Member Profile

Jim Ed Norman

CEO, The Curb Group

Jim Ed Norman has a tremendous amount of creative experience to draw upon in his role as CEO of The Curb Group. As a Grammy-Award winning, multi-Platinum selling producer and as the President of Warner Bros. Records for over two decades, Jim Ed is able to fully leverage his wellspring of experience in every aspect of his present leadership role.

Starting his career as a young musician, Jim Ed was on the leading edge of the emerging country rock music scene in Southern California in the early 70s, joining forces with Don Henley in a band called Shiloh, recording their debut album for Amos Records. As a working musician in Los Angeles, Jim Ed played piano on countless recording sessions, including the now iconic Eagles recordings “Take It To the Limit” and “Lyin’ Eyes.” He contributed string arrangements and piano to a series of bestselling albums, most notably The Eagles’ Desperado, One Of These Nights and Hotel California, as well as Platinum-selling recordings for Linda Ronstadt, Bob Seger and others.

In 1983, Jim Ed joined Warner/Reprise as Vice President of A&R. In 1984 he was made head of the label, a position he held for over two decades. Known for his affable demeanor, his sensitivity to the artistic temperament and his genuine passion for music, as President of Warner/Reprise Records, Jim Ed shepherded the careers of some of the format’s biggest icons, including Faith Hill, Randy Travis, KD Lang, Dwight Yoakam, Hank Williams, Jr., among others.

A prominent member of the Nashville music business community, Jim Ed has served on numerous boards including the Country Music Association and Country Music Foundation. He was the
Founding President of Leadership Music, received Time/Warner’s Andrew Heiskell Community Service Award, the Anti-Defamation League’s Johnny Cash Americanism Award, Leadership Music’s
Dale Franklin Award and was President of the W.O. Smith School, which provides music lessons to low-income students.

He was the key figure in developing a music business program at the University of Hawaii through a partnership with the Curb College of Entertainment and Music Business at Belmont University. Jim Ed Norman is a Senior Fellow with The Curb Center at Vanderbilt University.

In his role as CEO at Curb Records, Jim Ed is overseeing the daily operations of the label, which has recently enjoyed much success with Grammy-nominated, Platinum-selling singer-songwriter, recording artist, Lee Brice. He also continues his role as producer with emerging artist Dylan Scott.