Jeffrey Gaines is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. Born in

Harrisburg, Pennsylvania Harrisburg is the capital city of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Dauphin County. With a population of 50,135 as of the 2021 census, Harrisburg is the 9th largest city and 15th largest municipality in Pe ...

, he was signed to the

Chrysalis Records Chrysalis Records () is a British record label that was founded in 1968. The name is both a reference to the pupal stage of a butterfly and a combination of its founders' names, Chris Wright and Terry Ellis. It started as the Ellis-Wright Ag ...

label in 1990 and released his debut album, ''Jeffrey Gaines'', in 1992.

Life and career

The first single off the ''Jeffrey Gaines'' album was "Hero in Me". Gaines performed that song live on ''

Good Morning America ''Good Morning America'' (often abbreviated as ''GMA'') is an American morning television program that is broadcast on ABC. It debuted on November 3, 1975, and first expanded to weekends with the debut of a Sunday edition on January 3, 1993. Th ...

'' and the song received some radio and

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 ...

airplay, but it would be the b-side to his second single that would eventually give him his biggest hit. "Scares Me More" featured an acoustic live version of

Peter Gabriel Peter Brian Gabriel (born 13 February 1950) is an English musician, singer, songwriter, record producer, and activist. He rose to fame as the original lead singer of the progressive rock band Genesis. After leaving Genesis in 1975, he launched ...

's "

In Your Eyes IN, In or in may refer to: Places * India (country code IN) * Indiana, United States (postal code IN) * Ingolstadt, Germany (license plate code IN) * In, Russia, a town in the Jewish Autonomous Oblast Businesses and organizations * Independ ...

", which Gabriel had taken to number 26 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in 1986. Re-released by Gabriel in 1989 after a resurgence in popularity due to the song's inclusion in a key scene in the film '' Say Anything...'', Gabriel's single recharted but failed to hit the Top 40. Gaines' acoustic version received some radio attention but neither side of the single managed to chart nationally in 1992. Gaines re-recorded both live and studio versions of "In Your Eyes" in 2001 for his fourth album, the independent release ''Always Be'', and the song was released to radio. This time Gaines hit number 22 on the U.S.

Adult Top 40 The Adult Pop Airplay (formerly known as Adult Pop Songs and Adult Top 40) chart is published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine and ranks "the most popular adult top 40 as based on radio airplay detections measured by Nielsen Broadcast Data Systems ...

chart and the slow-burning hit remained on the 40-place chart for 22 weeks. Gabriel's own version of the ballad also continued to smolder, being certified as Gabriel's first U.S.

Gold single Music recording certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped, sold, or streamed a certain number of units. The threshold quantity varies by type (such as album, single, music video) and by nation or territory (see ...

to date in 2005, 19 years after its release. Gaines was one of the artists invited to contribute vocals to the benefit CD ''We are Family'', produced by

Nile Rodgers Nile Gregory Rodgers Jr. (born September 19, 1952) is an American musician, record producer and composer. The co-founder of Chic, Rodgers has written, produced, and performed on records that have sold more than 500 million albums and 75 million ...

after the

September 11, 2001 attacks The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial ...

with profits going to the families affected by the tragedy and "dedicated to the vision of a global family" and respect and understanding of cultural diversity. The single peaked at No. 9 on ''Billboard''′s

Hot Singles Sales This is a compendium of the best-selling music singles. The criterion for inclusion is to sell at least ten million copies worldwide. The singles listed here were cited by reliable sources from various media, such as digital journalism, news ...

chart in late 2001 and number 32 on ''Billboards

Hot Dance Club Play Dance Club Songs is a chart published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine in the United States. It is a national look over of club disc jockeys to determine the most popular songs being played in nightclubs across the country. It was launched as t ...

chart in early 2002. Gaines has performed his original compositions live on ''

Late Night with Conan O'Brien ''Late Night with Conan O'Brien'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by Conan O'Brien. NBC aired 2,725 episodes from September 13, 1993, to February 20, 2009. The show featured varied comedic material, celebrity interviews, and music ...

'',

VH-1 VH1 (originally an initialism of Video Hits One) is an American basic cable television network based in New York City and owned by Paramount Global. It was created by Warner-Amex Satellite Entertainment, at the time a division of Warner Communi ...

, ''

Friday Night Videos ''Friday Night Videos'' (later becoming ''Friday Night'' and then ''Late Friday'') is an American music video show that was broadcast on NBC from July 29, 1983 to May 24, 2002. It was the network's attempt to capitalize on the emerging popularit ...

'' and A&E's ''

Breakfast with the Arts ''Breakfast with the Arts'' is a television program that aired on A&E (Arts & Entertainment) from 1991 until 2007. Overview In its first decade the program focused on classical music, dance, opera, jazz, the visual arts, theater, and film. Amer ...

''. Gaines has toured with artists including

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers were an American rock band from Gainesville, Florida. Formed in 1976, the band originally comprised lead singer and rhythm guitarist Tom Petty, lead guitarist Mike Campbell, keyboardist Benmont Tench, drummer S ...

Tori Amos Tori Amos (born Myra Ellen Amos; August 22, 1963) is an American singer-songwriter and pianist. She is a classically trained musician with a mezzo-soprano vocal range. Having already begun composing instrumental pieces on piano, Amos won a full ...

Tracy Chapman Tracy Chapman (born March 30, 1964) is an American singer-songwriter. Chapman is best known for her hit singles "Fast Car" and "Give Me One Reason". Chapman was signed to Elektra Records by Bob Krasnow in 1987. The following year she released ...

Melissa Etheridge Melissa Lou Etheridge (born May 29, 1961) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and guitarist. Her eponymous debut album was released in 1988 and became an underground success. It peaked at No. 22 on the ''Billboard'' 200 and its lead ...

