View source for Carl Sturken and Evan Rogers

{{Short description|American songwriter and record producer duo}}
{{redirect|Evan Rogers|the priest|Evan Rogers (priest)}}
{{multiple issues|{{BLP sources|date=September 2015}}{{tone|date=September 2015}}}}
{{Infobox musical artist
| name            = Carl Sturken and Evan Rogers
| image           =
| image_size      =
| alias           =
| origin          = [[New York City|New York City, New York]], U.S.
| genre           = {{hlist|[[Pop music|Pop]]|[[Rock music|rock]]|[[Dance music|dance]]|[[Hip hop music|hip hop]]}}
| years_active    = 1980s–present
| label           = SRP
| associated_acts = {{hlist|[[Rythm Syndicate]]|[[Rihanna]]|[[Donny Osmond]]|[[Kelly Clarkson]]|[[Shontelle]]|[[Ruben Studdard]]|[[Wild Orchid (band)|Wild Orchid]]|[[Cheryl Lynn]]|[[Stephanie Mills]]|[[Jennifer Holliday]]|[[Debbie Gibson]]|[[Christina Aguilera]]}}
| website         =
| current_members = * Carl Sturken
* Evan Rogers
| past_members    =
}}
'''Carl Sturken''' and '''Evan Rogers''' are [[New York City|New York]]–based songwriters and record producers.<ref>[{{cite web|url=http://www.americansongwriter.com/1999/03/carl-sturken-and-evan-rogers-band-members-turn-co-writers/ |title=Carl Sturken And Evan Rodgers: "Band Members Turn Co-Writers" |author=Howard, John S. |date=1 March 1999|work=[[American Songwriter]]|access-date=29 December 2017}}</ref> They have produced hits for [[Ruben Studdard]], [[Wild Orchid (band)|Wild Orchid]], [[Christina Aguilera]] and [[Evelyn Champagne King]] and helped build the career of [[Rihanna]]. In addition to being principals of Rihanna's production company SRP Music Group, they have achieved more than twenty top 40 hits, twelve top 5 hits and six [[BMI Awards]]. Their songs have sold more than 60&nbsp;million albums around the world.
==History==
===1980s===
Sturken and Rogers started their careers in the [[New York City|New York]] R&B scene of the mid-1980s. During that time, Rogers released a full-length solo album, 1985's ''[[Love Games (album)|Love Games]]'' for RCA Records (he would release a second album, ''Faces of Love'' for Capitol four years later), and the duo produced Gavin Christopher for [[Manhattan Records|EMI Manhattan Records]], scoring their first big hit with Christopher's "[[One Step Closer to You]]."  They also worked on the legendary ''[[Beat Street]]'' soundtrack and began to build a reputation by producing such artists as [[Cheryl Lynn]], [[Stephanie Mills]] and [[Jennifer Holliday]]. They then crossed over to the pop world by engineering the comeback of [[Donny Osmond]], writing and producing the number 2 smash "[[Soldier of Love (Donny Osmond song)|Soldier of Love]]" and the Top 10 hit "[[Sacred Emotion]]".
===1990s===
Following their success with Donny Osmond, they formed an [[Contemporary R&B|R&B]] group called [[Rythm Syndicate]] with John Nevin, Rob Mingrino and Kevin Cloud, all of whom hailed from Connecticut. In 1991, the group scored a number 2 hit on the US [[Billboard charts|''Billboard'' charts]], "[[P.A.S.S.I.O.N.]]", as well as a Top 15 follow-up, "[[Hey Donna]]". In addition to providing vocals for the group, Rogers and Sturken wrote or co-wrote all of their songs. However, after two years of touring and promotion, along with two unsuccessful albums and a few less successful singles, Sturken and Rogers disbanded the group to resume writing and producing full-time.
