# Jay Graydon

Jay Joseph Graydon (born October 8, 1949, Burbank, California) is an American songwriter, recording artist, guitarist, singer, keyboardist, producer, arranger, and recording engineer. He is the winner of two Grammy Awards (in the R&B category) with twelve Grammy nominations, among them the title "Producer of the Year" and "Best Engineered Recording". He has mastered many different music styles and genres, and his recordings have been featured on record, film, television and the stage.

## History

Graydon made his singing debut on his second birthday on the "Joe Graydon Show," the first music/talk television show in Los Angeles, hosted by his father, Joe Graydon.
During and for a brief time after his college days, Graydon played in the Don Ellis Band, whose style can be described as experimental post-bop jazz. He can be heard on the live double album Don Ellis at Fillmore and the studio albums The New Don Ellis Band Goes Underground, Connection and Soaring.

### L. A. session musician

From the late 1960s to late 1970s Graydon was a session musician in Los Angeles, working with such artists as Gino Vannelli, Barbra Streisand, Dolly Parton, Diana Ross, The Jackson Five, Alice Cooper, Cheap Trick, Al Jarreau, Christopher Cross, Ray Charles, Cher, Joe Cocker, Marvin Gaye, Hall & Oates, Wayne Shorter, Olivia Newton-John, Albert King and Steely Dan. One of Graydon's most notable session performances is his guitar solo on Steely Dan's 1977 hit single "Peg".
In 1977 he appeared as a character in a number of Doonesbury strips as Jay "Wah-Wah" Graydon. Graydon played on the Jimmy Thudpucker album "Greatest Hits" along with Steve Cropper and Donald "Duck" Dunn. He was the subject of the track "Fretman Sam" and played its guitar solo. He also programmed the synthesizers for the album.

### Producer

Jay Graydon's production credits include work with Airplay, Air Supply, George Benson, Al Jarreau, DeBarge, El DeBarge, Sheena Easton, Art Garfunkel, The Manhattan Transfer, Johnny Mathis, Patti LaBelle, Lou Rawls, Dionne Warwick, Alan Sorrenti and the album They Don't Make Them Like They Used To by Kenny Rogers.
He started his own record label, Sonic Thrust Records, in 2001 to give himself creative and artistic freedom in his songwriting and producing profession. The label features straight-ahead jazz, adult contemporary pop, AAA, AOR, classic R&B, smooth jazz, and genuine retro surf from the 1960s.
As a musician and recording engineer, he has often been a consultant and beta tester for new musical equipment and recording gear.

### Songwriter

Graydon has written over 200 songs. His catalog includes the Grammy winners "Turn Your Love Around" (co-written with Steve Lukather and Bill Champlin) as performed by George Benson and "After the Love Has Gone" (co-written with David Foster and Bill Champlin) as performed by Earth, Wind & Fire, as well as "Who's Holding Donna Now" (DeBarge), "Friends in Love" (Dionne Warwick and Johnny Mathis), many songs written with and for Al Jarreau (including "Mornin'", "Breakin' Away", "High Crime", "After All", and "Roof Garden"), and several hits with Manhattan Transfer including "Twilight Zone", "On The Boulevard", "Smile Again" and "Spies in the Night". Many of his songs were co-written with David Foster.

### Writer and educator

Graydon has written numerous articles in music magazines, and has conducted seminars at Musician's Institute in Hollywood with guitarist Tommy Tedesco for more than 15 years. He has been working on a series of books on recording techniques with Craig Anderton, a widely published and bestselling authority on recording technology. The books will discuss the subtleties of recording various instruments, as well as mixing.

### Film scores

Graydon has participated as a musician and/or songwriter in over 50 film scores including The French Connection, Grease, Ghostbusters, St. Elmo's Fire, The Secret of My Success, Navy Seals, Lady Sings the Blues, The Greatest, Ghost Dad, Mahogany, and Thank God It's Friday.

