Josh Leo

Josh Leo
Born1953 (age 72–73)
Des Moines, Iowa, U.S.
OriginNashville, Tennessee, U.S.
Genres
Occupations
  • Record producer
  • songwriter
  • guitarist
  • record executive
InstrumentGuitar
Years active1975–present
LabelWarner Bros.

Josh Leo (born 1953) is an American record producer, songwriter, guitarist, and former record-company executive.[1] His production credits include recordings by the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Alabama, Kathy Mattea, Bad Company, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Emerson Drive, and Love and Theft.[2] As a songwriter, he co-wrote country number-one singles including Crystal Gayle's "Baby, What About You", Alabama's "Down Home", and Bryan White's "Sittin' on Go", as well as Dustin Lynch's debut single "Cowboys and Angels".[3][4][5][6]

Career

Performer and songwriter

Leo was born in Des Moines, Iowa.[1][7] He first recorded as the guitarist and a vocalist in the Chicago-based Eddie Boy Band. The group signed with MCA Records in 1975 and released one album, The Eddie Boy Band.[8][9] By the early 1980s, Leo was working in Los Angeles as a touring and session guitarist. His credits included work with J. D. Souther, Kim Carnes, Jimmy Buffett, and Glenn Frey.[10][11]

Warner Bros. released Leo's solo album Rockin' on 6th in 1983. He produced the record with Craig Hull and was joined by musicians including Bonnie Raitt, Souther, Timothy B. Schmit, and Merry Clayton.[12][13]

Leo's first major songwriting success came when Crystal Gayle took "Baby, What About You", written by Leo and Wendy Waldman, to number one on the country chart in 1983. The song earned its writers a BMI citation the following year.[3] His later compositions included singles recorded by the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Alabama, Restless Heart, Bryan White, LeAnn Rimes, Reba McEntire, The Wreckers, and Dustin Lynch.

Record production

Leo co-produced Schmit's 1984 album Playin' It Cool and also played guitar, bass, and percussion on the recording.[14] His breakthrough as a country producer came with the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band's Hold On (1987).[15] Leo heard Waldman and Jim Photoglo's "Fishin' in the Dark" at a party and asked to take the song to the band; its recording became a country number-one single.[16] He returned for the band's Workin' Band (1988), producing its singles and co-writing "Down That Road Tonight".[17]

Alabama hired Leo during a change of producers for Southern Star (1989). He produced five of the album's tracks, including "Song of the South", while Barry Beckett produced the remainder. Billboard reported that the project was intended to restore elements of the group's rural Southern sound after declining sales.[18] Leo emphasized live ensemble playing, rehearsing the band before recording and positioning its members close together in the studio. He subsequently worked on Alabama's Pass It On Down (1990), American Pride (1992), and Cheap Seats (1993).[19] The Cheap Seats single "Reckless", produced by Leo and Larry Michael Lee, became Alabama's 32nd country number one.[20]

Other 1990s projects included Matraca Berg's Lying to the Moon, Restless Heart's Big Iron Horses, Mattea's Walking Away a Winner, Paul Brandt's Calm Before the Storm, Bad Company's Stories Told & Untold, Lynyrd Skynyrd's Twenty, and Michael Peterson's self-titled debut.[21] Mattea's album marked a deliberate expansion of her sound toward pop and rock, with Leo serving as producer and guitarist.[22] Bad Company recorded Stories Told & Untold in Nashville with Leo in 1996, and his work with the two rock bands reflected the range of his production outside country music.[23][24]

In the 2000s, Leo and Alabama bassist Teddy Gentry produced six tracks on Emerson Drive's Countrified (2006), including the country number-one single "Moments", and later worked together on Believe (2009). He produced Love and Theft's self-titled 2012 album, which included the group's first number-one single, "Angel Eyes".[25][26] Leo returned for the band's Whiskey on My Breath (2015) and Need to Breathe (2023). His later production work also included Casey Donahew's All Night Party (2016) and One Light Town (2019).[27]

Record-company work

In August 1990, RCA Records Nashville appointed Leo vice president of artists and repertoire. The announcement cited his work as a musician and songwriter with Buffett and Carnes and as a producer for Alabama, the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, and Berg.[11] He later served as vice president and head of A&R, with other A&R staff reporting to him.[28] Leo left the label during a November 1992 restructuring under Thom Schuyler.[29]