They wrote and/or produced six songs for [[Debbie Gibson]]'s 1993 album ''[[Body, Mind, Soul|Body Mind Soul]]'' including US single "[[Losin' Myself]]" and the UK single "[[Shock Your Mama]]". Success came next in the UK with the Top 5 single "[[Power of a Woman]]" for [[Eternal (band)|Eternal]].  More work overseas followed, including contributions to the [[Brand New Heavies]]' platinum album ''[[Shelter (Brand New Heavies album)|Shelter]]''.  For the Irish boy band [[Boyzone]], they wrote and produced four songs for the group's ''[[Where We Belong (album)|Where We Belong]]'' album, which entered at number 1 on the UK charts. The six-time platinum album includes the Sturken & Rogers penned "[[All That I Need]]", which was a UK number 1 single.  The song also appears on Boyzone's Greatest Hits package, ''[[By Request (Boyzone album)|By Request]]'', which spent over two months at number 1 and also had sales of over six million units.
In 1997, they shifted their attention back to the U.S. The hit "[[(God Must Have Spent) A Little More Time on You]]", written and produced for [[NSYNC]], was a ''Billboard'' Top 10 single, before climbing into the ''Billboard'' Country Top 5 after being covered by country recording legend [[Alabama (American band)|Alabama]].  The song also received a [[Grammy]] nomination in 2000 for Best Country Collaboration by a group or duo. [[NSYNC (album)|NSYNC's debut album]] sold over 10&nbsp;million copies in the US alone.  In addition to the pop and country versions of "[[(God Must Have Spent) A Little More Time on You]]", the song was also recorded by jazz artist [[Kirk Whalum]] for his album ''Unconditional'', which was nominated for Best Pop Instrumental Performance at the [[2002 Grammy Awards]]. Sturken & Rogers also wrote and produced several songs for [[Christina Aguilera]]’s [[Christina Aguilera (album)|debut album]].  The album entered the ''Billboard'' charts at number 1 and went double platinum after only three weeks, eventually totaling sales in excess of 11 million worldwide.  They also branched out into the jazz world working with [[Dave Koz]] on his album ''[[The Dance (Dave Koz album)|The Dance]]''.  The album contains two Sturken & Rogers penned songs, including "Can’t Let You Go", co-written with Koz and featuring [[Luther Vandross]] on vocals, which went on to become a number 1 hit on the Smooth Jazz chart. The duo also had songs on the multi-platinum debut albums of [[Jessica Simpson]], [[Alsou]], [[Mandy Moore]] and [[Anastacia]], as well as many other collaborations with such artists as [[Christina Milian]] and [[Emma Bunton]]. They also wrote songs with and for The Brand New Heavies Shelter LP notably Last To Know with Simon Bartholomew.
===2000s===
As the 1990s came to a close and teen pop died down, [[98 Degrees]]’ double platinum album ''[[Revelation (98 Degrees album)|Revelation]]'' was their last album of this style. Sturken & Rogers changed gears once again, discovering and developing [[Javier Colon|Javier]], whom they signed to [[Capitol Records]].  They wrote and produced the majority of his [[Javier (album)|debut album]], including the hit single "Crazy". [[Clive Davis]] hired the team to work on [[Kelly Clarkson]]’s [[Thankful (Kelly Clarkson album)|debut album]], for which they wrote the hit single "[[The Trouble with Love Is]]", also featured in the movie ''[[Love Actually]]''. The Davis connection continued with the ''[[American Idol]]'' project in 2004, as well as [[Rod Stewart]]’s ''[[As Time Goes By: the Great American Songbook 2]]'' and two tracks for [[Ruben Studdard]]'s double platinum debut album, ''[[Soulful (Ruben Studdard album)|Soulful]]''.
The duo then decided to begin developing artists in earnest, forming Syndicated Rhythm Productions in 2005.
