radio. Although he first charted on ...
* ''
Where Forever Begin'' (Atlantic Records, 1992)
With
Carl Wilson
Carl Dean Wilson (December 21, 1946 – February 6, 1998) was an American musician, singer, and songwriter who co-founded the Beach Boys. He was their lead guitarist, the youngest sibling of bandmates Brian and Dennis, and the group's ''de ...
* ''
Carl Wilson
Carl Dean Wilson (December 21, 1946 – February 6, 1998) was an American musician, singer, and songwriter who co-founded the Beach Boys. He was their lead guitarist, the youngest sibling of bandmates Brian and Dennis, and the group's ''de ...
'' (Caribou Records, 1981)
With
Toby Keith
Toby Keith Covel (born July 8, 1961), known professionally as Toby Keith, is an American country music singer, songwriter, actor, and record producer. He released his first four studio albums—1993's ''Toby Keith'', 1994's ''Boomtown'', 1996' ...
* ''
Shock'n Y'all
''Shock'n Y'all'' is the eighth studio album by American country music artist Toby Keith. It was released on November 4, 2003 by DreamWorks Records. The album features 10 studio tracks and the 2 live "Bus Songs". The album has been certified 4× P ...
'' (DreamWorks Records, 2003)
With
Joan Baez
Joan Chandos Baez (; born January 9, 1941) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and activist. Her contemporary folk music often includes songs of protest and social justice. Baez has performed publicly for over 60 years, releasing more ...
* ''
Play Me Backwards
''Play Me Backwards'' is an album by the American musician Joan Baez, released in 1992. The album was nominated for a Grammy for Best Contemporary Folk Recording. Baez supported it with an international tour.
In 2012, to commemorate the twentiet ...
'' (Virgin Records, 1992)
With
Nigel Olsson
Nigel Olsson (born 10 February 1949) is an English rock drummer and singer best known for his long-time affiliation with Elton John. A dynamic drummer and backing vocalist, Olsson helped establish the Elton John sound as a member of the Elton J ...
* ''Nigel Olsson'' (Columbia Records, 1978)
* ''Nigel'' (Bang Records, 1979)
* ''Changing Tides'' (Epic Records, 1980)
With
Tanya Tucker
Tanya Denise Tucker (born October 10, 1958) is an American country music singer and songwriter who had her first hit, "Delta Dawn", in 1972 at the age of 13. Over the succeeding decades, Tucker became one of the few child performers to mature int ...
* ''
Changes
Changes may refer to:
Books
* ''Changes'', the 12th novel in Jim Butcher's ''The Dresden Files'' Series
* ''Changes'', a novel by Danielle Steel
* ''Changes'', a trilogy of novels on which the BBC TV series was based, written by Peter Dickinson ...
'' (Arista Records, 1982)
* ''
Girls Like Me'' (Capitol Records, 1986)
* ''
Love Me Like You Used To
''Love Me Like You Used To'' is the sixteenth studio album by American country music artist Tanya Tucker, released in 1987. Continuing the success of her preceding comeback album '' Girls Like Me'', the album produced three Billboard Top Ten Co ...
'' (Capitol Records, 1987)
* ''
Strong Enough to Bend
''Strong Enough to Bend'' is the seventeenth studio album by American country music artist Tanya Tucker, released in 1988. The album contains three singles that made the Billboard Top Ten Country singles charts: "Strong Enough to Bend" at number ...
'' (Capitol Records, 1988)
With
Kenny Rogers
Kenneth Ray Rogers (August 21, 1938 – March 20, 2020) was an American singer, songwriter, and actor. He was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2013. Rogers was particularly popular with country audiences but also charted mo ...
* ''
I Prefer the Moonlight
''I Prefer the Moonlight'' is the twentieth studio album by American country music singer Kenny Rogers. It reached #18 on the charts. Though the album only reached #163 in the Billboard 200.It contained three top five singles: the title cut and t ...
'' (RCA Records, 1987)
* ''
If Only My Heart Had a Voice
''If Only My Heart Had a Voice'' is the twenty-fifth studio album by country music superstar Kenny Rogers. It was Rogers' first album released on the Giant Records (Warner), Giant Records label. However, Rogers had been signed with its parent comp ...
'' (Giant, 1993)
With
Nicolette Larson
Nicolette Larson (July 17, 1952 – December 16, 1997) was an American singer. She is perhaps best known for her work in the late 1970s with Neil Young and her 1978 hit single of Young's "Lotta Love", which hit No. 1 on the Hot Adult Contem ...
* ''
...Say When'' (MCA Records, 1985)
With
Dennis Robbins
Dennis Anthony Robbins (born August 23, 1949) is an American musician who first made himself known as a guitarist in the band Rockets. After his departure from The Rockets, he began a career in country music, recording three major-label albums an ...
* ''Man With a Plan'' (Giant, 1992)
* ''Born Ready'' (Giant, 1994)
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stroud, James
Living people
Musicians from Shreveport, Louisiana
American country drummers
American country record producers
20th-century American drummers
American male drummers
Country musicians from Louisiana
20th-century American male musicians
Year of birth missing (living people)
The Marshall Tucker Band members