### Television

Graydon has played on or written songs for The Andy Williams Show, The Jackson 5 Show, The Alan Thicke Show, The David Steinberg Show, The Ed Sullivan Show, The Tonight Show, The Merv Griffin Show, The Soupy Sales Show, The Smothers Brothers Show, The Midnight Special, The First Rock and Roll Awards Show, Miami Vice, and Starsky and Hutch.
With Richard Page, he also wrote the second theme song for Gimme a Break!, which was used from its third through sixth seasons.

## Key collaborations
### Al Jarreau

Perhaps Graydon's most noted collaboration has been with Al Jarreau. Graydon was Jarreau's main songwriter/producer in the early 1980s. Graydon produced Jarreau's albums This Time, Breakin' Away, Jarreau and High Crime, among others. Graydon also played guitar and synthesizer on these albums, as well as serving as songwriter, arranger and engineer.

### David Foster

Foster and Graydon have worked together on several album projects, including the band Airplay, a pop-rock group they formed in the late 1970s, and the JT Super Producer concert in Japan in 1994 with René Angélil and Céline Dion.

### Randy Goodrum

Graydon and Randy Goodrum formed a group named JaR. In 2008, they released an album titled Scene 29, described as "Steely Dan meets Airplay and Pages".

### Steely Dan

Graydon played the guitar solo on the song "Peg" on Steely Dan's 1977 album Aja. Graydon has said that he was unaware of whether or not Becker and Fagen would keep the solo until he heard the finished song on the radio.

### David "Fathead" Newman

* He played on Concrete Jungle.

## Discography
### Solo albums

| Year | Album Title |
| 1993 | Airplay for the Planet |
| 2001 | Bebop |
| 2006 | Past to Present - The 70s |
| 2008 | Airplay for the Planet - Live in Japan |

