Jerry Hey

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Jerry Hey
Background information
Born1950 (age 74–75)
Dixon, Illinois, U.S.
Genres
Occupations
  • Musician
  • bandleader
Instruments
Years active1960s–present
Formerly of

Jerry Hey (born 1950) is an American trumpeter, flugelhornist, arranger (horns and strings), orchestrator and session musician who has played on hundreds of commercial recordings,[1][2] including Michael Jackson's Thriller,[3] "Rock with You", "Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough", "Workin’ Day and Night"[4] and the flugelhorn solo on Dan Fogelberg's hit "Longer". He has performed with artists such as George Benson, Nik Kershaw, Al Jarreau, Barbra Streisand, Donna Summer, Earth, Wind & Fire, Whitney Houston, Frank Sinatra, George Duke, Lionel Richie, Rufus and Chaka Khan, Natalie Cole, Aretha Franklin, Patti Austin, Toshiki Kadomatsu, and Yumi Matsutoya.[5][6][7]

He is known as the trumpeter and arranger for Seawind, whose other members have included Gary Grant, Larry Williams and Bill Reichenbach Jr.

Biography

[edit]

Jerry Hey was born in 1950 in Dixon, Illinois, to a family of musicians. His mother was a pianist and his father was a trombonist; two older brothers played trombone and tuba. After completing high school, Hey attended the National Music Camp for two summers. While in college, Hey studied under Bill Adam at Indiana University.[8][7]

Hey then relocated to Hawaii to become a member of the band Seawind.[9][7]

In 1976, Hey moved to Los Angeles with Seawind, which then recorded two albums for CTI Records under the direction of Harvey Mason.[9][6]

Gary Grant, who had already been in the city for a year when Hey arrived and was a well-known session player, invited Hey to join him on recording sessions, which helped to launch his career as a studio musician.[9][7]

Soon after arriving in LA, Quincy Jones got in touch with Hey to ask him to play and arrange for Jones's album I Heard That!!. Following that session, Hey and his associates were invited to perform on every one of Quincy's recordings.[9][7] Hey later worked as a musician and arranger with David Foster.[5][6][10]

Hey is the uncle of American keyboardist, songwriter, producer, arranger and musical director Henry Hey.

He composed and arranged the song "Jedi Rocks" for the 1997 Special Edition re-release of Return of the Jedi. He co-produced four songs on Lisa Stansfield's 2014 album Seven.

Hey has received 6 Grammy Awards and 11 nominations.[11]

Awards

[edit]

Grammy Awards

[edit]

Source:[12]

Discography

[edit]
With Earth, Wind & Fire

With Billy Crystal & Christopher Guest

  • "I Hate When That Happens" (A&M Records, 1985)

With The Brothers Johnson

With Luis Miguel

With Lalo Schifrin

With Aretha Franklin

With Elton John

With Olivia Newton-John

With Bob Seger

With Kenny Rogers

With Syreeta Wright

With Joe Cocker

With Cher

With Dionne Warwick

With Cheryl Lynn

With Celine Dion

With Jon Anderson

With Patti LaBelle

With Shelby Lynne

With Thelma Houston

With Selena

With Barry Manilow

With Taylor Dayne

With Patti Austin

With Michael Bolton

With Jeffrey Osborne

With Lisa Stansfield

With Anita Baker

With Stevie Nicks

With Christopher Cross

With Dan Fogelberg

With Tanya Tucker

With David Crosby

With Kenny Loggins

With Minnie Riperton

With Steve Cropper

  • Playin' My Thang (MCA, 1981)

With Brenda Russell

With Stephanie Mills

With Joni Mitchell

With Melissa Manchester

With Jim Messina

  • Messina (Warner Bros., 1981)

With Deniece Williams

  • Hot on the Trail (Columbia, 1986)
  • As Good as It Gets (Columbia, 1988)
  • Special Love (Sparrow, 1989)

With Teena Marie

With Peter Allen

  • Bi-Coastal (A&M, 1980)
  • Not The Boy Next Door (Arista, 1983)

With Beth Hart

With Donna Summer

With Paul Anka

  • The Music Man (United Artists, 1976)

