Sherwood Ball(1951-2015)

Sherwood Ball, eldest son of Ernie Ball, who any musician worth his salt knows is the gold standard for guitar strings and things. His great grandfather, Ernest R. Ball, wrote "When Irish Eyes Are Smiling", "Let the Rest of the World Go By", etc. and co-founded ASCAP. Growing up in a family where artistic endeavors were encouraged, Sherwood has worked both in acting and in music most of his life. He won "Best Humorous Scene" at UCLA at age 14 for his portrayal of "The Imaginary Invalid" by Moliere and acted in over 60 national commercials. He has enjoyed success in the USA, Japan, & Scandinavia as a singer/songwriter in his own right and as a sought-after session singer/guitarist. Sherwood was one of the top three male soloist studio singers in Los Angeles for 20 years for television, film and sang or announced in over 2,000 commercials. He sang in Nightmare Before Xmas, theme "Hangin' w/ Mr. Cooper", Demolition Man, Wayne's World, Let it Ride, Always, etc etc. Earlier, Sherwood toured and played lead guitar/vocals with Three Dog Night, Etta James, Jackson Browne, Joe Walsh, Stephen Stills, Bonnie Raitt, etc. Sherwood held the long-term gig as The Voice of Toyota announcing from '85-'05 when he moved to the Big Island of Hawaii. Before moving to HAwaii, his interest in film led him to direct, produce, edit, score, create computer motion graphics in 5 films. The latest being, "The Osage Tribal Murders" feature length documentary. Sherwood recently moved back to L.A. to record the upcoming soulful big band CD with the Les Hooper band.