Jim Brickman
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James Merrill Brickman (born November 20, 1961) is an American pop songwriter, pianist and radio host. Brickman has earned two Grammy nominations for his albums ''Peace'' (2003) for Best Instrumental, and ''Faith'' (2009) for Best New Age Album.The 52nd annual Grammy Awards nominees list
He won a
Canadian Country Music Award The Canadian Country Music Association (CCMA) was founded in 1976 as the Academy of Country Music Entertainment to organize, promote and develop a Canadian country music industry. The groundwork for the association began on June 3rd, 1973 when a gr ...
, a Dove Award presented by the
Gospel Music Association The Gospel Music Association (GMA) is a nonprofit organization founded in 1964 for the purpose of supporting and promoting the development of all forms of gospel music. As of 2011, there are about 4,000 members worldwide. The GMA's membership co ...
, and was twice named Songwriter of the Year by SESAC. ''Billboard'' lists 22 of his albums reaching No. 1 on the New Age chart, and 16 of his songs reaching Top 10 on the
Adult Contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul, R&B, quie ...
chart. Four of his albums were certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Since 1997, he has hosted his own radio show, ''The Jim Brickman Show'', which is carried on radio stations throughout the United States. Brickman has collaborated with
Lady A Lady A (formerly known as Lady Antebellum) is an American country music group formed in Nashville, Tennessee, in 2006. The group is composed of Hillary Scott (lead and background vocals), Charles Kelley (lead and background vocals, guitar), ...
, Johnny Mathis,
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 m ...
,
Michael W. Smith Michael Whitaker Smith (born October 7, 1957) is an American musician who has charted in both contemporary Christian and mainstream charts. His biggest success in mainstream music was in 1991 when " Place in This World" hit No. 6 on the '' ...
,
Leslie Odom Jr. Leslie Lloyd Odom Jr. (; born August 6, 1981) is an American actor and singer. He made his acting debut on Broadway in 1998 and first gained recognition for his portrayal of Aaron Burr in the musical ''Hamilton'', which earned him a Tony Award f ...
,
Martina McBride Martina Mariea McBride (née Schiff, born July 29, 1966) is an American country music singer-songwriter and record producer. She is known for her soprano singing range and her country pop material. McBride was born in Sharon, Kansas, and reloc ...
,
Megan Hilty Megan Kathleen Hilty (born March 29, 1981) is an American actress and singer. She rose to prominence for her roles in Broadway musicals, including her performance as Glinda the Good Witch in '' Wicked'', Doralee Rhodes in '' 9 to 5: The Musical' ...
, Donny Osmond, Delta Goodrem,
Olivia Newton-John Dame Olivia Newton-John (26 September 1948 – 8 August 2022) was a British-Australian singer, actress and activist. She was a four-time Grammy Award winner whose music career included 15 top-ten singles, including 5 number-one singles on the ...
, Carly Simon, John Oates,
Five for Fighting Vladimir John Ondrasik III (born January 7, 1965), also known by his stage name Five for Fighting, is an American singer-songwriter and pianist. He is best known for his piano-based soft rock ballads, such as the top 40 hits " Superman (It's No ...
,
Michael Bolton Michael Bolotin
, The Jewish Historical Society of New Haven, 1998.
(born February 26, 1953), known professio ...
,
Gerald Levert Gerald Edward Levert (July 13, 1966 – November 10, 2006) was an American singer-songwriter and producer. Levert was best known for singing with his brother, Sean Levert, and friend Marc Gordon of the vocal group LeVert. Levert was also a ...
,
Jane Krakowski Jane Krakowski (; ; born October 11, 1968) is an American actress, comedienne, and singer. She is best known for her starring role as Jenna Maroney in the NBC satirical comedy series ''30 Rock'' (2006–2013, 2020), for which she received four ...
,
Richie McDonald Richard Vance McDonald (born February 6, 1962) is an American country music singer and songwriter. From 1998 until his departure in 2007, he was the lead singer of the group Lonestar, which recorded seven studio albums on BNA Records during his t ...
, Mat & Savanna Shaw, and many others.


