Tobias"Toby" Gad (born 28 March 1968)^[1][2] is a German music producer and songwriter based in Los Angeles. He is known for co-writing songs includingJohn Legend's biggest hit, "All of Me", the fifth-highest certified single inRIAA history,^[3] and for co-writing and producing "Big Girls Don't Cry" byFergie and "If I Were a Boy" byBeyoncé.^[4] Other notable works include "Skyscraper" forDemi Lovato, "Who You Are" forJessie J, "Untouched" forThe Veronicas, "A Year Without Rain" forSelena Gomez & the Scene, "Don't Hold Your Breath" forNicole Scherzinger, "Love You More" forJLS, and "I Do" forColbie Caillat.

Toby Gad
Toby Gad in 2013
Background information
Birth name	Tobias Gad
Born	(1968-03-28)28 March 1968 (age 57)[1] Munich,West Germany (now Germany)
Genres	Pop,rock,R&B,dance
Occupation(s)	Producer,songwriter,musician
Instrument(s)	Piano,guitar,bass,programming
Years active	1986 – present
Labels	Gad Songs/Kite Music

In the third quarter of 2014, Gad was ranked the #3 songwriter inAmerica byBillboard, behindRyan Tedder andPharrell Williams.^[5]

Born into a musical family inMunich in 1968, Gad was influenced by both parents who were established figures in the Munich music scene with their group, The Jazz Kids.^[4] His Danish father is aclarinet player and apilot. His German mother is apsychotherapist andcomposer/pianist who tours theUK andEurope with Brian Carrick's jazz band, the Algiers Stompers.^[6][7]

Gad was expected to study banjo and join the Jazz Kids, but he took to playing thepiano instead. At age 7, he and his brotherJens had formed their own band, the Gad Rollers, and played original rock'n'roll compositions during intermissions of their parents' gigs.^[4][8]

Although too young to get into most clubs at age 13, Toby andJens were no strangers to the live music scene in Munich. Weekly gigs in bars, concerts in open-air summer festivals and shows in legendary live clubs such as the Domicile spread the word, and Munich hit producerTony Monn showed interest in the brothers. Monn handed over his state-of-the-art recording studio to Toby and Jens whenever he was out of town. Monn's generosity provided a learning environment for Toby and Jens to delve into songwriting and producing.^[8]

In 1986, whenFrank Farian, amulti-platinum German producer (No Mercy,Boney M,Milli Vanilli) was looking for new talent, a mutual friend turned him on to the Gad brothers' material.^[9] The next day, the boys flew toFrankfurt and thus started a seven-year collaboration with Farian. One week later, they found three of their songs onMilli Vanilli's debut album, which later went multi-platinum.^[4][8]

Farian produced Toby and Jens' first albumQ' as artists', which was followed by a live tour. Funk legendGeorge Clinton would later hear the record and invited Toby and Jens to perform two songs on stage with hisP-funk band.^[4][6]

In 1990, Toby Gad metMauritian singerJacqueline Nemorin. This became the beginning of a 10-year collaboration between the two. Together with Farian, Gad produced Nemorin's first albumThe Creole Dance onBMG.^[4][6]

In 1994, Gad signed on with manager Klaus Frers (Daydream Music Supervizing) and produced Nemorin's second album forEMI Europe. It was also Frers who moved the duo into music production for dozens of successful TV shows, commercials and movie soundtracks. Gad and Nemorin wrote and produced the title-song for the movieNeverending Story III, the music for two popular daily TV talk-shows that stayed on air for four years, and the single "The Magic of the Fall", which went on to win theBDA Gold Award in L.A. for best TV trailer concept. In 1998, Gad was hired by Spanish producerRafael Perez to work onEnrique Iglesias' third album.^[6] That same year, Gad signed a deal with Joost Van Os, former head ofPolygram.^[4]

Following much success in his home country, Gad relocated toNew York City, opening Strawberrybee studio inMidtown Manhattan.^[4] The album title song and hit single "Unspoken" of Christian platinum artistJaci Velasquez, written by Gad, Madeline Stone and O.Hatch, managed to stay half a year in the ChristianBillboard top 20 single charts and was re-released on theBillboard #2 album,WOW Greatest Hits 2004.^[10][11]

Meanwhile, Gad had several successes back overseas. "Damn I Think I Love You" stayed at #1 for seven weeks and became the most sold single of 2001 in theNetherlands. The #1StarMaker album with two of Gad's songs went triple platinum.Sita's debut single "Happy" was at #1 for two weeks and remained in the top five for two months. The song was also released in the US on theWild Thornberries soundtrack, followed by the #1 album of Sita.^[4]

After 3 years in New York without any success, Gad was given the chance to work withMTV hostWilla Ford. Their single "A Toast to Men" became a #40 radio single, appearing in the hit movieBarbershop 2.^[12]

Gad, with David and William Derella fromDAS, worked out a co-publishing deal with Cherrylane Music Publishing and record deals for several of Gad's artists. In August 2005, Interscope Records released Texan teenKaci Brown's albumInstigator, entirely developed, produced and co-written by Gad.^[8] R&B group Fatty Koo has an album onColumbia Records on which every song is produced and co-written by Toby.^{[6][13][14][15]} He produced and co-wrote songs on the album of the Australian twinsThe Veronicas, who scored the biggest US newcomer record deal of the year onWarner Bros. Records/Sire Records and went double platinum in Australia.^[16][17]

