Mark Ronson

At 48 years old, Mark Ronson has this physical status:

Mark Daniel Ronson (born 4 September 1975) is a British–American musician, DJ, songwriter, and record producer.

Ronson is best known for his collaborations with artists such as Amy Winehouse, Lady Gaga, Adele, Lily Allen, Miley Cyrus, Queens of the Stone Age, and Bruno Mars.

He has received seven Grammy Awards, including Producer of the Year for Winehouse's album Back to Black and two for Record of the Year singles "Rehab" and "Uptown Funk".

He received an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award and a Grammy Award for co-writing the song "Shallow" for the film A Star is Born (2018). Ronson was born in London and raised in New York City.

His stepfather is Foreigner guitarist Mick Jones, which contributed to a childhood surrounded by music.

While attending New York University, Ronson became a popular DJ in the hip hop scene.

His debut album Here Comes the Fuzz failed to make an impact on the charts.

In 2006, he received acclaim for producing albums for Lily Allen, Christina Aguilera, and Amy Winehouse.

In 2007, Ronson released his second album, Version.

The album reached number two in the UK and included three top 10 singles and earned him the Brit Award for British Male Solo Artist.

He subsequently released his third studio album, Record Collection, peaking at number two in the UK. In 2014, Ronson released his single "Uptown Funk" featuring vocals from Bruno Mars.

The single spent 14 consecutive weeks at number one on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, seven non-consecutive weeks at number one on the UK Singles Chart and became one of the best-selling singles of all-time.

His fourth studio album, Uptown Special, became his most successful album to date.

In 2018, he founded his own label, Zelig Records (an imprint of Columbia Records), and formed the duo Silk City with fellow producer Diplo, for which he received the Grammy Award for Best Dance Recording for the song "Electricity". Beyond his work in entertainment, Ronson is dedicated to using his creative influence to help others.

In 2015, he became a patron of the Amy Winehouse Foundation, which helps disadvantaged youth through music.

He has also worked with the End the Silence campaign to raise money and awareness for the Hope and Homes for Children charity and most recently became an artist mentor at Turnaround Arts, a national program of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, which helps low-performing schools through arts education.

Early life

Mark Daniel Ronson was born in Notting Hill, London, England, to Laurence Ronson, a then music manager and publisher, now real estate developer, and Ann Dexter-Jones (née Dexter), a writer, jewelry designer, and socialite. His Ashkenazi Jewish ancestors emigrated from Austria, Lithuania, and Russia. He was brought up in a Conservative Jewish household and celebrated his Bar Mitzvah.

After his parents' divorce, his mother married Foreigner guitarist Mick Jones. Jones wrote Foreigner's hit song "I Want to Know What Love Is" about his burgeoning relationship with Dexter-Jones.

Ronson, along with his mother, stepfather, and sisters, moved to New York City when he was eight years old. Living on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, he counted Sean Lennon among his childhood friends. At twelve, being a self-described music nerd, he pestered Rolling Stone founder Jann Wenner into an internship at the magazine. He attended high school at the private Collegiate School in Manhattan before attending Vassar College and then New York University. In 2008, he obtained American citizenship so that he could vote in that year's election.

He was born into the Ronson family, formerly one of Britain's wealthiest families and founders of Heron International; following success in the 1980s, they lost $1 billion of their wealth in the property crash of the early 1990s. He is the nephew of businessman Gerald Ronson.

Through his mother, he is distantly related to British Conservative politicians Sir Malcolm Rifkind and Leon Brittan, and Odeon Cinemas founder Oscar Deutsch.

Ronson has two younger sisters, twins Charlotte Ronson, a fashion designer, and Samantha Ronson, a singer and DJ. Through his mother's second marriage to Mick Jones he has two elder step-siblings and two half-siblings, including actress Annabelle Dexter-Jones. Through his father's second marriage, he has three other half-siblings.

Personal life

Ronson divides his time between London, Los Angeles, and New York. Since childhood, he has been a fan of English Premier League football club Chelsea F.C. and is also a fan of the New York Knicks basketball team.

