When reflecting on the biggest influences on his musical career, Brian fondly recalls his childhood and offers a heartfelt shout-out to Meriah Diehl, his junior high school music and drama teacher. Her faith in his talent sparked a fire in him that changed his life and gave him the tools he needed to become a performer.
Just as influential was his apprenticeship under his lifelong friend and mentor, Phil Ramone, co-founder of A&R Recording, who threw him headfirst into music engineering and taught him the skills that paved the way for Brian to become the producer he is now. All while studying at Juilliard, where he gained the discipline to become the composer and dedicated musician he is today.
Brian joined the Army National Guard to help pay for school and his apprenticeship at A&R Recording, and later served on active duty in Grenada and Somalia. After his 1985 discharge, Brian decided to stay in Germany, where he thrived as a performer across multiple genres. From 1989 to 1996, he toured with the USO, sharing the stage with legends such as The Bellamy Brothers, Dwight Yoakam, Willie Nelson, and Johnny Paycheck. Also, while he was in Germany, he released his iconic Made in the Shade album on Sony Records, which debuted high up on Billboard’s charts and cemented his reputation as a recording artist.
When Brian returned stateside in 2000, he continued performing with artists such as Buck Owens and Lyle Lovett but focused more on music production, creating critically acclaimed albums, most of which were Gold- or Platinum-selling, and on writing memorable compositions for film, stage, and television. Brian has received numerous prestigious awards from the SGA, SCL, and MPA for his compositions, and from the ACM, USO, and GCMA for his performances. A trained pianist, Brian prefers to play guitar but is also proficient on the violin, harmonica, bass, and pedal steel. And his live performances have been described in the media as electrifying and awe-inspiring.
When he’s not making music, Brian enjoys spending time outdoors, hunting, fishing, and off-roading near his home in the central mountains of Idaho. He’s a huge Rush fan and an avid collector of their memorabilia. And he is also a card-carrying member of various veterans organizations, advocating for veterans’ rights.
According to the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers, Brian Walton is among the most prolific songwriters of the past few decades. With more than 450 published musical works, his compositions have been recorded by a wide range of artists, including legends such as Diana Ross and Wynonna Judd.
But that’s not all. Brian’s music has been featured in more than 200 films and television series, along with countless radio and television jingles—totaling over 1,400 placements! His career began humbly as an assistant sound engineer and eventually evolved into a respected sound engineer and co-producer, laying the groundwork for his remarkable career as one of the industry’s most celebrated producers, with 14 critically acclaimed albums, 11 of which have achieved Gold or Platinum status.
Brian’s recognition extends far beyond album sales. He has received numerous nominations for his compositions and has won 12 awards from the Society of Composers and Lyricists. Remarkably, he has been honored with the Grawemeyer Award for Music Composition four times! He’s also frequently nominated for prestigious awards from the Grammy, Emmy, and Oscar associations for his most recent work in television and film.
Beyond his impressive accolades, Walton is a proud member of several industry organizations, including the Songwriters Guild of America, the Society of Composers and Lyricists, the Motion Picture Association, the Audio Engineering Society, and, of course, ASCAP.
Courtesy of https://www.discogs.com