### Collaborations

| Year | Artist | Album Title | Role(s) |
| 1974 | Boz Scaggs | Slow Dancer | Guitars |
| 1974 | Joe Cocker | I Can Stand a Little Rain | Guitars |
| 1975 | Gino Vannelli | Storm at Sunup | Guitars |
| 1975 | Aretha Franklin | You | Guitars |
| 1975 | Barbra Streisand | Lazy Afternoon | Guitars |
| 1975 | 2nd Chapter of Acts | In the Volume of the Book | Guitars |
| 1976 | Albert King | Albert | Guitars |
| 1976 | Candi Staton | Young Hearts Run Free | Guitars |
| 1976 | Paul Anka | The Painter | Guitars |
| 1976 | Jennifer Warnes | Jennifer Warnes | Guitars |
| 1976 | Marvin Gaye | I Want You | Guitars |
| 1976 | Donovan | Slow Down World | Synthesizer, programming |
| 1976 | Cher | I'd Rather Believe in You | Guitar, mandolin |
| 1976 | Stephen Bishop | Careless | Electric guitar, acoustic guitar |
| 1976 | Gino Vannelli | The Gist of the Gemini | Electric guitar |
| 1977 | Olivia Newton-John | Making a Good Thing Better | Electric guitar, acoustic guitar, slide guitar |
| 1977 | Dolly Parton | Here You Come Again | Pedal steel guitar |
| 1977 | Boz Scaggs | Down Two Then Left | Guitar, guitar solo |
| 1977 | Steely Dan | Aja | Guitar solo on "Peg" |
| 1977 | Rhythm Heritage | Last Night on Earth | Lead guitar |
| 1977 | Marlena Shaw | Sweet Beginnings | Guitar |
| 1977 | Paul Anka | The Music Man | Guitar |
| 1977 | Jackie DeShannon | You're the Only Dancer | Guitar |
| 1977 | Leo Sayer | Thunder in My Heart | Guitar |
| 1977 | Dionne Warwick | Love at First Sight | Guitar |
| 1977 | Shaun Cassidy | Born Late | Guitar |
| 1977 | Dalbello | Lisa Dal Bello | Guitar |
| 1977 | Syreeta Wright | Rich Love, Poor Love | Guitar |
| 1978 | Various Artists | Grease Soundtrack | Guitar |
| 1978 | Carole Bayer Sager | ...Too | Guitar |
| 1978 | Leo Sayer | Leo Sayer | Guitar |
| 1978 | Melissa Manchester | Don't Cry Out Loud | Guitar |
| 1978 | Barbra Streisand | Songbird | Guitar |
| 1978 | Dane Donohue | Dane Donohue | Guitar |
| 1978 | Paul Anka | Listen to Your Heart | Guitar |
| 1978 | Helen Reddy | We'll Sing in the Sunshine | Guitar |
| 1978 | Juice Newton | Well Kept Secret | Guitar |
| 1978 | Shaun Cassidy | Under Wraps | Guitar |
| 1978 | Candi Staton | House of Love | Guitar |
| 1978 | Valerie Carter | Wild Child | Guitar |
| 1978 | 2nd Chapter of Acts | Mansion Builder | Guitar |
| 1978 | Ben E. King | Let Me Live in Your Life | Guitar |
| 1978 | Rhythm Heritage | Sky's the Limit | Guitar, arranger, writer |
| 1978 | Alice Cooper | From The Inside | Guitar, synthesizer programming |
| 1978 | Brian Cadd | Yesterdaydreams | Synthesiser |
| 1978 | Rita Coolidge | Love Me Again | Guitar, acoustic guitar |
| 1978 | Nigel Olsson | Nigel Olsson | Guitar, electric guitar |
| 1978 | Pages | Pages | Engineer, guitar, horns, keyboard programming, producer, songwriter |
| 1979 | Barbra Streisand | Wet | Electric guitar |
| 1979 | Christopher Cross | Christopher Cross | Guitar solo |
| 1979 | Cher | Take Me Home | Guitar |
| 1979 | Paul Anka | Headlines | Guitar |
| 1979 | Peter Allen | I Could Have Been a Sailor | Guitar |
| 1979 | Yvonne Elliman | Yvonne | Guitar |
| 1979 | Donna Summer | Bad Girls | Guitar |
| 1979 | Rhythm Heritage | Disco Derby | Guitar |
| 1979 | Nigel Olsson | Nigel | Electric guitar, acoustic guitar |
| 1979 | The Manhattan Transfer | Extensions | Producer, arrangement, guitars, synthesizers, guitar solo, additional vocals, synthesizer programming, Mixing and Overdub Tracking |
| 1979 | Marc Jordan | Blue Desert | Lead guitar, synthesizer, arranger, conductor, producer, engineer |
| 1979 | Earth, Wind & Fire | I Am | Songwriter |
| 1980 | Peter Allen | Bi-Coastal | Guitar |
| 1980 | 2nd Chapter of Acts | The Roar of Love | Guitar |
| 1980 | Syreeta Wright | Syreeta | Musician |
| 1980 | Bernie Taupin | He Who Rides the Tiger | Electric Guitar |
| 1980 | Mariya Takeuchi | Miss M | Acoustic and electric guitars, rhythm arrangement, backing vocals, songwriter |
| 1980 | Airplay | Airplay | Producer, guitar, lead and backing vocals, overdubbing, mixing, songwriter |
| 1980 | Al Jarreau | This Time | Synthesizer programming, electric guitar, rhythm arrangements, producer, engineer |
| 1981 | Al Jarreau | Breakin' Away | Producer, mixing, songwriter, electric guitar, synthesizer programming, rhythm arrangements, vocal arrangements |
| 1981 | Dolly Parton | Dolly, Dolly, Dolly | Guitar |
| 1981 | Carole Bayer Sager | Sometimes Late at Night | Guitar |
| 1981 | The Manhattan Transfer | Mecca for Moderns | Producer, songwriter, guitar, synthesizer, arrangements |
| 1981 | Pages | Pages | Composer, engineer, guitar, mixing, producer, programming |
| 1982 | Herbie Hancock | Lite Me Up | Composer, engineer, guitar, producer, songwriter |
| 1982 | Dionne Warwick | Friends in Love | Producer, rhythm arrangements, synthesizers, guitar, percussion, recording, mixing |
| 1983 | Donna Summer | She Works Hard for the Money | Songwriter, guitar |
| 1983 | The Tubes | Outside Inside | Special Musical Contributor |
| 1983 | Paul Anka | Walk a Fine Line | Composer |
| 1983 | Sheena Easton | Best Kept Secret | Guitar, producer, engineer |
| 1983 | Christopher Cross | Another Page | Guitar solo |
| 1983 | David Foster | The Best Of Me | Composer, engineer, guitar, songwriter |
| 1983 | Al Jarreau | Jarreau | Producer, songwriter, rhythm arrangements, guitar, synthesizers, guitar solo, engineering |
| 1984 | Al Jarreau | High Crime | Producer, songwriter, guitar, arrangements, synthesizers, computer concept |
| 1985 | DeBarge | Rhythm of the Night | Producer, songwriter, guitars, synthesizers |
| 1986 | El DeBarge | El DeBarge | Synthesizer, guitar, songwriter, arranger, producer, engineer |
| 1986 | Kenny Rogers | They Don't Make Them Like They Used To | Producer, engineer, songwriter, synthesizers, lead guitar, electronic drums, arrangements, guitar solo, drums, guitar lines |
| 1986 | Al Jarreau | L Is for Lover | Songwriter |
| 1988 | Al Jarreau | Heart's Horizon | Producer, songwriter, synthesizers |
| 1988 | Art Garfunkel | Lefty | Producer, engineer |
| 1988 | George Benson | Twice the Love | Producer, synthesizers, drums, arrangements, engineer, mixing |
| 1989 | El DeBarge | Gemini | Producer, songwriter |
| 1993 | Planet 3 | Music From The Planet | Guitars, keyboards, programming, mixing, recording |
| 2004 | Planet 3 | Gems Unearthed | Lead guitar, keyboards, programming, liner notes, mastering |
| 2008 | JaR | Scene 29 | Lead and backing vocals, guitar, drums, synthesizer, composer, arranger, producer, engineer, mixing and mastering |