In 2009, Ronson was voted the most stylish man in the UK by GQ magazine.

In 2011, a portrait of Ronson was painted by British artist Joe Simpson; the painting was exhibited around the UK, including a solo exhibition at the Royal Albert Hall in London.

In 2015 he was named one of the magazine's 50 best dressed British men.

On 20 August 2019, Ronson, along with several other celebrities, invested in a funding round for Lowell Herb Co, a California cannabis brand. He is known to be "a dedicated cannabis consumer".

In 2002, Ronson began dating the actress-singer Rashida Jones. They became engaged in March 2003, with Ronson proposing by creating a crossword puzzle with the message "Will you marry me." Their relationship ended approximately one year later.

On 3 September 2011, Ronson married French actress and singer Joséphine de La Baume, who had previously appeared in the music video for "The Bike Song". On 16 May 2017, it was reported that de La Baume had filed for divorce from Ronson, listing the separation date as 21 April 2017. The divorce was finalized in October 2018. On 4 September 2021, Ronson announced his marriage to actress Grace Gummer, after a year of dating. On October 13, 2022, Gummer and Ronson announced they are expecting their first child.

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Career

Ronson became a regular in the downtown hip hop nightlife while attending New York University. He became known as a DJ on the New York club circuit in 1993, earning $50 per hour. He was known for his large, genre-spanning picks. He attracted a large audience by incorporating funk, hip hop, and rock and roll into his setlists and performing songs that were well-known in both the United States and the United Kingdom. He was quickly recognized as the most sought-after DJ in New York City and was often booked for high-profile events and private parties. Ronson appeared in ad featuring Tommy Hilfiger denim in the company's recording studio for an ad campaign.

After Nikka Costa's boss, Dominique Trenier, heard one of his sets and introduced the musicians, Mark made the change from DJ to producer. Ronson produced Costa's "Everybody Got Their Something," and Ronson soon signed a major contract with Elektra Records. He had already produced tracks for Hilfiger ads and, in 2001, he used the link to have Costa's single "Like a Feather" used in an advertisement.

Here Comes the Fuzz, Ronson's debut album, was released in 2003. Despite poor initial sales, analysts were generally positive about it. Ronson created the beats, played guitar, keyboards, and bass, in addition to writing the songs on the album. The album contained performances from artists from various genres, including Mos Def, Jack White, Sean Paul, Nappy Roots, and Rivers Cuomo. "Ooh Wee," Boney M's lead single and best-known song on the album, samples "Sunny" by Boney M., as well as rappers Nate Dogg, Ghostface Killah, Trife Da God, and Saigon. The song debuted at number 15 on the UK Singles Chart and was used in a number of films, including in Honey (2003) and on its soundtrack. Elektra Records dropped him two weeks after he was announced here Comes the Fuzz.

Ronson, along with his longtime manager Rich Kleiman, founded Allido Records, a Sony BMG affiliate, in 2004. Saigon, the first artist to sign with Allido, was rapper Saigon, who later went to sign with Just Blaze's Fort Knox Entertainment. He has signed Rhymefest, the Grammy Award-winning co-writing Kanye West's "Jesus Walks" is his longest-running event.

Under the title "Stop Me," Ronson performed a preview of The Smiths' "Stop Me If You've Never Heard This One Before" on April 2, 2007, which featured singer Daniel Merriweather. It reached number two in the UK singles charts, giving Ronson his highest-peaking single until 2014's "Uptown Funk." In a promotion for the three-disc Bob Dylan set titled Dylan, Ronson remixed Bob Dylan's "Most Likely You Go Your Way And I'll Go Mine." Ronson has also produced Candie Payne's "One More Chance (Ronson mix)" in 2007.

Critics in particular, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States, were largely supportive of the album. The British dance music magazine, Mixmag, gave it the title Album of the Month in May 2007. Ronson and guitarist Lily Allen were featured on The Guardian newspaper's Guide magazine on June 23rd.