Their first signing was Rihanna, whom Rogers discovered while visiting family in Barbados.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.courant.com/2012/05/18/discovering-rihanna-among-storrs-native-evan-rogers-credits/|title=Discovering Rihanna Among Storrs Native Evan Rogers' Credits|date=18 May 2012|work=[[The Hartford Courant]]|author=Danton Eric R. |access-date=29 December 2017}}</ref> They brought her to [[Jay-Z]] and [[L.A. Reid]] at [[Def Jam Records]] and she was signed within hours of her audition. Rihanna’s first single "[[Pon De Replay]]", co-written and produced by Sturken & Rogers, went on to be a worldwide hit launching Rihana into stardom. The "[[Pon De Replay]]" release caused a significant controversy surrounding Rihana and Jay-Z's relationship. This rumor was later debunked by Rihanna's publicist William Moseley. Moseley claimed it was a PR stunt that was conceived by Jonathan Hay to promote the "Pon de Replay" release. This PR stunt has been featured in numerous documentaries and used as case studies involving the ramifications of public relations.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.hot97.com/news/rihannas-affair-scandal-revisited-in-jay-z-documentary/ | title=Rihanna's Affair Scandal Revisited in Jay-Z Documentary | date=26 July 2024 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://allhiphop.com/news/death-of-jay-zs-mistress-doc-sparks-response-from-publicist-behind-rihanna-affair-rumor/ | title="Death of JAY-Z's Mistress" Doc Sparks Response from Publicist Behind Rihanna Affair Rumor | date=25 July 2024 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.hotnewhiphop.com/828364-rihanna-publicist-jay-z-drama-hip-hop-news | title=Rihanna's Former Publicist Discusses Drama Sparked by New Jay-Z Documentary | website=HNHH | date=26 July 2024 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.insideedition.com/12542-publicist-i-made-up-rumor-that-rihanna-had-affair-with-jay-z-to-boost-her | title=Publicist: I Made up Rumor That Rihanna Had Affair with Jay-Z to Boost Her Single | date=23 October 2015 }}</ref> Rihanna’s second album, ''[[A Girl like Me (Rihanna album)|A Girl Like Me]]'', contained the hit singles "[[SOS (Rihanna song)|SOS]]" and "[[Unfaithful (song)|Unfaithful]]", and established her as an international star. In 2007 Rihanna scored one of the biggest singles of the year with "[[Umbrella (song)|Umbrella]]"; the follow-up single "[[Shut Up and Drive]]" was written and produced by Sturken & Rogers, and became a top 10 hit worldwide, as well as being featured in the movies ''[[21 (2008 film)|21]]'', ''[[I Love You Man]]'', ''[[Cars (film)|Cars]]'' and ''[[Wreck-It Ralph (soundtrack)|Wreck-It Ralph]]''.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://music.disney.com/wreck-it-ralph-soundtrack | title=Wreck-It-Ralph Soundtrack }}</ref> ''[[Good Girl Gone Bad]]'' went on to be one of the best-selling albums of that year, selling over 15 million copies worldwide to date. As of November 2013, Rihanna sold over 50 million albums and 180 million singles worldwide.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/music/posts/la-et-ms-rihanna-to-receive-icon-honor-at-american-music-awards-20131114,0,6277965.story#axzz2lIZQs6ep|title=Exclusive: Rihanna to receive 'Icon' honor at American Music Awards|date=14 November 2013|author=Kennedy, Gerrick D. |access-date=29 December 2017|work=[[Los Angeles Times]]}}</ref> The SRP artist roster continued to grow during this time; next up was [[Shontelle]], who they brought to [[Steve Rifkind]]’s [[SRC Records|SRC]]/Universal Motown label, where they produced her debut album ''[[Shontelligence]]'' in 2008. Shontelle has joined fellow Barbadian Rihanna at the top of the charts with her first hit, "[[T-Shirt (Shontelle song)|T-Shirt]]", which was a top 15 hit in the US, and was top 5 for a month in the U.K., where she has followed it with her second hit "[[Stuck with Each Other]]", a duet with [[Akon]] from the movie ''[[Confessions of a Shopaholic (film)|Confessions of a Shopaholic]]''.
