Mark Ronson (born 4.9.1975)

Mark Ronson is a part-English, part-American music producer, who rose to fame when he produced albums for the likes of Amy Winehouse and Lily Allen.

Mark Ronson: Childhood

Mark Ronson was born in London. His mother is the writer and socialite Ann Dexter-Jones and his father is the ex-band manager, Laurence Ronson. The family has Russian and Lithuanian roots and Mark is also related to the politicians Malcolm Rifkind and Leon Brittain. Mark has two younger twin sisters, Charlotte and Samantha. Charlotte is best known as Lindsay Lohan’s rumoured girlfriend and frequent party companion. When his parents split up, his mother married the guitarist from Foreigner, Mick Jones.

When Mark was eight, the family moved to New York, though he made frequent visits back to the UK to visit his father.

Mark Ronson: Early Musical Career

Mark Ronson attended the Collegiate School on Broadway in New York City. He attended Vassar College and New York University.

He made his name as a DJ, playing downtown hip-hop clubs and charging $50 per night. He earned a good reputation for his DJ sets, which spanned many genres.

Mark soon became sought after by celebrities, to play at their parties and P Diddy reportedly gave him a $100 bill with his phone number on when Ronson managed to get almost an entire club on the dancefloor.

Mark Ronson: Production Work

Mark switched to production when he was approached by Nikka Costa’s manager. Nikka’s song ‘Everybody Got Their Something’ was produced by Mark and he had soon signed a recording contract with Elektra Records.

Mark Ronson’s debut album, Here Comes The Fuzz was released in 2003, to great critical reviews. Featuring artists such as Nate Dogg, Ghostface Killah and Trife Da God, the album did not sell well, initially, despite the press attention.

Mark’s production work for the likes of Lily Allen, Amy Winehouse, Robbie Williams and Christina Aguilera has earned him a great deal of adulation from the press and record-buying public alike.

Released in 2007, Ronson’s album of cover versions, titled Version proved a success for him. The lead single was a cover of The Smiths’ ‘Stop Me If You Think You’ve Heard This One Before’, sung by Daniel Merriweather. The song reached number two in the UK singles chart, Ronson’s biggest chart position at the time. Other popular tracks from the album were Amy Winehouse singing ‘Valerie’ (originally by The Zutons) and his version of Kaiser Chief’s ‘Oh My God’, as sung by Lily Allen.

Ronson performed as a part of the Electric Proms at the Roundhouse in Camden, London, in October 2007. His set featured a number of special guests, including Sean Lennon, Ricky Wilson, Tim Burgess and Terry Hall.

In January 2008, Mark received three BRIT nominations, for ‘Best Male Solo Artist’, ‘Best Album’, and ‘Song of the Year’. He won the ‘Best Male Solo Artist’ award and performed a medley at the ceremony, which featured Amy Winehouse, Adele and Daniel Merriweather.

In February 2008, Mark Ronson received a Grammy Award for ‘Producer of the Year, Non-Classical’, for which he was nominated alongside Timbaland and Mike Elizondo.

Mark Ronson: Allido Records

Mark Ronson set up Allido Records in 2004 as a subsidiary of Sony BMG’s J Records.

Ronson’s first signing was Rhymefest, a rapper best known for co-writing Kanye West’s hit single, ‘Jesus Walks’.

In 2007, the Washington DC hip-hop artist Wale was signed to Allido Records.

Mark Ronson: Personal Life

Mark Ronson was previously engaged to the actress and singer, Rashida Jones. Rashida is Quincy Jones’ daughter.

He then dated the American Artist Cosi Theodolo-Braschi, but the couple split in early 2008.