Ronson signed DC hip hop artist Wale to Allido Records in June 2007. He concentrated on design, working with Daniel Merriweather on his debut album, and then with Amy Winehouse and Robbie Williams, who returned to the studio in late 2007.

Ronson performed a one-off set at The Roundhouse in Camden, London, on October 24th, 2007 as part of BBC Electric Proms 2007. Special guests Terry Hall, Sean Lennon, Tim Burgess, Alex Greenwald, Ricky Wilson, Charlie Waller, and Kyle Falconer appeared on the BBC Concert Orchestra.

Ronson received his first Grammy Award nomination for 'Producer of the Year, Non-Classical' in December 2007. Ronson's relationship with Amy Winehouse earned him acclaim, receiving six nominations. The 'Back to Black' album by Ronson, mainly produced by Ronson, was nominated for 'Album of the Year' and 'Best Pop Vocal Album.' No nominations were given for her song "Rehab" in 'Best Female Vocal Performance,' 'Song of the Year' and 'Record of the Year'. Ronson will continue to win three Grammy Awards, including 'Best Pop Vocal Album' and 'Record of the Year,' (the latter two of which he shared with Amy Winehouse) in early February 2008.

Ronson is listed as the producer on a mixtape album titled Man in the Mirror, which is a salute to pop singer Michael Jackson and was released in January 2008. Rhymefest appears in the album as the pop star on tapes. Ronson received three nominations for the British Awards, including "Best Female Solo Artist," "Best Album," and "Valerie" in the same month. In mid-February 2008, Ronson became Britain's first male solo artist' over favourite Mika. With Adele, "Stop Me" with Daniel Merriweather and "Valerie" with Amy Winehouse, he also performed a medley of Coldplay's "God Put a Smile on Your Face."

Due to the success, there has been a substantial increase in orders in the iTunes Top 100. "Valerie" is expected to reach the top of the charts for the first 30 days after the case, although "Just," "Stop Me," and "Oh My God" were among the others on the list. Ronson also appeared twice in the UK Top 40, with "Valerie" rising to number 13 and "Just" at number 31, his fourth Top 40 entry from "Version." The British results also boosted "Version" to number four, which took the number 18 spots to the top of the charts.

Ronson's first number one on an international chart (Dutch Top 40) for "Valerie" spent four weeks at the top of the chart, at this time. On their third album, he collaborated with Kaiser Chiefs.

During 2008, Ronson toured "Version" extensively throughout the United Kingdom and Europe, with notable sold-out performances at The Hammersmith Apollo and Brixton Academy. Ronson is known to champion new up-and-coming artists, including Sam Sparro and Julian Perretta. Demon String Quartet Demon Strings provided Ronson with Ronson's string backing.

Mark Ronson performed live with Duran Duran Duran for an invited audience on July 2, 2008. They performed new arrangements by Ronson of some Duran Duran Duran Duran songs, as well as tracks from the band's new album, Red Carpet Massacre. Ronson & the Version Players performed songs from his album Version. Simon LeBon sang. Ronson was working with the company on their 13th album as of March 2009. The album, titled All You Need Is Now, was released digitally exclusive on Apple's iTunes on December 21, 2010, whereas the physical CD was released in March 2011 with additional tracks. Ronson appeared in the studio recording Duran Duran's 14th album, Paper Gods, for the first time since Colin Thurston produced their first two albums in the 1980s.

Ronson revealed the name of his latest album Record Collection in the spring of 2010 and said he wished to have it out by September 2010. In addition, Ronson revealed the name of his new band, "The Business Intl." "I" is Ronson's alias on the third studio album, which is a variation of the '" "" "Bang Bang Bang Bang Bang Bang" was the first single to release on Bang Bang Bang. MNDR, a rapper and singer, was announced on July 12, 2010, when it peaked at number six on the UK Singles Chart, giving Ronson his fourth Top ten single. The single also appeared in the Irish Singles Chart, where it peaked at number 18. Kyle Falconer of The View and Spank Rock appears on the album's second single, "The Bike Song." On September 27, 2010, the album was released on September 27th. This is Ronson's first Ronson album on which he appears as a performer.

