Jonathan Bigelow "John" Hornsby (born June 13, 1956,

Williamsburg, Virginia Williamsburg is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, it had a population of 15,425. Located on the Virginia Peninsula, Williamsburg is in the northern part of the Hampton Roads metropolitan area. It is ...

) is an American composer, musician and

actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...

. He is the brother of musician and composer

Bruce Hornsby Bruce Randall Hornsby (born November 23, 1954) is an American singer-songwriter and pianist. His music draws from folk rock, jazz, bluegrass, folk, Southern rock, country rock, jam band, rock, heartland rock, and blues rock musical traditions ...

, and the two have collaborated often. Hornsby co-wrote seven of nine songs on the multi-platinum album ''

The Way It Is The Way It Is may refer to: Music * ''The Way It Is'' (Bruce Hornsby album), by Bruce Hornsby and the Range ** "The Way It Is" (Bruce Hornsby song), the title song * ''The Way It Is'' (Glenn Hughes album), or the title song * ''The Way It Is' ...

'', including the top-five hit "

Mandolin Rain "Mandolin Rain" is the third track from ''The Way It Is (Bruce Hornsby album), The Way It Is'', the debut album for Bruce Hornsby and the Range. The song was co-written by Bruce Hornsby and his brother John Hornsby, John, and featured Range member ...

". Other tracks on the album helped establish what some labeled the "Virginia sound", a mixture of

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 ...

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

, and bluegrass, with an observational Southern feel. Bruce Hornsby's group,

Bruce Hornsby and the Range Bruce Randall Hornsby (born November 23, 1954) is an American singer-songwriter and pianist. His music draws from folk rock, jazz, bluegrass, folk, Southern rock, country rock, jam band, rock, heartland rock, and blues rock musical traditions ...

, would go on to win the

Grammy Award for Best New Artist The Grammy Award for Best New Artist has been awarded since 1959. Years reflect the year in which the Grammy Awards were handed out, for records released in the previous year. The award was not presented in 1967. The official guidelines are as ...

in 1986. The Hornsby brothers co-wrote "

Jacob's Ladder Jacob's Ladder ( he, סֻלָּם יַעֲקֹב ) is a ladder leading to heaven that was featured in a dream the biblical Patriarch Jacob had during his flight from his brother Esau in the Book of Genesis (chapter 28). The significance of th ...

", which became a #1 hit for Huey Lewis and the News in 1987, and "

The Valley Road "The Valley Road" is a song recorded by Bruce Hornsby and the Range. Hornsby co-wrote the song with his brother John Hornsby and co-produced it with Neil Dorfsman. The song is included on Bruce Hornsby and the Range's 1988 album, ''Scenes from the ...

", for the group's 1988 follow-up album ''

Scenes from the Southside ''Scenes from the Southside'' is the second album by Bruce Hornsby and the Range. The single " The Valley Road" was Hornsby's third (and last) Top 10 U.S. hit, peaking at number five on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, and also his first number one on ...

''. Hornsby contributed to six

film soundtracks A soundtrack is recorded music accompanying and synchronised to the images of a motion picture, drama, book, television program, radio program, or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack of ...

and was an

in ''A Place to Grow'' in 1998, playing one of the "Centennial Singers."IMDb.com
/ref> He is a graduate of the University of Virginia Law School, class of 1987. He lives in Charlottesville, Virginia, with his wife, Paige, and daughters Charlotte, Emily, Jane and son Nathan.

References

1956 births Living people American male composers 21st-century American composers University of Virginia School of Law alumni Songwriters from Virginia People from Williamsburg, Virginia {{US-songwriter-stub