Early life

Brickman was born and raised in
Shaker Heights, Ohio Shaker Heights is a city in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States. As of the 2020 Census, the city population was 29,439. Shaker Heights is an inner-ring streetcar suburb of Cleveland, abutting the eastern edge of the city's limits. In July 1911, a ...
, and began playing piano at the age of five. His Jewish parents took him to services at Suburban Temple-Kol Ami in nearby Beachwood, where Brickman was
confirmed In Christian denominations that practice infant baptism, confirmation is seen as the sealing of the covenant created in baptism. Those being confirmed are known as confirmands. For adults, it is an affirmation of belief. It involves laying on ...
in his teens. He attended Shaker Heights High School, and he performed on piano with the high school orchestra. He heard fellow student Anne Cochran sing in a musical, and introduced himself, asking her to join him in performing piano-vocal material. Together, they won a talent competition hosted by the WGCL "G98" radio station. Another high school friend named Meg Tippett convinced Brickman to join the Heights Youth Theatre as accompanist, which grew into four years as musical director. Brickman studied composition and performance at the
Cleveland Institute of Music The Cleveland Institute of Music (CIM) is a private music conservatory in Cleveland, Ohio. Founded in 1920 by Ernest Bloch, it enrolls 325 students in the conservatory and approximately 1,500 students in the preparatory and continuing educatio ...
while taking business classes at Case Western Reserve University. In 1980, Brickman founded his own advertising music company called The Brickman Arrangement, writing commercial jingles for many companies across the country such as
McDonald's McDonald's Corporation is an American multinational fast food chain, founded in 1940 as a restaurant operated by Richard and Maurice McDonald, in San Bernardino, California, United States. They rechristened their business as a hambur ...
,
Pontiac Pontiac may refer to: *Pontiac (automobile), a car brand *Pontiac (Ottawa leader) ( – 1769), a Native American war chief Places and jurisdictions Canada *Pontiac, Quebec, a municipality ** Apostolic Vicariate of Pontiac, now the Roman Catholic D ...
, City of Cleveland, Ohio Lottery, and Isuzu.


