Edward Saunders, visionary and founder of Merle Art Music Productions, was born and raised in Newark NJ the knee baby, fourth out of five children from parents Naomi and Charles Saunders. Early on, Eddie received his musical influences from his mother.
At the tender age of ten, Eddie discovered he was a natural born drummer and later expanded his love of percussion by playing the piano.
After much growth and evolution, his local church accepted the art of drumming and as a young boy added him to their roster of paid musicians.
His travels as a percussionist began a journey of networking and afforded him the opportunity to do studio work with such greats as Donnie Harper and the Voices of Tomorrow and Charles Stewart and the Good News Singers.
These experiences ignited a career as a musical producer working with various singers in multiple capacities: provided vocal training for Tisha Campbell, wrote and produced music for the young Raven Simone, wrote and arranged “Baby Please be Mine” by Regina Bell, collaborated on projects with the likes of Dave Pic Conley of Surface, Gwen Guthrie, Cuba Gooding Sr., Mary J Blige, Paul Gainer, Blue Lovett of the Manhattans, Whitney Houston, Billy Baker, John Simmons and a host of other artists.
In his musical endeavors, he founded the group, the NJ Connection which birthed the hit single, Love Don’t Come Easy which overseas landed him the # 10 spot on London’s charts and in the # 50s spot in NY in the 1980s.
Most recently, Eddie Saunders most prized accomplishment is his service as lead musician for the Praise and Worship Team at Saint John’s Community Baptist Church.