With Aerosmith Hudson co-wrote the
Grammy award-winning
Aerosmith hit "
Livin' on the Edge" in 1993, and has since co-written a total of 12 Aerosmith songs. He co-produced their 2001 album
Just Push Play, co-writing six of the album's twelve songs. Hudson, along with
Steven Tyler,
Joe Perry,
Paul Santo, and
Marti Frederiksen, make up an informal collective of songwriters, musicians and producers known as the "Boneyard Boys", considered responsible for Aerosmith's creative process.
With Ringo Starr For ten years starting in 1998, Hudson was the primary driving force as producer and composer behind Ringo Starr's continued career as a recording artist. In that endeavor, Hudson produced or co-produced nine albums for Starr. There were five studio albums:
Vertical Man (1998),
I Wanna Be Santa Claus (1999),
Ringo Rama (2003),
Choose Love (2005) and
Liverpool 8 (2008). Three live albums were also released during this relationship:
VH1 Storytellers (1998),
Ringo Starr and Friends (2006) and
Ringo Starr: Live at Soundstage (2007). The ninth album – a compilation album
Ringo 5.1: The Surround Sound Collection – included remixes of thirteen tracks originally produced by Hudson and Starr. It was nominated for
Best Surround Sound Album in the 51st annual Grammy Awards for the year 2007–2008. The nine albums co-produced by Hudson featured a total of 82 different songs. 17 of the 82 songs were cover versions of various classics and oldies. The other 65 songs were specially composed new songs. Underscoring the primacy of his role in the creation of the albums, Hudson was credited as co-writer of 64 of the 65 new songs. Hudson secured Steven Tyler as guest vocalist on a remake of
Dobie Gray's song "
Drift Away" for the album
Vertical Man. Shortly prior to release, Tyler's record label demanded that his vocal be removed, and he was replaced by
Tom Petty on the officially released album. However, the version of the recording featuring Tyler had been circulated on advance promotional discs and found its way on to bootlegs. In 2003, Starr told the professional audio industry magazine
Mix: "Mark puts the fun back in recording. We always have such a great time. He lets the musician know that anything is possible... He's a great musician, has lots of energy and he's a lot of fun to work with." The label released an album titled
Fake Songs by
Liam Lynch, the creator of
MTV's sock-puppet show
Sifl and Olly.
Producer of multi-star charity single of "Tears in Heaven" In 2005, Hudson produced a new, multi-artist recording of
Eric Clapton's 1991 song "
Tears in Heaven" as a charity single for victims of the
2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami. Funds raised from the project, which was initiated by
Sharon Osbourne, went to the
Save the Children charity. Hudson recorded the song in the UK, US and in Europe. Among musicians that Hudson and Osbourne recruited for the recording were:
Elton John,
Rod Stewart,
Steven Tyler,
Ozzy Osbourne,
Phil Collins,
Ringo Starr,
Gavin Rossdale,
Paul Santo,
Gwen Stefani,
Mary J. Blige,
Pink,
Kelly Osbourne,
Katie Melua,
Josh Groban,
Andrea Bocelli and members of
Velvet Revolver:
Slash,
Duff McKagan,
Matt Sorum,
Dave Kushner and
Scott Weiland. The recording also featured actor
Robert Downey Jr. Other work In 1985, he co-starred with
Geena Davis in the TV show
Sara, playing her next-door neighbor Stuart Webber. Hudson also worked closely with
Phil Ramone and sang background vocals on many albums/songs produced by Ramone, such as "
Crazy for You" by
Madonna. In 1986, he was the in-house bandleader on Fox's short-lived
The Late Show Starring Joan Rivers. Rivers referred to the band as, "Mark Hudson, The Party Boys and The Tramp." In July 1994, he joined
Disney's
Hollywood Records as a songwriter and producer for performers such as
Alice Cooper and Aerosmith. Disney brought him on board to sharpen production, and identify new acts. In 2004, he was recruited by
Sharon Osbourne to join her team as vocal coach for the UK TV show
The X Factor. Nicknamed "Weird Beard" because of his colourful facial hair and flamboyant clothing, he coached all the under-25s in the first series and the over-25s in the second. He also co-wrote 3 tracks on Bon Jovi's 2004 box set, ''
100,000,000 Bon Jovi Fans Can't Be Wrong''. On March 5, 2006, he achieved his first Number 1 in the UK Top 40 singles chart with an original song he had written for
Chico Slimani,
X Factor contestant. Called "Chico Time", it displaced
Madonna from the top of the chart. It has sold over 100,000 copies in the UK.
The X Factor: Battle of the Stars was screened in the UK during the week of May 29, 2006. Hudson was recruited to reprise his coaching role, this time with celebrities who performed in a week long once-a-night version of the show, raising money for their chosen charity. The show was won by
Lucy Benjamin, actress; runner up was
Matt Stevens, England Rugby International. The British public voted for their favourites as
Sharon Osbourne,
Louis Walsh, and
Simon Cowell sat in judgment. At Hudson's request, Aerosmith's
Steven Tyler made a guest appearance on
Keith Anderson's July 2006 single called "Three Chord Country and American Rock & Roll", the title track from his debut album. The single was remixed by Hudson in Nashville, and Tyler's vocal added at Hudson's studio in Los Angeles. In 2006, Hudson again assumed his coaching role on the 3rd series of
The X Factor, this time coaching all the acts on a weekly basis. In early 2007, Hudson was invited to participate for the third year running at
Canadian Music Week (CMW). The CMW is the most prestigious event on Canada's music industry calendar, showcasing over 500 bands across 40 venues and inviting industry experts to share their knowledge at seminars. Hudson's seminar panel included fellow songwriting associates,
Nile Rodgers,
Glen Ballard, and
Don Was. He also took the stage for an evening performance "in-the-round" at the CMW Songwriter's Festival 2007. For the week of July 19, 2007, Hudson was the stand-in DJ on
WBIG-FM, a Washington, D.C.–based radio station. On October 28, 2007, Hudson made his professional solo stage debut in a sold-out, one-man show called "Livin' on the Edge" at Puck,
Doylestown, PA. During the show, Hudson conveyed his experiences with rock music's elite using humorous anecdotes, impersonations, and music. In 2007, he participated as a counselor at both the New York and Las Vegas 10th Anniversary
Rock 'n Roll Fantasy Camp, and, in 2008, at the Los Angeles camp. The camps are an opportunity for non-professional music enthusiasts to perform with professional musicians. Hudson is currently selling prints of his original artwork as well as a range of other merchandise. Hudson has been working with
AJ McLean, a member of boy-band the
Backstreet Boys, on AJ's first solo album. Hudson has also written songs with
JC Chasez of
'N Sync. On April 13, 2008, Hudson was asked to perform for US President
Bill Clinton at a fundraising rally supporting
Hillary Clinton's nomination campaign. The performance took place at Puck, Doylestown, Pennsylvania. In March 2009, he presented a soft launch of his first solo album, titled
The Artist, at
The Fest For Beatles Fans convention in New Jersey, where he also previewed music videos for the songs "Happy" and "All The Tea in China", the latter of which also featured his brother
Brett Hudson. ==References==