Jim Ed Norman

Jim Ed Norman
Jim Ed Norman by Keith Nealy
Background information
Born	(1948-10-16) October 16, 1948 (age 68)
Origin	Fort Myers, Florida, US
Genres	Pop, Rock, Country, Folk-rock, Pop-rock, Country-rock, Jazz, Gospel, Christian
Occupation(s)	Producer, arranger, musician
Instruments	Guitar, piano
Years active	1967–present
Associated acts	Eagles, Linda Ronstadt, America, Anne Murray, Jackie DeShannon, Hank Williams, Jr., Kenny Rogers, Beth Nielsen Chapman, Jennifer Warnes, Glenn Frey

Jim Ed Norman (born Edward James Norman, October 16, 1948, Fort Myers, Florida) is an American musician, record producer, arranger and label head. He was one of the principal architects of the distinctive sound of West Coast 1970s pop and rock, after which he moved into production, eventually becoming President of Warner Bros. Records Nashville. Following a retirement period beginning in 2004, he re-emerged in Nashville in 2010.

Norman's career began in earnest when he joined Don Henley in Texas-based group Felicity in 1969, playing keyboards and guitar. Having renamed themselves Shiloh and by now based in Los Angeles, they recorded an eponymous album (1970, Amos Records) which bore early signs of the direction in which 1970s country-rock would soon move en masse. The album was produced by Kenny Rogers but following its release, the group disbanded.

Norman resurfaced a couple of years later with Uncle Jim's Music, a group who combined West Coast and country music leanings. Norman joined the band after the release of their first album, contributing to their second collection for Kapp Records, There's A Song in This.

Norman contributed string arrangements and piano to a series of bestselling albums by the Eagles, released between 1973 and 1980 including Desperado, One of These Nights and Hotel California. During the same period he wrote string and horn arrangements for Linda Ronstadt's album, Don't Cry Now and Hat Trick – America's third studio album (released on Warner Bros). He would continue to accrue arrangement credits throughout his career and well into its next phase in Nashville.

In the mid-seventies, Norman emerged as a producer of note. Among the albums he helmed, and which featured his smooth stylistic qualities, were song-writing legend Jackie Deshannon's You're The Only Dancer (Amherst, 1977) and Quick Touches (Amherst, 1978), the first of which restored Deshannon to the pop charts with the spirited anthem "Don't Let The Flame Burn Out". Other production jobs included albums by New Riders of the Purple Sage, Glenn Frey, The Osmonds, and Jennifer Warnes's first hit, "Right Time of the Night" (US #6).