John Barlow Jarvis

American songwriter

John Barlow Jarvis (born January 2, 1954, in Pasadena, California)[1] is an American songwriter, composer, session pianist and recording artist. Before moving to Lake Tahoe in 2014, he had lived in Nashville, Tennessee, since 1982.

## Early career (1968–1982)

[edit]

As a child, Jarvis was trained in classical music under Evelyn Hood in San Marino, California, and won both the Southern California Bach Festival and first place in the California Music Teachers Composition Contest. He first began his professional musical career at the age of 14 when he was signed as a staff songwriter for Edwin H. Morris Music. By age 17, he was a staff piano player for Motown Records. He also toured with such 1960s bands as the Grass Roots and Hermans Hermits before landing the job of pianist in Rod Stewart's band in 1974.[2] During this period he played on records by artists such as Ringo Starr, Harry Nilsson, Delbert McClinton, Air Supply, John Cougar Mellencamp, Leo Sayer, Art Garfunkel, Stephen Bishop and many more.

## Studio work, composing and recording artist (1982–present)

[edit]

Jarvis relocated from Los Angeles to Nashville in 1982 and continued with his studio career culminating in several nominations for both CMA and ACM musician of the year. The list of artists Jarvis has recorded with includes Garth Brooks, Tammy Wynette, Shania Twain, Dusty Springfield, Bob Seger, Hank Williams Jr, George Strait, Reba McEntire, Jimmy Buffett, Lionel Richie, Steve Earle, Mary Chapin Carpenter, and more. He also played piano on the Elvis Presley Christmas Duets Album and performed with James Taylor for his Small World Tour. In 2011 Jarvis performed at the White House with James Taylor for the PBS special "In Performance at the White House". Jarvis has also performed on TV with Ray Charles and Sting.

While continuing his career as a recording pianist Jarvis also composed numerous songs resulting in country hits for Conway Twitty, Waylon Jennings, Steve Wariner and Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton, culminating in being awarded 2 Grammys for Song of the Year (1991-1992) for co-writing Vince Gill's biggest hit "I Still Believe In You" and The Judds' #1 hit "Love Can Build A Bridge".[2] His songwriting success has continued beyond country music with songs recorded by Stevie Nicks, Taj Mahal, Bad Company, Cher, Westlife and many more. In 1996 his song "The Flame" was the closing song at the Atlanta Olympics. Jarvis was also nominated for an Emmy for his score in the TV show "Expedition Earth". In 2015 Jarvis wrote music for the best selling video game "Fallout 4". He has also contributed 26 tracks to Band-in-a-Box, the automatic accompaniment software program.[3]

Beginning in 1984, Jarvis recorded four albums for MCA Records. In 1993, he recorded his fifth album ("Balancing Act") for Liberty Records, and, in 2003, recorded his sixth album ("View From a Southern Porch") for Barlotone Productions.[4] Time Magazine named "Whatever Works" as one of the ten best pop records of 1988.[2][5] and music from "So Fa So Good" was picked as theme music for the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary.

As of 2016, Jarvis continues to tour with the Vince Gill band, which also features Willie Weeks, Paul Franklin and Tom Bukovac. Jarvis continues to record, performing on works by Lynda Carter, Chris Botti and others.

## Discography

[edit]

### Solo recordings

[edit]

* So Fa So Good (MCA Master Series, 1985)
* Something Constructive (MCA Master Series, 1986)
* Whatever Works (CD) (MCA Master Series, 1988)
* Pure Contours (MCA Master Series, 1990)
* Balancing Act (Liberty Records, 1993)
* View From a Southern Porch (Barlotone Productions, 2003

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Paul Kingsbury, editor, "The Encyclopedia of Country Music: The Ultimate Guide to the Music", 2004
2. ^ a b c Bill Morrison, "Songwriter's Spotlight" Archived 2018-12-17 at the Wayback Machine, Rockabilly Country News and Views, Vol. 9, 3/27/2004
3. ^ "RealTracks Artist Bio: John Jarvis", Band-in-a-Box
4. ^ "John Barlow Jarvis: Exclusive interview"[usurped], NashvilleHype!, 9/21/2006
5. ^ In 2015 he wrote the music for the video game "Fallout Four"."John Barlow Jarvis"[usurped], Voices and Vision, 2004

## External links

[edit]

* John Barlow Jarvis on Twitter
* John Jarvis Discography at Discogs
* John Barlow Jarvis at AllMusic
* John Barlow Jarvis at CMT

Awards for John Barlow Jarvis

* v
* t
* e

CMA Song of the Year

1967−1970|

* "There Goes My Everything" - Dallas Frazier (1967)
* "Honey" - Bobby Russell (1968)
* "The Carroll County Accident" - Bob Ferguson (1969)
* "Sunday Mornin' Comin' Down" - Kris Kristofferson (1970)

