Mitchell Froom

Mitchell Froom (born June 29, 1953) is an American musician and record producer.

Mitchell Froom
Born (1953-06-29) June 29, 1953
OriginUnited States
Occupation(s)Musician, record producer
InstrumentsKeyboards
Years active1982–present
LabelsKontextrecords

Career

Froom began his career as a keyboard player in Sonoma County, California. The band Crossfire featured two keyboard players; Mitchell on one side of the stage and brother David on the other with Gary Pihl on guitar. He also played keyboards on the Ronnie Montrose-led group Gamma's third album Gamma 3 as well as both late 1970s albums by David LaFlamme, It's a Beautiful Day and LaFlamme's solo album Inside Out.

He produced the first three Crowded House albums, which led to more production jobs with Richard Thompson, Los Lobos, American Music Club, Suzanne Vega and Paul McCartney. One early notable work, Key of Cool, later became the soundtrack for the adult film, Café Flesh.

In 1987 he produced and wrote incidental music for the L.A.-noir "Slam Dance".

Between 1992 and 2002 Froom formed a full-time partnership with engineer Tchad Blake. Production credits include albums from American Music Club, Stevie Ann, Tasmin Archer, The Bangles, Peter Case, The Corrs, Elvis Costello, Sheryl Crow, Crowded House, The Ditty Bops, Tim Finn, Missy Higgins, Indigo Girls, Los Lobos, Robin Gibb, Maria McKee, Pat McLaughlin, Randy Newman, Nerina Pallot, Pearl Jam, Phantom Planet, Bonnie Pink, Daniel Powter, Bonnie Raitt, Ron Sexsmith, The Del Fuegos, Richard Thompson, and Suzanne Vega. Froom and Blake joined with David Hidalgo and Louie Perez of Los Lobos to form the experimental roots collaboration Latin Playboys.

Froom has produced over 60 albums[1] and has composed and produced music for numerous films.[2] He has been nominated for several Grammys including for Record of the Year for La Bamba by Los Lobos (1988) and Producer of the Year in 1993 for both Kiko by Los Lobos and 99.9F° by Suzanne Vega.[3] He was also nominated for the 1998 Golden Globe Award and the 1999 Grammy for Best Song Written for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media for co-writing with Sheryl Crow the James Bond movie title song "Tomorrow Never Dies".[4]

As a musician, Froom has released two solo albums, Dopamine (1998) and A Thousand Days (2005). The song "Noodletown" from "Dopamine" won an Emmy when it was used as the theme for PBS' Sessions at West 54th.[5]

Froom was a judge for the 2nd annual Independent Music Awards to support independent artists' careers.[6]

In December 2019 Froom was announced as a member of the new lineup of Crowded House with plans to tour and record new music in 2020.[7]

Personal life

His first wife was Connie Jester, with whom he had daughter Charlotte Froom (born 1986). Charlotte was the bassist in The Like.

Froom married Suzanne Vega in 1995; they separated in 1998. Soul Coughing's 1994 album, Ruby Vroom, was named after their daughter, Ruby Froom (born July 8, 1994).

He married Vonda Shepard in 2004. They had their first child, Jack Froom (named for Froom's late father, a noted physician and educator), on April 15, 2006.

His brother is David Froom, a classical composer and Department Chair of the Music Department at St. Mary's College of Maryland.

Froom is of Romanian ancestry.[8]

Collaborations

With Vonda Shepard

  • The Radical Light (Reprise Records, 1992)
  • By 7:30 (Jacket Records, 1999)
  • Chinatown (Edel Records, 2002)
  • From the Sun (Redeye Distribution, 2008)

With Bob Dylan

With Bonnie Raitt

With Boris_Grebenshchikov

With Daniel Powter

With Rita Coolidge

With Rufus Wainwright

With Indigo Girls

  • Posideon and the Bitter Bug (Vanguard Records, 2009)

With Susanna Hoffs

With Tasmin Archer

With Randy Newman

With Maria McKee

With Tracy Chapman

With Marshall Crenshaw

With Roy Orbison

With Eddie Money

With Sheryl Crow

With Neil Finn

With Tracy Bonham

With Tim Finn

With Finn Brothers

  • Everyone is Here (Nettwerk Records, 2004)

With Paul McCartney

With Peter Gabriel

  • Up (Geffen, 2002)
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References
  1. Kontextrecords Archived August 29, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
  2. IMDB Mitchell Froom
  3. Rock on the Net 1993 Grammys
  4. Rock on the Net 1999 Grammys
  5. Damn Fine Day Archived July 24, 2012, at Archive.today
  6. Independent Music Awards – Past Judges Archived July 13, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
  7. "Crowded House". Neil Finn. Retrieved December 10, 2019.
  8. Vonda Shepard "My husband's grandparents are from Romania" Archived July 15, 2012, at Archive.today, happyhour.protv.ro, 2009-02-16 (in Romanian).
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