audioslave0910's video: Your Love

Jim Brickman (born November 20, 1961) is an American songwriter and pianist. He has been named the most charted male Adult Contemporary artist to date,[1] with six of his albums receiving Gold and Platinum status. He is known for his solo piano compositions, pop-style instrumentals, and vocal collaborations with artists such as Michael W. Smith, Martina McBride, Donny Osmond, Delta Goodrem, Olivia Newton-John, Lady Antebellum, and others.[2] He earned a Grammy nomination in 2003, SESAC "Songwriter of the Year" award, Canadian Country Music Award for "Best Vocal/ Instrumental Collaboration", and a Dove Award presented by the Gospel Music Association. His CD entitled Faith has been nominated for a 2010 Grammy Award for Best New Age Album. Since 1997, he has hosted his own radio show called Your Weekend with Jim Brickman, which is carried on radio stations throughout the United States.[4] Brickman has also released three PBS specials, and hosts an annual fan cruise. He is founder of Brickhouse Direct, a company that provides strategic marketing and e-commerce solutions for clients in a variety of industries. Brickman was born and raised in Shaker Heights, Ohio and attended Shaker Heights High School. He began playing piano at the age of five. Later he studied composition and performance at the Cleveland Institute of Music while taking business classes at Case Western Reserve University.[5] In 1980, Brickman founded his own advertising music company called The Brickman Arrangement,[6] writing commercial jingles for many companies across the country such as McDonalds, Pontiac, City of Cleveland, Ohio Lottery, and Isuzu. Brickman signed to Windham Hill Records in 1994 and released his first album, No Words, featuring the song, "Rocket to the Moon", which became his first solo instrumental to be ranked on the Billboard charts.[8] The songs "Angel Eyes" and "If You Believe" gained radio airplay from Brickman's second release, By Heart, on the Windham Hill label in 1995. The following year, the CD's title tune, "By Heart", became his first top 20 adult contemporary (AC) hit. In 1997 Brickman released the album, Picture This, adding a vocal performance, "Valentine", sung by Martina McBride.[9] This song charted on both country and AC stations with the album selling platinum.[10] By the end of the year, Brickman issued the first of many Christmas CDs, The Gift, with the title song featuring Collin Raye and Susan Ashton, topping three different charts for which Brickman received a Dove Award from the Gospel Music Association.[11] He has produced several other Christmas-themed albums, Peace (2003), Christmas Romance (2006), Homecoming (2007), and The Hymns and Carols of Christmas (2008);[12] and his two albums Grace (2005) and Faith (2008) concentrate on arrangements of well-known Christian music. During his career, Valentine went platinum selling over one million records and four others have sold over 500,000 copies; By Heart (1995), Picture This (1997), The Gift (1997), and Destiny (1999), qualifying them as gold records in the United States.[14] In November 2005, three of Brickman's albums, The Disney Songbook (2004), Grace (2005), and Greatest Hits (2004), held the top three spots on Billboard's new age chart.[15] He also received a Grammy nomination in 2003, an SESAC "Songwriter of the Year" award, and a Canadian Country Music Award for "Best Vocal/Instrumental Collaboration".[16] The 2008 album, Faith, has been nominated for a 2010 Grammy Award for Best New Age Album. Brickman writes a variety of music. Besides his piano compositions and love songs, he has also created arrangements of existing songs and several of his albums feature arrangements of children's music. He has collaborated with artists from all genres with songs like "Love of My Life" with Michael W. Smith, "You" with Jane Krakowski, "Never Alone" with country group Lady Antebellum, "After All These Years" with Anne Cochran, "Never Far Away" with Christian contemporary group Rush of Fools, among others. His music is sometimes classified in the new age genre, although the diversity of his music makes Brickman skeptical of this classification. In 2008 Brickman teamed up with American Greetings lending his music to some of their eCards.