1971−1980|

* "Easy Loving" - Freddie Hart (1971−72)
* "Behind Closed Doors" - Kenny O'Dell (1973)
* "Country Bumpkin" - Don Wayne (1974)
* "Back Home Again" - John Denver (1975)
* "Rhinestone Cowboy" - Larry Weiss (1976)
* "Lucille" Roger Bowling, Hal Bynum \- (1977)
* "Don't It Make My Brown Eyes Blue" - Richard Leigh (1978)
* "The Gambler" - Don Schlitz (1979)
* "He Stopped Loving Her Today" - Bobby Braddock, Curly Putman (1980)

1981−1990|

* "He Stopped Loving Her Today" - Bobby Braddock, Curly Putman (1981)
* "Always on My Mind" - Wayne Carson, Johnny Christopher, Mark James (1982−83)
* "Wind Beneath My Wings" - Larry Henley, Jeff Silbar (1984)
* "God Bless the U.S.A." - Lee Greenwood (1985)
* "On the Other Hand" - Paul Overstreet, Don Schlitz (1986)
* "Forever and Ever, Amen \- Paul Overstreet, Don Schlitz (1987)
* "80's Ladies" - K. T. Oslin (1988)
* "Chiseled in Stone" - Max D. Barnes, Vern Gosdin (1989)
* "Where've You Been" - Don Henry, Jon Vezner (1990)

1991−2000|

* "When I Call Your Name" - Tim DuBois, Vince Gill (1991)
* "Look at Us" - Vince Gill, Max D. Barnes (1992)
* "I Still Believe in You" - Vince Gill, John Barlow Jarvis (1993)
* "Chattahoochee" - Jim McBride, Alan Jackson (1994)
* "Independence Day" - Gretchen Peters (1995)
* "Go Rest High on That Mountain" - Vince Gill (1996)
* "Strawberry Wine" - Matraca Berg, Gary Harrison (1997)
* "Holes in the Floor of Heaven" - Billy Kirsch, Steve Wariner (1998)
* "This Kiss" - Beth Nielsen Chapman, Robin Lerner, Annie Roboff (1999)
* "I Hope You Dance" - Mark D. Sanders, Tia Sillers (2000)

2001−2010|

* "Murder on Music Row" - Larry Cordle, Larry Shell (2001)
* "Where Were You (When the World Stopped Turning)" - Alan Jackson (2002)
* "Three Wooden Crosses" - Doug Johnson, Kim Williams (2003)
* "Live Like You Were Dying" - Tim Nichols, Craig Wiseman (2004)
* "Whiskey Lullaby" - Bill Anderson, Jon Randall (2005)
* "Believe" - Ronnie Dunn, Craig Wiseman (2006)
* "Give It Away" - Bill Anderson, Buddy Cannon, Jamey Johnson (2007)
* "Stay" - Jennifer Nettles (2008)
* "In Color" - Jamey Johnson, Lee Thomas Miller, James Otto (2009)
* "The House That Built Me" - Tom Douglas, Allen Shamblin (2010)

2011−2020|

* "If I Die Young" - Kimberly Perry (2011)
* "Over You" - Miranda Lambert, Blake Shelton (2012)
* "I Drive Your Truck" - Jessi Alexander, Connie Harrington, Jimmy Yeary (2013)
* "Follow Your Arrow" - Brandy Clark, Shane McAnally, Kacey Musgraves (2014)
* "Girl Crush" - Hillary Lindsey, Lori McKenna, Liz Rose (2015)
* "Humble and Kind" - Lori McKenna (2016)
* "Better Man" - Taylor Swift (2017)
* "Broken Halos" - Mike Henderson, Chris Stapleton (2018)
* "Beautiful Crazy" - Luke Combs, Wyatt Durrette, Robert Williford (2019)

2021−2030|

* "The Bones" - Maren Morris, Jimmy Robbins, Laura Veltz (2020)
* "Starting Over" - Mike Henderson, Chris Stapleton (2021)
* "Buy Dirt" - Jacob Davis, Jordan Davis, Josh Jenkins, Matt Jenkins (2022)
* "Fast Car" - Tracy Chapman (2023)
* "White Horse" - Chris Stapleton, Dan Wilson (2024)

* v
* t
* e

Grammy Award for Best Country Song

1960s|

* "Dang Me" – Roger Miller (songwriter) (1964)
* "King of the Road" – Roger Miller (songwriter) (1965)
* "Almost Persuaded" – Billy Sherrill & Glenn Sutton (songwriters) (1966)
* "Gentle on My Mind" – John Hartford (songwriter) (1967)
* "Little Green Apples" – Bobby Russell (songwriter) (1968)
* "A Boy Named Sue" – Shel Silverstein (songwriter) (1969)

