Jim Rooney (born January 28, 1938) is an American music producer whose credits include Nanci Griffith's Other Voices, Other Rooms (which earned Rooney a Grammy Award for production), Hal Ketchum's Past the Point of Rescue, Iris DeMent's Infamous Angel, John Prine's Aimless Love and many other widely hailed albums.[1] In recognition for his contribution to Americana music, Rooney received a lifetime achievement award from the Americana Music Association in 2009.[1]
Jim Rooney | |
|---|---|
 Jim Rooney on stage at the 1985 Cambridge Folk Festival | |
| Background information | |
| Born | January 28, 1938 |
| Origin | Boston, Massachusetts, United States |
| Genres | Country, folk, bluegrass |
| Occupation | Record producer |
Rooney was a pioneer in the genre that would come to be labeled as Americana.[2] He began his career in the Boston area during the early 1960s and served as director and talent coordinator for the Newport Folk Festival.[1] He moved to Woodstock, N.Y., in the early 1970s to manage Albert Grossman's Bearsville Sound Studio. After moving to Nashville, Rooney released a series of solo albums and produced projects by Townes Van Zandt, Hal Ketchum, Bonnie Raitt and others.[1]
Says Griffith, "Jim Rooney is the number one reason I have a career. He gave me confidence in my writing, inspiration to write, and handed me the want ads to look for an apartment in Nashville."[3]
Rooney graduated from Amherst College in 1960 and later obtained a master's degree in classical literature from Harvard University.[2] He and his wife, Carol Langstaff, divide their time between Nashville, Vermont, and County Galway, Ireland.[2]
Rooney is the author of Bossmen: Bill Monroe and Muddy Waters (1971; reissued 2012), and an autobiography, In It for the Long Run: A Musical Odyssey (2014). He is also the coauthor, with Eric von Schmidt, of Baby Let Me Follow You Down: The Illustrated History of the Cambridge Folk Years (1979; reissued 1994).
Notes
edit- ^ a b c d "Record Producer Jim Rooney to Receive Americana Lifetime Achievement Honor". CMT News. Country Music Television. 7 August 2009. Archived from the original on January 20, 2013. Retrieved 20 December 2012.
- ^ a b c Solondz, Simone. "The Producer". Amherst Magazine. Retrieved 20 December 2012.
- ^ Cooper, Peter (6 August 2009). "Jim Rooney honored by Americana Music Association". The Tennessean. Retrieved 20 December 2012.
References
edit- Rooney, Jim (2014). In It for the Long Run: A Musical Odyssey. Music in American Life. University of Illinois Press. ISBN 978-0252079818.
- "Jim Rooney". The Encyclopedia of Country Music (2d ed.). Oxford University Press. 2012. p. 438. ISBN 978-0195395631.