Jude Cole

Jude Anthony Cole (born June 18, 1960) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and talent manager from Carbon Cliff, Illinois.

Cole was married to Lori Pfeiffer (born 1965), the younger sister of actress Michelle Pfeiffer, with whom he has two sons.

He began his career as part of Moon Martin's backing group The Ravens, and joined the English power pop band The Records in 1980 by the age of 19.

After spending two years as guitarist and backing vocalist for Moon Martin and The Ravens, Cole joined English pop band The Records as a guitarist for their second album, Crashes, in 1980.

When the band returned to Britain, Cole remained in the US to pursue a career as a solo recording artist.

During the same time, Cole was commissioned to contribute to the soundtrack or musical score for hit films including Where the Boys Are '84 (1984), The Karate Kid Part III (1989), Last Light (1993), Navy SEALs (1990), and Back to School (1986).

He performed the titular theme song for the latter; featured heavily in the film, it became one of Cole's most popular songs in retrospect.

After his work on their album Crashes, he signed with Reprise Records to pursue a solo recording career and released his eponymous debut studio album (1987), which was followed by four subsequent releases—A View from 3rd Street (1990), Start the Car (1992), I Don't Know Why I Act This Way (1995), and Falling Home (2000).

Afterward, he outsourced his work onto managing, producing, and co-writing for the alternative rock band Lifehouse.

His first three solo albums, Jude Cole (1987), A View from 3rd Street (1990), and Start the Car (1992) were released on Reprise Records and predominantly featured a lighthearted, romance-inspired pop sound in an adult contemporary format.

The albums were met with minimal domestic success; however, he reached moderate chart success from their singles, most notably "Baby It's Tonight"—which peaked at number 16 on the Billboard Hot 100—as well as "Time for Letting Go", "House Full of Reasons", "Start the Car", and "Tell the Truth".

His fourth album, I Don't Know Why I Act This Way was released by Island Records in 1995, while his fifth album Falling Home was released on his own label, Watertown Records in 2000.

That same year, Cole halted his recording career to manage the alternative rock band Lifehouse for DreamWorks Records.

During the same time, Cole managed singer Lindsay Pagano for Warner Records.

He chose Irving Azoff as a business partner, and spent the next four years working on behalf of his company, Azoff Management.

This led to Cole receiving production credits on many of their singles throughout the 2000s, including "You and Me," "First Time," "Whatever It Takes" and "Halfway Gone"; each became hit songs on the Billboard Hot 100, Mainstream Top 40, Adult Top 40, and Adult Contemporary charts.

He co-founded the Ironworks record label in 2003 along with actor and business partner Kiefer Sutherland.

In 2003, Cole and business partner, actor Kiefer Sutherland launched Ironworks Studio and Ironworks Records (rebranded from Watertown Records), which would go on to sign musical acts including Billy Boy on Poison, Ron Sexsmith, and honeyhoney.

In 2005, Cole foresaw Lifehouse's notable shift in lyricism and tone as he helmed executive producer duties on the band's eponymous fifth studio album.

The band received one of their furthest commercial successes from the albums lead single "You and Me", which Cole co-produced and co-wrote.

Also in 2005, Cole contributed segments for the entertainment television program Extra as music critic, interviewing high-profile artists including The Rolling Stones, Alice Cooper, and Bob Seger.

Lifehouse signed with the label in 2013 to release their seventh album, Out of the Wasteland (2015).

With Cole sharing a similar role for their subsequent releases, Lifehouse would sign to his Ironworks label upon parting ways with Geffen Records in 2013.

In 2016, Cole co-wrote and produced the entirety of Kiefer Sutherland's debut album, Down in a Hole, which marked the actor's first effort as a country singer.

Cole helmed a similar role, as well as engineering duties for its follow up, Reckless & Me (2019); this album included a cover of Cole's "Open Road" from his 1992 album, Start the Car.

On January 20, 2021, Cole returned to his recording career with his sixth album Coup De Main, his first album in over 20 years.

The album consists of nine tracks and was made available on all streaming platforms.

He later released a cover album, Coolerator, on July 27, 2021.