Brown had played piano for Elvis Presley. He toured for much of Elvis’s final two years of touring.
BIOGRAPHICAL DETAILS
Full Name: Pernell Elvin Roberts Jr
Description: Record Producer, USA
Known For: Pianist for Elvis Presley.
Instruments: Piano
Music Styles: Country
Location: NC, United States of America
Date Born: 11th December 1946
Location Born: Greensboro, North Carolina, United States of America
CONTACT DETAILS
BIOGRAPHICAL PROFILE
Tony Brown
An American country music record producer.
Tony Brown (born December 11, 1946) is an American record producer and pianist, known primarily for his work in country music. A former member of the Stamps Quartet and backing musician for Emmylou Harris, Brown has primarily worked as a producer since the late 1980s. He is known primarily for his production work with Reba McEntire, Vince Gill, and George Strait.
He joined J. D. Sumner and the Stamps Quartet in 1965. Brown also played piano for Elvis Presley. He toured with the TCB Band for much of Presley’s final two years and was a part of the 1976 “Jungle Room” recording sessions at Graceland. In 1979, he joined Emmylou Harris’s backing band, the Hot Band, taking over for former Presley sideman Glen D. Hardin. Brown stayed with Harris until 1981. Later, he became a session musician in Nashville and toured with acts such as Rosanne Cash.
After leaving that position, Brown became a producer, producing albums for several artists. He was also the president of MCA Nashville in the 1990s. Among these acts were Tracy Byrd, Steve Earle, Vince Gill, The Mavericks, McBride & the Ride, Reba McEntire, Rodney Crowell, Wynonna, Lyle Lovett, Brooks & Dunn, Trisha Yearwood, Marty Stuart, Patty Loveless, Kelly Willis, Pat Green, Chely Wright and George Strait. In the 1980s, he was also the keyboardist for The Cherry Bombs, Crowell’s backing band. His career has yielded over 100 #1 singles and record sales from his signings and productions have exceeded the 100 million mark.
In 2002, Brown exited his position at MCA and co-founded Universal South Records, a joint venture with Universal Records and long-time record executive Tim DuBois. The label’s roster included Joe Nichols, Matthew West, Allison Moorer, Rockie Lynne, Shooter Jennings, Cross Canadian Ragweed, Bering Strait, Katrina Elam, Holly Williams and Matt Jenkins.
He produced the majority of tracks for one of 2012’s highest grossing albums, Tuskegee, with award winning artist Lionel Richie, featuring duets with Blake Shelton, Jason Aldean, Darius Rucker, Tim McGraw, Jimmy Buffett, Little Big Town, Kenny Rogers and Willie Nelson.
A four-time Grammy Award winner, he has also been the recipient of four Academy of Country Music Awards, including the prestigious ACM Producer of the Year Award. In 1994, with numerous Gold, Platinum, and multi-Platinum albums to his credit, he was honored with a Grammy nomination for Producer of the Year, the first time a member of the country music recording industry had been in contention for that award since 1979.
Commercial success aside, Brown is often thought to be the founding father of the alternative ‘Americana’ country movement, having signed (and produced) genre bending artists such as Rodney Crowell, Steve Earle, Joe Ely, Lyle Lovett, Kelly Willis, Todd Snider, Allison Moorer, The Mavericks, Shooter Jennings and more.
Personal life
Brown’s first marriage was to Janie Levin, with whom he had two children: Brennan and Brandi. He was later married to Anastasia Pruitt from 1999 until their divorce in 2009. In February 2013, he married Jamie Antee. The marriage ended in divorce in June 2014.
During a business dinner on April 11, 2003, Brown fell down a flight of stairs, resulting in a brain injury. He underwent two surgeries and fully recovered.
External links:
Crowell, and George Strait. In the 1980s, he was also the keyboardist for The Cherry Bombs, Crowell’s backing band.
In 2002, Brown exited his position at MCA and co-founded Universal South Records, which merged with Show Dog Music in 2009 to become Show Dog-Universal Music.
Brown had played piano for Elvis Presley. He toured for much of Elvis’s final two years of touring and was a part of the legendary “Jungle Room” sessions held at Graceland.
Among these acts were: Tracy Byrd, Steve Earle, Vince Gill, The Mavericks, McBride & the Ride, Reba McEntire, Brooks & Dunn, Heidi Newfield and George Strait.
In the 1980s, he was also the keyboardist in The Cherry Bombs, Rodney Crowell’s backing band.
The first major hit he had as a producer was “When I Call Your Name” by Vince Gill.
External links:
- Southern Gospel history: Tony Brown
- Biography
- From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia