Alumni Spotlight
Jordan Richardson , Crowley High School , Class of 1999
The son of a former Crowley ISD History teacher , Jordan Richardson has made a name for himself in the music industry since graduating from Crowley High in 1999 . He ’ s played drums alongside one of the greatest musicians of all time and recently found himself involved with an Academy Award-winning film .
How did you become interested in music ? Richardson : “ My dad is a musician and he played the drums in high school , so I grew up playing on his old drum kit . By middle school , I started messing around with a guitar and writing songs on my own . When I hit high school , the grunge explosion had hit with bands like Nirvana and Pearl Jam , so all I wanted was a distortion pedal and to be loud . I was in several garage bands while at CHS and we ’ d play REM , Green Day and Bush songs at parties . I was a total 90 ’ s grunge kid .”
Were you involoved in band or music in school ?
Richardson : “ I played on the drumline in the Mighty Eagle Band all four years . Rudy Salazar and Ken Danforth helped me a lot . They were always so supportive of me and what I wanted to be as a musician . They encouraged me and the bands I played in during my free time . At CHS , I played in concert bands and the jazz band , which was helpful for my career because I went on to get a music scholarship to play jazz drums at TCU .”
What do you remember most about going to school in Crowley ISD ? Richardson : “ I always tried to have friends in different groups . I was involved in a lot , like student council . My parents were always big on me having friends and not getting into cliques . My mom , Georgia Richardson , was an American History teacher in Crowley ISD for a long time , so I always felt like I was part of a bigger family and I had others looking out for me . I knew that if I messed up , it ’ d get back to my parents pretty quick , and I didn ’ t want that to happen .”
How did your career take off after school ? Richardson : “ After college , I moved to Los Angeles , for nearly a decade . I had unbelievable opportunities as I toured with bands through Europe . I played drums in Ringo Starr ’ s band for a couple of months , giving me the chance to work alongside one of the greatest musicians ever . We had some great , casual conversations and he ’ s one of the friendliest , most open people I ’ ve ever met . I also met Quincy Jones in Switzerland and we chatted about guys like Ray Charles and Michael Jackson . I helped win a Grammy as a member of Ben Harper ’ s band . Music has given me experiences that no one could ever take away .”
Richardson ( right ) playing drums alongside Ringo Starr , legendary singer , songwriter and former drummer for The Beatles .
What are you doing now ? Richardson : “ I ’ m now back in the Metroplex and I have a studio that I use to help produce bands and I compose music for film and television . I recently had the chance to write a few songs for a successful movie , Manchester By The Sea . I had connections with the music supervisor of the film , so she gave my name to the director and they reached out to me to see if I would create some music for the film . It was the first time I was able to work on a project with specific characters and narrative to work around . I worked up a couple of demos in the studio and the next thing I know , it was on the big screen attached to a movie that is being considered for Golden Globes and Oscars .”
14 CROWLEY ISD CONNECTIONS | Spring 2017
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