F. Reid Shippen’s biography, net worth, fact, career, awards and life story

F. Reid Shippen is a mixer, engineer and producer, currently based in Nashville, Tennessee.

Biography

Growing up in Fair Haven, NJ, F. Reid Shippen performed in bands and eventually decided that he wanted to pursue a career in music. He attended Middle Tennessee State University where he graduated with degrees in Business and Recording Arts & Sciences. While in college, Shippen interned at a variety of studios in Nashville, Tennessee, such as Quad Studios and Skylab Studios, quickly transitioning from assisting to engineering. In 1999, he began to concentrate on mixing.

With numerous years of experience in the studio, Shippen has mixed multiple platinum and gold records and hundreds of charting singles and albums, including seven Grammy Award-winners.

Shippen has mixed, engineered, and/or produced music for respected artists in a variety of genres, from Death Cab for Cutie, A Fine Frenzy, Cage the Elephant and India.Arie to the Jonas Brothers, Marc Broussard, Eric Church and Robert Randolph. He has also worked with Clay Aiken, Jonny Lang, Flyleaf, Switchfoot, Backstreet Boys, Third Day, MercyMe, and Newsboys, among others.

Shippen resides in Nashville, Tennessee and works out of Robot Lemon, his private SSL hybrid studio, where he mixes. He is noted for his ability to work across a wide range of genres and for his use of a highly customized hybrid analog/digital studio setup. In addition to mixing, Shippen produces, records and is actively involved in artist development. In 2018, he founded SongFarm alongside songwriter Ross Copperman, a non-profit organization that builds recording studios and provides musical creative opportunities for underserved high schools. Shippen is also a co-founder of the audio gear company Atomic Instrument Co., but is no longer associated with the company. He is currently an affiliated artist with various audio gear brands including sE Electronics, Unity Audio, and Chandler Limited.

Discography

Albums

• Dierks Bentley – “The Mountain” (Capitol Nashville)
• Ingrid Michaelson – “It Doesn’t Have To Make Sense”
• Kenny Chesney – “Cosmic Hallelujah” (Blue Chair/Columbia Nashville)
• Dierks Bentley – “Black” (Capitol Nashville)
• Kelsea Ballerini – “The First Time” (Black River Entertainment)
• Kelsea Ballerini – “Unapologetically” (Black River Entertainment)
• Zac Brown Band – “The Owl” (BMG Rights Management)
• Lauren Alaina – “Road Less Traveled” (Mercury, Interscope, 19 Recordings)
• Chase Rice – “Lambs & Lions” (Broken Bow Records)
• Colony House – “When I Was Younger” (Descendents/RCA)
• Colony House – “Only the Lonely” (RCA Records)
• Lady Antebellum – “Golden” (Capitol Nashville)
• The Afters – Never Going Back to OK (INO/Columbia/Sony); Light Up the Sky (INO/Columbia/Sony)
• Clay Aiken – A Thousand Different Ways (RCA/Sony)
• Backstreet Boys – Unbreakable (Jive/Sony); Never Gone (Jive/Sony)
• Eric Church – Carolina (Capitol Nashville/EMI)
• dc Talk – Solo (ForeFront)
• Disney – Lilo and Stitch Hawaiian, Vol. 2 (Avex Trax); Disneymania 3 (Walt Disney); Country Bears (Walt Disney); Lilo & Stitch (Walt Disney)
• India.Arie – Testimony: Vol. 1, Life & Relationship (Motown/Universal); Voyage to India (Motown)
• Mat Kearney – Nothing Left to Lose (Aware/Columbia/Sony)
• Lucie Silvas – “E.G.O.” (Thirty Tigers)
• Jennifer Knapp – Letting Go (Graylin)
• Jonny Lang – Turn Around (A&M/Sony)
• tobyMac – Tonight (ForeFront/EMI CMG); Portable Sounds (ForeFront/EMI CMG)
• Matt Maher – Empty and Beautiful (Provident/Sony)
• Mandisa – Freedom (Sparrow/EMI CMG); Christmas Joy EP (Sparrow/EMI CMG); Only the World (Sparrow/EMI CMG); True Beauty (Sparrow/EMI CMG)
• MercyMe – Generous Mr. Lovewell (INO/Columbia/Sony); 10 (INO/Columbia/Sony); All That Is Within Me (INO/Integrity/Sony); Christmas Sessions (Sony); Undone (INO/Integrity); Spoken For (Word/Warner Bros.)
• Newsboys – Born Again (Inpop); In the Hands of God (Inpop); Go: Remixed (Inpop); Greatest Hits (Sparrow/EMI CMG); Go (Inpop)
• Robert Randolph and the Family Band – Colorblind (Warner Bros.)
• Secondhand Serenade – Weightless (Glassnote)
• Chris Sligh – The Anatomy of Broken (Word/Warner Bros.)
• Third Day – Move (Provident/Sony); Chronology, Vol. 2 (Essential/Provident/Sony); Chronology, Vol. 1 (Essential/Provident/Sony); Wherever You Are (Essential/Provident/Sony)
• Chris Tomlin – Hello Love (sixsteps/Sparrow/EMI CMG); Not to Us (sixsteps/Sparrow/EMI CMG); And If Our God Is for Us… (sixsteps/Sparrow/EMI CMG)
• Matt Wertz – While We’re Becoming (Nettwerk)
• CeCe Winans – Songs of Emotional Healing (Pure Springs Gospel/EMI); CeCe Winans (Sparrow/EMI CMG)
• Original score – We Were Soldiers (Sony)
• Various artists – Oh Happy Day: An All-Star Music Celebration (EMI Gospel)
• Sammy Hagar / Sammy Hagar & the Circle – “Space Between” (BMG)

