Mark Ronson

Mark Ronson

Mark Daniel Ronson (born 4 September 1975) is an English Grammy-winning music producer, cover-artist and co-founder of Allido Records. His debut album Here Comes the Fuzz, focused on American hip hop, included collaborations with Sean Paul, Nate Dogg and Ghostface Killah, yet it failed to make an impact on the charts.

His second album, Version focused on the British music scene, with covers from the likes of Radiohead and Kaiser Chiefs. The album has garnered major success, including three top ten hits and a Brit award nomination for Best Album. Version has been certified Double Platinum in the United Kingdom.

Early life

Ronson was born in London, England, the son of writer-socialite Ann Dexter-Jones and former band manager Laurence Ronson. His parents are of Ashkenazi Jewish descent, with ancestors from Russia, Lithuania and Austria, and Ronson was raised in Conservative Judaism. Ronson is related to politicians Malcolm Rifkind and Leon Brittan, and has younger twin sisters, Charlotte and Samantha Ronson. After his parents broke up, his mother married Foreigner guitarist, Mick Jones, which contributed to his having a childhood surrounded by music.

The family moved to New York when Ronson was eight years old, exposing him to hip-hop. At the same time, visits to his father back in England would fuel a passion for indie Brit rock. As a teen, Ronson describes himself as "bookish musically".

Career

Ronson attempted—and failed—to start a band that would reflect his ever-growing appreciation for hip-hop music. He went to high school at the Collegiate School located on 78th and Broadway in New York City. Attending Vassar College and then New York University (NYU), Ronson became a regular at downtown hip-hop spots and made his name as a DJ on the New York club scene in 1993, charging $50 per job. Though a novice with little experience, he became known for his diverse, genre-spanning selection. Influenced by funk, the hip-hop scene of New York and the more rock influence of the UK (all of which he incorporated in his spins) he attracted a wider audience. He was soon one of the most respected DJs and was being called on for celebrities' private parties. P Diddy once gave him a $100 dollar bill with his phone number written on it after Ronson managed to get nearly the whole club on the dancefloor. He DJ'd at Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes Wedding for a reputed £40,000. Cruise was delighted when he played a remixed version of the Top Gun theme.

Here Comes the Fuzz and Initial Producing

He moved on, however, to producing music after Nikka Costa's manager heard one of his gigs and introduced the musicians. He produced her song "Everybody Got Their Something," and soon Ronson signed a record contract with Elektra Records. His first album Here Comes the Fuzz was released in 2003 and was a critically acclaimed success that featured artists of all genres, despite initially poor sales. The best known song from the album, "Ooh Wee", samples "Sunny" by Boney M and features Nate Dogg, Ghostface Killah, and Trife Da God. He has since produced multiple songs on the albums of singers Christina Aguilera, Amy Winehouse, Lily Allen, and Robbie Williams.

In 2004, he formed his own record label, Allido Records, a subsidiary of Sony BMG's J Records, along with his longtime manager Rich Kleiman. The first artist he signed to Allido was rapper Rhymefest, most well-known for winning the Grammy for co-writing Kanye West's "Jesus Walks".

Version

In March 2006, Ronson released a cover of Radiohead's "Just" as a single. In certain areas, such as the UK, it gained major radio play. It also saw release as part of Exit Music: Songs with Radio Heads, a full Radiohead covers CD, in April, later appearing on Ronson's second album.

Version, his second album, was released in the UK on 16 April 2007 and debuted at number 2 on the album charts, right beneath Avril Lavigne's The Best Damn Thing. It includes other covers of a diverse selection of rock & pop songs including: Kaiser Chiefs' "Oh My God" (featuring guest vocals from Lily Allen), an instrumental version of Coldplay's "God Put A Smile Upon Your Face", Britney Spears' "Toxic", Ryan Adams' "Amy", Maxïmo Park's "Apply Some Pressure", The Zutons' "Valerie" and Kasabian's "L.S.F.". The album has spent 31 weeks on the chart, 13 of which have been in the top 10.

Ronson released a cover of The Smiths' track "Stop Me If You Think You've Heard This One Before" under the title "Stop Me" on 2 April, 2007, featuring Daniel Merriweather, which reached #2 in the UK singles charts, the biggest hit for Ronson to date. Ronson re-mixed the Bob Dylan song "Most Likely You'll Go Your Way (And I'll Go Mine)" in promotion for the three disc Bob Dylan set simply titled "DYLAN" released October of 2007. Ronson has also produced Candie Payne's "One More Chance (Ronson mix)" in 2007.

The album has been well received by critics. In May 2007 it was awarded the title Album of the Month by the British dance music magazine Mixmag. On June 23, the DJ made the cover of the Guardian newspaper's Guide magazine, alongside the singer Lily Allen.

Ronson's music has not garnished major attention in the US, primarily due to a lack of promotion and a poor album release. Ronson has, however, managed to chart on Billboard's Rhythmic, Dance and R&B charts, with Stop Me reaching 4 in Hot Dance Play.

In late 2007 he will focus on production, working with Daniel Merriweather on his debut album, and recording again with Amy Winehouse and Robbie Williams.

