George Pajon Jr. | |
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 Pajon in 2016 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | George Pajon Jr. |
| Born | April 10, 1969 Los Angeles, California, United States |
| Genres | |
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| Instrument(s) |
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| Years active | 1986–present |
George Pajon Jr. (born April 10, 1969) is an American guitarist, songwriter and record producer.
George Pajon Jr. "attended private St. Matthias Elementary School, a Catholic K-8 school, in Huntington Park. Growing up in conservative Downey, Pajon was 9 when he picked up his first guitar. He played his second concert in the school's cafeteria. He worked hard to collect enough credits so that by his senior year he only needed to attend half a day's worth of classes, leaving more time for his guitar. Pajon graduated from Downey High School in 1987." [1]
George was one of The Black Eyed Peas' key performing and recording musicians, having written, produced, and co-written many of the group's most popular songs. [2]
He has recording credits as a songwriter, producer or musician with Fergie, Carlos Santana, Sting, Ricky Martin, will.i.am, Macy Gray, Candy Dulfer, Los Lonely Boys, Cheryl Cole, "Weird Al" Yankovic, Kelis, Richard Cheese, Nas, Damian Marley, Sérgio Mendes, J.Period, John Legend, Jully Black, Venus Brown, M. Pokora, Klaus Badelt, Kidz Bop Kids, Kim Dotcom, Tre Hardson and various other artists. [3] [4]
Pajon has contributed to movie soundtracks such as The Best Man Holiday , Poseidon , Scary Movie , Made , Barbershop 2: Back in Business , Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights , Our Family Wedding , Knight and Day and Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle among others in either a songwriter, record producer or musician role. [5] Pajon has contributed to television soundtracks such as Live from Studio Five , The Voice of the Philippines , The Voice UK , The X Factor and Dancing with the Stars among others. [6] He co-wrote the theme and title credit to Samurai Jack , the animated cartoon series. [7]
In 2012, it was reported that Pajon had sued Sean Larkin, the Black Eyed Peas' former manager, for breach of contract regarding Larkin's failure to appropriate income taxes. [8] [9]
In 2015, Pajon joined Nick Gaffaney's duo act Cairo Knife Fight. [10] [11] [12] [13]
In 2009, The Downey Patriot writes: "We asked George Pajon Jr. to provide tips for aspiring musicians. His advice: 'There are 20,000 guitar players in Downey alone. What makes you special from the guy next to you? Passion, determination is what sets you aside. Set goals, never go backwards. When you do, stop yourself and reevaluate. I frustrated the hell out of every band I was in. I wasn't going to flounder. Becoming content is the enemy of musicians. You'll never find your true voice if you don't challenge yourself'." [14]
In 2009, the wedding of George Pajon and Naomi Medina [15] took place in Mexico's Xcaret and was televised on WE Tv's Platinum Weddings . [16]
In 2012, The San Jose Mercury News finds Pajon making time for the John Lennon Educational Tour Bus: "Black Eyed Peas guitarist George Pajon Jr. also volunteered his services, flying up from L.A. to work with Solomon and the other young musicians, who seemed a bit awestruck from being able to work with a huge star like Pajon." Pajon said he, in turn, was blown away by the collaboration with young talented musicians. "Overwhelming," he said. "So much musical knowledge, at such a young age. It's really inspiring to me. We've been involved with the bus guys since 1999, and they've been really inspiring to us over the years," Pajon said. "This was a welcome break for me. I could use a dose of inspiration, and it's been absolutely great to see young creative minds at work here." [17]
In January 2004, Pajon released his first solo effort entitled Fried Plantains on Kulafa Recordings. [18] [19] [20] "The new debut release by guitarist George Pajon Jr., “Fried Plaintains,” deserves a key spot among the great grooves on the funk-jazz shelf." [21] "George’s musical dexterity comes through more than ever in his current solo project, Fried Plantains, which fuses the worlds of jazz, hip-hop, blues and rock." [22]
In 2007 Pajon released the album entitled The Band Behind the Front with Bucky Jonson on the BBE label. [23]
In 2012 Pajon teamed up with The Voice's season 3 contestant Diego Val [24] to release Sons of Mariel. [25] [26]
In 2012, The Houston Press wrote "Original composer George Pajon Jr. - "Si Se Puede," the Spanish version of "Yes We Can," - the unstoppable hit inspired by President-elect Barack Obama's eponymous 2007 speech." [27]
Pajon co-wrote the Emmy Award-winning 2008 Barack Obama campaign song "Yes We Can". [28]
Pajon co-wrote the #1 hit song "Where Is The Love?" which received two Grammy nominations; Record of the Year and Best Rap/Sung Collaboration at the 46th Grammy Awards. [29] [30]
Pajon won the Best Rap Performance By A Duo Or Group Grammy for co-writing the song "Let's Get It Started" at the 47th Grammy Awards.
