James Stroud Drummer & Producer

I have a special appreciation for drummers who produce as well. They always play FOR the music. Notice that Groove Me has no cymbal crashes. I don't mean that crashes are bad. It's just that most of us use them without thinking about it. To play an entire song with just meat & potatoes and no crashes takes a very mature musician. Of course, the cymbal thing is just scratching the surface.

James Stroud Groove Me chart
Mr. Big Stuff drum chart








Stroudavarious Records launches

Monday, July 21, 2008 - Music veteran James Stroud announced the formation of a new label last week, and it's been reported that Willie Nelson, Lorrie Morgan and Darryl Worley are coming aboard. Stroud was the former head of Giant Records and DreamWorks Nashville.

The label will be called Stroudavarious Records and distributed by Sony RED.

Stroud has been a key record producer as well, working with Toby Keith, Clint Black and Alabama.

"Even though the business model of the music industry changes, the one constant has been the importance of the artists and their songs," Stroud said in a statement. "The vision of Stroudavarious Records will be for the creativity to take precedent and allow the music to take care of the business."

No official signings were reported, but Great American Country reported that Worley, Nelson and Morgan would work with Stroud.- Country Standard Time

STROUD, JAMES

Give Name: James Cary StroudDate of Birth: July 4, 1949Place of Birth: Shreveport, Louisiana

Marital Status: 1. Pam 2. Diane 3. AbbeChildren: Amy, Ariel, David

Talents: Industry Executive, Record Producer, Music Publisher, Drums

Biography:James Stroud is probably one of the most successful musicians to make the transition from musician to industry executive. Steeped in a background of Rhythm and Blues, James has become one of the most important industry figures in the last decade of the 1990s. Born in Shreveport, the home of the Louisiana Hayride, James was the fourth child of Walter and Ola Mae Stroud. His father was a truck driver and rough neck in the oil fields and a year after his birth, the family moved to Talco, East Texas (population 200) and then they moved to Mount Pleasant in East Texas (population 9,000), where they stayed for ten years. He listened to his Dad's Bob Wills' albums and the Hayride, but it was Jerry Lee Lewis' recording of Great Balls Of Fire in 1957, that was his first record purchase.

James Stroud began playing drums at age 12, following in the footsteps of his older brother and brother-in-law. The family moved back to Shreveport where James graduated from Woodlawn High School. James knew from fairly early on that he wanted to be a professional musician. It was Rhythm and Blues that was to be his early guiding music and by age 17, he had started his education on the road as a full-time musician.

James Stroud moved to Jackson, Mississippi in 1969 and played behind artists such as B.B. King, Sam & Dave as well as Stax label artists such as Isaac Hayes and Jean Knight. It was in Mississippi that James began his studio career, after only two years on the road. In fact, the biggest influence on James was a Jackson native, the great Jazz guitarist, Jerry Puckett. Among his early sessions were King Floyd's 1970 Chimneyville recording of Groove Me and Jean Knight's 1971 Stax hit, Mr. Big Stuff.

James Stroud did sessions in Atlanta, Georgia and Jackson, Mississippi and he and his group of musicians played on records by Eddie Floyd, Rufus Thomas and Isaac Hayes. In 1973, he played on Paul Simon's There Goes Rhymin' Simon album. He also appeared on Ted Taylor's 1976 eponymous album and Danny Green's 1978 Night Dog album.

In 1976, James Stroud produced his first record. This was Dorothy Moore's Misty Blue; a song written by another ace producer, Bob Montgomery. Its single was on Malaco, of which James was part owner. The recording was nominated for several Grammy awards and was on the soundtrack of the 1996 movie, Phenomenom, starring John Travolta.

James Stroud moved to Atlanta in 1978 and played with Paul Davis and the Atlanta Rhythm Section. In 1979, he moved again, this time to Los Angeles. That year, James appeared on Alicia Bridges' album, Play It As It Lays and Irma Thomas' Sale With Me album. The following year, he played drums on Melissa Manchester's For The Working Girl album and in 1981, Carl Wilson's eponymous album. In 1981, James moved to Nashville and produced Susan Anton's eponymous album, (which contained the Top 10 Anton-Fred Knobloch duet, Killin' Time) as well as playing drums on Eddie Rabbitt's Horizons album. This was the first time that James played Country music and he soon found himself in demand as a session player and as a producer for his own Stretch Productions. He produced Fred Knoblock's (sic) Why Not Me album in 1983, Lee Greenwood's You've Got A Good Love Comin' and Schuyler, Knobloch & Overstreet's S-K-O (both 1986), Schuyler, Knobloch & Bickhardt's No Easy Horses and the Bellamy Brothers' Rebels Without A Clue (both 1988). In addition, James appeared on Jimmy Hall's 1982 album, Cadillac Tracks and Joe Cocker's 1984 album, Civilized Man.

In 1983, James Stroud started his Writers' Group publishing company and among the writers signed to the company were Paul Overstreet, Thom Schuyler, Fred Knobloch and Craig Bickhardt. About this time, James started working with Jimmy Bowen at MCA and at Capitol. This led to him working with Garth Brooks on The Dance video in 1990. However, it was meeting Clint Black in 1989 that turned his life around. Clint came into his office to play some songs and the rest is history. That same year, Charlie Daniels benefited from the Stroud touch and his album, Simple Man, garnered Gold. From then on, James became one of the most in-demand producers and session players in Country music. In 1991, Tracy Lawrence and Little Texas became his next major acts. In 1991, James left his association with Jimmy Bowen and went independent for a year. During this time, he produced John Anderson's 1992 comeback album, Seminole Wind. That year, he took over as President of Giant Nashville. He remained with the label for five years during which time he produced Clay Walker, Carlene Carter, Deborah Allen, Dennis Robbins and Regina Regina. He also produced non-Giant label acts, most notably, Tim McGraw, Kenny Rogers, Merle Haggard, Doug Stone, Daryle Singletary and Neal McCoy. However, his residency at the label was most notable for the multi-Platinum selling Common Thread: The Songs Of The Eagles. James left Giant in 1996 and was made president of DreamWorks' Nashville operation. His first signing for the label is Randy Travis and he seems committed to a return to Country values and away from "cookie cutter" releases. Although James still enjoys playing drums, he admits that he isn't the player he once was. James is an enthusiast and still gets the same joy out of the business that he got as a young drummer playing Rhythm and Blues back in Jackson, Mississippi. Biography from Century of Country - Encyclopedia of Country Music