Dallas Austin | |
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Birth name | Dallas L. Austin |
Born | Columbus, Georgia, U.S. | December 29, 1970
Genres | |
Occupations |
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Instruments | Keyboards, drums, harmonica, guitar |
Years active | 1989–present |
Labels | Rowdy, Limp Records, FREEWORLD |
Website | www |
Dallas L. Austin (born December 29, 1970) is an American songwriter, record producer, and film producer from Columbus, Georgia. [1]
This Early Life section relies largely or entirely on a single source .(October 2024) |
During a 2019 interview with DJ Vlad, [2] Dallas Austin detailed previously unknown or unconfirmed events involving his life and career. Austin was born in Columbus, Georgia and graduated from a Columbus High school. His mother and father owned a night club called “The Party Club”, where Austin would play instruments and DJ’d during the day time. After his father died, Austin’s mother moved her family and her restaurant/nightclub downtown and lived next door to the restaurant. [2]
As a child, Austin became interested in music at the age of 7 and asked his mother to buy him a keyboard. She was initially reluctant because she thought he would become bored and quickly move on to a different interest. In order to convince his mother to make the purchase, he proposed she initially buy him a small machine. In addition, he successfully negotiated terms for obtaining new instruments: if he continued to make progress with learning how to use the machines she purchased, she would buy him larger, more intricate keyboards on a yearly basis. [2]
As young men, Austin’s two brothers were frequently in and out of jail. When he was a teenager, one of his brothers threw a keyboard across his bedroom. This upset Austin greatly, as he felt music was his way out of the environment in which his family lived, and ended up as a defining moment in Austin’s life. He felt that he could no longer continue living in Columbus and boarded a bus to Atlanta with the intention of living with his aunt. In order to keep their family together, his mother decided to move as well, although it took several months before she and Austin’s brothers could join. After she saved money and began working in an Atlanta restaurant, the family was able to reunite; however, the Ku Klux Klan were a persistent presence in the neighborhoods in which the family lived. [2]
Austin got his start in the music industry when his manager William "Vybe Chyle" Burke introduced him to his business partner, Klymaxx member Joyce Irby. [3] Joyce was the "way out" Dallas had been looking for. She enlisted as an exclusive producer for her company Diva One Productions. [3] Though Joyce believed in Dallas' ability, the record labels didn't see it the same way. Irby and Burke went from label to label shopping Austin's work but they just couldn't hear it. Joyce was determined that the world would hear Dallas Austin. In 1989, she scored a solo deal with Motown Records and had 3 charted Billboard singles, most notable "Mr. DJ" with Doug E. Fresh which was co-produced by Dallas peaking at #2. Finally there was a real breakthrough. Austin went on to produce the songs "My Music" and "I Will Always Love You" for Troop's 1989 album Attitude . [4] When he was starting out as a producer, he would frequent a local skating rink and records that he produced would be played over the sound system; T-Boz, his future collaborator of TLC fame, was also a frequent patron. [2] He used to take his keyboard to school with him, but his mother expressed annoyance at this, telling his school guidance counselor that she did not feel his production career would work out, but the counselor told her that because Austin had kept at his hobby for so long (it was his eleventh grade year), then perhaps it would indeed work out, and suggested that Austin's mother back him. His mother, upon hearing this from a third party, agreed to support Austin. Austin, who was nearly finished with his compulsory education, expressed his wish to cease going to school. His mother, though not pleased with this, allowed him to do so. He spent a large amount of his time at the aforementioned skating rink, where the owners had built a studio for an Atlanta production collective, Organized Noize. All of this was around 1986. [2]
In 1990, Austin branched out on his own. His work on Motown led him to work on albums by other acts signed to the label - the first being the little known group Glasswurk. [3] Austin later helmed the bulk of the debut albums for the Motown signees Another Bad Creation and Boyz II Men. [3] [5] When he telephoned Joyce Irby to say that he was to work with Boyz II Men, she told him that she was going to "[sue] everybody" and immediately thereafter hung up the phone. Austin initially did not understand why she said this, but would later find out that it was because he was considered a "work for hire" employee of Irby. He consulted a lawyer and the lawyer said that although the employment contracts to which he was a party were not favorable to him, they were fair enough so he advised Austin to keep working under them. Irby did not sue anybody and everything worked out as Austin was, as aforementioned, able to produce on the debut Boyz II Men record. [2] When DJ Vlad asked Austin why he only produced one song on Boyz II Men's second album, he said it was because he "didn't like them" after the first album. He said in turn that this was because the members had ostensibly become vain since their success had begun, paraphrasing them emphasizing costly tangibles with statements such as "Man [...] I can't finish counting the diamonds in my Rolex right now.", and "we gotta let somebody win [referring to music industry awards] this year; good thing we're not there." [2]
Austin was later recruited by L.A. Reid and Babyface to work on a couple of projects for their record label, LaFace Records. [3] The duo recruited him to work on the debut album for TLC. [3] From there, he was granted a deal for his short-lived group Highland Place Mobsters, which was Austin joining Theophilus "Chip" Glass of Glasswurk who were formerly signed to Motown. [3] through Joyce Irby's Diva One Productions.