Musical career

Brickman signed to
Windham Hill Records Windham Hill Records was an independent record label that specialized in instrumental acoustic music. It was founded by guitarist William Ackerman and Anne Robinson (née McGilvray) in 1976 and was popular in the 1980s and 1990s. The label wa ...
in 1994 and released his first album, ''No Words'' featuring the song "Rocket to the Moon" which became his first solo instrumental to be ranked on the '' Billboard'' charts. The songs "Angel Eyes" and "If You Believe" gained radio airplay from Brickman's second release, ''By Heart'' on the Windham Hill label in 1995. The following year, the CD's title track, "By Heart", became his first top 20
adult contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul, R&B, quie ...
(AC) hit. In 1997, Brickman released the album ''Picture This'', adding a vocal performance, " Valentine", sung by
Martina McBride Martina Mariea McBride (née Schiff, born July 29, 1966) is an American country music singer-songwriter and record producer. She is known for her soprano singing range and her country pop material. McBride was born in Sharon, Kansas, and reloc ...
. By the end of the year, Brickman issued the first of many Christmas CDs, ''The Gift'', with the title song featuring
Collin Raye Floyd Elliot Wray (born August 22, 1960) is an American country music singer, known professionally as Collin Raye, and previously as Bubba Wray. Under the latter name, he recorded as a member of the band The Wrays between 1983 and 1987. He made ...
and Susan Ashton, topping three different charts; for this album, Brickman received a Dove Award from the
Gospel Music Association The Gospel Music Association (GMA) is a nonprofit organization founded in 1964 for the purpose of supporting and promoting the development of all forms of gospel music. As of 2011, there are about 4,000 members worldwide. The GMA's membership co ...
. He later produced several other Christmas-themed albums, ''Peace'' (2003), ''Christmas Romance'' (2006), ''Homecoming'' (2007), and ''The Hymns and Carols of Christmas'' (2008); and his two albums ''Grace'' (2005) and ''Faith'' (2008) concentrated on arrangements of well-known Christian music. During his career, four albums have sold over 500,000 copies; ''By Heart'' (1995), ''Picture This'' (1997), ''The Gift'' (1997), and ''Destiny'' (1999), qualifying them as Gold records in the United States. In November 2005, three of Brickman's albums, ''The Disney Songbook'' (2005), ''Grace'' (2005) and ''Greatest Hits'' (2004), held the top three spots on ''Billboard'''s
New Age New Age is a range of spiritual or religious practices and beliefs which rapidly grew in Western society during the early 1970s. Its highly eclectic and unsystematic structure makes a precise definition difficult. Although many scholars consi ...
chart. He also received a Grammy nomination in 2003, an SESAC "Songwriter of the Year" award, and a
Canadian Country Music Award The Canadian Country Music Association (CCMA) was founded in 1976 as the Academy of Country Music Entertainment to organize, promote and develop a Canadian country music industry. The groundwork for the association began on June 3rd, 1973 when a gr ...
for "Best Vocal/Instrumental Collaboration". The 2008 album ''Faith'' was nominated for the 2009 Grammy Award for Best New Age Album. Brickman composes a variety of music, and is known for his success in radio's
adult contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul, R&B, quie ...
format. He has collaborated with artists from all genres with songs like "Love of My Life" with
Michael W. Smith Michael Whitaker Smith (born October 7, 1957) is an American musician who has charted in both contemporary Christian and mainstream charts. His biggest success in mainstream music was in 1991 when " Place in This World" hit No. 6 on the '' ...
, "You" with
Jane Krakowski Jane Krakowski (; ; born October 11, 1968) is an American actress, comedienne, and singer. She is best known for her starring role as Jenna Maroney in the NBC satirical comedy series ''30 Rock'' (2006–2013, 2020), for which she received four ...
, "Never Alone" with country group
Lady A Lady A (formerly known as Lady Antebellum) is an American country music group formed in Nashville, Tennessee, in 2006. The group is composed of Hillary Scott (lead and background vocals), Charles Kelley (lead and background vocals, guitar), ...
, "After All These Years" with Anne Cochran, and "Never Far Away" with Christian contemporary group
Rush of Fools Rush of Fools is an American Christian rock/ contemporary Christian music band from Birmingham, Alabama. They are known for their 2007 hit single " Undo", co-written with producer Scott Davis, which was the most played song of 2007 on Adult Co ...
, among others. Because of his long association with Windham Hill, his work is sometimes classified in the
new-age New Age is a range of spiritual or religious practices and beliefs which rapidly grew in Western society during the early 1970s. Its highly eclectic and unsystematic structure makes a precise definition difficult. Although many scholars conside ...
genre, although Brickman considers his style to be broader than that. In May 2006, Brickman left Windham Hill and signed with
Savoy Label Group Savoy Records is an American record company and label established by Herman Lubinsky in 1942 in Newark, New Jersey. Savoy specialized in jazz, rhythm and blues, and gospel music. In September 2017, Savoy was acquired by Concord Bicycle Music. ...
(SLG) to release music under his own Brickman Music Group imprint. The album ''Escape'' was his first release distributed by SLG, following ''Pure Jim Brickman'', a career-spanning compilation from Windham Hill. In 2015, Brickman released the first album in the Soothe series for relaxation, meditation, yoga and massage. ''Soothe, Vol. 1'' came with an audiobook. Three more volumes in the series followed through 2019.


Radio show

Making its debut in January 1997, ''Your Weekend with Jim Brickman'' is a four-hour radio show that has been heard across the US featuring music blended with celebrity interviews, lifestyle features and entertainment reports. In 2018, ''The Jim Brickman Show Podcast'' debuted on Pandora. Two years later, his podcast moved to Spotify as ''The Brickman Bedtime Story''.


Television

Brickman filmed the
PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...
specials ''My Romance: An Evening with Jim Brickman'' (2000), ''Love Songs & Lullabies'' (2002), ''The Disney Songbook'' (2005), and ''Beautiful World'' (2009). He has appeared on various TV shows such as '' Good Morning America'' and ''
Live with Regis and Kathie Lee ''Live with Kelly and Ryan'' (or simply ''Live'') is an American syndicated morning talk show hosted by Kelly Ripa and Ryan Seacrest. Executive produced by Michael Gelman, the ''Live with...'' show formula has aired under various hosts since ...
''.


Personal life

Brickman grew up in Cleveland. He currently has a residence there as well as in New York City.


