Jerry Harrison
Jerry Harrison | |
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Background information | |
Birth name | Jeremiah Griffin Harrison |
Born | Milwaukee, Wisconsin, U.S. | February 21, 1949
Genres | New wave, indie pop, rock and roll, art rock |
Occupation(s) | Musician, songwriter, record producer |
Instrument(s) | Vocals, keyboards, guitar |
Years active | 1971–present |
Labels | EMI, Sire/Warner Bros. Records |
Jeremiah Griffin Harrison (born February 21, 1949) is an American songwriter, musician, producer, and entrepreneur.[1] He began his professional music career as a member of the cult band the Modern Lovers before becoming keyboardist and guitarist for the new wave band Talking Heads.[2] In 2002, Harrison was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Talking Heads.[3] Since Talking Heads went on indefinite hiatus in 1991, Harrison has focused more on producing other bands, a role he started while still with Talking Heads, beginning with the Violent Femmes third album The Blind Leading the Naked in 1986. During the 1990s, he produced a number of hit albums for bands such as Live, The Verve Pipe, Big Head Todd and the Monsters, and Kenny Wayne Shepherd among others. He has also released three albums of solo music (all while Talking Heads were still active) and has participated in a number of partial reunions of Talking Heads. In 1999, he helped found the online music community GarageBand.com.
Career
Harrison was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin,[1] and graduated from Shorewood High School (Wisconsin).[4] He later attended Harvard University to study architecture, at which point he met Jonathan Richman, and they formed The Modern Lovers.[5] Harrison was introduced to Richman by mutual friend and journalist Danny Fields and the pair bonded over their shared love of the Velvet Underground. He joined The Modern Lovers in early 1971, playing on their debut album in 1972 (not released until 1976), and left in February 1974,[1] when Richman wished to perform his songs more quietly.
Harrison joined Talking Heads in 1977, after the release of their debut single "Love → Building on Fire".[6] Harrison was the oldest member of the band.
Harrison's solo albums include The Red and the Black, Casual Gods, and Walk on Water.[1] The single "Rev It Up" reached a high-point of number seven on the US Mainstream Charts in April 1988.[7] The song appeared in the 1992 movie The Prom, and an instrumental version appeared in the 1986 movie Something Wild.
After the 1991 breakup of Talking Heads, Harrison turned to producing and worked on albums by bands including Hockey, Violent Femmes, The BoDeans, The Von Bondies, General Public, Live, Crash Test Dummies, The Verve Pipe, Rusted Root, Stroke 9, The Bogmen, Black 47, The Mayfield Four, Of A Revolution, No Doubt, Josh Joplin Group, The Black and White Years, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Bamboo Shoots, the String Cheese Incident and The Gracious Few.[1] He was also Chairman of the Board for Garageband.com, an internet music resource he co-founded in 1999.[8]
Film work
Harrison, as a member of Talking Heads, is featured throughout the 1984 concert film Stop Making Sense, directed by Jonathan Demme. Also during the Talking Heads era, Harrison made cameo appearances as Billy Idol, Kid Creole and Prince look-alike lip-synchers in David Byrne's 1986 film True Stories. Harrison also had a small part in the 2006 film The Darwin Awards as "Guy in Bar No. 1" alongside John Doe of the band X.[9]
Discography
Talking Heads
Solo albums
Year | Title | US | AUS[10] | NZ | AUT | GER | SUI |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1981 | The Red and the Black | - | - | - | - | - | - |
1988 | Casual Gods | 78 | 18 | 4 | 17 | 31 | 10 |
1990 | Walk on Water | 188 | - | - | - | - | - |
Singles
Year | Title | US Main. | US Modern | AUS | NZ | GER | UK |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1984 | "Five Minutes" | - | - | - | - | - | - |
1987 | "Rev It Up" | 7 | - | 3 | 6 | 45 | 90 |
1987 | "Man with a Gun" | - | - | 17 | 15 | - | - |
1988 | "Cherokee Chief" | - | - | 92 | - | - | - |
1990 | "Flying Under Radar" | 42 | 13 | 98 | - | - | - |
The Heads
Year | Title | US | AUS | NZ | AUT | GER | SUI |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1996 | No Talking Just Head | - | - | - | - | - | - |
Production
References
- ^ a b c d e Colin Larkin, ed. (2003). The Virgin Encyclopedia of Eighties Music (Third ed.). Virgin Books. pp. 236/7. ISBN 1-85227-969-9.
- ^ Bush, John. "Biography – Jerry Harrison". AllMusic. Retrieved March 21, 2012.
- ^ "Talking Heads". Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Retrieved April 16, 2018.
- ^ "Shorewood stars align for fund-raiser". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, June 25, 2010. Accessed March 17, 2012.
- ^ Malcolm Jack (September 21, 2016). "The Guardian - Talking Heads – 10 of the best". The Guardian. Retrieved November 14, 2018.
- ^ Palmer, Robert (April 14, 1982). "The Pop Life". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved August 15, 2020.
- ^ https://www.billboard.com/charts/hot-mainstream-rock-tracks/1988-04-16
- ^ "Jerry Harrison Bio". Talking-heads.nl. Retrieved November 5, 2019.
- ^ Dunne, Susan (August 31, 2007). "'DARWIN AWARDS' A STUPIDITY PRIZE WINNER". Hartford Courant. Archived from the original on October 8, 2020. Retrieved October 8, 2020.
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timestamp mismatch; October 9, 2020 suggested (help) - ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 134. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
External links
- 1949 births
- 20th-century American guitarists
- 20th-century American keyboardists
- American male guitarists
- American new wave musicians
- Record producers from Wisconsin
- American rock guitarists
- Guitarists from Wisconsin
- Harvard University alumni
- Living people
- The Modern Lovers members
- Musicians from Milwaukee
- Sire Records artists
- Talking Heads members
- Shorewood High School (Wisconsin) alumni