Sergio George
| Sergio George | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Sergio George |
| Born |
May 23, 1961 East Harlem, New York City, New York, U.S. |
| Genres | Salsa, latin pop, bachata |
| Occupations | Pianist, arranger, producer, composer, musical director, A&R |
| Labels | RMM, Sony Discos, Sir George, WEA Latina, SGZ, La Calle, Top Stop Music |
Sergio George (born May 23, 1961) is an American pianist arranger and record producer, known for working with many famous performers of salsa music, although he has worked in other genres of the music industry as well. He has worked with some of Latin music's most popular artists including Marc Anthony, Jennifer Lopez, Tito Nieves, Víctor Manuelle, Frankie Negrón, Johnny Rivera, Ray Sepúlveda, Tito Puente, DLG, Orquesta de la Luz, Ivy Queen, Celia Cruz, La India, Jerry Rivera, Bacilos, among others.
Biography
George, the son of Puerto Rican parents, was born and raised in New York City, and attended the City College of New York. He had started his professional career with Conjunto Caché and Conjunto Clásico in 1979, then moved on to session recordings and live performances during the 1980s. Starting in 1987, George was musical director for several album recordings, including being pianist for Grupo Star for their 1987 album "Grupo Star", During this period he was also a member of Grupo Baruc and their release of the album "Reeencuentro" in 1988. It was not until he became the producer of Tito Nieves's first album "The Classic" for RMM in 1988 that his status as one of the most sought-after salsa producers was stamped. Also in late 1988, he was the producer and musical director for Johnny & Ray's (later became Johnny Ray) first album "Mascarada" with vocalist Ray Sepulveda.
George later became the main visionary behind the New York-based Latin label RMM Records & Video, between 1988 to 1995, arranging, producing, and directing dozens of recordings for that label, working with artists like Jose Alberto 'El Canario', Johnny Rivera, Domingo Quinones, Tony Vega, Ray Sepulveda, Cheo Feliciano, Celia Cruz, La India and others. He produced the 1991 album "100th LP" for Tito Puente, produced & arranged the first two albums of Marc Anthony, "Otra Nota" & "Todo A Su Tiempo". George also produced the platinum-selling "Combinacion Perfecta" album from Familia RMM in 1993. He also produced and sessioned in recordings outside of RMM during this period, including albums with Nestor Sanchez, Junior Gonzalez, Africando and Los Hermanos Colon, as well as arranging several hit songs, including his arrangement on the hit track "Solo" for Luis Enrique on his 1989 album "Mi Mundo".
In early 1995, George left RMM to pursue his own producing venture with Sir George Entertainment, and had a producing agreement with Sony Discos. During this time, he formed DLG, featuring vocalist Huey Dunbar and rappers James 'Da Barba' and Fragancia. He also helped in re-inventing Victor Manuelle into one of the Salsa's most powerful artists. His producing credits continued on with WEA Latina by 1997 with Frankie Negron, Charlie Cruz and many other salsa performers. In early 2004, Sergio George and Latin recording executive George Zamora created SGZ Entertainment, in Miami, Florida, focusing on urban artists. In August 2006, SGZ Entertainment became part of La Calle Records, a sublabel of Univision. During the 2008 Latin Grammy Awards, Sergio George won Producer of the Year for his work on "Historia De Taxi" by Ricardo Arjona featuring Marc Anthony, "La Vida Se Va" by Gloria Trevi, "Mi Mayor Sacrificio" by Tito Nieves featuring Marco Antonio Solís, "Quiero Decirte Que Te Amo" by DLG featuring Ness, "Toro Mata" by DLG featuring Napoles and Ness and the album El Cantante by Marc Anthony.
In 2009, George founded Top Stop Music, and the first release was with Luis Enrique and his album, Ciclos which has topped the charts and garnered two Latin Grammy awards. At the end of 2009, in 2009 he hired Artist Stephanie Marie Hanvey as lead female Vocalist on the BKIDZ Album released in 2010. He signed Prince Royce, whose self-titled debut album was released early 2010. Added to the label's roster is Loisaidas, a musical duo, and JayL. At the end of 2009, La India signed with Top Stop Music, having her first single released in early 2010, "Estupida" which quickly reached number one on the US Billboard Tropical Songs chart. Her album, Unica, was released by Top Stop Music on June 1, 2010.
At the 11th Latin Grammy Awards, George received his second Latin Grammy for Producer of the Year, for his work on "Corazón Sin Cara", "Tu y Yo" and "Stand By Me" by Prince Royce, "Estúpida", "Si Él Te Habla De Mi", "Smile" and "Te Vas a Arrepentir" by La India.
At the 14th Latin Grammy Awards, George took home a trio of Latin Grammys for Producer of the Year, Producer of Marc Anthony's Record of the Year "Vivir Mi Vida" and Best Salsa Album for "Sergio George Presents Salsa Giants."