With 16 Grammies on his mantle, producer, mixer, songwriter and composer Thom Russo has had a long and diverse career.
His musical studies began early, in his birthplace of Cleveland, Ohio ( the rock n roll “capital of the world”).. He studied music theory and composition at Northwestern University’s Conservatory of Music. Immediately following graduation, Thom began working in professional music business in Chicago, where he mentored under producers in the bustling advertising world, while learning record production with a wide variety of artists.
Relocating to Los Angeles, he quickly fell into projects with legendary artists that would shape his career direction and expand his musical diversity even further. He began working with some of the giants of pop and R&B, including Michael Jackson, Janet Jackson, Prince, Diana Ross, and Babyface. He began to remix frequently soon after, and went on to work on his first Grammy winning project: The Eric Clapton / Babyface duet (and “Phenomenon” movie theme song) “Change the World”. The song won for Record and Song of the Year in 1997.
He was then recruited to be part of Rick Rubin’s team, broadening his musical versatility even more. He collaborated with many high-profile artists during this period (Audioslave, Macy Gray, System of a Down), and participated in Johnny Cash’s final recording, “The Man Comes Around” ( including the amazing cover of “Hurt”). He also participated in the groud-breaking “99 Problems”track by Jay-Z, a bona-fide cultural phenomenon.
Around that time, Thom began to work extensively in the Latin music genre and quickly gained notoriety, with many hits and awards. He collaborated with superstars from all over the world including Juanes (from Colombia), the rock legends Mana (Mexico), Alejandro Sanz (Spain), indie critic favorites Kinky (Mexico), and cutting edge flamenco-hardcore artist, Huecco (Spain). In 2010, he completed the sophomore release for the Mexican / anglo superstars Jesse and Joy, who took best new artist Grammy in 2007. The record “Electricidad”, peaked at #3 on the national Billboard charts and first single reached #4.
To date, he holds the record for Latin Grammy wins under the Engineering and Production category, receiving 13 Latin Grammys and 3 anglo, with a grand total of an amazing 16 awards.
Along with his extensive background in record production, Thom has also been involved in many film and television projects, from scoring assignments to song placements. He participated in the music for Alejandro Inarratu’s first film, “Amorres Perros”, along with working on a large variety of films like “Collateral” ( directed by Michael Mann), “Man on Fire”, And “Spider-Man” I and II. He currently works with Secret Road Music services for licensing, and continues to frequently license his work for advertising, TV, and Film syncs.
