IN: Steven Noel Wariner was born on Christmas Day of 1954 in Noblesville, Indiana. Influenced at an early age by George Jones and Chet Atkins, Wariner started performing in his father's band, and later moved on to playing in local clubs. By age 17, he had been hired by Dottie West as a bass guitarist, and played on her single "Country Sunshine". He also worked with Glen Campbell, who he has cited as a major influence on his work.

When Wariner signed to MCA Records in 1984, he began a string of consecutive Top 10 hits that lasted into the 1990s. The first of these was the No. 3 "What I Didn't Do", the first of three singles from his 1984 album One Good Night Deserves Another. Following it were the No. 8 "Heart Trouble" and his second No. 1, "Some Fools Never Learn". He also collaborated with pop singer Nicolette Larson on her Top 10 country hit "That's How You Know When Love's Right", her only Top 40 country single. It was also during this time that Steve recorded the theme song for the ABC television sitcom, Who's the Boss?. Wariner's version of "Brand New Life", used from 1986 to 1990, is the most widely recognized rendition of the song.  His next album, Life's Highway, accounted for two consecutive Number 1s in "You Can Dream of Me" and the title track, while all three singles from the next album (1987's It's a Crazy World) went to No. 1 as well: "Small Town Girl", "The Weekend" and "Lynda". Wariner also sang duet vocals on Glen Campbell's 1987 single "The Hand That Rocks the Cradle".  I Should Be with You was Wariner's fourth release for MCA. Although none of its singles went to Number 1, the album accounted for consecutive No. 2s in "Baby I'm Yours" and its title track. 1989's I Got Dreams produced the chart-toppers "Where Did I Go Wrong" and its title track, and by the end of the decade, Wariner had eight Number Ones on the country singles charts.  Laredo, released in 1990, was his final release for MCA. Lead-off single "The Domino Theory" peaked at No. 7, followed by the Mac McAnally co-write "Precious Thing" at No. 8 and "There for Awhile" at No. 17, his first single since 1984 not to reach Top 10. After this single, he exited MCA.

What were some of the tracks on that album Life's highway ?

OUT: Small Town Girl


IN: Gregory Allen Kurstin (born May 14, 1969) is an American record producer, musician and songwriter. Described as "the consummate DIY writer and producer", Kurstin has been associated with releases which have cumulatively sold more than 60 million albums worldwide. He has won five Grammy Awards, including Producer of the Year (Non-Classical) in 2017 and 2018. Kurstin co-wrote, produced and played most of the instruments on the record-breaking 2015 Adele single, "Hello".

In 2004, Kurstin was introduced to singer Inara George by a mutual friend, Mike Andrews. Then producing George's solo debut, Andrews hired Kurstin as a pianist for the album. Kurstin and George clicked musically in the studio and together they formed The Bird and the Bee (stylized as "the bird and the bee"). Shortly thereafter, they were signed by Blue Note Records chairman Bruce Lundvall. Described by Entertainment Weekly as "space-age pop that cunningly combines bossa nova languidity with Beach Boys-style lushness", they have since released four albums and an EP. Kurstin was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Engineered Album for the Bird and the Bee's 2015 release, Recreational Love.  After working on tracks with artists including Peaches, All Saints, Pink, the Flaming Lips, and Kylie Minogue, Kurstin was introduced to Lily Allen. Along with other musicians, co-writers, producers and engineers, he worked on her 2006 debut, Alright, Still, which went on to achieve platinum status. For her second album It's Not Me, It's You, Allen worked exclusively with Kurstin; he co-wrote every song and played all of the instruments on the record, which he also engineered and produced. The album's first single, "The Fear", spent four weeks at number 1 in the UK, and the album hit number 5 in the US and charted in the top 10 in eight other countries. With Allen, Kurstin won three Ivor Novello Awards for his work on the double-platinum It's Not Me, It's You. Based in part on the album's success, as well as his work on a bird and the bee record, Kurstin was nominated for his first Producer of the Year Grammy in 2010.  Kurstin's first commercially available collaboration with Sia was "Death by Chocolate", released on her 2008 album Some People Have Real Problems. In 2010, he produced Sia's fifth album, We Are Born. It reached number 2 in Australia and number 37 in the US. It won ARIA Music Awards for Best Pop Album and Best Independent Release.

When did Kurstin meet George?

OUT:
2004, Kurstin was introduced to singer Inara George by a mutual friend, Mike Andrews. Then producing George's solo debut, Andrews hired Kurstin as a pianist