Mitchell Froom


Mitchell Froom is an American musician and record producer.

Career

Froom began his career as a keyboard player in Sonoma County, California. The band Crossfire featured two keyboard players; Mitchell on one side of the stage and brother David on the other with Gary Pihl on guitar. He also played keyboards on the Ronnie Montrose-led group Gamma's third album Gamma 3 as well as both late 1970s albums by David LaFlamme, It's a Beautiful Day and LaFlamme's solo album Inside Out.
He produced the first three Crowded House albums, which led to more production jobs with Richard Thompson, Los Lobos, American Music Club, Suzanne Vega and Paul McCartney. One early notable work, Key of Cool, later became the soundtrack for the adult film, Café Flesh.
In 1987 he produced and wrote incidental music for the L.A.-noir "Slam Dance".
Between 1992 and 2002 Froom formed a full-time partnership with engineer Tchad Blake. Production credits include albums from American Music Club, Stevie Ann, Tasmin Archer, The Bangles, Peter Case, The Corrs, Elvis Costello, Sheryl Crow, Crowded House, The Ditty Bops, Tim Finn, Missy Higgins, Indigo Girls, Los Lobos, Robin Gibb, Maria McKee, Pat McLaughlin, Randy Newman, Nerina Pallot, Pearl Jam, Phantom Planet, Bonnie Pink, Daniel Powter, Bonnie Raitt, Ron Sexsmith, The Del Fuegos, Richard Thompson, and Suzanne Vega. Froom and Blake joined with David Hidalgo and Louie Perez of Los Lobos to form the experimental roots collaboration Latin Playboys.
Froom has produced over 60 albums
and has composed and produced music for numerous films. He has been nominated for several Grammys including for Record of the Year for La Bamba by Los Lobos and Producer of the Year in 1993 for both Kiko by Los Lobos and 99.9F° by Suzanne Vega. He was also nominated for the 1998 Golden Globe Award and the 1999 Grammy for
Best Song Written for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media
for co-writing with Sheryl Crow the James Bond movie title song "Tomorrow Never Dies".
As a musician, Froom has released two solo albums, Dopamine and A Thousand Days. The song "Noodletown" from "Dopamine" won an Emmy when it was used as the theme for PBS' Sessions at West 54th.
Froom was a judge for the 2nd annual Independent Music Awards to support independent artists' careers.
In December 2019 Froom was announced as a member of the new lineup of Crowded House with plans to tour and record new music in 2020.

Personal life

His first wife was Connie Jester, with whom he had daughter Charlotte Froom. Charlotte was the bassist in The Like.
Froom married Suzanne Vega in 1995; they separated in 1998. Soul Coughing's 1994 album, Ruby Vroom, was named after their daughter, Ruby Froom.
He married Vonda Shepard in 2004. They had their first child, Jack Froom, on April 15, 2006.
His brother is David Froom, a classical composer and Department Chair of the Music Department at St. Mary's College of Maryland.
Froom is of Romanian ancestry.

Collaborations

With Vonda Shepard
With Bob Dylan
With Bonnie Raitt
  • Longing in Their Hearts
  • Fundamental
  • Silver Lining
  • Souls Alike
With Boris_Grebenshchikov
  • Salt
With Daniel Powter
  • Daniel Powter
With Rita Coolidge
  • Inside the Fire
With Rufus Wainwright
  • Unfollow the Rules
With Indigo Girls
  • Posideon and the Bitter Bug
With Susanna Hoffs
  • Someday
With Tasmin Archer
  • Bloom
With Randy Newman
  • Bad Love
  • Harps and Angels
  • Dark Matter
With Maria McKee
  • Maria McKee
With Tracy Chapman
  • Where You Live
With Marshall Crenshaw
  • Downtown
With Roy Orbison
  • Mystery Girl
With Eddie Money
  • Where's the Party?
With Sheryl Crow
With Neil Finn
  • Try Whistling This
  • One Nil
With Tracy Bonham
  • Down Here
  • Blink the Brightest
With Tim Finn
  • Tim Finn
With Finn Brothers
  • Everyone is Here
With Paul McCartney
  • Flowers in the Dirt
With Peter Gabriel'