Jay Ferguson (American musician)

Jay Ferguson (born John Arden Ferguson; May 10, 1947) is an American rock/pop musician, known for his work with Spirit and Jo Jo Gunne, and his 1978 solo hit "Thunder Island". His later career has been as a composer of music for television programs and films.

Childhood and early musical career

Born in Burbank, California in the San Fernando Valley, Ferguson grew up in the Van Nuys and Canoga Park sections of Los Angeles. At 12 years old, Ferguson's parents encouraged his musical abilities with classical piano lessons. When he was 16, Ferguson's interest transferred to the banjo. Along with his brother Tom, an accomplished fiddle player, he formed a bluegrass group called The Oat Hill Stump Straddlers including Michael Fondiler and Steve Fondiler. Ferguson was also a member of local garage bands, Western Union and The Red Roosters.

He also held part-time jobs at different points as a theater usher and an architect's assistant for his father John Ferguson, and taught piano in a music store and studied at UCLA after high school.

Jay Ferguson

Jay Ferguson may refer to:

Jay Ferguson (Canadian musician)

Jay Ferguson (born October 14, 1968) is a member of the Canadian rock band Sloan. He is the only member in Sloan who comes from Halifax, Nova Scotia.

When he was twelve years old, he was given a job at a secondhand record store by George Zimmerman. Before Sloan, he was in a band with Chris Murphy called Kearney Lake Road. In 1991 Ferguson and Murphy started Sloan along with Patrick Pentland and Andrew Scott. Ferguson plays rhythm guitar and occasionally bass and drums. Some of his more famous songwriting contributions are "I Hate My Generation" from the album Twice Removed, "The Lines You Amend" from One Chord to Another, "Who Taught You to Live Like That?" from the album Never Hear the End of It, and "Witch's Wand" from the album Parallel Play.

In December 2005 Ferguson began hosting a show on CBC Radio 3 with Sloan bandmate Chris Murphy. Their show broadcasts Saturday and Sunday on Sirius Satellite Radio station (channel 94).

Ferguson also collaborates with other musicians and can be heard on Gentleman Reg's 2004 release Darby & Joan. He also occasionally DJs at Toronto area clubs.

Jay R. Ferguson

Jay Rowland Ferguson, Jr. (born July 25, 1974) is an American actor.

Biography

Ferguson was born in Dallas, Texas.

In 1989, Jay was plucked from obscurity to play Ponyboy Curtis in the television adaptation of S. E. Hinton's novel The Outsiders. Over the last 22 years, he has appeared in television and film. His notable television roles include Taylor Newton in four seasons of the CBS sitcom Evening Shade, Dr. Todd Hooper on Judging Amy, Rich Connelly in the 2005 NBC television series Surface, Agent Warren Russell on the Showtime series Sleeper Cell and most recently Stan Rizzo on the AMC series Mad Men. His film roles include Billy in Higher Learning, Elmer Conway in The Killer Inside Me, and Keith Clayton in The Lucky One.

Filmography

External links