The Success Of Glen Ballard's Work With Music

Glen Ballard was born and raised in Natchez, Mississippi in 1953. Ballard started working with music by playing piano, followed by guitar, in his early years. He started writing songs at ten years old and was in many local rock bands by the beginning of fifth grade. Soon after he graduated he joined Elton John’s organization in L.A. in which he had such success to get him a secured professional job as a songwriter at MCA Music Publishing. As his music taste is exceedingly diverse he has worked with different people from different genres such as Aerosmith, Barbra Streisand, Dave Matthews, and Katy Perry. His greatest success was his partnership with Alanis Morissette in which he co-wrote and produced her blockbuster Jagged Little Pill in 1995.
He has wrote songs for Van Halen, Quincy Jones, Shakira, George Straight, Idina Menzel, Wilson Phillips, Patti Austin, and many more. Ballard has composed many original songs for movies such as Charlotte’s Web, The Croods, A Christmas Carol, Valentine’s Day, and The Mummy’s Return. He also wrote and arranged “Man in the Mirror” for Michael Jackson, co-wrote and produced “Believe” for The Polar Express, and wrote the lyrics and music for GHOST The Musical which is currently on a worldwide tour. In 1995 Ballard took home two Grammy awards for Best Rock Song - You Oughta Know - and Album of the Year - Jagged Little Pill - and in 2005 he won a Grammy award for Best Song Written For Motion Picture, Television, Or Other Visual Media for “Believe”.