George Pajon Jr. | |
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 Pajon in 2016 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | George Pajon Jr. |
| Born | April 10, 1969 Los Angeles, California, United States |
| Genres | |
| Occupation(s) |
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| Instruments |
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| Years active | 1986–present |
| Associated acts | |
George Pajon Jr. (born April 10, 1969) is an American guitarist, songwriter and record producer.
George Pajon Jr. "attended private St. Matthias Elementary School, a Catholic K-8 school, in Huntington Park. Growing up in conservative Downey, Pajon was 9 when he picked up his first guitar. He played his second concert in the school's cafeteria. He worked hard to collect enough credits so that by his senior year he only needed to attend half a day's worth of classes, leaving more time for his guitar. Pajon graduated from Downey High School in 1987." [1]
George was one of The Black Eyed Peas' key performing and recording musicians, having written, produced, and co-written many of the group's most popular songs. [2]
He has recording credits as a songwriter, producer or musician with Fergie, Carlos Santana, Sting, Ricky Martin, will.i.am, Macy Gray, Candy Dulfer, Los Lonely Boys, Cheryl Cole, "Weird Al" Yankovic, Kelis, Richard Cheese, Nas, Damian Marley, Sérgio Mendes, J.Period, John Legend, Jully Black, Venus Brown, M. Pokora, Klaus Badelt, Kidz Bop Kids, Kim Dotcom, Tre Hardson and various other artists. [3] [4]
Pajon has contributed to movie soundtracks such as The Best Man Holiday , Poseidon , Scary Movie , Made , Barbershop 2: Back in Business , Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights , Our Family Wedding , Knight and Day and Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle among others in either a songwriter, record producer or musician role. [5] Pajon has contributed to television soundtracks such as Live from Studio Five , The Voice of the Philippines , The Voice UK , The X Factor and Dancing with the Stars among others. [6] He co-wrote the theme and title credit to Samurai Jack , the animated cartoon series. [7]
In 2012, it was reported that Pajon had sued Sean Larkin, the Black Eyed Peas' former manager, for breach of contract regarding Larkin's failure to appropriate income taxes. [8] [9]
In 2015, Pajon joined Nick Gaffaney's duo act Cairo Knife Fight. [10] [11] [12] [13]
In 2009, The Downey Patriot writes: "We asked George Pajon Jr. to provide tips for aspiring musicians. His advice: 'There are 20,000 guitar players in Downey alone. What makes you special from the guy next to you? Passion, determination is what sets you aside. Set goals, never go backwards. When you do, stop yourself and reevaluate. I frustrated the hell out of every band I was in. I wasn't going to flounder. Becoming content is the enemy of musicians. You'll never find your true voice if you don't challenge yourself'." [14]
In 2009, the wedding of George Pajon and Naomi Medina [15] took place in Mexico's Xcaret and was televised on WE Tv's Platinum Weddings . [16]
In 2012, The San Jose Mercury News finds Pajon making time for the John Lennon Educational Tour Bus: "Black Eyed Peas guitarist George Pajon Jr. also volunteered his services, flying up from L.A. to work with Solomon and the other young musicians, who seemed a bit awestruck from being able to work with a huge star like Pajon." Pajon said he, in turn, was blown away by the collaboration with young talented musicians. "Overwhelming," he said. "So much musical knowledge, at such a young age. It's really inspiring to me. We've been involved with the bus guys since 1999, and they've been really inspiring to us over the years," Pajon said. "This was a welcome break for me. I could use a dose of inspiration, and it's been absolutely great to see young creative minds at work here." [17]
In January 2004, Pajon released his first solo effort entitled Fried Plantains on Kulafa Recordings. [18] [19] [20] "The new debut release by guitarist George Pajon Jr., “Fried Plaintains,” deserves a key spot among the great grooves on the funk-jazz shelf." [21] "George’s musical dexterity comes through more than ever in his current solo project, Fried Plantains, which fuses the worlds of jazz, hip-hop, blues and rock." [22]
In 2007 Pajon released the album entitled The Band Behind the Front with Bucky Jonson on the BBE label. [23]
In 2012 Pajon teamed up with The Voice's season 3 contestant Diego Val [24] to release Sons of Mariel. [25] [26]
In 2012, The Houston Press wrote "Original composer George Pajon Jr. - "Si Se Puede," the Spanish version of "Yes We Can," - the unstoppable hit inspired by President-elect Barack Obama's eponymous 2007 speech." [27]
Pajon co-wrote the Emmy Award-winning 2008 Barack Obama campaign song "Yes We Can". [28]
Pajon co-wrote the #1 hit song "Where Is The Love?" which received two Grammy nominations; Record of the Year and Best Rap/Sung Collaboration at the 46th Grammy Awards. [29] [30]
Pajon won the Best Rap Performance By A Duo Or Group Grammy for co-writing the song "Let's Get It Started" at the 47th Grammy Awards.