1970s|

* "My Woman, My Woman, My Wife" – Marty Robbins (songwriter) (1970)
* "Help Me Make It Through the Night" – Kris Kristofferson (songwriter) (1971)
* "Kiss an Angel Good Mornin'" – Ben Peters (songwriter) (1972)
* "Behind Closed Doors" – Kenny O'Dell (songwriter) (1973)
* "A Very Special Love Song" – Norro Wilson & Billy Sherrill (songwriters) (1974)
* "(Hey Won't You Play) Another Somebody Done Somebody Wrong Song" – Chips Moman & Larry Butler (songwriters) (1975)
* "Broken Lady" – Larry Gatlin (songwriter) (1976)
* "Don't It Make My Brown Eyes Blue" – Richard Leigh (songwriter) (1977)
* "The Gambler" – Don Schlitz (songwriter) (1978)
* "You Decorated My Life" – Debbie Hupp & Bob Morrison (songwriters) (1979)

1980s|

* "On the Road Again" – Willie Nelson (songwriter) (1980)
* "9 to 5" – Dolly Parton (songwriter) (1981)
* "Always on My Mind" – Wayne Carson, Johnny Christopher & Mark James (songwriters) (1982)
* "Stranger in My House" – Mike Reid (songwriter) (1983)
* "City of New Orleans" – Steve Goodman (songwriter) (1984)
* "Highwayman" – Jimmy Webb (songwriter) (1985)
* "Grandpa (Tell Me 'Bout the Good Old Days)" – Jamie O'Hara (songwriter) (1986)
* "Forever and Ever, Amen" – Paul Overstreet & Don Schlitz (songwriters) (1987)
* "Hold Me" – K. T. Oslin (songwriter) (1988)
* "After All This Time" – Rodney Crowell (songwriter) (1989)

1990s|

* "Where've You Been" – Don Henry & Jon Vezner (songwriters) (1990)
* "Love Can Build a Bridge" – John Barlow Jarvis, Naomi Judd & Paul Overstreet (songwriters) (1991)
* "I Still Believe in You" – Vince Gill & John Barlow Jarvis (songwriters) (1992)
* "Passionate Kisses" – Lucinda Williams (songwriter) (1993)
* "I Swear" – Gary Baker & Frank J. Myers (songwriters) (1994)
* "Go Rest High on That Mountain" – Vince Gill (songwriter) (1995)
* "Blue" – Bill Mack (songwriter) (1996)
* "Butterfly Kisses" – Bob Carlisle & Randy Thomas (songwriters) (1997)
* "You're Still the One" – Robert John "Mutt" Lange & Shania Twain (songwriters) (1998)
* "Come On Over" – Robert John "Mutt" Lange & Shania Twain (songwriters) (1999)

2000s|

* "I Hope You Dance" – Mark D. Sanders & Tia Sillers (songwriters) (2000)
* "The Lucky One" – Robert Lee Castleman (songwriter) (2001)
* "Where Were You (When the World Stopped Turning)" – Alan Jackson (songwriter) (2002)
* "It's Five O'Clock Somewhere" – Jim "Moose" Brown & Don Rollins (songwriters) (2003)
* "Live Like You Were Dying" – Tim Nichols & Craig Wiseman (songwriters) (2004)
* "Bless the Broken Road" – Bobby Boyd, Jeff Hanna, & Marcus Hummon (songwriters) (2005)
* "Jesus, Take the Wheel" – Hillary Lindsey, Brett James & Gordie Sampson (songwriters) (2006)
* "Before He Cheats" – Chris Tompkins & Josh Kear (songwriters) (2007)
* "Stay" – Jennifer Nettles (songwriter) (2008)
* "White Horse" – Liz Rose & Taylor Swift (songwriters) (2009)

2010s|

* "Need You Now" – Dave Haywood, Josh Kear, Charles Kelley & Hillary Scott (songwriters) (2010)
* "Mean" – Taylor Swift (songwriter) (2011)
* "Blown Away" – Josh Kear & Chris Tompkins (songwriters) (2012)
* "Merry Go 'Round" – Shane McAnally, Kacey Musgraves & Josh Osborne (songwriters) (2013)
* "I'm Not Gonna Miss You" – Glen Campbell & Julian Raymond (songwriters) (2014)
* "Girl Crush" – Hillary Lindsey, Lori McKenna, & Liz Rose (songwriters) (2015)
* "Humble and Kind" – Lori McKenna (songwriter) (2016)
* "Broken Halos" – Mike Henderson & Chris Stapleton (songwriters) (2017)
* "Space Cowboy" – Luke Laird, Shane McAnally, & Kacey Musgraves (songwriters) (2018)
* "Bring My Flowers Now" – Brandi Carlile, Phil Hanseroth, Tim Hanseroth, & Tanya Tucker (songwriters) (2019)

2020s|

* "Crowded Table" – Brandi Carlile, Natalie Hemby & Lori McKenna (songwriters) (2020)
* "Cold" – Dave Cobb, J.T. Cure, Derek Mixon & Chris Stapleton (songwriters) (2021)
* "'Til You Can't" – Matt Rogers & Ben Stennis (songwriters) (2022)
* "White Horse" – Chris Stapleton & Dan Wilson (songwriters) (2023)
* "The Architect" – Shane McAnally, Kacey Musgraves & Josh Osborne (songwriters) (2024)

Authority control databases

International|

* VIAF

National|

* United States

Artists|

* MusicBrainz

*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template