Brian Ahern | |
---|---|
Born | 1945 Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada |
Genres | Folk, country |
Occupation(s) | Musician, producer |
Instrument(s) | Guitar |
Years active | 1961–present |
Website | BAAM Music |
Brian Ahern, CM (born 1945) is a Canadian record producer and guitarist. He has produced albums for a wide variety of artists, including 12 albums for Anne Murray; 11 albums for Emmylou Harris (to whom he was also married for seven years); he also produced discs for Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, George Jones, Roy Orbison, Glen Campbell, Don Williams, Jesse Winchester, and Linda Ronstadt. [1] Ahern was inducted into the Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame in 2006 in Saint John, New Brunswick. [2] He was given the Lifetime Achievement Award for Producer/Engineer during The Americana Music Association Awards at the Ryman Auditorium, in Nashville TN. on Thursday, 9 September 2010 by former wife Emmylou Harris and musician Rodney Crowell. [3]
Ahern became renowned for his recording studio Enactron Truck, which produced over 40 gold and platinum records (including Bette Midler's The Rose and Barbra Streisand's A Star Is Born ). [4]
When Emmylou Harris was contracted to Reprise, Ahern was specifically assigned to produce her records. Harris' Reprise debut Pieces of the Sky was released in 1975. Ahern and Harris assembled many of the musicians who had played on Gram Parsons solo albums, including James Burton, Glen D. Hardin, and Ron Tutt for the sessions. Ahern had signed Texas songwriter Rodney Crowell to his publishing company prior to starting work with Harris, and introduced Harris to Crowell's songs. Harris would record a number of Crowell's songs on her Ahern-produced albums including "Till I Gain Control Again," "Leaving Louisiana In The Broad Daylight," "Ashes By Now," "You're Supposed To Be Feelin' Good," "Angel Eyes (Angel Eyes)," and "I Don't Have To Crawl." Ahern produced all of Harris' Warner Bros/Reprise recordings through 1983's White Shoes , including #1 albums Elite Hotel (1975) and Luxury Liner (1977).
On 9 January 1977, Ahern and Harris were married at his home in Halifax, Nova Scotia. [5] They had one daughter together in 1979. Ahern and Harris divorced in 1984.
While in Los Angeles, Ahern also produced Rodney Crowell's debut album Ain't Living Long Like This, Johnny Cash's Silver (including the hit "Ghost Riders in the Sky"), and two albums by Mary Kay Place.
In Nashville he produced Ricky Skaggs, Marty Robbins, and George Jones. Ahern continued to produce Emmylou Harris, the last recording being All I Intended to Be in 2008.
On December 28, 2019, Governor General Julie Payette announced that Ahern had been appointed as a member of the Order of Canada.
Emmylou Harris is an American singer, songwriter, musician, bandleader, and activist. She is recognized for having a consistent artistic direction. Harris is considered one of the leading music artists behind the country rock genre in the 1970s and the Americana genre in the 1990s. Her music united both country and rock audiences in live performance settings. Her characteristic voice, musical style and songwriting have been acclaimed by critics and fellow recording artists.
James Edward Burton is an American guitarist. A member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame since 2001, Burton has also been recognized by the Rockabilly Hall of Fame and the Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum. He was elected into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2024. Critic Mark Deming writes that "Burton has a well-deserved reputation as one of the finest guitar pickers in either country or rock ... Burton is one of the best guitar players to ever touch a fretboard." He is ranked number 24 in Rolling Stone list of 250 greatest guitarists of all time.
Rodney Crowell is an American musician, known primarily for his work as a singer and songwriter in country music. Crowell has had five number one singles on Hot Country Songs, all from his 1988 album Diamonds & Dirt. He has also written songs and produced for other artists.
Right or Wrong is the second studio album by American country music singer Rosanne Cash. It was released in September 1979 by Columbia Records.
Blue Kentucky Girl is the sixth studio album by American country music artist Emmylou Harris, released in 1979. The album features Harris delving into more traditional country than the country-rock sound of her previous releases. Songs include work by Willie Nelson and Gram Parsons. Rodney Crowell's "Even Cowgirls Get the Blues" featured harmonies by Dolly Parton and Linda Ronstadt, and came out of the women's ill-fated 1978 recording sessions, where they first attempted to record a "trio" album.
Evangeline is the eighth studio album by Emmylou Harris that was composed mostly of leftover material from past recording sessions and which did not fit into any of her other albums. Songs included a remake of "Mister Sandman", "Evangeline", which she had previously performed with The Band, Rodney Crowell's "Ashes By Now", and a cover of John Fogerty's "Bad Moon Rising". Though it received mixed reviews upon its release, the album was yet another commercial success for Harris. It was certified Gold in less than a year after its release. A single release of "Mister Sandman" did well on the charts, though neither Ronstadt's nor Parton's record companies would allow their artists' vocals to be used on the single, so Harris rerecorded the song, singing all three parts for the single release. Rodney Crowell's "I Don't Have to Crawl" was released as the album's second single.