With Chaka Khan

With Barry Mann

  • Barry Mann (Casablanca, 1980)

With Melanie C

With Sheena Easton

With John Mayer

With Dolly Parton

With Boz Scaggs

With Randy Crawford

  • Windsong (Warner Bros., 1982)

With Rickie Lee Jones

With Carole Bayer Sager

  • ...Too (Elektra, 1978)
  • Sometimes Late at Night (The Boardwalk Entertainment, 1981)

With Paul McCartney

With Michael McDonald

With Michael Jackson

With Desmond Child

With Betty Wright

  • Betty Wright (Epic, 1981)

With Roberta Flack

With Richard Marx

With Mika

With Philip Bailey

With Rod Stewart

With Randy Newman

With Natalie Cole

With B.B. King

With Peter Cetera

With Nicolette Larson

With Barbra Streisand

With Jennifer Warnes

With Rob Thomas

With Laura Branigan

With Jimmy Webb

With Al Jarreau

With Jennifer Holliday

With James Last Band

  • Seduction (Polydor, 1980)

With George Benson

With Livingston Taylor

With Neil Diamond

With Michael Franks

With Atkins

  • Atkins (also does the horn section on Keep Trying) (Warner Bros., 1982)

With Darren Kramer Organization

  • The Darren Kramer Organization (1998)

With Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers

With Miho Nakayama

With Pauline Wilson

  • Tribute (McClees Corp., 2001)

With The Square/T-SQUARE

With Dave Weckl/Dave Weckl Band

  • Master Plan (GRP, 1990)
  • Live (and very plugged in) (Stretch, 2003)

With David Foster

  • David Foster (Atlantic, 1986)
  • The Christmas Album (Interscope Records, 1995)

With Wilson Phillips

With TM Network

With KC and the Sunshine Band

With Pleasure

With Patrice Rushen

Soundtracks

[edit]

As sideman on soundtrack recordings[13][14][15]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Jerry Hey Discography". Discogs. Retrieved May 12, 2020.
  2. ^ "Jerry Hey | Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved May 12, 2020.
  3. ^ Owsinski, Bobby; Ill, Paul (August 1, 2009). The Studio Musician's Handbook. University of Arkansas Press. pp. 247–248. ISBN 978-1-4234-6341-2. Retrieved May 19, 2010.
  4. ^ jacobtrumpet (December 5, 2013). "Jerry Hey". Jacob Phillips. Retrieved December 15, 2022.
  5. ^ a b "Interview: Jerry Hey, Pop Music's Go-Go Man for Horn and String Arrangements". daily.redbullmusicacademy.com. Retrieved December 15, 2022.
  6. ^ a b c Davis, Michael (April 1, 2012). "Jerry Hey". Hip-Bone Music. Retrieved December 15, 2022.
  7. ^ a b c d e Splett, Thomas (March 8, 2019). "Interview with the legendary American trumpeter and arranger Jerry Hey –". Retrieved December 15, 2022.
  8. ^ Davis, Michael (April 1, 2012). "Jerry Hey". Hip-Bone Music. Retrieved May 10, 2022.
  9. ^ a b c d "Jerry Hey". World Trumpet Society. Archived from the original on March 10, 2023. Retrieved September 19, 2025.
  10. ^ "Awards". David Foster. Retrieved December 15, 2022.
  11. ^ "Jerry Hey". GRAMMY.com. November 23, 2020. Retrieved March 15, 2021.
  12. ^ "Artist: Jerry Hey". www.grammy.com. Retrieved July 11, 2022.
  13. ^ "Jerry Hey". IMDb. Retrieved July 11, 2022.
  14. ^ "Jerry Hey Biography". HeyHorns.com. December 17, 2001. Archived from the original on December 17, 2001.
  15. ^ Meeker, David (2019). Jazz on the screen: A Jazz and Blues Filmography (PDF).
[edit]
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Jerry_Hey&oldid=1312264923"

    Jerry Hey
    Background information
    Born1950 (age 74–75)
    Dixon, Illinois, U.S.
    Genres
    Occupations
    • Musician
    • bandleader
    Instruments
    Years active1960s–present
    Formerly of