Meleni and Gad co-wrote the song "Drop It On Me" onRicky Martin's 2005 albumLife. Another artist that Toby developed for years,Lola, released her single "No Strings" onWarner Bros. Records/Sobe, which spent 4 months on theBillboard Dance charts, peaking at #2.^[18]

In 2006, Gad opened a second studio with five interns, expanding his production company Strawberrybee Music and his publishing company, Gad Songs.^[8] Gad produced the entire Blue Note Records album ofElizabeth Withers, who starred in theBroadway musicalThe Color Purple, and contributed a song onFergie's platinum-selling albumThe Dutchess. He also collaborated with then 13-year-oldEmmy nominated actress/singerKeke Palmer on her 2007 debut album onAtlantic Records and produced a song for the second season of hitDisney sitcomHannah Montana.^[19]

As an innovative producer and songwriter, Gad has been interviewed multiple times about how he writes and how he records and mixes using Logic Pro. He has been featured inMix Magazine, theRecording Mag,Pro Sound News and more.^{[9][20][21][22][23][24][25]}

In 2008, Gad and Fergie's "Big Girls Don't Cry" was Grammy nominated for Best Female Vocal Performance^[26][27] and wonASCAP 'Song of the Year'.^{[22][28][29][30]} The song twice broke the record for most airplay on US radio and spent a total of 21 weeks in variousBillboard US charts at #1, including one week #1 on theBillboard Hot 100.^[31][32] Over 87 worldwide compilation albums feature the song. Gad scored his second worldwide #1 hit withBeyoncé's "If I Were a Boy", which Gad produced and co-wrote.^[29] "If I Were A Boy" reached #1 in nine countries and hit top-ten in over 20 countries around the world.^[33] Gad's third platinum number one hit was the indie-electro pop anthem "Untouched" by Aussie duoThe Veronicas. The song sold platinum in the US and reached #1 in Ireland and Mexico.

In summer 2009, Gad relocated his recording studio toLos Angeles.^[6][8] The new studio, located in theHollywood Hills, features several music production rooms and a video editing room. In Los Angeles, Gad continued collaborating with stars such asAmerican Idol finalistsKris Allen,Allison Iraheta andJessica Sanchez.

In 2009, Gad also launched his own record label, Kite Records, which is a collaboration between himself,David Sonenberg/DAS Management, andIsland Def Jam Music Group as well asGad Films which features exclusive behind the scenes footage of Gad working in the studio with stars such asMiley Cyrus andThe Veronicas.^[34][35][36] In 2011, Gad co-wrote "All of Me" forJohn Legend, which, after three years of dormancy^[37] made its way to #1 on the Top 100 for three weeks and was certified 14 times platinum,^[38] making it the highest certified track inRIAA history (tied with "Despacito").^[3][37][39]

In 2014, Gad co-wrote 11 songs withMadonna for her albumRebel Heart, producing four of the songs.^[40][41]

In 2015, Gad executive produced and co-wrote much ofLeona Lewis' fifth studio album,I Am.^[42][43] He co-wrote and producedPrince Royce's "Lucky One" onDouble Vision, co-wroteJohn Newman's "I'm Not Your Man" fromRevolve, and co-wrote and produced "First Heartbreak" for Grammy-nominated^[44] artistTori Kelly'sUnbreakable Smile. Gad also produced and co-wrote the international charity single "Love Song to the Earth" which featured a long list of popular artists, includingPaul McCartney,Fergie,Jon Bon Jovi,Sheryl Crow,Sean Paul,Nicole Scherzinger, and more.^{[45][46][47][48]} He also produced the 2015 album ofChloe Temtchine,Be Brave, which was described by theNew York Post as "a moving collection of pop songs that document her struggle for survival, but also her recovery."^[49][50]

The following singles written and/or produced by Toby Gad charted on theBillboard Hot 100:

The following singles appear on the USBillboard Year-End or All-Time Hits charts:

The following singles written and/or produced by Toby Gad as presented by The Recording Academy:

The following singles written and/or produced by Toby Gad as presented by The Recording Academy:

The following singles charted inside the top 40 of theUK Download orUK Singles Chart:

• "If I Were a Boy" byBeyonce -#1 (2008)
• "Don't Hold Your Breath" byNicole Scherzinger -#1 (2011)
• "Big Girls Don't Cry" byFergie -#2 (2007)
• "All of Me" byJohn Legend -#2 (2013)
• "Skyscraper" bySam Bailey -#1 (2013)
• "Love You More" byJLS -#1 (2010)
• "Skyscraper" byDemi Lovato -#17 (2011)
• "Who You Are" byJessie J -#8 (2011)
• "Untouched" byThe Veronicas -#8 (2009)
• "Living for Love" byMadonna -#26 (2015)
• "Up" byJames Morrison &Jessie J -#30 (2011)
• "Fire Under My Feet" byLeona Lewis -#26 (2015)

• Official website
• Profile, discogs.com
• Profile, atlasmusicgroup.com
• Profile, idolator.com
• Profile, complex.com
• Toby Gad atIMDb
• Profile, ascap.com
• Profile, observer.com
• Speaker, ascap2012.sched.org
• Atlantic Music Signs Grammy Award winner Toby Gad, broadwayworld.com
• ^[permanent dead link‍] Toby Gad discography, board.thenext2shine.com
• Toby Gad with new top releases, bmg.com
• Toby Gad/John Legend interview, songwriteruniverse.com