Glen Ballard

Cast · Writer

Born

May 1, 1953 · Natchez, Mississippi, USA

Birth name

Basil Glen Ballard Jr.

Glen Ballard is an American songwriter, lyricist, and record producer. He is best known for co-writing and producing Alanis Morissette's 1995 album Jagged Little Pill, which won Grammy Awards for Best Rock Album and Album of the Year, and was ranked by the Rolling Stone as one of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. Ballard is also well known for his collaborations with composer Alan Silvestri. He was involved in the recording and writing of Michael Jackson's albums Thriller and Bad. As a writer, he co-wrote songs including "Man in the Mirror" (1987) and "Hand in My Pocket" (1995). He is the founder of Java Records. Ballard won the 2006 Grammy Award for Best Song Written for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media for "Believe" (The Polar Express (2004)). In 2011, he founded his own production company known as Augury, a Hollywood atelier focused on developing music-driven projects in film, television, and theatre. Ballard co-wrote the music and lyrics for Ghost The Musical with David A. Stewart and Bruce Joel Rubin, which opened in London's West End on 19 July 2011 and opened on Broadway in the spring of 2012.