    Jerry Hey (born 1950) is an American trumpeter, flugelhornist, arranger (horns and strings), orchestrator and session musician who has played on hundreds of commercial recordings,[1][2] including Michael Jackson's Thriller,[3] "Rock with You", "Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough", "Workin’ Day and Night"[4] and the flugelhorn solo on Dan Fogelberg's hit "Longer". He has performed with artists such as George Benson, Nik Kershaw, Al Jarreau, Barbra Streisand, Donna Summer, Earth, Wind & Fire, Whitney Houston, Frank Sinatra, George Duke, Lionel Richie, Rufus and Chaka Khan, Natalie Cole, Aretha Franklin, Patti Austin, Toshiki Kadomatsu, and Yumi Matsutoya.[5][6][7]

    He is known as the trumpeter and arranger for Seawind, whose other members have included Gary Grant, Larry Williams and Bill Reichenbach Jr.

    Biography

    Jerry Hey was born in 1950 in Dixon, Illinois, to a family of musicians. His mother was a pianist and his father was a trombonist; two older brothers played trombone and tuba. After completing high school, Hey attended the National Music Camp for two summers. While in college, Hey studied under Bill Adam at Indiana University.[8][7]

    Hey then relocated to Hawaii to become a member of the band Seawind.[9][7]

    In 1976, Hey moved to Los Angeles with Seawind, which then recorded two albums for CTI Records under the direction of Harvey Mason.[9][6]

    Gary Grant, who had already been in the city for a year when Hey arrived and was a well-known session player, invited Hey to join him on recording sessions, which helped to launch his career as a studio musician.[9][7]

    Soon after arriving in LA, Quincy Jones got in touch with Hey to ask him to play and arrange for Jones's album I Heard That!!. Following that session, Hey and his associates were invited to perform on every one of Quincy's recordings.[9][7] Hey later worked as a musician and arranger with David Foster.[5][6][10]

    Hey is the uncle of American keyboardist, songwriter, producer, arranger and musical director Henry Hey.

    He composed and arranged the song "Jedi Rocks" for the 1997 Special Edition re-release of Return of the Jedi. He co-produced four songs on Lisa Stansfield's 2014 album Seven.

    Hey has received 6 Grammy Awards and 11 nominations.[11]

    Awards

    Grammy Awards

    Source:[12]

    Discography

    With Earth, Wind & Fire

    With Billy Crystal & Christopher Guest

    • "I Hate When That Happens" (A&M Records, 1985)

    With The Brothers Johnson

    With Luis Miguel

    With Lalo Schifrin

    With Aretha Franklin

    With Elton John

    With Olivia Newton-John

    With Bob Seger

    With Kenny Rogers

    With Syreeta Wright

    With Joe Cocker

    With Cher

    With Dionne Warwick

    With Cheryl Lynn

    With Celine Dion

    With Jon Anderson

    With Patti LaBelle

    With Shelby Lynne

    With Thelma Houston

    With Selena

    With Barry Manilow

    With Taylor Dayne

    With Patti Austin

    With Michael Bolton

    With Jeffrey Osborne

    With Lisa Stansfield

    With Anita Baker

    With Stevie Nicks

    With Christopher Cross

    With Dan Fogelberg

    With Tanya Tucker

    With David Crosby

    With Kenny Loggins

    With Minnie Riperton

    With Steve Cropper

    • Playin' My Thang (MCA, 1981)

    With Brenda Russell

    With Stephanie Mills

    With Joni Mitchell

    With Melissa Manchester

    With Jim Messina

    • Messina (Warner Bros., 1981)

    With Deniece Williams

    • Hot on the Trail (Columbia, 1986)
    • As Good as It Gets (Columbia, 1988)
    • Special Love (Sparrow, 1989)

    With Teena Marie

    With Peter Allen

    • Bi-Coastal (A&M, 1980)
    • Not The Boy Next Door (Arista, 1983)

    With Beth Hart

    With Donna Summer

    With Paul Anka

    • The Music Man (United Artists, 1976)