Production style

In a 2011 interview with the Journal on the Art of Record Production, Leo described a producer as a facilitator whose role is to translate an artist's ideas into a recording, rather than imposing the producer's own sound. He emphasized learning an artist's musical preferences during pre-production, allowing studio musicians creative freedom, and recording Nashville ensembles largely live. Leo said he sometimes changed musicians between projects to prevent his records from acquiring a uniform sound.[2]

Selected production discography

Album-level credits in this section are sourced to AllMusic's Josh Leo credit index unless otherwise cited.[21]

Selected albums produced or co-produced by Leo
Year Artist Album Scope
1984 Timothy B. Schmit Playin' It Cool Co-produced with Schmit
1987 Nitty Gritty Dirt Band Hold On Producer
1988 Nitty Gritty Dirt Band Workin' Band Producer
1989 Alabama Southern Star Produced five tracks[18]
1989 Juice Newton Ain't Gonna Cry Producer
1990 Alabama Pass It On Down Co-producer
1990 Matraca Berg Lying to the Moon Producer
1992 Restless Heart Big Iron Horses Producer
1992 Alabama American Pride Co-producer
1993 Alabama Cheap Seats Co-producer
1994 Kathy Mattea Walking Away a Winner Producer
1996 Lari White Don't Fence Me In Co-produced with White
1996 Paul Brandt Calm Before the Storm Producer
1996 Bad Company Stories Told & Untold Producer
1997 Lynyrd Skynyrd Twenty Producer
1997 Michael Peterson Michael Peterson Co-produced with Robert Ellis Orrall
2006 Emerson Drive Countrified Co-produced six tracks with Teddy Gentry
2009 Emerson Drive Believe Co-produced with Gentry
2012 Love and Theft Love and Theft Producer
2015 Love and Theft Whiskey on My Breath Producer and engineer
2016 Casey Donahew All Night Party Producer and engineer
2019 Casey Donahew One Light Town Producer
2023 Love and Theft Need to Breathe Producer

Selected songs written

Selected singles written or co-written by Leo
Year Song Recording artist Co-writer(s) Notes
1983 "Baby, What About You" Crystal Gayle Wendy Waldman Number one country single; BMI award[3]
1985 "Home Again in My Heart" Nitty Gritty Dirt Band Wendy Waldman Top-five country single[30]
1987 "Baby's Got a Hold on Me" Nitty Gritty Dirt Band Jeff Hanna, Bob Carpenter Top-five country single[31]
1988 "Down That Road Tonight" Nitty Gritty Dirt Band Jeff Hanna, Wendy Waldman No. 6 country single[32]
1991 "Down Home" Alabama Rick Bowles Number one country single[4]
1993 "Tell Me What You Dream" Restless Heart featuring Warren Hill Timothy B. Schmit, Vince Melamed Number one adult-contemporary single; No. 43 on the Hot 100[33]
1993 "Hometown Honeymoon" Alabama Jim Photoglo Top-five country single[34]
1997 "Sittin' on Go" Bryan White Rick Bowles Number one country single[5]
1998 "Nothin' New Under the Moon" LeAnn Rimes Rick Bowles, Tom Shapiro Top-ten country single[35]
1998 "Wrong Night" Reba McEntire Rick Bowles No. 6 country single[36]
1999 "I Will Be There for You" Jessica Andrews Rick Bowles, Tom Shapiro Country-chart single[37]
2006 "My, Oh My" The Wreckers Michelle Branch, Jessica Harp, Wayne Kirkpatrick Top-ten country single; BMI award[38]
2012 "Cowboys and Angels" Dustin Lynch Lynch, Tim Nichols Lynch's debut single and first top-five country hit[6]

Discography as an artist

  • Rockin' on 6th (Warner Bros., 1983)[12]