Other media

Brickman appeared on the September–October 2013 cover of ''
Making Music Magazine ''Making Music'' magazine was founded in 2004 as a bimonthly lifestyle music magazine devoted to the recreational musician and all instruments and genres of music. The publication's tagline is "Better Living Through Recreational Music Making." T ...
'' to discuss his life and career.


Brickhouse Direct

Brickman founded Brickhouse Direct (BHD) in 2003 to provide internet marketing and e-commerce solutions. They specialized in promoting new acts and reinvigorating the careers of veteran musicians. In 2005, Brickhouse bought the online marketing firm Viawerk, bringing Viawerk co-founder Rod Flauhaus on board as partner. Flauhaus co-wrote the album ''Homecoming''. Brickman's younger brother Michael served as president of Brickhouse. The label also published works by saxophonist
Dave Koz David Stephen Koz (born March 27, 1963) is an American smooth jazz saxophonist, composer, record producer, and radio personality based in California. Early life Dave Koz was born in Encino, California, to Jewish parents: Norman, a dermatologis ...
, comedian Anita Renfroe, singer
Chris Sligh Charles Christopher Sligh (born April 13, 1978) is an American singer, songwriter, producer and pastor who was a finalist on the sixth season of ''American Idol'', finishing in tenth place. He has released 14 albums since 2001 as a solo artist, wi ...
and singer
Mark Masri Mark Masri (born 23 August 1973) is a Canadian singer, songwriter and producer. He is signed to EMI record label and has released five albums: ''Mark Masri'', ''La Voce'', ''Christmas Is...'', ''A Christmas Time with You'', and ''Intimo'', as we ...
. Brickman's own 2012 album ''Blessings'' was released on the Brickhouse Direct label.


Discography


Albums


Singles

*A "Valentine" was originally only released to Adult Contemporary and charted on Hot Country Songs as an album cut. It was remixed and released to country radio the following year. It also peaked at No. 50 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. *B "Sending You a Little Christmas" also peaked at No. 15 on
Hot Christian Songs Hot Christian Songs is a music chart published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine in the United States. It ranks the popularity of Christian songs using the same methodology developed for the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, the magazine's flagship songs ...
. *C "Escape" peaked at No. 17 on Hot Contemporary Jazz Songs. *D Peak position from Christmas version titled "Merry Christmas Beautiful".


Music videos


Awards

*1998 –
Canadian Country Music Association The Canadian Country Music Association (CCMA) was founded in 1976 as the Academy of Country Music Entertainment to organize, promote and develop a Canadian country music industry. The groundwork for the association began on June 3rd, 1973 when a gr ...
Award, Vocal Collaboration of the Year, for "Your Love" with
Michelle Wright Michelle Wright (born July 1, 1961) is a Canadian country music artist. She is one of the country's most widely recognized and awarded female country singers of the 1990s, winning the Canadian Country Music Association's Fans' Choice Award twice ...
*1998 – Dove Award presented by the
Gospel Music Association The Gospel Music Association (GMA) is a nonprofit organization founded in 1964 for the purpose of supporting and promoting the development of all forms of gospel music. As of 2011, there are about 4,000 members worldwide. The GMA's membership co ...
for "The Gift" with
Collin Raye Floyd Elliot Wray (born August 22, 1960) is an American country music singer, known professionally as Collin Raye, and previously as Bubba Wray. Under the latter name, he recorded as a member of the band The Wrays between 1983 and 1987. He made ...
and Susan Ashton *1998 – SESAC Songwriter of the Year *1999 – SESAC Songwriter of the Year *2002 – SESAC: Performance award, for ''Simple Things'' *2003 – SESAC: New Adult Contemporary album, for ''Love Songs and Lullabies'' *2003 – Grammy nomination for Best Pop Instrumental Album, for ''Peace'' *2009 – Grammy nomination for Best New Age Album, for ''Faith''


References


External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Brickman, Jim 1961 births Living people Songwriters from Ohio American pop pianists Composers for piano Cleveland Institute of Music alumni Jewish American musicians Jewish American songwriters Light music composers New-age pianists Ballad musicians Musicians from Cleveland Musicians from Shaker Heights, Ohio American country pianists American male pianists Windham Hill Records artists American radio personalities 20th-century American pianists Case Western Reserve University alumni Country musicians from Ohio 21st-century American pianists 20th-century American male musicians 21st-century American male musicians American male songwriters