Pajon won the Best Rap Performance By A Duo Or Group Grammy for co-writing the song "Don't Phunk with My Heart" at the 48th Grammy Awards.
Pajon won the Best Pop Vocal Album Grammy at the 52nd Grammy Awards for co-writing the songs "Out Of My Head", "Now Generation", "Rockin to the Beat" and "Back at 45", from the album The E.N.D .
Pajon won two 2006 BMI Pop Music Awards for co-writing the songs "Don't Phunk With My Heart" and "Let's Get It Started". [31]
Pajon won a 2006 BMI London Pop Music Award for co-writing the song "Don't Phunk With My Heart." [32]
Pajon won a 2005 BMI Pop Music Award for co-writing the song "Where Is The Love." [33]
Brian Robert Setzer is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He found widespread success in the early 1980s with the 1950s-style rockabilly group Stray Cats, and revitalized his career in the early 1990s with his swing revival band, the Brian Setzer Orchestra. In 1987, he made a cameo appearance as Eddie Cochran in the film La Bamba.
Carlos Humberto Santana Barragán is an American guitarist who rose to fame in the late 1960s and early 1970s with his band Santana, which pioneered a fusion of rock 'n' roll and Latin American jazz. Its sound featured his melodic, blues-based lines set against Latin American and African rhythms played on percussion instruments not generally heard in rock, such as timbales and congas. He experienced a resurgence of popularity and critical acclaim in the late 1990s. In 2015, Rolling Stone magazine listed him at No. 20 on their list of the 100 greatest guitarists. He has won 10 Grammy Awards and three Latin Grammy Awards, and was inducted along with his namesake band into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1998.
Randall Hank Williams, known professionally as Hank Williams Jr. or Bocephus, is an American singer-songwriter and musician. His musical style is often considered a blend of Southern rock, blues, and country. He is the son of country music legend Hank Williams.
"Don't Phunk with My Heart" is a song by American musical group Black Eyed Peas, taken from their fourth studio album, Monkey Business (2005). It was written by band members will.i.am, Fergie, George Pajon, Jr. and Printz Board; will.i.am also produced and engineered the song. The song features compositional samples of songs derived from two Bollywood films of the 1970s, Apradh (1972) and Don (1978), as well as interpolations of Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam's 1985 single "I Wonder If I Take You Home" and Gucci Crew II's 1988 single "Sally ". The song was released as the first single from Monkey Business; it was first serviced to mainstream radio on April 11, 2005, in the United States.
David Hall Hodges is a singer, songwriter, producer, composer, and keyboardist from Little Rock, Arkansas who has sold over 60 million albums. He is well known for having been a member of the band Evanescence, as well as a successful songwriter and producer. He has also been part of the bands Trading Yesterday, The Age of Information, Avox, and Arrows to Athens.
Monkey Business is the fourth studio album by American group Black Eyed Peas. It was released on May 25, 2005, by the will.i.am Music Group and A&M Records. It was recorded in "two and three-month spurts" throughout 2004 while the group was on tour.
"Don't Lie" is a song performed by American recording group the Black Eyed Peas, taken from their fourth studio album, Monkey Business (2005). It was released as the second single from the album on June 29, 2005, after the successful "Don't Phunk with My Heart".
Jaime Luis Gomez, better known by his stage name Taboo, is an American rapper, songwriter, actor and DJ, best known as a member of the musical group The Black Eyed Peas.
Brent Mason is a Nashville recording studio guitarist and songwriter performing primarily country music. Guitar World Magazine listed him as one of the "Top Ten Session Guitarists of All Time". Discovered and mentored by Chet Atkins, Mason has been named "Guitarist of the Year" 12 times by the Academy of Country Music and was inducted into the Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum in 2019. In addition to releasing two instrumental studio albums, he holds several credits as a songwriter. He is a Grammy Award winner (2008) and a two-time winner of the CMA Award Musician of the Year. A line of "Brent Mason" guitar models has been marketed by two different guitar manufacturers. The Stories Collection Brent Mason Telecaster was launched August 11, 2020.
Apradh (transl. Crime) is a 1972 action thriller romance Hindi film produced and directed by Feroz Khan. It was Feroz Khan's debut as a producer and a director. The film stars Feroz Khan, Mumtaz, Prem Chopra, Iftekhar, Helen, Faryal and Madan Puri. The film's music is by Kalyanji Anandji.