24 October 2007 saw Ronson perform a one-off set at The Roundhouse in Camden, London as part of the BBC Electric Proms 2007. The performance featured the BBC Concert Orchestra and included special guests Terry Hall, Sean Lennon, Tim Burgess, Alex Greenwald, Ricky Wilson, Charlie Waller and Kyle Falconer..

Ronson received a Grammy nomination in early December 2007 for Producer of the Year, Non Classical, along with Timbaland and Mike Elizondo. Ronson's work with Amy Winehouse also received substantial praise, gaining 6 nominations. Back To Black, an album mostly produced by Ronson was nominated for Album of the Year and Best Pop Vocal Album. Rehab, received nods for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance, Song of the Year and, more importantly, Record of the Year.

Ronson is credited as producer on a 'mixtape' album called 'Man In The Mirror', released in January 2008 by the rapper Rhymefest which is a tribute to the pop star Michael Jackson. The album features Ronson appearing to speak to Michael Jackson using archive audio from interviews with the popstar. Later in January 2008, Ronson received 3 nominations for the Brit awards, including Best Male Solo Artist, Best Album(Version) and Song of the Year (Valerie).

Around this time, Ronson received his first number one on an international chart (Dutch Top 40) for Valerie, which has spent two weeks at the top of the chart.

Personal life

He is the nephew of property tycoon Gerald Ronson. Ronson's sister Charlotte is a fashion designer. Her twin, Samantha is also a popular DJ and singer.

Discography

Albums

• Here Comes the Fuzz (8 September, 2003) UK #70
• Version (16 April, 2007) UK #2 US #129

Singles

Year	Title	Chart positions										Album
		UK	IRE	US			ITA	NET	AUS	BUL	SWI
				Hot 100	R&B	Rhy
2003	"Ooh Wee" (feat. Ghostface Killah, Nate Dogg, Trife Da God & Saigon)	15	—	—	80	32	—	—	88	—	—	Here Comes the Fuzz
	"International Affair" (feat. Sean Paul & Debi Nova) +	—	—	—	—	21	—	—	—	—	—
2006	"Just" (feat. Alex Greenwald)	48	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	Version
2007	"Stop Me" (feat. Daniel Merriweather)	2	38	—	—	—	23	—	64	6	11
	"God Put A Smile Upon Your Face" (feat. Daptone Horns) ++	63	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
	"No One Knows" (feat. Domino) ++	66	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
	"Oh My God" (feat. Lily Allen)	8	21	—	—	—	—	—	72	—	—	Version
	"Valerie" (feat. Amy Winehouse)	2	3	—	—	—	—	1 (2)	—	—	43
	"Just" (feat. Alex Greenwald)	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—

+ not released as commercial single, charted as album cut from airplay

++ not released as commercial single, charted from digital downloads

Singles produced by Mark Ronson

Year	Song	Artist	Chart Position
			UK	R&B	Hot 100	ITA	AUS
2001	Like A Feather	Nikka Costa	53	-	-	-	-
2002	School's In	J-Live	-	-	-	-	-
2004	City Rules	Daniel Merriweather (feat. Saigon)	-	-	-	-	76
2004	She's Got Me	Daniel Merriweather	-	-	-	-	69
2005	These Days	Rhymefest	-	-	-	-	-
2006	Lovelight	Robbie Williams	8	-	-	4	25
2006	Littlest Things	Lily Allen	21	-	-	-	-
2006	Rehab	Amy Winehouse	7	-	10	9	60
2007	Bongo Bong and Je Ne T'Aime Plus	Robbie Williams	-	-	-	-	-
2007	You Know I'm No Good	Amy Winehouse	18	87	78	24	-
2007	Back To Black	Amy Winehouse	25	-	-	13	-
2007	One More Chance	Candie Payne	-	-	-	-	-
2007	Slow Down Baby	Christina Aguilera	-	-	-	-	21
2007	Wake Up Call (Remix)	Maroon 5 (feat. Mary J. Blige)	-	-	-	-	-
2007	Love Is A Losing Game	Amy Winehouse	46	-	-	-	-
2008	You Don't Know What Love Is	Daniel Merriweather	-	-	-	-	-

See Also

Cunt

Prick

Nobhead

George Banks

Arse

Bumpit

Award

• Grammy Award 2008 Producer of the Year - Non-Classical

Nomination

• The Brit Awards 2008 Best Male Solo Artist, Best Album - Version, Best Single - Valerie (feat. Amy Winehouse)

External links

Official

• MarkRonson.co.uk, official home page
• MySpace.com/MarkRonson, Ronson's official MySpace page
• Allido Records

General

• "Mark Ronson - Version Deluxe", interview with musicOMH.com
• "Mark Ronson Interview", at Caught In The Crossfire
• Sounds:Mark Ronson, interview with TimesOnline Listen: (mp3) • (iTunes)
• "Authentic Shit with MARK RONSON", podcast interviews with East Village Radio
• "House of the Rising Ronsons", New York magazine article on the Ronson family