Sting Sting may refer to: * Stinger or sting, a structure of an animal to inject venom, or the injury produced by a stinger * Irritating hairs or prickles of a stinging plant, or the plant itself Fictional characters and entities * Sting (Middle-eart ...

Bryan Adams Bryan Guy Adams (born 5 November 1959) is a Canadian musician, singer, songwriter, composer, and photographer. He has been cited as one of the best-selling music artists of all time, and is estimated to have sold between 75 million and mor ...

Heart The heart is a muscular organ in most animals. This organ pumps blood through the blood vessels of the circulatory system. The pumped blood carries oxygen and nutrients to the body, while carrying metabolic waste such as carbon dioxide t ...

Gregg Allman Gregory LeNoir Allman (December 8, 1947 – May 27, 2017) was an American musician, singer and songwriter. He was known for performing in the Allman Brothers Band. Allman grew up with an interest in rhythm and blues music, and the Allman Br ...

, Richard Thompson, Joe Jackson and

Stevie Nicks Stephanie Lynn Nicks (born May 26, 1948) is an American singer, songwriter, and producer known for her work with the band Fleetwood Mac and as a solo artist. After starting her career as a duo with her then-boyfriend Lindsey Buckingham, releasi ...

. In addition to the Gabriel song Gaines' sets of original material occasionally include covers of songs by other artists as diverse as

Elvis Costello Declan Patrick MacManus Order of the British Empire, OBE (born 25 August 1954), known professionally as Elvis Costello, is an English singer-songwriter and record producer. He has won multiple awards in his career, including a Grammy Award in ...

The Monkees The Monkees were an American rock and pop band, formed in Los Angeles in 1966, whose lineup consisted of the American actor/musicians Micky Dolenz, Michael Nesmith and Peter Tork alongside English actor/singer Davy Jones. The group was conc ...

, and

Roberta Flack Roberta Cleopatra Flack (born February 10, 1937) is a retired American singer. She topped the Billboard Magazine, ''Billboard'' charts with the No. 1 singles "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face", "Killing Me Softly with His Song", "Feel Like M ...

, and he continues to perform live. In 2016, Gaines did an extensive career retrospective interview with The Pods & Sods Network.

Discography

Albums

* ''Jeffrey Gaines'' (1992,

) * ''Somewhat Slightly Dazed'' (1994, Chrysalis Records) * ''Galore'' (1998,

Rykodisc Rykodisc is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group, operating as a unit of WMG's Independent Label Group and is distributed through Alternative Distribution Alliance. History Claiming to be the first Compact Disc, CD-only independ ...

) * ''Always Be'' (2001,

Artemis Records Artemis Records was a New York-based independent record label, founded in July 1999 by Danny Goldberg with Daniel Glass as President, and closed in April 2006. The label was acquired by E1 Entertainment. Artemis had a leading share of the U.S. i ...

) * ''Toward the Sun'' (2003, Artemis Records) * ''Jeffrey Gaines Live'' (2004, Artemis Records) * ''Live in Europe'' (2012, JGM Ltd.) * ''Alright'' (2018,

Omnivore Recordings Omnivore Recordings is an independent record label founded in 2010. It specializes in historical releases, reissues and previously unissued vintage recordings, as well as select releases of new music, on CD, vinyl and digital formats. Omnivore Re ...

)

Singles

* "Hero in Me" (1992, Chrysalis Records) * "Scares Me More" (1992, Chrysalis Records) * "Headmasters of Mine" (1993, Chrysalis Records) * "I Like You" (1994, Chrysalis/

EMI Records EMI Records (formerly EMI Records Ltd.) is a multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It originally founded as a British flagship label by the music company of the same name in 1972, and launched in January 1973 as the succ ...

) * "I Know a Man" (1994, Chrysalis/EMI) * "Right My Wrongs" (1998, Rykodisc) * " We Are Family" with Various Artists (2001,

Tommy Boy Entertainment Tommy Boy Entertainment is an American independent record label and multimedia brand founded in 1981 by Tom Silverman. The label is credited with helping and launching the music careers of Queen Latifah, Afrika Bambaataa, Stetsasonic, Digital U ...

) –

Sister Sledge Sister Sledge is an American musical vocal group from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Formed in 1971, the group consisted of sisters Debbie, Joni, Kim, and Kathy Sledge. The siblings achieved international success at the height of the disco era. ...

cover * "Always Be" (2001, Artemis Records) * "

" (2001, Artemis Records) –

cover * "Shake It Off" (2001, Artemis Records) * "Falling Apart" (2003, Artemis Records) * "Call It Love" with

Paula Cole Paula Cole (born April 5, 1968) is an American singer-songwriter. After gaining attention for her performances as a vocalist on Peter Gabriel's 1993–1994 Secret World Tour, she released her first album, ''Harbinger (Paula Cole album), Harbing ...

& Brian Stratton (2015, Atlantis Records) –

Poco Poco was an American country rock band originally formed in 1968 after the demise of Buffalo Springfield. Guitarists Richie Furay and Jim Messina, former members of Buffalo Springfield, were joined by multi-instrumentalist Rusty Young, bassi ...

cover * "To Be Free" (2016, JGM Recordings) – non-album track * "Children's Games" (2016, JGM Recordings) – non-album track * "Feel Alright" (2018, Omnivore Recordings)

References

External links

The Official Jeffrey Gaines WebsiteVH1's page about the artist
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gaines, Jeffrey Living people Musicians from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania African-American guitarists Singer-songwriters from Pennsylvania Guitarists from Pennsylvania American male guitarists 1966 births Chrysalis Records artists Rykodisc artists Artemis Records artists African-American male songwriters 21st-century African-American male singers 20th-century African-American male singers