Larry N. Jordan

Larry Neal Jordan (born October 11, 1952) is an American magazine publisher and journalist, syndicated radio show producer, and book author. A commercial newspaper publisher from the age of 15, Jordan is best known as a biographer of American country and western music star Jim Reeves.

Press-American

Larry Jordan's interest in journalism began in 1963, when he received a small printing press as a Christmas gift from his parents. The boy started a newspaper for his Cedar Rapids, Iowa neighborhood as a hobby and stuck with the task long enough to develop a basic understanding of the publishing business. Describing an event Jordan held, the Cedar Rapids Gazette reported

"it exuded class. Cadillacs and Continentals were prominent in the parking lot. The guest list was most impressive. The major law firms were represented, as was the medical fraternity. Just about every Cedar Rapids businessman of note either bought tickets or was there in person.... The 400 or so personages who packed the Longbranch ate a special menu and drank wine by candlelight as a quartet of musicians played... The whole affair was choreographed by program chairman Larry Jordan...[whose] concept proved successful." Among the magazine's significant stories was one penned by Jordan himself that attracted nationwide attention, called "The Secret JFK Files, New Evidence and the Midwest Connection." It took almost a year to write and included interviews with sources overlooked by the Warren Commission in its report. A 12-page "think piece" Jordan wrote called "The Troubling Legacy of Ronald Reagan" attracted the attention of then-Gov. Bill Clinton as he was embarking on his successful campaign for the Presidency. Clinton was so intrigued by it he met with Jordan, and then sent him a letter calling the story "very impressive," saying "I'm glad I had the opportunity to read it," and "I agree with much of it, as you may guess." Commenting on a different article by Jordan, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton wrote " your analysis and argument hits the mark. I only wish others paid more attention to the evidence which is there for all to see of what is really happening."

In 1997, Jordan launched a weekly show on AM radio station WMT in Cedar Rapids called the Midwest Today Radio Edition based on the contents of the magazine. The program is now carried by 52 stations across 10 states.

In late 2011, Page Turner Books released a 672-page book called Jim Reeves: His Untold Story by Larry Jordan, about the life of the country music singer. The book took Jordan more than 13 years to complete and is based on hundreds of interviews plus Reeves' personal diaries and private correspondence. Billboard magazine, in an interview with Jordan, reported that "Though the author is a Reeves fan, he didn't put the singer on a pedestal... The book is a balanced account of Reeves' life and career, his marriage to Mary...and his penchant for the opposite sex that might not have meshed with his 'Gentleman Jim' persona. However, Jordan spends a lot of time discussing what made Reeves fans all over the world: the music."

Jordan won a Hollywood Book Award in 2012 , an Award for Excellence In Historical Recorded Sound Research from the Association of Recorded Sound Collections and numerous other accolades. In 2013, Larry Jordan produced a CD called "The Divine Ms. Cline" featuring new overdubs of Patsy Cline studio tracks, using pro musicians from Nashville, Atlanta and elsewhere. Billboard magazine called the results "stunning" . In 2014, Jordan produced an 8-CD set, "The Great Jim Reeves," which included 170 tracks, over 90 overdubs, plus a 48-page booklet he co-authored with his daughter, Sara Elizabeth Jordan, also a professional writer. Billboard magazine reported "the releases have sold well in the United States and abroad" and cited England, India, Germany and South Africa. That same year, Larry Jordan was interviewed on an hour-long tribute to Jim Reeves hosted by Terry Wogan, broadcast in the UK on BBC Radio 2, said to have been heard by 12 million people. David Allan, writing in Country Music People magazine in the UK, said of the 8-CD set that "The production is contemporary, technically impressive and hugely enjoyable. It really is quite extraordinary, and at times breathtaking, how [Larry Jordan] brought Jim Reeves up to date without losing the unique Reeves appeal." Famed Irish singers Daniel O'Donnell and his singing partner, Mary Duff are appearing in a series of TV commercials promoting "The Great Jim Reeves" set.

In recent years, Larry Jordan has not only produced a series of releases for his own label, VoiceMasters, but also overdubbed CDs on other artists for H&H Music Ltd. in London including "Bing Crosby and Rosemary Clooney: The New Recordings"; and 2015's "Elvis Presley: The New Recordings".

Jordan has also produced two CDs for Mint Audio in the UK , including "Rosemary Clooney: Rare & Unreleased", about which respected critic Joe Marchese of The Second Disc music site observed, "Happily, Jordan’s new orchestral settings are tasteful, well-executed and thankfully free of modern touches... Clooney’s voice is front and center throughout, and at its most pristine. Rare and Unreleased makes for an enjoyable hour-plus with one of the greatest voices of the American songbook." The latest Jordan-produced CD for Mint is "Barbra Streisand In the Beginning," the latter of which debuts 21 recordings done in 1962 but never commercially available, with live performance tracks recorded in stereo at the famed Bon Soir nightclub in New York City, unissued audition demos Streisand did for RCA that same year, along with 4 additional rare tracks. He has plans for future CD projects on pop and country artists.

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