Steve Buckingham (record producer)

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Steve Buckingham
Birth nameStephen Craig Buckingham
BornLakeside, Virginia, U.S.
GenresCountry
Occupation(s)Record producer
Years active1977-present

Stephen Craig Buckingham is an American record producer and musician working in Nashville, Tennessee.

Buckingham is a music producer and guitarist whose work has generated at least 20

A&R (artists and repertory) at Columbia Records for ten years, and Senior Vice-President of Vanguard Records and Sugar Hill Records.[5][6] Later in his career, he became an adjunct instructor of Music History at Vanderbilt University's Blair School of Music in Nashville.[7][8]

Early life

Buckingham was born and raised in the

Richmond.[9] At age 15, while attending Brookland Junior High School, he helped form a band called "Ron Moody and the Centaurs".[8] At that time, beach music was becoming popular and Buckingham's band specialized in it. He stated, "We were a band of white boys who could play black music".[1] Buckingham's musicianship sharpened through Hermitage High School and on to the University of Richmond, where he continued playing in this same band while majoring in sociology and psychology. During this time he taught himself to read music and studied books on music theory.[1]

In 1969 his band went to

Muscle Shoals, he moved to Atlanta
, working as a studio guitarist there as well as Los Angeles, Toronto and other cities.

Big break

In Atlanta in 1977, while working for music publisher

I Love the Nightlife (Disco 'Round)", by Alicia Bridges. He also played guitar on it. At first, no record company wanted to put the song out. The publisher was turned down several times before Polydor Records agreed to release it.[10] "I Love The Nightlife (Disco 'Round)" became a worldwide hit in 1978. This song endured and became a party anthem, and it was on the playlist for clubs across North America and Europe and became one of the signature songs of the disco era.[10][11] Buckingham's successful production of this song got him noticed in the music industry, namely by Clive Davis, chairman of Arista Records. Buckingham was invited to New York to meet with Davis. Buckingham stated, "He grilled me, kept me there for what seemed like hours, playing me things — 'Is this a hit? What do you think of this demo?' ... it was like taking college boards."[1]

Success

Clive Davis then hired Buckingham to produce an album for

A&R man. In this new role, Buckingham discovered and produced Ricky Van Shelton who won the CMA's "Male Vocalist of the Year" in 1987, with number one songs including "Wild-Eyed Dream", "Life Turned Her That Way" and "Somebody Lied".[14][15] He produced Van Shelton's song, "Wear My Ring Around Your Neck" which was featured in the 1992 film, Honeymoon in Vegas.[16] Buckingham produced five albums for Sweethearts of the Rodeo
resulting in seven top ten hits.

In the 1990s, Dolly Parton was unceremoniously dropped from her label

MCA/Universal.[1] She was looking for another label. Simultaneously, Larry Welk (Lawrence Welk's son) had acquired Vanguard and Sugar Hill Records, and offered Buckingham a chance to try new things to revive the labels.[1] In June 1999 Parton and Buckingham happened to be on the same airplane. They were old friends since Buckingham had previously produced 18 of her albums.[17] They switched seats to be able to talk. Buckingham asked her if she would ever consider doing a bluegrass album.[1] This resulted in the album The Grass Is Blue which won a Grammy Award for Best Bluegrass Album[3] and was named Album of the Year by the International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA)[18] A subsequent Buckingham-produced Parton hit was "Shine" (with Nickel Creek), from the album Little Sparrow which won a Grammy for Best Female Country Performance.[19]

Buckingham's fourth Grammy award was for Best Contemporary R&B Gospel album, called All Out by

The Winans Family in 1994.[20] The specialized sub-category winners are not broadcast live and often don't receive a lot of publicity. Buckingham recalls receiving a package in the mail. In it, he was surprised to find a Grammy statue. He had been so busy in the studio that he was unaware he had won it. A friend told him, "That should tell you something".[21]

In 1978,

Rick Nelson came to Memphis and made the only album he ever made anywhere but Los Angeles, produced by Larry Rogers. For unknown reasons, the CBS executives never released the material, and referred to it only as "the Memphis Sessions".[22][23] Then in December 1985, Nelson was tragically killed in a plane crash. After Nelson's death, CBS wanted to release the album but decided to turn it over to Steve Buckingham in Nashville for re-vamping rather than its original supervisor, Larry Rogers. Buckingham's reconstruction of the album involved transferring the material from 16 track analog to 48 track digital tape, replacing the old drum parts with "hotter" drums, and replacing the guitar parts with a cleaner Fender Telecaster sound. Nevertheless, a controversy arose as to whether hard-to-please Nelson himself would have allowed the release. John Beland, Nelson's guitarist on the original work, said, "I'll tell you right from the outset Rick wouldn't have wanted anybody touching those tapes".[22] Beland granted that Buckingham was one of Nashville's best producers and was glad that he was given the task if it had to be given to somebody else. Buckingham replied, "I knew it was a delicate line. I didn't want to intrude on the things that had already been done, but we couldn't leave it like it was...CBS wanted the project to be of the highest possible quality".[22][24] Jack Hurst of The Chicago Tribune said "Buckingham's technique brings Nelson's voice out front as never before".[22]

All Music Guide lists over 350 albums to Buckingham's credit.[4]

Motion pictures

Buckingham produced

Kim Bassinger and also a song in the feature film The Beverly Hillbillies based on the classic television series.[28]
Annabelle's Wish is an animated Christmas film for which Buckingham produced two songs.