Charlie Midnight is an American songwriter, record producer, and founder of Midnight Production House. He has been nominated for the 1987 Grammy Award for Best R&B Song, two Golden Globes, and has been a producer and/or writer on several Grammy-winning albums, including The Bodyguard: Original Soundtrack Album, Joni Mitchell's Turbulent Indigo, and Marlo Thomas & Friends: Thanks & Giving All Year Long. He also is a writer on the Barbra Streisand Grammy-nominated, Platinum-selling Partners album having co-written the Barbra Streisand and Andrea Bocelli duet "I Still Can See Your Face."
Descemer Bueno is a Cuban singer, songwriter, and record producer. His first professional gigs were playing bass with Cuban troubadour Santiago Feliú.
The E.N.D. World Tour was the third concert tour by American hip hop group The Black Eyed Peas, in support of their fifth studio album The E.N.D. (2009). The tour began in Japan on September 15, 2009, with shows also performed in Australia and New Zealand in 2009. The group toured in North America starting in February 2010, with dates also planned for Europe starting in Dublin, Ireland in May. The group performed 2 shows in Paradise, Nevada at the end of 2009 as a warm up to their extensive North American tour. The tour was also expected to reach South America and more parts of Asia during 2010. It is the group's biggest tour production-wise to date, with the group's female vocalist Fergie stating that they are "trying to up [their] game" and the shows will "utilize a lot of the technology that's out there". The E.N.D. World Tour was backed by presenting sponsor BlackBerry, and Bacardi as the official spirit of the tour.
The Invisible Men are a Grammy-nominated multiplatinum songwriting and music production trio, consisting of Jason Pebworth, George Astasio and Jon Shave. Invisible Men's songs have so far achieved over 7 billion Spotify streams, 30 million record sales worldwide and the trio have frequently ranked among Music Week's Top Songwriters. They co-produced and co-composed Iggy Azalea's seven week US #1 single "Fancy" which has sold in excess of 11 million copies digitally worldwide to date, making it one of the best-selling singles of all time and the seventh best-selling single worldwide of 2014, and her US million-selling debut single, "Work", as well as a vast portion of Azalea's debut album The New Classic. The Invisible Men IIVI co-produced six of the seven tracks on Lil Peep's 2017 album "Come Over When You're Sober Pt. 1", as well as the majority of its follow-up "Pt. 2", alongside other stand-alone tracks including "Falling Down', I've Been Waiting and When I Lie (Remix).
Gary Lee Clark Jr. is an American musician from Austin, Texas. He is best known for his fusion of blues, rock and soul music with elements of hip hop. In 2011 Clark signed with Warner Bros Records and released The Bright Lights EP. It was followed by the albums Blak and Blu (2012) and The Story of Sonny Boy Slim (2015). Throughout his career Clark has been a prolific live performer, which has been documented in two releases: Gary Clark Jr. Live (2014) and Gary Clark Jr Live/North America (2017). He has shared the stage with Eric Clapton, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, B.B. King and the Rolling Stones. In 2014, Clark was awarded a Grammy for Best Traditional R&B performance for the song "Please Come Home". His latest album, This Land, was released on February 22, 2019. In 2020, he won the Grammy Award for "Best Rock Song" and "Best Rock Performance" for the song "This Land" from his album of the same name.
Edmond Martin Cash is a producer, songwriter, engineer, and multi-instrumentalist. He was named the "Producer of the Year" at the Gospel Music Awards for four consecutive years (2004–2007) and gains recognition for his work with Christian singer Chris Tomlin. In addition to several Grammy Nominations and countless BMI Citations of Achievement, Cash has produced or written with artists such as Steven Curtis Chapman, Vince Gill, Dolly Parton, Colin Bernard, Amy Grant, Bebo Norman, David Crowder Band, Bethany Dillon, Kari Jobe, Dave Barnes, Matt Wertz, Caedmon's Call, Casting Crowns, Annette Lee. He is a member of the band We the Kingdom.
Jesse Willard "Pete" Carr was an American guitarist. Carr contributed to successful recordings by Joan Baez, Luther Ingram, Bob Seger, Joe Cocker, Boz Scaggs, Paul Simon, The Staple Singers, Rod Stewart, Barbra Streisand, Wilson Pickett, Hank Williams, Jr., among many others, from the 1970s onward.
Priese Prince Lamont "Printz" Board is a Grammy Award-winning American record producer, songwriter, and singer best known for his work with Black Eyed Peas and being a member of the production group Bucky Johnson. In addition, Board has worked with DJ Mustard, CeeLo Green, Mark Ronson, Fergie, and John Legend, among others.
Bucky Jonson is an American band and production team from California. The group is composed of musicians Printz Board, George Pajon (guitars), Jr., Tim Izo and Keith Harris with their first album, "The Band Behind The Front," released in 2007 on the BBE label.
Cairo Knife Fight (CKF) is a rock band originating from New Zealand, founded in 2007 by musical artist Nick Gaffaney, featuring a drum and guitar duo incorporating real-time layered loops.