Jimmy Iovine
Jimmy Iovine | |
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 Jimmy I with singer Mary J. Blige. | |
| Website | Jimmy Iovine |
James "Jimmy" Iovine (born March 11, 1953) is an American music producer, entrepreneur and chairman of Interscope-Geffen-A&M.
Biography
Born in Brooklyn, Iovine began his career as a recording engineer in the mid-1970s, working with John Lennon and Bruce Springsteen. He went on to produce albums for U2 (Rattle & Hum), Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, Stevie Nicks, Simple Minds, Dire Straits, Flame featuring Marge Raymond and Patti Smith. Iovine established Interscope Records in 1991 with the release of Gerardo's Mo' Ritmo. It went on to become Interscope-Geffen-A&M following Universal's acquisition of PolyGram when Iovine was named co-chairman; in 2001, he became chairman.
He is credited with having given Eminem's demo tape to Dr. Dre who signed him to his Aftermath label. In 2002, Iovine co-produced the hit Eminem movie, 8 Mile and in 2004, he and Paul Rosenberg signed a first-look feature deal with Paramount Pictures and MTV Films for their Interscope/Shady/Aftermath banner. Iovine co-produced the first film under the deal, Get Rich or Die Tryin', starring 50 Cent. In January 2008, Iovine, Dr. Dre and Monster Cable released "Beats by Dr. Dre" high-performance headphones. In 2003 he was co-executive producer of Enrique Iglesias's album Seven. Iovine is also an executive producer with LeBron James and Maverick Carter of the documentary More Than A Game which was released in the fall of 2009.
Work outside Interscope
He was formerly married to writer and former model Vicki Iovine, author of The Girlfriend's Guide to Pregnancy, and has four children and an extended family living in Staten Island, New York. He is also credited with opening the first all male "Jello Ballet" theater in Brooklyn, New York. The theater, called "Green Bunny," is co-owned by Joe Sylvester.[citation needed] Jimmy will be a mentor on the tenth season of the U.S singing competition show American Idol.[citation needed] He owns the Beats By Dr. Dre brand with Dr. Dre under exclusive license to Monster Cable Products.