Jerry Harrison

Jerry Harrison
close-up of Jerry Harrison wearing a dark sleeveless top, looking left of camera with a set facial expression
Harrison in 2023
Background information
Birth nameJeremiah Griffin Harrison
Born (1949-02-21) February 21, 1949 (age 75)
Milwaukee, Wisconsin, US
Genres
Occupations
  • Musician
  • songwriter
  • record producer
Instruments
  • Vocals
  • keyboards
  • guitar
  • bass
Years active1971–present
LabelsEMI, Sire/Warner Bros.
Formerly ofThe Modern Lovers, Talking Heads

Jeremiah Griffin Harrison (born February 21, 1949) is an American musician, songwriter, producer, and entrepreneur.[1] He began his professional music career as a member of the band the Modern Lovers, before becoming keyboardist and guitarist for the new wave group Talking Heads.[2] In 2002, Harrison was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Talking Heads.[3]

Following David Byrne's announcement of Talking Heads' disbanding in 1991,[4] Harrison has focused more on producing other bands, a role he started while still with Talking Heads, first producing the album Milwaukee with Elliott Murphy, and then later working with Violent Femmes on their third album, The Blind Leading the Naked, in 1986.[5][6]

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.

  1. ^ Colin Larkin, ed. (2003). The Virgin Encyclopedia of Eighties Music (Third ed.). Virgin Books. pp. 236/7. ISBN 1-85227-969-9.
  2. ^ Bush, John. "Biography – Jerry Harrison". AllMusic. Retrieved March 21, 2012.
  3. ^ "Talking Heads". Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Retrieved April 16, 2018.
  4. ^ Bream, Jon (December 8, 1991). "When It Stops Making Sense, It's Time to Call It Quits". The Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on March 4, 2023. Retrieved March 4, 2023.
  5. ^ "Jerry Harrison: A Life In Music". tapeop.com. Archived from the original on March 4, 2023. Retrieved March 4, 2023.
  6. ^ "Milwaukee – Elliott Murphy". Archived from the original on March 4, 2023. Retrieved March 4, 2023.