Julian King (recording engineer)
| Julian King | |
|---|---|
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Julian King in the Studio | |
| Occupation | recording engineer, mix engineer, record producer and musician |
| Years active | 1987–present |
Julian King is a Grammy Award-winning recording engineer, mix engineer, record producer and musician based in Nashville, Tennessee. In one capacity or another, he has been involved with records that have sold more than 100 million units (see listing below).[1] King has worked with some of the most notable artists in country music, such as George Jones, George Strait, Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, Kenny Rogers and Merle Haggard. Other artists he has worked with include Tim McGraw, Vince Gill, Charlie Daniels, Hank Williams, Jr., Clint Black, Martina McBride, Randy Travis, Brooks & Dunn, Toby Keith, Alabama and The Judds. His credits also extend to some of the hottest young acts in country music today, such as Sugarland, Chris Young, Kellie Pickler, Lauren Alaina and Casey James.[1][2]
King earned a Grammy as the recording engineer of Faith Hill's multi-million-selling, pop-crossover album Breathe.[3]
History
Raised by school principal parents in Charlottesville, Virginia, King attended nearby James Madison University as a music major, with a plan to become a session trumpet player, but his true calling was tied to using technology to reproduce music. In 1987, during his junior year at college, he landed an internship working as "an assistant to the assistant" engineer at recording sessions for producer Jimmy Bowen. King learned quickly and was told a job would be there for him when he graduated the following year. Working under producer Bowen, King was instantly in sessions with such country superstars as George Strait. While working on an album with Charlie Daniels, King was teased by the star for being a trumpeter. Eventually, Daniels not only asked King to play trumpet on the record, he paid for King to join the American Federation of Musicians union.
In time, King became a favorite of top producers James Stroud and Byron Gallimore. Some of the earliest Number One hits King engineered were the career-launching singles by Tracy Lawrence and Clay Walker. One of his favorite projects from those early years is the 1992 John Anderson CD Seminole Wind. In 1993, he was tapped to engineer the disc debut of the then-unknown Tim McGraw. King has engineered every Tim McGraw album since that time. He also helped create the sound that kick-started Toby Keith's career.
King was behind the board for Common Thread: The Songs of the Eagles, an album that won the CMA Award as Album of the Year for 1994. Stroud brought him on board as a co-producer in 1998, and King delivered "I'm Yours" as a hit for Grammy-winning singer Linda Davis. In the following year came Faith Hill's Breathe, which earned King his own Grammy Award. Noting his increasing prominence, Mix magazine profiled Julian King in 2001.[4]
Since then, King has produced "I Should Be Sleeping" and "Only God (Could Stop Me Loving You)" as 2001–2002 hits for Emerson Drive. In 2007, King reunited with Tracy Lawrence and co-produced the star's CMA Award-winning hit "Find Out Who Your Friends Are". He has also continued to work constantly as an engineer, notably on Lee Ann Womack's 2005 CMA Album of the Year There's More Where That Came From and on the multi-million selling discs of two-time CMA Group of the Year, Sugarland. King engineered the two most recent albums by Chris Young which produced a string of five consecutive #1 hits, as well as albums by Kix Brooks (formerly of Brooks & Dunn) and American Idol finalists Kellie Pickler, Lauren Alaina and Casey James.[5]
Most recently, King has been involved in producing Tyler Farr's debut album for Sony/BNA.
Awards
- 1999 – Grammy Award – Best Country Album for Faith Hill's Breathe
- 2007 – CMA Award – Musical Event of the Year for Tracy Lawrence's Find Out Who Your Friends Are, with Tim McGraw and Kenny Chesney
Credits
Engineering/mixing
| Year | Title | Artist | Awards/Certification |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1989 | Beyond the Blue Neon | George Strait | Platinum |
| 1989 | When I Call Your Name | Vince Gill | CMA Award, 2x Platinum |
| 1989 | Simple Man | Charlie Daniels Band | Platinum |
| 1990 | Country Club | Travis Tritt | 2x Platinum |
| 1990 | Finest Moments | Sandi Patti | Gold |
| 1990 | Livin' It Up | George Strait | Platinum |
| 1990 | On Down the Line | Patty Loveless | Gold |
| 1991 | Soft Talk | Shelby Lynne | — |
| 1992 | Life's a Dance | John Michael Montgomery | 3x Platinum |
| 1992 | Seminole Wind | John Anderson | 2x Platinum |
| 1992 | Where Forever Begins | Neal McCoy | — |
| 1993 | Alibis | Tracy Lawrence | 2x Platinum |
| 1993 | Clay Walker | Clay Walker | Platinum |
| 1993 | If Only My Heart Had a Voice | Kenny Rogers | — |