Despite Ronson's fact that he had never met Michael Jackson, he was given the opportunity to produce for Jackson's posthumous album Michael. He submitted the track, but Michael did not make the tracklisting. Ronson was among the rumors surrounding the vocals on the track (due to controversies surrounding the Cascio tracks on the same record), "It was definitely him performing." I was given a voice to work with, but I never met Michael. It's in the vein of Elton John's 'Goodbye Yellow Brick Road' and John Lennon's 'Imagine'," and it's a 'Imagine'."

Arthur was the composer of the 2011 film Arthur. Ronson was one of the artists featured in the Re:GENERATION Music Project in 2012. Mos Def, Erykah Badu, Trombone Shorty, members of The Dap-Kings, and Zigaboo Modeliste appear on his song "A La Modeliste."

Ronson revealed on Twitter on October 30, 2014, a new single from his forthcoming album, which will be released on November 10th. Bruno Mars appears on vocals on "Uptown Funk," the single. Ronson and Mars appeared on "Uptown Funk" and "Feel Right" on Saturday Night Live on November 22, 2014 (featuring Mystikal). After being streamed a record 2.49 million times per week in a week, "Uptown Funk" reached the top of the UK and US singles charts, as well as the all-time most streamed track in a week in the United Kingdom. "Uptown Funk" debuted in virtually every nation where it had charted; it spent fifteen weeks on the Billboard Hot 100, fourteen weeks at number one, and seven weeks on the UK Singles Chart, peaking at number one. The band received the British Single of the Year award in February 2015. The song's music video on YouTube has over 4.6 billion views as of August 2022.

Ronson appeared in Amy, a documentary film about his late friend Amy Winehouse, in 2015. In the film where he discusses his work and friendship with Winehouse, Ronson appears, as well as at the funeral of Winehouse in London in July 2011. Ronson became a patron of the Amy Winehouse Foundation on October 16, 2015. Ronson was nominated for two British Male Solo Artists, and British Producer of the Year at the 2016 Brit Awards in January.

Ronson received two awards for his "Uptown Funk" at the 2016 Grammy Awards, as well as Record of the Year. Ronson was hailed as "one of the most considerate, kind, humble performers in our industry," by Jason Iley, the head of Sony Music UK and Ronson's UK label Columbia Records. "The immense success of Uptown Funk has deserved and has established itself as not only one of the Year's Best of the Year, but also of our lifetime," he said.

Ronson appeared with Mars at the Super Bowl 50 Halftime Show Ronson performed Uptown Funk.

He went on to executive produce Lady Gaga's fifth album Joanne.

Ronson made the Queens of the Stone Age's 2017 album Villains.

Ronson formed Zelig Records, Columbia Records' imprint, and the first artist he signed was singer King Princess. He and fellow producer Diplo formed the pair Silk City. The Grammy Award for Best Dance Recording at the 61st Annual Grammy Awards was released on September 6, 2011 for Dua Lipa's first single "Electricity" which peaked at the US Dance Club Songs and earned the Grammy Award for Best Dance Recording.

Ronson was spotted in May 2018 that he was working with Miley Cyrus in the studio. In November 2018, the pair's first collaboration, "Nothing Breaks Like a Heart," was announced. In addition to Ronson's regular collaborators Lady Gaga, Andrew Wyatt, and Anthony Rossomando, he co-wrote the song "Shallow" for the film A Star Is Born. Ronson received the Academy Award and the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song, as well as two Grammy nominations for Best Written for Visual Media.

Mark Ronson's fifth album Late Night Feelings would be released on April 12, 2019. Miley Cyrus, Angel Olsen, Lykke Li, and Camila Cabello are among the album's performers. Ronson has referred to the album as a series of "sad bangers," with the title track laying down a warm mid-tempo dance groove under Li's melancholy vocals.

Mark Ronson: From the Heart, directed by Carl Hindmarch, was broadcast on October 12, 2019.

Ronson and Foo Fighters posted a "re-version" of their single Making a Fire in June 2021.

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