Pajon won the Best Rap Performance By A Duo Or Group Grammy for co-writing the song "Don't Phunk with My Heart" at the 48th Grammy Awards.
Pajon won the Best Pop Vocal Album Grammy at the 52nd Grammy Awards for co-writing the songs "Out Of My Head", "Now Generation", "Rockin to the Beat" and "Back at 45", from the album The E.N.D .
Pajon won two 2006 BMI Pop Music Awards for co-writing the songs "Don't Phunk With My Heart" and "Let's Get It Started". [31]
Pajon won a 2006 BMI London Pop Music Award for co-writing the song "Don't Phunk With My Heart." [32]
Pajon won a 2005 BMI Pop Music Award for co-writing the song "Where Is The Love." [33]
Brian Robert Setzer is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He found widespread success in the early 1980s with the 1950s-style rockabilly group Stray Cats, and returned to the music scene in the early 1990s with his swing revival band, the Brian Setzer Orchestra. In 1987, he made a cameo appearance as Eddie Cochran in the film La Bamba.
Carlos Humberto Santana Barragán is an American guitarist, best known as a founding member of the rock band Santana. Born and raised in Mexico where he developed his musical background, he rose to fame in the late 1960s and early 1970s in the United States with Santana, which pioneered a fusion of rock and roll and Latin American jazz. Its sound featured his melodic, blues-based lines set against Latin American and African rhythms played on percussion instruments not generally heard in rock, such as timbales and congas. He experienced a resurgence of popularity and critical acclaim in the late 1990s.
Steven Lee "Luke" Lukather is an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, arranger and record producer, best known as the sole continuous founding member of the rock band Toto. His reputation as a skilled guitarist led to a steady flow of session work beginning in the 1970s that has since established him as a prolific session musician, recording guitar tracks for more than 1,500 albums spanning a broad array of artists and genres. He has also contributed to albums and hit singles as a songwriter, arranger and producer. Notably, Lukather played guitar on Boz Scaggs' albums Down Two Then Left (1977) and Middle Man (1980), and was a prominent contributor to several studio albums by Michael Jackson, including Thriller (1982). Lukather has released nine solo albums, the latest of which, Bridges, was released in June 2023.
"Don't Phunk with My Heart" is a song recorded by American group the Black Eyed Peas for their fourth studio album Monkey Business (2005). It was written by band members will.i.am and Fergie with Printz Board, George Pajon, Jr. and Full Force; will.i.am also produced and engineered the song. The song is a hip hop song in which the lyrics, according to will.i.am, tell of a situation between a couple when one tries to end the relationship and the other is in disbelief. It features compositional samples of songs derived from two Bollywood films of the 1970s, Apradh (1972) and Don (1978), as well as interpolations of Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam's 1985 single "I Wonder If I Take You Home" and Gucci Crew II's 1988 single "Sally ", hence earning Kalyanji–Anandji, Indeewar and Full Force songwriting credits. The song was released as the lead single from Monkey Business on April 5, 2005, by A&M Records and Interscope Records.
Monkey Business is the fourth studio album by American group the Black Eyed Peas. It was released on June 7, 2005, by A&M Records, Interscope Records and will.i.am Music Group.
"Don't Lie" is a song performed by American recording group the Black Eyed Peas, taken from their fourth studio album, Monkey Business (2005). It was released as the second single from the album on July 26, 2005, after the successful "Don't Phunk with My Heart".
Jaime Luis Gomez, better known by the stage names Taboo, or Taboo Nawasha is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, actor, DJ, and comic book writer, best known as a member of the musical group Black Eyed Peas.
Downey High School is one of two senior high schools located in the Los Angeles suburb of Downey, California, and within the Downey Unified School District. It is located at 11040 Brookshire Ave. At the present time the school has an enrollment of about 4340 students, of a variety of racial and ethnic backgrounds and socio-economic levels.
