Jay Ferguson (American musician)
Encyclopedia
Jay Ferguson is an American rock and roll
musician
, known for his work with Spirit
and Jo Jo Gunne
, and his 1978 solo hit "Thunder Island". His later career has been as a composer
of music for television program
s and films.
. He grew up in the Van Nuys
and Canoga Park
sections of Los Angeles
. When Ferguson was twelve, his parents encouraged his musical abilities with classical piano
lessons. When he was sixteen, Ferguson's interest transferred to the banjo
. Along with his brother Tom, an accomplished fiddle
player, he formed a bluegrass
group called The Oat Hill Stump Straddlers including Michael Fondiler and Steve Fondiler. Ferguson was a member of local garage bands, Western Union and The Red Roosters.
He also held part-time jobs at different points as a theater usher and architect's assistant for his father John Ferguson, taught piano in a music store, and studied at UCLA after high school.
and their music as an influence, and Ferguson was no exception. Reuniting with longtime musician friends Randy California
and California's stepfather Ed Cassidy
, Ferguson joined with them to form a jazz
influenced rock group that was originally called Spirits Rebellious, after a Khalil Gibran
passage. With the general consensus that the moniker was too long, they later shortened the name to Spirit
. Ferguson was the last member to actually join the band and found himself in the position of lead vocalist and percussionist.
Ferguson shared singing and songwriting duties with California, writing most of the songs on their first album. Spirit began playing at various nightclubs and concerts in the Los Angeles
area, especially the ones along the Sunset Strip
, including the Whiskey-a-Go-Go. At one of these shows, French film producer Jacques Demy
saw Spirit perform and decided he wanted them in his next film
. This led to a cameo role for the band and a short speaking part in which Ferguson played a character based loosely on himself in the film Model Shop
. Spirit also provided much of the instrumental
soundtrack
. Spirit went on to tour and recorded several albums.
Ferguson became the sole songwriter for Jo Jo Gunne, serving as its only lead vocalist. Jo Jo Gunne became the second artists signed to the Asylum Records
label. The band scored a moderate hit with "Run, Run, Run" from their debut album.
With the first record and some touring already completed, Andes decided to leave and join a band that would later become Firefall
, with brother Matt staying behind with Jo Jo Gunne. Jimmie Randall, an Austin, Texas
bassist was recruited in his place.
Jo Jo Gunne toured all over the US and Europe for the next three years, and recorded three more albums. Matt Andes left the band after the third album and was temporarily replaced with Star Donaldson on lead guitar, and then, later, John Staehely. After a four year existence, the group split up in the mid 1970s. Jo Jo Gunne reformed in 2005, and recorded a new album, Big Chain, which included both new material and new versions of several old Gunne songs.
asked Ferguson to come down to his Coconut Grove, Miami, Florida, recording studio
. Ferguson recorded three studio albums and a limited-run live album
for Asylum. He scored a Top 10 hit with the title song on his second solo album, Thunder Island, which peaked at #9 in the US, and another hit with "Shakedown Cruise" from his last Asylum album, Real Life Ain't This Way. After his recording contract
for Asylum was completed, Ferguson changed record labels, and recorded two more solo albums for Capitol Records
.
composer for movies
and television
. To date, he has written music for over 15 feature movies and many TV shows. His most recognizable composition as a TV and film scorer is the theme to the US version of The Office
, which won him the 2007 Film & TV Music Award for Best Score for a Comedy Television Program. He recently has begun producing CDs for other artists. He is the composer of "Pictures of You" from the soundtrack to The Terminator
and of "Prologue/Elm Street Kids", the main theme from A Nightmare On Elm Street 5: The Dream Child
.
Rock and roll
Rock and roll is a genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s, primarily from a combination of African American blues, country, jazz, and gospel music...
musician
Musician
A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....
, known for his work with Spirit
Spirit (band)
Spirit was an American jazz/hard rock/progressive rock/psychedelic band founded in 1967, based in Los Angeles, California.- The original lineup :...
and Jo Jo Gunne
Jo Jo Gunne
Jo Jo Gunne is a rock band, formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1971 by Jay Ferguson and Mark Andes after they had left Spirit...
, and his 1978 solo hit "Thunder Island". His later career has been as a composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
of music for television program
Television program
A television program , also called television show, is a segment of content which is intended to be broadcast on television. It may be a one-time production or part of a periodically recurring series...
s and films.
Childhood and early musical career
He was born in Burbank, California, in the San Fernando ValleySan Fernando Valley
The San Fernando Valley is an urbanized valley located in the Los Angeles metropolitan area of southern California, United States, defined by the dramatic mountains of the Transverse Ranges circling it...
