On Saturday, October 14, 2023, at Fashion Island in the Bloomingdale’s courtyard, I had the privilege of witnessing one of the most influential figures in the music industry, Oscar and Grammy-winning songwriter and producer Mark Ronson, received the Newport Beach Film Festival’s Outstanding Achievement in Music Award. Ronson has received 12 Grammy nominations, seven of which have resulted in wins including Producer of the Year and twice for record of the year for “Rehab” and “Uptown Funk“. Mark’s incredible career includes his work on the 2023 feature film Barbie, where he co-wrote and produced the soundtrack’s standout track, “I’m Just Ken,” alongside Andrew Wyatt. This song was nominated for Best Original Song at the Academy Awards and won the trophy for Best Song at the Critics’ Choice Awards, earning him outstanding achievement in music.
The event was hosted by Scott Feinberg, Executive Editor of Awards at The Hollywood Reporter, and appeared on a live episode of ‘Awards Chatter,’ where Feinberg interviewed Ronson about his music career. Here are some highlights of the Q&A between Feinberg and Ronson:
Feinberg: What did your folks do for a living? What connects back to all of this?
Ronson: I was born in England many years ago, and my mom and dad split. We moved to New York with my mom, and she married my stepfather, who was in the rock band Foreigner and wrote lots of great songs. He actually wrote the song “I Want to Know What Love Is” for my mom. So, I grew up in New York, in a house where music was very much alive. My mother was quite strict—she was English, from Liverpool—so it was always like, get your studies done first. But then I was able to tinker around in my stepdad’s recording studio, which was a great opportunity.
The ’90s:
I got really into hip-hop because I was in New York in the early ’90s. Artists like A Tribe Called Quest and Wu-Tang Clan got me into this music. That’s when I became a DJ because I loved this music so much that I wanted to be able to express myself.
Feinberg: So, even before DJing, which began at the very early age of 12, how did you end up as the youngest-ever intern at Rolling Stone magazine, and what did that job entail?
Ronson: Yeah, I was the youngest-ever intern at Rolling Stone. They let me work the switchboard sometimes, and I remember my voice hadn’t broken yet, so I’d answer the phone with this kid voice like, “Hello, Rolling Stone.” I was such a voracious fan of music—I’d read liner notes, magazines, and trade publications, which was kind of unusual for a 12-year-old. My mother was friends with Jann Wenner, who had started Rolling Stone, so I guess you could say I was a “nepo baby” or a “steppo baby.” I got a job there and worked for three summers. I loved everything about it—watching how the magazine came together, how they made the charts by calling all the different record stores to get the top 10. It wasn’t like now, where you can just see streaming data.
Feinberg: At that point, was your dream to be a rock star yourself?
Ronson: I think so. I mean, I loved Guns N’ Roses, and I played guitar. I was in a band with a guitar player who was much better than me, which was kind of sobering. I realized maybe this isn’t my path, but, you know, when you’re 15, you just want to be on stage—that looks so cool, you want to be Slash. But then I slowly figured out that maybe there was another path for me, closer to something like producing and being behind the boards.
The Summer of ’93
It goes back to the fact that I wasn’t an incredible musician. I wasn’t some guitar prodigy. I just knew I loved music so much that I was trying to find my way in it. I loved playing other people’s music as much as I liked writing my own, and DJing was so exciting. The summer of ’93 was when I started—I was 17. There was Robin S’s “Show Me Love” and all this amazing club music, along with incredible hip-hop. I was DJing at Club USA, which was this crazy, adult playground that I definitely shouldn’t have been in at that age. But I loved playing music for people, watching them connect, and having a good time.
Feinberg: For those of us who weren’t physically or geographically able to be in New York in the ’90s at all those clubs where DJs were taking off, what was that scene like, and how did you become the most in-demand guy on that scene?
Ronson: It was a really interesting time. Back in the ’90s, DJs weren’t like Calvin Harris or David Guetta on these big stages. You were respected because you made people have a good time, but you might be shoved in a corner somewhere with the turntables facing the wall, and you’d have to crane around to see if people were dancing. You certainly weren’t on stage with people waving at you. But I loved it because I didn’t want to be the star of the show; I just wanted to play music that I loved.
It was also an interesting time because Jay-Z and Puff Daddy were starting to come out in New York, discovering this downtown scene, and they were changing it. It was like Gatsby—he came in and changed the entire vibe of New York. I essentially had a front-row seat from my spot in the DJ booth, and it was really fun to watch New York change right in front of my eyes, especially the club scene.
Feinberg: I understand you started having panic attacks, which might have signaled the beginning of the end of your DJing career and the start of something new. Is that right?
