Happy Birthday To Paul Hardcastle, In A Holiday Mood With New Song
Today (December 10th), prolific keyboardist and producer Paul Hardcastle, a weekend host on the Smooth Jazz Network, is 52. Born in London, Hardcastle continues to live there with his wife of 24 years, Delores, and their three children: Maxine, Paul Jr. and Ritchie.
Hardcastle’s music career started back in 1981 when he performed with the up-and-coming British soul band Direct Drive. From there, a collaboration with fellow Londoner Derek Green took him into the emerging dance music scene with the project First Light, producing a string of successful club hits. However, it was in 1984 when Hardcastle chose to carve out a solo career that things really started to happen and he had huge worldwide hits with “19” and “Rainforest.”
Hardcastle, who now records under his own name and as the Jazzmasters, released Hardcastle 5 in 2007, featuring the hit singles “Marimba” and “Lucky Star.” Last year, Hardcastle offered his first-ever DVD, Journey to a Different State of Mind. Earlier this year, he released The Collection, a best-of compilation with two new songs, including the Smooth Jazz Top 20 hit “The Circle.”
Hardcastle’s current hit single is “Coming Home,” an original holiday song offered on The Very Best of Christmas, a compilation from Trippin N Rhythm records.