Jude Anthony Cole (born June 18, 1960) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and talent manager from Carbon Cliff, Illinois. He began his career as part of Moon Martin's backing group the Ravens, and joined the English power pop band the Records in 1980, by the age of 19. After his work on their album Crashes (1980), he signed with Reprise Records to pursue a solo recording career and released his eponymous debut studio album (1987), which was followed by four subsequent releases—A View from 3rd Street (1990), Start the Car (1992), I Don't Know Why I Act This Way (1995), and Falling Home (2000).[1] Afterward, he outsourced his work onto management, production, and songwriting for the alternative rock band Lifehouse. Cole was credited on most of their singles throughout the 2000s, including "You and Me," "First Time," "Whatever It Takes" and "Halfway Gone" — each became hit songs on the Billboard Hot 100, Mainstream Top 40, Adult Top 40, and Adult Contemporary charts.

Jude Cole
Birth nameJude Anthony Cole
Born (1960-06-18) June 18, 1960 (age 64)
Carbon Cliff, Illinois, U.S.
Genres
Occupations
  • Singer
  • songwriter
  • record producer
  • record executive
  • talent manager
Years active1978–present
Labels
Formerly ofThe Records
Spouse
Lori Pfeiffer
(m. 1993)
Children2
Websitehttps://JudeCole.com/

He co-founded the Ironworks record label in 2003 along with actor and business partner Kiefer Sutherland. Lifehouse signed with the label in 2013 to release their seventh album, Out of the Wasteland (2015).

Career

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After spending two years as guitarist and backing vocalist for Moon Martin and The Ravens, Cole joined English pop band The Records as a guitarist for their second album, Crashes, in 1980. When the band returned to Britain, Cole remained in the United States to pursue a solo recording career.[2]

His first three solo albums, Jude Cole (1987), A View from 3rd Street (1990), and Start the Car (1992) were released by Reprise Records and featured a lighthearted, romance-inspired pop sound in an adult contemporary format.[3] The albums were met with minimal domestic success, although A View from 3rd Street yielded the single "Baby It's Tonight", which peaked at number 16 on the Billboard Hot 100. Other singles, such as "Time for Letting Go", "House Full of Reasons", "Start the Car", and "Tell the Truth" also moderately entered the chart. During this time, Cole was commissioned to contribute to the soundtrack for commercially successful films including Where the Boys Are '84 (1984), The Karate Kid Part III (1989), Last Light (1993), Navy SEALs (1990), and Back to School (1986). He performed the titular theme song for the latter, which became one of Cole's most popular songs.[4] His fourth album, I Don't Know Why I Act This Way, was released by Island Records in 1995, while his fifth album Falling Home was released by his own label, Watertown Records, in 2000.

That same year, Cole halted his recording career to manage the alternative rock band Lifehouse, for DreamWorks Records, as well as singer Lindsay Pagano for Warner Records. He chose Irving Azoff as a business partner, and spent the next four years working on behalf of his company, Azoff Management.

In 2003, Cole and business partner, actor Kiefer Sutherland launched Ironworks Studio and its namesake record label (rebranded from Watertown Records), which would go on to sign musical acts including Billy Boy on Poison, Ron Sexsmith, and honeyhoney. In 2005, Cole contributed segments for the entertainment television program Extra as music critic, where he interviewed high-profile acts including the Rolling Stones, Alice Cooper, and Bob Seger.[5] That same year, Cole oversaw Lifehouse's notable shift in musical direction, as he helmed executive producer duties for the band's eponymous third studio album. The band received one of their furthest commercial successes from its lead single, "You and Me", which Cole co-produced and co-wrote. With Cole sharing a similar role for their subsequent releases, Lifehouse signed to his Ironworks label upon parting ways with Geffen Records in 2013.[6]

In 2016, Cole co-wrote and produced the entirety of Kiefer Sutherland's debut album, Down in a Hole, which marked the actor's first effort as a country singer. Cole contributed in a similar role, as well as engineering duties to its follow-up, Reckless & Me (2019); this album included a cover of Cole's song "Open Road" from his 1992 album, Start the Car.

On January 20, 2021, Cole returned to his recording career with his sixth album Coup De Main, his first in 20 years.[7] The album consists of nine tracks and was made available on all streaming platforms.[8] He later released a cover album, Coolerator, on July 27 of that same year.[7]

Personal life

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Cole was married to Lori Pfeiffer (born 1965), the younger sister of actress Michelle Pfeiffer, with whom he has two sons.[9]

Discography

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Albums

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Singles

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Year Single US Hot 100 US Main Rock US R&R Pop Australia [10]
1990 "Baby It's Tonight" 16 3 10 106
"Time For Letting Go" 32 33 22 118
"House Full Of Reasons" 69 - 69 -
1992 "Start The Car" 71 6 31 59
"Tell The Truth" 57 - 25 -
1993 "It Comes Around" - 19 - -
"Worlds Apart" - - 58 -

Musical credits

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References

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  1. ^ "The Foote Files: A Lost Hit Of The 90's: 'Baby, It's Tonight'". CBSNews.com. November 2018.
  2. ^ "Jude Cole | Biography & History | AllMusic". AllMusic.
  3. ^ "Jude Cole Biography on Allmusic". AllMusic.
  4. ^ "Jude Cole". Tcm.com.
  5. ^ "Warner Bros". Telepixtvcgi.warnerbros.com.
  6. ^ "Lifehouse singer Jason Wade: "I feel like we're starting all over again" - CBS News". CBS News. February 18, 2015.
  7. ^ a b "JUDE COLE Releases First New Album In 21 Years 'Coup De Main'". BroadwayWorld. August 18, 2021. Retrieved December 5, 2022.
  8. ^ Cole, Jude (January 20, 2021). "Jude Cole on Facebook". Facebook. Retrieved February 16, 2021.
  9. ^ "Jude Cole's House". Virtual Globetrotting. March 13, 2013.
  10. ^ Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010 (pdf ed.). Mt. Martha, VIC, Australia: Moonlight Publishing.
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