References

  1. 1 2 "Josh Leo". Archived from the original on July 15, 2011.
  2. 1 2 Shelvock, Matt (July 2011). "Interview with Josh Leo". Journal on the Art of Record Production. Retrieved July 23, 2026.
  3. 1 2 3 Kirby, Kip (October 20, 1984). "BMI Honors 106 Writers, 90 Publishers" (PDF). Billboard. p. 45 – via World Radio History.
  4. 1 2 "Country Singles: Alabama, "Down Home"" (PDF). Cash Box. April 27, 1991 – via World Radio History.
  5. 1 2 "No. 1 Song Credits: "Sittin' on Go"" (PDF). Billboard. May 31, 1997 – via World Radio History.
  6. 1 2 Price, Deborah Evans (September 15, 2012). "Angels and Airwaves" (PDF). Billboard – via World Radio History.
  7. ↑ "Iowa State Fair Live Music Preview". Cityview. August 6, 2014. Retrieved July 23, 2026.
  8. ↑ "The Eddie Boy Band debuts with first LP" (PDF). Cash Box. October 11, 1975 – via World Radio History.
  9. ↑ "Eddie Boy on the Road" (PDF). Record World. November 1, 1975 – via World Radio History.
  10. ↑ "Signs of Leo" (PDF). Word of Mouth. Warner Bros. Records. August 1983 – via World Radio History.
  11. 1 2 "Josh Leo Heads A&R" (PDF). The Gavin Report. August 17, 1990. p. 3 – via World Radio History.
  12. 1 2 "Rockin' on 6th – Josh Leo". AllMusic. Retrieved July 23, 2026.
  13. ↑ "Warner Bros. artist Josh Leo releases first LP" (PDF). Radio & Records. September 16, 1983 – via World Radio History.
  14. ↑ "Playin' It Cool – Timothy B. Schmit". AllMusic. Retrieved July 23, 2026.
  15. ↑ "Hold On – Nitty Gritty Dirt Band". AllMusic. Retrieved July 23, 2026.
  16. ↑ Stark, Phyllis (August 7, 2014). "After 27 Years, Country Remains Hooked on 'Fishin' in the Dark'" (PDF). Billboard Country Update. p. 3.
  17. ↑ "Single reviews: Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, "Workin' Man (Nowhere to Go)"" (PDF). Billboard. 1988 – via World Radio History.
  18. 1 2 Morris, Edward (January 21, 1989). "Alabama Eyes a Southern Star: Act Returns to Roots After Sales Fall" (PDF). Billboard. pp. 1, 85 – via World Radio History.
  19. ↑ "Alabama" (PDF). Country Music. July–August 1990 – via World Radio History.
  20. ↑ "Alabama's 'Reckless' becomes its 32nd No. 1" (PDF). Billboard. November 27, 1993 – via World Radio History.
  21. 1 2 "Josh Leo Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved July 23, 2026.
  22. ↑ Jurek, Thom. "Walking Away a Winner – Kathy Mattea". AllMusic. Retrieved July 23, 2026.
  23. ↑ "Bad Company: Stories Told & Untold" (PDF). MusicRow. November 8, 1996 – via World Radio History.
  24. ↑ "Twenty – Lynyrd Skynyrd". AllMusic. Retrieved July 23, 2026.
  25. ↑ Skates, Sarah (July 23, 2012). "Love And Theft Releases RCA Nashville Debut Tomorrow". MusicRow. Retrieved July 23, 2026.
  26. ↑ "No. 1 Party: Love and Theft's 'Angel Eyes'". MusicRow. September 26, 2012. Retrieved July 23, 2026.
  27. ↑ "Casey Donahew Biography". AllMusic. Retrieved July 23, 2026.
  28. ↑ "Talmadge Named RCA/Nashville A&R VP" (PDF). Radio & Records. March 29, 1991. p. 3 – via World Radio History.
  29. ↑ "Schuyler Restructures RCA/Nashville A&R" (PDF). Radio & Records. November 20, 1992. p. 28 – via World Radio History.
  30. ↑ "Singles review: Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, "Home Again in My Heart"" (PDF). Billboard. 1985 – via World Radio History.
  31. ↑ "Single reviews: Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, "Baby's Got a Hold on Me"" (PDF). Billboard. April 25, 1987 – via World Radio History.
  32. ↑ "Hot Country Singles & Tracks" (PDF). Billboard. March 25, 1989 – via World Radio History.
  33. ↑ "Hot 100: Restless Heart featuring Warren Hill, "Tell Me What You Dream"" (PDF). Billboard. 1993 – via World Radio History.
  34. ↑ "Country: Alabama, "Hometown Honeymoon"" (PDF). Radio & Records. June 18, 1993 – via World Radio History.
  35. ↑ "Country: LeAnn Rimes, "Nothin' New Under the Moon"" (PDF). Radio & Records. September 18, 1998 – via World Radio History.
  36. ↑ "Hot Country Singles & Tracks: Reba McEntire, "Wrong Night"" (PDF). Billboard. 1999 – via World Radio History.
  37. ↑ "Songwriter and publisher credits" (PDF). Billboard. August 14, 1999 – via World Radio History.
  38. ↑ "2007 BMI Country Awards: "My, Oh My"" (PDF). BMI MusicWorld. Winter 2008 – via World Radio History.
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