    With Chaka Khan

    With Barry Mann

    • Barry Mann (Casablanca, 1980)

    With Melanie C

    With Sheena Easton

    With John Mayer

    With Dolly Parton

    With Boz Scaggs

    With Randy Crawford

    • Windsong (Warner Bros., 1982)

    With Rickie Lee Jones

    With Carole Bayer Sager

    • ...Too (Elektra, 1978)
    • Sometimes Late at Night (The Boardwalk Entertainment, 1981)

    With Paul McCartney

    With Michael McDonald

    With Michael Jackson

    With Desmond Child

    With Betty Wright

    • Betty Wright (Epic, 1981)

    With Roberta Flack

    With Richard Marx

    With Mika

    With Philip Bailey

    With Rod Stewart

    With Randy Newman

    With Natalie Cole

    With B.B. King

    With Peter Cetera

    With Nicolette Larson

    With Barbra Streisand

    With Jennifer Warnes

    With Rob Thomas

    With Laura Branigan

    With Jimmy Webb

    With Al Jarreau

    With Jennifer Holliday

    With James Last Band

    • Seduction (Polydor, 1980)

    With George Benson

    With Livingston Taylor

    With Neil Diamond

    With Michael Franks

    With Atkins

    • Atkins (also does the horn section on Keep Trying) (Warner Bros., 1982)

    With Darren Kramer Organization

    • The Darren Kramer Organization (1998)

    With Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers

    With Miho Nakayama

    With Pauline Wilson

    • Tribute (McClees Corp., 2001)

    With The Square/T-SQUARE

    With Dave Weckl/Dave Weckl Band

    • Master Plan (GRP, 1990)
    • Live (and very plugged in) (Stretch, 2003)

    With David Foster

    • David Foster (Atlantic, 1986)
    • The Christmas Album (Interscope Records, 1995)

    With Wilson Phillips

    With TM Network

    With KC and the Sunshine Band

    With Pleasure

    With Patrice Rushen

    Soundtracks

    As sideman on soundtrack recordings[13][14][15]

    References

    1. ^ "Jerry Hey Discography". Discogs. Retrieved May 12, 2020.
    2. ^ "Jerry Hey | Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved May 12, 2020.
    3. ^ Owsinski, Bobby; Ill, Paul (August 1, 2009). The Studio Musician's Handbook. University of Arkansas Press. pp. 247–248. ISBN 978-1-4234-6341-2. Retrieved May 19, 2010.
    4. ^ jacobtrumpet (December 5, 2013). "Jerry Hey". Jacob Phillips. Retrieved December 15, 2022.
    5. ^ a b "Interview: Jerry Hey, Pop Music's Go-Go Man for Horn and String Arrangements". daily.redbullmusicacademy.com. Retrieved December 15, 2022.
    6. ^ a b c Davis, Michael (April 1, 2012). "Jerry Hey". Hip-Bone Music. Retrieved December 15, 2022.
    7. ^ a b c d e Splett, Thomas (March 8, 2019). "Interview with the legendary American trumpeter and arranger Jerry Hey –". Retrieved December 15, 2022.
    8. ^ Davis, Michael (April 1, 2012). "Jerry Hey". Hip-Bone Music. Retrieved May 10, 2022.
    9. ^ a b c d "Jerry Hey". World Trumpet Society. Archived from the original on March 10, 2023. Retrieved September 19, 2025.
    10. ^ "Awards". David Foster. Retrieved December 15, 2022.
    11. ^ "Jerry Hey". GRAMMY.com. November 23, 2020. Retrieved March 15, 2021.
    12. ^ "Artist: Jerry Hey". www.grammy.com. Retrieved July 11, 2022.
    13. ^ "Jerry Hey". IMDb. Retrieved July 11, 2022.
    14. ^ "Jerry Hey Biography". HeyHorns.com. December 17, 2001. Archived from the original on December 17, 2001.
    15. ^ Meeker, David (2019). Jazz on the screen: A Jazz and Blues Filmography (PDF).
    Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Jerry_Hey&oldid=1312264923"