White Shoes is the tenth studio album by Emmylou Harris, released in 1983. The album includes a rockish version of "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend", a country remake of the Donna Summer hit "On the Radio", and a version of Sandy Denny's "Like an Old Fashioned Waltz". Both "In My Dreams" and "Pledging My Love" hit the #9 position on the Billboard country music singles chart in 1984.
Cimarron is the ninth studio album by Emmylou Harris that, like its predecessor, Evangeline, was composed mostly of outtakes from other recording sessions that had not fit into any of Harris' other albums. As a result, critics at the time complained that the album was "choppy" and lacked a unifying sound. Nonetheless, the album did well on the U.S. country charts, and featured three top-ten country singles: "Born to Run", "If I Needed You", and "Tennessee Rose." It was nominated for a Grammy in 1982 for Best Country Vocal Performance, Female. In 2000, Eminent Records issued Cimarron for the first time on CD, with new liner notes and a bonus track, "Colors of Your Heart."
Michael Siegfried Raphael is an American harmonica player, music producer and actor best known for his work with Willie Nelson, with whom he has toured as part of The Family since 1973.
Elite Hotel is the third studio album by American country music artist Emmylou Harris, released in 1975. Elite Hotel was Harris' second album to be released in 1975, preceded by the widely acclaimed Pieces of the Sky. Elite Hotel surpassed it on the Billboard charts, becoming Harris' first number one country album. The album yielded two number one country singles: "Together Again" and Harris' version of the Patsy Cline hit "Sweet Dreams". The song "One of These Days" made it to the number three spot. A performance of the Beatles' "Here, There and Everywhere" entered the pop charts at number 65. Harris' eclectic musical tastes were reflected in her choice of material by Hank Williams, The Beatles, Gram Parsons and Buck Owens. Harris' vocals on the album earned her the Grammy Award for Best Country Vocal Performance, Female.
Luxury Liner is the fourth studio album by American country music artist Emmylou Harris, released in 1976. The album was Harris' second successive number one country album on the Billboard charts, although, unlike the preceding Elite Hotel, there were no number one hits from this album. The highest-charting singles were the number six Chuck Berry cover "(You Never Can Tell) C'est la Vie" and the number eight "Making Believe". However, the album may be better known for including the first cover version of Townes Van Zandt's 1972 song "Pancho and Lefty", which subsequently became Van Zandt's best-known composition.
Light of the Stable is the first Christmas album by Emmylou Harris. It was originally released in 1979 by Warner Bros. Records but has since gone through several intervening releases. The 1992 Warner release was a remastered version of the original with a different album cover. The latest edition was released in 2004 by Rhino Records. It contains three newly recorded tracks in addition to remastered versions of the ten original tracks. Its cover came from the record sleeve of the original 45-rpm single version of "Light of the Stable" that was released in 1975. The title song featured harmony vocals from Neil Young, Dolly Parton and Linda Ronstadt.
Tony Brown 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.
Emory Lee Gordy Jr. is an American musician, songwriter and music producer. A former member of Emmylou Harris' backing band The Hot Band, he is best known for his association with country singer Patty Loveless, to whom he has been married since 1989. Gordy has produced and played bass guitar on nearly all of her albums, in addition to producing albums by Steve Earle, George Jones, and Alabama.
Ain't Living Long Like This is the debut studio album by American country music singer-songwriter Rodney Crowell, released in 1978 by Warner Bros. Records. It failed to enter the Top Country Albums chart. The songs, "Elvira", "Song for the Life" and "(Now and Then, There's) A Fool Such as I" were released as singles but they all failed to chart within the top 40. Despite this, Ain't Living Long Like This is considered one of Crowell's best and most influential albums. Brett Hartenbach of Allmusic says it "not only showcases his songwriting prowess, but also his ability to deliver a song, whether it's one of his own or the work of another writer". Most of the songs on this album were later covered by other artists including The Oak Ridge Boys and Alan Jackson. When the album was re-released in 2002 the font on the cover was enlarged to make it more legible.
Old Yellow Moon is a collaborative album by American country music singer-songerwriters Emmylou Harris and Rodney Crowell, released on February 26, 2013 in the United States by Nonesuch Records. It is the 27th and 14th studio album for Harris and Crowell, respectively, as well as Harris's fifth album for Nonesuch Records. The duo followed up this collaboration with The Traveling Kind two years later.
The American singer Buddy Miller has released 10 studio albums, 1 live album, and 2 compilation albums.
Henry M. "Hank" DeVito is an American musician and photographer known primarily for his pedal steel guitar work and songwriting.
John A. Ware is an American drummer and percussionist known primarily for his session and live performance work.
"I Don't Have to Crawl" is a song written by Rodney Crowell that was originally recorded by American singer and songwriter Emmylou Harris. It was the second single spawned from her 1981 album Evangeline. It reached charting positions on the North American charts, including the Canadian country top 40.
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