In 2014 Austin appeared on The Ellen DeGeneres Show as a co-host. [6]
After his success with other acts, Austin was recruited by After 7 to produce a few songs on their second album, Takin' My Time . Austin then worked with Madonna on her 1994 album Bedtime Stories . In the 2000s, Austin worked with pop acts and produced hit singles like TLC's "Unpretty", Pink's songs "Don't Let Me Get Me" and "Just Like a Pill", and Gwen Stefani's 2004 single "Cool".
Austin has three children, including a son, Tron Austin, born in 1997 to TLC singer Chilli, and a niece, whom he helped raise after the death of his brother, Claude Austin, in 1994. [7]
Austin owned a personal recording studio named D.A.R.P., an acronym for "Dallas Austin's Recording Projects in which Alvin Speights was his primary mixing engineer." [10] It was later renamed UAMG Studios, short for "Urban Angels Music Group." [11]
Boyz II Men is an American vocal harmony group from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, best known for emotional ballads and a cappella harmonies. Formed in 1985, they have been a trio composed of baritone Nathan Morris alongside tenors Wanyá Morris and Shawn Stockman since 2003. During the 1990s, Boyz II Men was a quartet with bass singer, Michael McCary, who left the group in 2003 due to health issues that were diagnosed as multiple sclerosis.
Kenneth Brian Edmonds, better known by his stage name Babyface, is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. He has written and produced over 26 number-one R&B hits throughout his career and has won 13 Grammy Awards. He was ranked number 20 on NME's 50 of The Greatest Producers Ever list.
For Real is an American R&B and soul quartet, that formed in 1990. In the latter part of that decade they were nominated for a Billboard Music Award and a Soul Train Music Award. The ladies have now reunited and are touring.
Cooleyhighharmony is the debut studio album by American R&B group Boyz II Men, released by Motown Records on April 30, 1991. The album was written mainly by Boyz II Men members Nathan Morris, Wanya Morris and Shawn Stockman, and produced by Dallas Austin and the Characters. Cooleyhighharmony's title is a tribute to a real high school in Chicago: Cooley Vocational High School.
112 is the debut album from the American R&B group 112. It was released on August 27, 1996, as one of the first R&B records on Sean Combs' Bad Boy label. The majority of the album was produced primarily by Combs, Tim & Bob and one of the first Hitmen, Stevie J. It also included contributions from group member Daron Jones, Al B Sure!, Kyle West, Arnold Hennings and Boyz II Men vocalist Wanya Morris. The album features label mates the late The Notorious B.I.G., Mase and Faith Evans. Three singles were released from the album: "Only You", "Come See Me" and "Cupid". All of the singles had music videos released.
William McKinley Hutchison, better known as Willie Hutch, was an American singer, songwriter as well as a record producer and recording artist for the Motown record label during the 1970s and 1980s.
The Remix Collection is a 1995 remix LP for R&B group Boyz II Men, issued by Motown Records. Released against the group's wishes, it began a chain of events that led to the eventual dissolution of Boyz II Men's relationship with Motown.
Joi Elaine Gilliam, known mononymously as Joi, is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer associated with the Dungeon Family collective based in Atlanta, Georgia, and as such often performs with OutKast, Organized Noize, and Goodie Mob. Her signature songs include "Sunshine & the Rain", "Lick", and "Freedom".
Miss Thang is the debut studio album by American R&B recording artist Monica. It was released by Rowdy Records and distributed through the Arista label on July 18, 1995, in the United States. Recorded throughout her early teenage years, the album was conceived under the guidance of Rowdy head Dallas Austin who would emerge as a tutor and father figure to Monica and serve as Miss Thang's sole executive producer. Austin recruited protégés from his DARP production camp such as Tim & Bob, Arnold Hennings, and Colin Wolfe as well as Daryl Simmons, and Soulshock & Karlin to work on the album. It incorporates a wide range of contemporary genres such as soul, pop, hip hop and blues.
