Woody Jackson

Woodrow Wilson Jackson III was born in Oil City, Pennsylvania, and raised in York, Pennsylvania, and Richmond, Virginia.[1] Jackson studied at Virginia State University, where he took harmonica lessons.[2] He eventually dropped out when his funds were depleted, and turned to playing guitar with the band The Useless Playboys.[2]

In 1992, shortly after the 1992 Los Angeles riots, Jackson moved from Richmond to Los Angeles.[2] In 1995, he collaborated with musician Bill Elm, who introduced Jackson to the band Friends of Dean Martinez.[3] Jackson eventually acted as a fill-in for an absent guitar player before remaining with the band as a full member for some time.[3] He also worked for McCabe's Guitar Shop for several years before becoming a session musician, working on the soundtracks of films like The Devil Wears Prada and Ocean's Twelve.[2] His musical style has been described as a "smooth blend of Krautrock, funk, ambient and brick-smashing instrumental rap".[2] Around 2009, Jackson took over Melrose Avenue-based Vox Recording Studios (also known as Electro-Vox), which was established in 1931 and is said to be the oldest privately held recording studio in the United States.[2][4][5] The same year, video game company Rockstar Games signed him to co-compose music for the upcoming game Red Dead Redemption, together with Elm.[2] He would later also compose incidental music for Rockstar's L.A. Noire.[2][3] In 2018, Jackson continued working with Rockstar as the composer for the prequel to Red Dead Redemption, Red Dead Redemption 2.[6]

Jackson is a baptised Mormon.[1] He is married to Sharon Jackson, a talent agent and partner for William Morris Endeavor.[2][7] The couple formerly occupied a home in the Nichols Canyon neighborhood of Los Angeles; they bought the property for US$925,000 in 2003 and sold it in June 2017 for $3.29 million .[7][8] Jackson has two daughters, Georgina Washington Jackson and Theodora Roosevelt Jackson.[9]

• Official website
• Woody Jackson at IMDb