Ronson: You know, I never intended to be a DJ as a career. It was something I loved doing, but it always felt like a bit of a sidetrack from making music, which is what I probably loved the most. But then DJing became successful, and I watched other producers who had once been my peers—like Chad and Pharrell from The Neptunes, Danger Mouse, or Kanye—suddenly become stars, even superstars. I began to doubt myself, thinking maybe I’m not that good at this, maybe I’ll never be a successful producer.
I didn’t give up entirely, but I started to think that maybe it would never happen for me. There’s something powerful about surrendering. I was trying so hard to have hits, to achieve some sort of success, and I was constantly chasing this thing. Then I met Amy Winehouse at a moment when I had decided that I might never make commercially successful music, so I resolved to just make the music I truly loved. It seems like an obvious thing, but you doubt yourself all the time, trying to keep up with everyone else. Meeting Amy at that time, when we didn’t care if anyone else liked what we were doing because we loved it, is ironically when I found my first real success.
Feinberg: Lily Allen debuted her album “Alright, Still” in 2006, the same year as “Back to Black” with Amy Winehouse. I’m curious—did the fact that you were transcontinental play a role in why you ended up working with these artists, or did it come about differently?
Ronson: Even though my first album came out and probably sold only about 30 copies in America, I had a song called “Ooh Wee” with Nate Dogg and Ghostface Killah that was a bit of a hit in England. That was fun because it allowed me to go to England and do shows there. Even though I’m English, I had never spent much time there as a musician—just visiting my dad. That’s how I met and connected with Lily Allen, which eventually led to my connection with Amy Winehouse. So, in a way, that record is what made those connections happen.
Feinberg: “Back to Black” with Amy Winehouse has become a landmark album, often listed among the most influential albums of the 21st century by publications like Rolling Stone and Billboard. The title track, “Rehab,” and other songs from the album catapulted you to a new level of success. But before all that, when Amy first walked into the studio and you began working together, how quickly did you realize something special was happening? What was your experience?
Ronson: When I met Amy, she had been working on what was supposed to be her second album, the follow-up to “Frank,” for a few years. I know she had gone through periods of struggling with various things, but when we met, she was incredibly laser-focused and amazing. We met on the stoop of my studio in New York, and the connection was immediate, even just on a personal level. She was so funny, and it felt like she could have been a friend since high school. We started talking about music right away. I asked her what she wanted her album to sound like, and she said—I’ll do my bad Amy accent because it’s better than my regular one—she said, “I want it to sound like this thing they play down at my local.” I asked what that was, and she played me The Shangri-Las. I thought it was cool, and even though I had never made anything like that before, I was so inspired by her. She was only going to be in New York for one day.
Feinberg: With your diverse body of work, some fans might only know you from one thing. Now, with your work on Barbie, you’re likely gaining a whole new audience. Originally, did you sign up to do as much as you ended up doing on the project, or was the initial request more limited?
Ronson: So, I got a text from my friend George Drakoulias, the music supervisor, saying, “Hey, do you want to speak to Greta Gerwig about this new project she’s doing?” I was such a huge fan of hers, especially from Lady Bird—one of my favorite movies of the past 10 years—so I immediately said yes. When I talked to her, she said, “We’re making Barbie.” I thought, “Oh, that’s unusual, but I’m sure it’s going to be cool.” She told me, “There are two songs that we need. We’ve got this big dance number, ‘Barbie’s Best Day Ever,’ and it’s going to be a big choreographed piece. And I think we should probably have a Ken song as well.
They were in a rush because choreography was starting in two weeks, so she asked, “Can you whip something up?” I felt so much pressure because I had read the script and was completely in love with it. I wanted to create something that would blow them away, just like when I first worked with Amy Winehouse—I wanted the first thing I sent to be something they’d love. After trying two or three other ideas, I finally came up with the track that became “Dance The Night” and sent it to Greta.
I usually turn my phone off before bed to disconnect from the internet and the world, but I woke up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom, and I was so anxious to see if she had listened to it that I turned my phone back on. I received all these lovely messages from her—she really dug it.
As for the Ken song, I was excited to do the dance number, but there’s always something special about writing for the underdog—it really gets to you. Even though Ken has a nice ending in the film, there was just something about his character that made me want to capture his pain. I sent the demo, which I worked on with my partner Andrew Wyatt, to Greta. Greta told me that when she played the song for him, it really resonated with him.
Mark Ronson’s journey from a young DJ in New York to an Oscar and Grammy-winning producer is a testament to his incredible talent and dedication to his craft. His work continues to inspire and resonate with audiences around the world, as seen in his recent achievements with the Barbie soundtrack. Honored at the Newport Beach Film Festival and reflecting on his diverse career with Scott Feinberg, Ronson’s story is a powerful reminder of the impact that passion and perseverance can have in the world of music. We look forward to seeing what he will create next.
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