Rowdy Records is a record label distributed through Universal Records, Motown Records and Republic Records. It was founded by record producer Dallas Austin in 1992, and the precursor to his entertainment company, Freeworld Entertainment.
The Pendulum Vibe is the debut album of American recording artist Joi, released on June 28, 1994, by EMI Records. She recorded the album in three weeks with producer and mentor Dallas Austin at D.A.R.P. Studios in Atlanta. The Pendulum Vibe is a neo soul album that incorporates R&B, funk, and psychedelic soul styles. The songs are about themes of enlightenment, personal freedom, intimate relationships, and womanism.
Sammie is the second studio album by American singer Sammie. It was released by Rowdy Records on October 10, 2006 in the United States. His first album since 2000's From the Bottom to the Top, the singer teamed with producers Bryan Michael Cox, Dallas Austin, Jazze Pha, Daron Jones, Adonis Shropshire and Novel to work on much of the material.
Tim & Bob, also known as Funktwons, were an American songwriting and production duo from Peoria, Illinois. The duo has been credited on the Billboard Hot 100 top ten-singles "Thong Song" by Sisqó, "Slow Down" by Bobby V and "They Don't Know" by Jon B., as well as the top 40-singles "So Into You" by Tamia and "Come See Me" by 112. They discovered the latter act in Atlanta during the late 1990s, and have since worked extensively with acts such as Bobby V, Boyz II Men, Donell Jones and Monica to produce one or more of their albums, respectively. They disbanded in 2014 to separately pursue solo work.
Takin' My Time is the second studio album by R&B trio After 7. It peaked at #76 on the Billboard 200. It was their first album to be released under Virgin Records after being acquired by EMI Music in 1992. The album is notable for being their first and only album without any songs produced by L.A. Reid and Babyface. Instead, they contribute as writers, with Reid co-writing the songs "Can He Love U Like This" and "G.S.T.", and Babyface writing "Truly Something Special" and "Love By Day/Love By Night". The production was handed over to Daryl Simmons & Kayo, who co-produced and co-wrote many of the songs on their self-titled debut.
"Damaged" is a song by American recording group TLC. It was written by band member Tionne "T-Boz" Watkins and long time contributor Dallas Austin and recorded for the band's fourth studio album, 3D (2002), the latter also serving as its producer. The lyrics of the song talk about freedom and healing from hurt and pain.
Edward Ferrell is an American record producer, DJ, songwriter, and record executive. With business partner Heavy D, he formed the hip hop group Heavy D and the Boyz in 1985, for which he served as the de facto producer and DJ. The group signed with Uptown Records to release seven commercially successful studio albums. He served as Vice President of A&R of LaFace Records from to 1993 to 1995, Executive Vice President of Motown from 1995 to 1997, and Executive Consultant to chairman L.A. Reid of Def Jam Recordings from 2005 to 2007. He also founded the record label Untouchables Entertainment Group, through which he discovered and signed R&B singer Donell Jones.
Joyce "Fenderella" Irby is an American singer, songwriter, bass guitarist and producer. She was the co-lead vocalist of the all-female band Klymaxx. Irby has also worked with artists such as Lloyd, Troop, Sammie, The SOS Band and Shalamar.
Freeworld Entertainment was a record label formed in 1997 by Dallas Austin and Kevin Czinger.
Attitude is the second album by new jack swing group Troop released by Atlantic Records on October 13, 1989. The album features numerous debuts by a few well known musicians. The songs "My Music" and "I Will Always Love You" marked the debut of record producer Dallas Austin, who co-produced the songs with his mentor Joyce "Fenderella" Irby - a former member of the band Klymaxx. A then-unknown Trent Reznor appeared as one of the recording engineers on the Gerald Levert produced songs "That's My Attitude" and "For You". The video version of the single "Spread My Wings" was one of the first songs remixed by hip hop producer Clark Kent.
Troy Christopher Taylor is an American record producer, singer, and songwriter from New Haven, Connecticut, best known for his discovery and mentorship of R&B singer Trey Songz. He was formerly a member of production collective The Characters, and founded the record label Songbook Entertainment in 2002, through which he signed Songz the following year. Throughout his career, Taylor has produced and worked extensively with the singer, as well as other prominent R&B acts including the Isley Brothers, Aretha Franklin, Patti LaBelle, Whitney Houston, and Boyz II Men.
Austin is married and has four children including a son, Tron, born in 1997 during his relationship with TLC's Rozonda "Chili"[sic] Thomas..