Later life

Buckingham gave the commencement address at his Virginia alma mater, the University of Richmond in 2007. He cited the many changes in the recording industry in recent years and advised the graduates, whatever their chosen profession, to stay on the cutting edge of developing technology.[29] He became an adjunct instructor of Music History for the Blair School of Music at Vanderbilt University in Nashville and Virginia Wesleyan University in Virginia Beach. One of his most popular classes is "Rhythm and Blues Tore Down the Walls of Segregation".[30]

External links

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Harrison, Don (January 21, 2004). "The Producer". styleweekly.com. Style Weekly. Retrieved 7 December 2015.
  2. ^ a b c "Grammy Awards 1986". awardsandshows.com. Awards and Shows. 1986. Retrieved 11 December 2015.
  3. ^ a b "Winners, Best Bluegrass Album, 2000". grammy.com. The Recording Academy. 2000. Retrieved 11 December 2015.
  4. ^ a b "Steve Buckingham Credits". allmusic.com. All Media Network.
  5. ^ "Steve Buckingham Exits Welk Music Group". musicrow.com. Music Row. April 15, 2009. Retrieved 11 December 2015.
  6. ISSN 0006-2510
    .
  7. ^ "Faculty, Vanderbilt Blair School of Music". blair.vanderbilt.edu. Vanderbilt University Blair School of Music. Retrieved 11 December 2015.
  8. ^ a b Tupponce, Joan (June 2, 2013). "After 49 years, music is still Ron Moody's passion". richmond.com. Richmond Times-Dispatch, Richmond, Virginia. Retrieved 9 December 2015.
  9. ^ "Henrico County, Virginia, Maps". henrico.us. Henrico County. Retrieved 12 December 2015.
  10. ^
    ISSN 0004-6701
    . Retrieved 10 December 2015.
  11. ^ Hanson, Amy. "Alicia Bridges". allmusic.com. All Media Network. Retrieved 8 December 2015.
  12. ISSN 0006-2510
    . Retrieved 11 December 2015.
  13. . Retrieved 29 November 2016.
  14. ^ "Ricky Van Shelton". allmusic.com. Retrieved 11 December 2015.
  15. ^ "CMA Awards Archive 1989". cmt.com. Country Music Television. October 9, 1989. Retrieved 11 December 2015.
  16. .
  17. ^ "Steve Buckingham, Credits". allmusic.com. All Media Network. Retrieved 12 December 2015.
  18. ^ Flippo, Chet (2003). "Dolly Parton". countrymusichalloffame.org. Adapted from the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum’s Encyclopedia of Country Music, published by Oxford University Press. Retrieved 11 December 2015.
  19. .
  20. ^ "Grammy Awards / Grammy Award for Best Contemporary R&B Gospel Album". google.com. Retrieved 16 December 2015.
  21. ^ Harrison, Don (2004). "Hit Man". Richmond Alumni Magazine. Archived (Winter, 2004): 24–25.
  22. ^ a b c d Hurst, Jack (June 8, 1986). "Rick Nelson's 'Memphis Sessions' Dusted Off And Polished With Success". Chicago Tribune (articles.chicagotribune.com). Retrieved 15 December 2015.
  23. ^ Taylor, Johnathan (June 8, 1986). "Albums May Renew Rick Nelson's Star Status". articles.philly.com. Philadelphia Media Network. Retrieved 15 December 2015.
  24. ^ "Ricky Nelson's Records Hotter than Ever". The Gadsden Times. Associated Press. May 29, 1986. p. D4. Retrieved 15 December 2015.
  25. ISSN 0006-2510
    .
  26. ^ "Next of Kin (Original Soundtrack)/Credits". allmusic.com. Retrieved April 24, 2020.
  27. ^ "Dolly Parton: Treasures, Full Cast and Credits". hollywood.com. Hollywood.com. 1996. Retrieved 11 December 2015.
  28. ^ "Steve Buckingham, Filmography". imdb.com. Amazon.com. Retrieved 11 December 2015.
  29. ^ "Platinum Record Producer and Alumnus Tells University of Richmond Grads to have Confidence, Think Big, Sometimes Fail". news.richmond.edu/archives. University of Richmond. May 13, 2007. Retrieved 9 December 2015.
  30. ^ "Rhythm & Blues Tore Down the Walls of Segregation" (PDF). Nashville, Tennessee. January 18, 2016. Retrieved 20 January 2016.