GRAMMY Award-winner

Songs on compilations

• Shania Twain – “Today (Is Your Day)” (Mercury Records)
• Minus the Bear – “My Time” (Radio Mix) (Dangerbird)
• A Fine Frenzy – “Happier” (Radio Mix) (Virgin/EMI)
• Flyleaf – “All Around Me” (Radio Mix) (Octone/Universal)
• Needtobreathe – “You Are Here” (Radio Mix) (Sparrow/Lava/Atlantic)
• Robert Randolph and the Family Band – “Get There” (Warner Bros.)
• Uncle Kracker – “All I Can Do Is Write About It” (from Sweet Home Alabama: The Country Music Tribute to Lynyrd Skynyrd) (Hip-O/Universal)
• Death Cab for Cutie – “Little Boxes” (for Showtime series Weeds) (Lionsgate)
• Jonas Brothers – “Poor Unfortunate Souls” (from The Little Mermaid Soundtrack) (Walt Disney)

Grammy Awards

• Chris Tomlin – And If Our God Is for Us…: Best Contemporary Christian Music Album, 54th Annual GRAMMY Awards
• Various Artists – Oh Happy Day: An All-Star Music Celebration: Best Traditional Gospel Album, 52nd Annual GRAMMY Awards
• Jonny Lang – Turn Around: Best Rock Or Rap Gospel Album, 49th Annual GRAMMY Awards
• Third Day – Wherever You Are: Best Pop/Contemporary Gospel Album, 49th Annual GRAMMY Awards
• India.Arie – Voyage to India: Best R&B Album, 45th Annual GRAMMY Awards
• CeCe Winans – CeCe Winans: Best Pop/Contemporary Gospel Album, 44th Annual GRAMMY Awards
• dc Talk – Solo: Best Rock Gospel Album, 44th Annual GRAMMY Awards

Other Awards

• Audio Engineer of the Year, 54th Annual ACM Awards

Affiliated studios

Current

• Robot Lemon (Nashville, TN) – 2009–present (Owner)

Past

• Battery Studios (Nashville, TN)
• Masterfonics (Nashville, TN)
• Oceanway Studios (Nashville, TN)
• Quad Studios (Nashville, TN)
• Recording Arts (Nashville, TN): 1999–2004
• Skylab Studios (Nashville, TN)
• Sound Kitchen (Franklin, TN)
• Sound Stage Studios (Nashville, TN): 2004–2009