Brent Mason is an American, Nashville, Tennessee-based recording studio guitarist and songwriter, performing primarily country music.
Apradh (transl. Crime) is a 1972 action thriller romance Hindi film produced and directed by Feroz Khan. It was Feroz Khan's debut as a producer and a director. The film stars Feroz Khan, Mumtaz, Prem Chopra, Iftekhar, Helen, Faryal and Madan Puri. The film's music is by Kalyanji Anandji.
Charlie Midnight is an American songwriter and record producer and the founder of Midnight Production House. He has been nominated for the 1987 Grammy Award for Best R&B Song, two Golden Globes, and has been a producer and/or writer on several Grammy-winning albums, including The Bodyguard: Original Soundtrack Album, Joni Mitchell's Turbulent Indigo, and Marlo Thomas & Friends: Thanks & Giving All Year Long. He also is a writer on the Barbra Streisand Grammy-nominated, Platinum-selling Partners album having co-written the Barbra Streisand and Andrea Bocelli duet "I Still Can See Your Face."
"Up, Up and Away" is a 1967 song written by Jimmy Webb and recorded by US soul-pop act the 5th Dimension with backing from members of The Wrecking Crew. Their original version reached no. 7 on Billboard's Hot 100 in July 1967 and no. 9 on its Easy Listening chart, and number one in both Canada and Australia. In 1999, Webb's song placed 43 on BMI's "Top 100 Songs of the Century".
John McDaid is a singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer from Northern Ireland. He is a member of the band Snow Patrol and has written songs with artists including Ed Sheeran, P!nk, and Robbie Williams.
The E.N.D. World Tour was the third concert tour by American hip hop group Black Eyed Peas, in support of their fifth studio album The E.N.D. (2009). The tour began in Japan on September 15, 2009, with shows also performed in Australia and New Zealand in 2009. The group toured in North America starting in February 2010, with dates also planned for Europe starting in Dublin, Ireland in May. The group performed 2 shows in Paradise, Nevada at the end of 2009 as a warm up to their extensive North American tour. The tour was also expected to reach South America and more parts of Asia during 2010. It is the group's biggest tour production-wise to date, with the group's female vocalist Fergie stating that they are "trying to up [their] game" and the shows will "utilize a lot of the technology that's out there". The E.N.D. World Tour was backed by presenting sponsor BlackBerry, and Bacardi as the official spirit of the tour.
Gary Lee Clark Jr. is an American guitarist and singer who fuses blues, rock and soul music with elements of hip hop. In 2011, Clark signed with Warner Bros Records and released The Bright Lights EP. It was followed by the albums Blak and Blu (2012) and The Story of Sonny Boy Slim (2015). Throughout his career, Clark has been a prolific live performer, documented by Gary Clark Jr. Live (2014) and Gary Clark Jr Live/North America (2017).
Edmond Martin Cash is a producer, songwriter, engineer, and multi-instrumentalist. He has produced or written for artists including Steven Curtis Chapman, Dolly Parton, and Chris Tomlin. Between 2004 and 2007, Cash was awarded Producer of the Year at the GMA Dove Awards. He has also received several Grammy nominations and BMI awards.
Jesse Willard "Pete" Carr was an American guitarist. Carr contributed to successful recordings by Joan Baez, Luther Ingram, Bob Seger, Paul Simon, Willie Nelson, Joe Cocker, Boz Scaggs, Percy Sledge, The Staple Singers, Rod Stewart, Barbra Streisand, Wilson Pickett, Hank Williams, Jr., and many others, from the 1970s onward.
Priese Prince Lamont "Printz" Board is an American record producer, songwriter, and singer best known for his work with Black Eyed Peas and being a member of the production group Bucky Jonson. In addition, Board has worked with DJ Mustard, CeeLo Green, Mark Ronson, Fergie, and John Legend, among others.
Bucky Jonson is an American band and production team from California. The group is composed of musicians Printz Board, George Pajon (guitars) Jr., Tim Izo and Keith Harris with their first album, "The Band Behind The Front," released in 2007 on the BBE label.
Cairo Knife Fight (CKF) is a rock band originating from New Zealand, founded in 2007 by musical artist Nick Gaffaney, featuring a drum and guitar duo incorporating real-time layered loops.
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