. He grew up in the Van Nuys
Van Nuys, Los Angeles, California
Van Nuys is a neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles, California.-History:Look at the two photos of Van Nuys' first year—and then listen to what the Los Angeles Times wrote on February 23, 1911, the day after the Van Nuys town lot auction--"Between dawn and dusk, in the...
and Canoga Park
Canoga Park, Los Angeles, California
Canoga Park is a district in the San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles, California, United States about 25 miles northwest of Downtown Los Angeles....
sections of Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
. When Ferguson was twelve, his parents encouraged his musical abilities with classical piano
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
lessons. When he was sixteen, Ferguson's interest transferred to the banjo
Banjo
In the 1830s Sweeney became the first white man to play the banjo on stage. His version of the instrument replaced the gourd with a drum-like sound box and included four full-length strings alongside a short fifth-string. There is no proof, however, that Sweeney invented either innovation. This new...
. Along with his brother Tom, an accomplished fiddle
Fiddle
The term fiddle may refer to any bowed string musical instrument, most often the violin. It is also a colloquial term for the instrument used by players in all genres, including classical music...
player, he formed a bluegrass
Bluegrass music
Bluegrass music is a form of American roots music, and a sub-genre of country music. It has mixed roots in Scottish, English, Welsh and Irish traditional music...
group called The Oat Hill Stump Straddlers including Michael Fondiler and Steve Fondiler. Ferguson was a member of local garage bands, Western Union and The Red Roosters.
He also held part-time jobs at different points as a theater usher and architect's assistant for his father John Ferguson, taught piano in a music store, and studied at UCLA after high school.
Spirit
Spirit was founded in the mid 1960s. Practically every musician of the time cited The BeatlesThe Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
and their music as an influence, and Ferguson was no exception. Reuniting with longtime musician friends Randy California
Randy California
Randy California was a guitarist, singer and songwriter and one of the original members of the rock group Spirit, formed in 1967.-Biography:...
and California's stepfather Ed Cassidy
Ed Cassidy
Ed "Cass" Cassidy is an American drummer who was one of the founders of the rock group Spirit in 1967.His family moved to Bakersfield, California, in 1931, and he started as a professional musician in 1937. He was in the Navy during World War II, and after his discharge worked at many jobs before...
, Ferguson joined with them to form a jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
influenced rock group that was originally called Spirits Rebellious, after a Khalil Gibran
Khalil Gibran
Khalil Gibran Jubrān Khalīl Jubrān,Jibrān Khalīl Jibrān, or Jibrān Xalīl Jibrān; Arabic , January 6, 1883 – April 10, 1931) also known as Kahlil Gibran, was a Lebanese American artist, poet, and writer...
passage. With the general consensus that the moniker was too long, they later shortened the name to Spirit
Spirit (band)
Spirit was an American jazz/hard rock/progressive rock/psychedelic band founded in 1967, based in Los Angeles, California.- The original lineup :...
. Ferguson was the last member to actually join the band and found himself in the position of lead vocalist and percussionist.
Ferguson shared singing and songwriting duties with California, writing most of the songs on their first album. Spirit began playing at various nightclubs and concerts in the Los Angeles
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
area, especially the ones along the Sunset Strip
Sunset Strip
The Sunset Strip is the name given to the mile-and-a-half stretch of Sunset Boulevard that passes through West Hollywood, California. It extends from West Hollywood's eastern border with Hollywood at Harper Avenue, to its western border with Beverly Hills at Sierra Drive...
, including the Whiskey-a-Go-Go. At one of these shows, French film producer Jacques Demy
Jacques Demy
Jacques Demy was one of the most approachable filmmakers to appear in the wake of the French New Wave. Uninterested in the formal experimentation of Alain Resnais, or the political agitation of Jean-Luc Godard, Demy instead created a self-contained fantasy world closer to that of François...
saw Spirit perform and decided he wanted them in his next film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
. This led to a cameo role for the band and a short speaking part in which Ferguson played a character based loosely on himself in the film Model Shop
Model Shop (film)
Model Shop is a 1969 film by French writer-director Jacques Demy starring Gary Lockwood, Alexandra Hay and Anouk Aimée and featuring a guest appearance by Spirit who also recorded the soundtrack...
. Spirit also provided much of the instrumental
Instrumental
An instrumental is a musical composition or recording without lyrics or singing, although it might include some non-articulate vocal input; the music is primarily or exclusively produced by musical instruments....
soundtrack
Soundtrack
A soundtrack can be recorded music accompanying and synchronized to the images of a motion picture, book, television program or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack of a film or TV show; or the physical area of a film that contains the...
. Spirit went on to tour and recorded several albums.
Jo Jo Gunne
Ferguson and Mark Andes decided to leave Spirit in the early 1970s and form their own band.Ferguson became the sole songwriter for Jo Jo Gunne, serving as its only lead vocalist. Jo Jo Gunne became the second artists signed to the Asylum Records
Asylum Records
Asylum Records is an American record label founded in 1971 by David Geffen, and partner Elliot Roberts, who had previously worked as agents at the William Morris Agency. Founded specifically to provide a record contract for Jackson Browne, the label signed Tom Waits, Linda Ronstadt, Joni Mitchell...
label. The band scored a moderate hit with "Run, Run, Run" from their debut album.
