ARCHIE JORDAN
He's quiet.
He's soft spoken.
And there's an everpresent aura of peace around him. Yet, at the same time, there's also a dynamic explosion, a creative combustion of sorts, whirling within Archie Jordan at all times.
It's raw energy.
It's musical fuel.
And when he lights the fires of his mind with it, this multi-talented individual knows he is feeling the fulfillment of a music career that he claims, "is exactly what I've always wanted to do, since I was a little boy."
As a matter of fact, Archie had already started plinkin' on a plastic guitar by the time he'd reached the age of three. "Then, I saw the guy on the Lawrence Welk Show," he explains, "and started getting interested in the accordian, which I played for about four years."
The family relocated to Sumter, South Carolina after Archie completed the fifth grade. By then, he was strummin' on a real guitar, which his parents had given him for Christmas. But the real crux of his career probably started taking shape the year after he turned twelve...when he formed his own band, which turned out to be called The Cobras...and the next thing he knew, the group was working every school dance, talent show, benefit, and private party within ear shot. "We played for something nearly every weekend," Archie recalls, "and my Mother ended up being our manager, because we were too young to drive!"
This went on through the ninth grade in high school...where he also learned to play the clarinet...and after that, the family relocated to Aiken, South Carolina. So, Archie had to drum up a new band, which turned out to be called The Intruders and when recording artist Arthur Conley asked them to back him at a concert, Archie laughingly admits, "We got paid very little, but I still thought for sure we'd really made it!"
Archie attended the University of South Carolina (Aiken Branch) for one year...then spent the summer touring with a well-known act, The Tams...and returned to school in the fall. But this time on the main campus in Columbia, where he also changed his major from business to music. "I had it rough at first," he explains, "because I'd only studied one year of piano, and most of my teacher's students were studying to be concert pianists, so you can imagine how I felt about playing my little simple pieces!"
College days gave Archie the additional opportunity of playing viola with two orchestras...as well as studying composition and arranging...until he eventually graduated into the real world of music as a producer and writer with Bang Records in Atlanta.
In 1975, a move to Music City was inevitable. He signed as a writer with Chess Music, and two years later Archie Jordan was to have his first single (co-written with Hal David) titled It Was Almost Like A Song. In turn, it also happened to be his first hit, and his first song recorded by a major artist.
After six years...and a major hits...including What A Difference You've Made In My Life, Let's Take The Long Way Around The World (co-written with Naomi Martin) and It's All I Can Do (co-written with Richard Leigh), Archie moved from Chess and was signed as an exclusive writer for Tree International. During the early nineties, he wrote for BMG, where he turned out the hits Turn That Radio On for Ronnie Milsap and Love Is Strong for Paul Overstreet. In the mid-nineties, Archie signed a contract with Major Bob Music, owned by Bob Doyle who discovered and manages Garth Brooks. For the last few years, Archie has been writing for his own publishing, What A Difference, Inc.
With Hal David, he produced an album on Orsa Lia with the single I Never Said I Love You which reached number one on Billboards's Adult Contemporary Chart. Archie also arranged this album, along with other arrangements for Barbara Mandrell, B J Thomas, Kenny Rogers, Kathy Mattea, Gary Morris and countless other artists.
Archie has also been spending a good bit of time in Hollywood working in film and television music. It Was Almost Like A Song was heard in The Bridges of Madison County. He and lyricist Larry Bastian wrote the theme song for the Dukes Of Hazzard T.V. special Reunion In Hazzard. He's currently working on the music score for a new animation television pilot about Nashville.
Working as a writer...which he generally prefers to do in collaboration with a lyricist...is still the main interest in Archie Jordan's like of music.
He's serious.
He's dedicated to it.
Day in, day out...except for the time he goes fishing (of course!)...you'll find him doing what he's always wanted to do - pursuing his dreams.
With his music.
With his songs.