| 1993 | Letters From a Paper Ship | Billy Falcon | — |
| 1993 | More Love | Doug Stone | Gold |
| 1993 | Out of Left Field | Hank Williams Jr. | — |
| 1993 | Solid Ground | John Anderson | Gold |
| 1993 | Tim McGraw | Tim McGraw | — |
| 1993 | Written in the Stars | Rhonda Vincent | — |
| 1994 | 1994 | Merle Haggard | — |
| 1994 | Common Thread Songs of the Eagles | Various Artists | CMA Award, 3x Platinum |
| 1994 | Country 'Til I Die | John Anderson | — |
| 1994 | I See it Now | Tracy Lawrence | Platinum |
| 1994 | If I Could Make a Living | Clay Walker | Platinum |
| 1994 | Not a Moment Too Soon | Tim McGraw | 6x Platinum |
| 1994 | One Emotion | Clint Black | Platinum |
| 1995 | All I Want | Tim McGraw | 3x Platinum |
| 1996 | Greater Need | Lorrie Morgan | Gold |
| 1996 | Hindsight 20/20 | Carlene Carter | — |
| 1996 | Jo Dee Messina | Jo Dee Messina | Gold |
| 1996 | Paradise | John Anderson | — |
| 1996 | Trouble Free | Rhonda Vincent | — |
| 1996 | My Relations | The Neville Brothers | — |
| 1997 | Everywhere | Tim McGraw | CMA Award, 4x Platinum |
| 1997 | Evolution | Martina McBride | 3x Platinum |
| 1997 | Nothin' But the Taillights | Clint Black | Platinum |
| 1997 | Rumour Has It | Clay Walker | Platinum |
| 1997 | Shakin' Things Up | Lorrie Morgan | Gold |
| 1997 | Somebody's Comin' | Terry McMillan | — |
| 1998 | Burnin' the Roadhouse Down | Steve Wariner | Gold |
| 1998 | Faith | Faith Hill | 6x Platinum |
| 1998 | I'm Alright | Jo Dee Messina | 2x Platinum |
| 1998 | Prince of Egypt | Movie Soundtrack | Gold |
| 1998 | You and You Alone | Randy Travis | — |
| 1999 | Breathe | Faith Hill | Grammy Award, 8x Platinum |
| 1999 | How Do You Like Me Now? | Toby Keith | Platinum |
| 1999 | Man Ain't Made of Stone | Randy Travis | — |
| 1999 | Tight Rope | Brooks & Dunn | Gold |
| 1999 | D'Lectrified | Clint Black | Gold |
| 1999 | A Place in the Sun | Tim McGraw | CMA Award, 3x Platinum |
| 2000 | Burn | Jo Dee Messina | Platinum |
| 2000 | Grinch | Movie Soundtrack | — |
| 2000 | Hard Rain Don't Last | Darryl Worley | — |
| 2000 | Judds Reunion Live | The Judds | — |
| 2000 | New Day Dawning | Wynonna Judd | — |
| 2000 | Songs from Dawson's Creek | Television Soundtrack | — |
| 2001 | Set This Circus Down | Tim McGraw | 3x Platinum |
| 2001 | Ten Rounds | Tracy Byrd | — |
| 2001 | Thunder and Roses | Pam Tillis | — |
| 2001 | Who I Am | Jessica Andrews | Gold |
| 2002 | Can You Hear Me Now | Sawyer Brown | — |
| 2002 | Cry | Faith Hill | 2x Platinum |
| 2002 | I Miss My Friend | Darryl Worley | — |
| 2002 | Tim McGraw & The Dancehall Drs. | Tim McGraw | 3x Platinum |
| 2002 | Unleashed | Toby Keith | 4x Platinum |
| 2003 | Have You Forgotten? | Darryl Worley | Gold |
| 2003 | Jimmy Wayne | Jimmy Wayne | — |
| 2003 | Willie Nelson & Friends Live | Willie Nelson | — |
| 2003 | Shockin' Y'All | Toby Keith | 4x Platinum |
| 2004 | Greatest Hits | Lee Ann Womack | — |
| 2004 | It Will Always Be | Willie Nelson | — |
| 2004 | Letters From Home | John Michael Montgomery | — |
| 2004 | Live Like You Were Dying | Tim McGraw | CMA Award, 4x Platinum |
| 2004 | Strong | Tracy Lawrence | — |
| 2004 | You Do Your Thing | Montgomery Gentry | Platinum |
| 2005 | Chicago Wind | Merle Haggard | — |
| 2005 | Fireflies | Faith Hill | 2x Platinum |
| 2005 | III | Joe Nichols | Gold |
| 2005 | Honkytonk University | Toby Keith | Platinum |
| 2005 | There's More Where That Came From | Lee Ann Womack | CMA Award, Gold |
| 2006 | Broken Bridges | Movie Soundtrack | — |
| 2006 | Enjoy the Ride | Sugarland | 2x Platinum |
| 2006 | Men & Mascara | Julie Roberts | — |
| 2006 | If You're Going Through Hell | Rodney Atkins | Platinum |
| 2007 | Greatest Hits | Clay Walker | Gold |
| 2007 | Let It Go | Tim McGraw | Platinum |
| 2007 | Unglamorous | Lori McKenna | — |
| 2008 | Kellie Pickler | Kellie Pickler | — |
| 2008 | Time Flies | John Michael Montgomery | — |
| 2008 | Love on the Inside | Sugarland | — |
Production
| Year | Album/"Single" | Artist |
|---|---|---|
| 1998 | I'm Yours | Linda Davis |
| 1998 | "I'm Yours” | Linda Davis |
| 1998 | "From the Inside Out” | Linda Davis |
| 2001 | Hits | Perfect Stranger |
| 2001 | "A Little Bit More of Your Love” | Perfect Stranger |
| 2002 | Emerson Drive | Emerson Drive |
| 2002 | "I Should Be Sleeping" | Emerson Drive |
| 2002 | "Only God (Could Stop Me Loving You)" | Emerson Drive |
| 2006 | All Gone Fishin' | Various Artists |
| 2007 | All Wrapped Up in Christmas | Tracy Lawrence |
| 2007 | For the Love | Tracy Lawrence |
| 2007 | "Find Out Who Your Friends Are" | Tracy Lawrence |
| 2007 | "Til I Was a Daddy Too” | Tracy Lawrence |
| 2008 | "You Can't Hide Redneck” | Tracy Lawrence |
| 2012/2013 | Redneck Crazy | Tyler Farr |
References
External links
- Discography at AllMusic.com
- Discography at AlbumCredits.com
- Julian King Feature in Mix Magazine, 2001
- Grammy Awards winners at Grammy.com (searchable database)