## Grammy Awards

| Year Awarded | Nominee/work | Category | Result |
| 1980 | "After the Love Has Gone" (Earth, Wind & Fire) | Song of the Year (shared with Bill Champlin & David Foster) | Nominated |
| 1980 | "After the Love Has Gone" (Earth, Wind & Fire) | Best Rhythm & Blues Song (shared with Bill Champlin & David Foster) | Won |
| 1981 | "Twilight Zone/Twilight Tone" (The Manhattan Transfer) | Best Arrangement for Voices (shared with Alan Paul) | Nominated |
| 1982 | Breakin' Away (Al Jarreau) | Album of the Year (shared with Al Jarreau) | Nominated |
| 1982 | "Kafka" (The Manhattan Transfer) | Best Vocal Arrangement for Two or More Voices (shared with Bernard Kafka) | Nominated |
| 1983 | "Turn Your Love Around" (George Benson) | Best Rhythm & Blues Song (shared with Bill Champlin & Steve Lukather) | Won |
| 1984 | Jarreau (Al Jarreau) | Producer of the Year (Non-Classical) | Nominated |
| 1984 | Jarreau (Al Jarreau) | Best Engineered Recording – Non-Classical (shared with Ian Eales & Eric Prestis) | Nominated |
| 1984 | "Mornin'" (Al Jarreau) | Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocal(s) (shared with David Foster & Jeremy Lubbock) | Nominated |
| 1984 | "Step by Step" (Al Jarreau) | Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocal(s) (shared with Tom Canning, Jerry Hey & Al Jarreau) | Nominated |
| 1985 | Ghostbusters Soundtrack (various artists) | Best Album of Original Score Written for a Motion Picture or a Television Special (shared with various artists & producers) | Nominated |
| 1986 | St. Elmo's Fire Soundtrack (various artists) | Best Album of Original Score Written for a Motion Picture or a Television Special (shared with various artists & producers) | Nominated |