===2010s===
Sturken and Rogers continued writing and producing for artists outside of their own stable with their song "Issues", they scored yet another top smash with British girl group [[The Saturdays]]. They also co-wrote the song "[[Gypsy (Shakira song)|Gypsy]]" for [[Shakira]], which was an international hit and won a Latin BMI award, as well as Shontelle’s [[No Gravity (Shontelle album)|follow up album]] included the worldwide platinum smash "[[Impossible (Shontelle song)|Impossible]]".
<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bmi.com/video/entry/evan_rogers_and_carl_sturken_interviewed_at_the_2006_bmi_pop_awards|title=Evan Rogers and Carl Sturken - Evan Rogers & Carl Sturken Interview - The 2006 BMI Pop Awards - Pt. 1 - Video - BMI.com|publisher=BMI|access-date=29 December 2017}}</ref>
The time had come for the next chapter of Sturken and Rogers' career, and thus the SRP Records label was formed in early 2009, in partnership with [[Universal/Motown]]. Their first signing was [[Vita Chambers]] who opened for [[Justin Bieber]]’s 2010 "[[My World Tour|My World]]" tour, and then scored a gold single in Canada with her single "Fix You".
Singer/songwriter Taylor Berrett was discovered by SRP while still a high school student in Washington, DC. After signing a publishing deal with [[Kara DioGuardi]]’s [[Arthouse Music]], Taylor inked a deal through SRP with [[Warner Bros. records]], and recorded his debut album with producer [[Jake Gosling]] ([[Ed Sheeran]],  [[Christina Perri]]).
Nashville born pianist/singer Kandace Springs was SRP’s next discovery; they signed her to [[Don Was]] at [[Blue Note/Capitol]]. In 2014 she performed her debut single "Love Got in the Way" on the ''[[Late Show with David Letterman]]'', followed by a slew of other national television appearances, and performances at the [[Afropunk Festival|Afropunk]] and [[Bonnaroo]] festivals, as well as performing with [[Prince (musician)|Prince]] at the "[[Purple Rain (album)|Purple Rain]]" 30th anniversary show at [[Paisley Park]]. Her 2016 debut album ''Soul Eyes'' was produced by Grammy legend [[Larry Klein]].
The following signing to SRP was 20-year-old singer/flute prodigy [[Elena Pinderhughes]]; having already toured the world, played the [[White House]], and performed with such giants as [[Herbie Hancock]], her debut studio introduction was on Christian Scott's ''Stretch Music introducing Elena Pinderhughes'' in 2016.
Sturken and Rogers have also begun to build their own stable of writers/producers, forming a joint venture with [[Universal Music Publishing Group]]. Their first signing, [[Brandon Hodge|Brandon Alexander]], a.k.a. [[Brandon Hodge|BAM]], had his breakout with the Grammy nominated [[Tyrese Gibson|Tyrese]] smash "Stay" which spent 11 weeks at number 1 on the Adult Urban chart.  BAM was also nominated for a Grammy for the Chris Brown/[[Kendrick Lamar]] collaboration "[[X (Chris Brown album)|Autumn Leaves]]", and he wrote and produced 9 of the 11 cuts on [[Black Rose (Tyrese album)|Tyrese's new album]], which entered at number 1 on the Billboard Hot 200 Albums chart. Most recently SRP paired two young writers, Jackson Foote and Emma Lov, to form the writing/production team [[Loote]], landing cuts for [[Natalie La Rose]].
==References==
{{Reflist}}
==External links==
* [http://srpmusicgroup.com/ Official webpage for Rogers and Sturken]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070928060911/http://www.umusicpub.com/spotlight.aspx?ID=249 Biography]
* [http://www.bmi.com/podcasts/container/534130 Podcasts featuring Carl Sturken and Evan Rogers speaking on writing]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070928060934/http://www.umusicpub.com//swatdata/umpghqassets/alu10114.pdf Discography]
{{Rythm Syndicate}}
{{Authority control}}
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[[Category:Record producers from New York (state)]]
[[Category:American songwriting teams]]
[[Category:Musical duos from New York (state)]]
[[Category:Record production duos]]