With the first record and some touring already completed, Andes decided to leave and join a band that would later become Firefall
Firefall
Firefall is a rock band that formed in Boulder, Colorado in 1974. It was founded by Rick Roberts, who had been in the Flying Burrito Brothers, and Jock Bartley, who had been Tommy Bolin's replacement in Zephyr. The band's biggest hit single, "You Are the Woman", peaked at #9 on the Billboard charts...
, with brother Matt staying behind with Jo Jo Gunne. Jimmie Randall, an Austin, Texas
Austin, Texas
Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of :Texas and the seat of Travis County. Located in Central Texas on the eastern edge of the American Southwest, it is the fourth-largest city in Texas and the 14th most populous city in the United States. It was the third-fastest-growing large city in...
bassist was recruited in his place.
Jo Jo Gunne toured all over the US and Europe for the next three years, and recorded three more albums. Matt Andes left the band after the third album and was temporarily replaced with Star Donaldson on lead guitar, and then, later, John Staehely. After a four year existence, the group split up in the mid 1970s. Jo Jo Gunne reformed in 2005, and recorded a new album, Big Chain, which included both new material and new versions of several old Gunne songs.
Solo career
Ferguson took a year and a half off for rest, until record producer Bill SzymczykBill Szymczyk
Bill Szymczyk is an American music producer and technical engineer best known for working with rock and blues musicians, most notably the Eagles in the 1970s. He produced many top albums and singles of the 1970s, though he retired from the music business by 1990...
asked Ferguson to come down to his Coconut Grove, Miami, Florida, recording studio
Recording studio
A recording studio is a facility for sound recording and mixing. Ideally both the recording and monitoring spaces are specially designed by an acoustician to achieve optimum acoustic properties...
. Ferguson recorded three studio albums and a limited-run live album
Live album
A live album is a recording consisting of material recorded during stage performances using remote recording techniques, commonly contrasted with a studio album...
for Asylum. He scored a Top 10 hit with the title song on his second solo album, Thunder Island, which peaked at #9 in the US, and another hit with "Shakedown Cruise" from his last Asylum album, Real Life Ain't This Way. After his recording contract
Recording contract
A recording contract is a legal agreement between a record label and a recording artist , where the artist makes a record for the label to sell and promote...
for Asylum was completed, Ferguson changed record labels, and recorded two more solo albums for Capitol Records
Capitol Records
Capitol Records is a major United States based record label, formerly located in Los Angeles, but operating in New York City as part of Capitol Music Group. Its former headquarters building, the Capitol Tower, is a major landmark near the corner of Hollywood and Vine...
.
Soundtrack composer
In 1982, after his sixth and last solo album, White Noise, Ferguson decided to become a soundtrackSoundtrack
A soundtrack can be recorded music accompanying and synchronized to the images of a motion picture, book, television program or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack of a film or TV show; or the physical area of a film that contains the...
composer for movies
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
and television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
. To date, he has written music for over 15 feature movies and many TV shows. His most recognizable composition as a TV and film scorer is the theme to the US version of The Office
The Office (US TV series)
The Office is an American comedy television series broadcast by NBC. An adaptation of the original BBC series of the same name, it depicts the everyday lives of office employees in the Scranton, Pennsylvania, branch of the fictional Dunder Mifflin Paper Company...
, which won him the 2007 Film & TV Music Award for Best Score for a Comedy Television Program. He recently has begun producing CDs for other artists. He is the composer of "Pictures of You" from the soundtrack to The Terminator
The Terminator (soundtrack)
The Terminator is a soundtrack album by Brad Fiedel, featuring the score to the film, The Terminator. It was released in 1984 through Enigma Records and reissued in 1991 through DCC Compact Classics ; a remastered edition was reissued as The Definite Edition in 1994 through Edel Music, containing...
and of "Prologue/Elm Street Kids", the main theme from A Nightmare On Elm Street 5: The Dream Child
A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child
A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child is a 1989 American slasher film and the fifth film in the Nightmare on Elm Street series. It was directed by Stephen Hopkins. The film's general tone is much more gothic and dark than the films before, and used a blue filter lighting technique in most of...
.
Discography
- All Alone in the End Zone (Asylum RecordsAsylum RecordsAsylum Records is an American record label founded in 1971 by David Geffen, and partner Elliot Roberts, who had previously worked as agents at the William Morris Agency. Founded specifically to provide a record contract for Jackson Browne, the label signed Tom Waits, Linda Ronstadt, Joni Mitchell...
, 1976) - Jay Ferguson Live (Asylum, 1977) [Promotional Issue Only]
- Thunder Island (Asylum, 1978) U.S. #72
- Real Life Ain't This Way (Asylum, 1979) U.S. #86
- Terms and Conditions (Capitol RecordsCapitol RecordsCapitol Records is a major United States based record label, formerly located in Los Angeles, but operating in New York City as part of Capitol Music Group. Its former headquarters building, the Capitol Tower, is a major landmark near the corner of Hollywood and Vine...
, 1980) - White Noise (Capitol, 1982) U.S. #178
External links
- Bio from Jo Jo Gunne! Website