Archive for the ‘Promoter’ Category
Posted by themusicsover on April 1, 2010
Sam Gesser
January 7, 1930 – April 1, 2008
Sam Gessar at right; Photo by John W. MacDonald
Sam Gesser was a Canadian concert promoter who brought the likes of Joan Baez, Pete Seeger and Janis Joplin to Montreal in the ‘60s. With a career that spanned over 50 years, Gesser started as radio and television writer, later joining the Folkways label as their Canadian representative. While with Folkways, he produced over 100 albums. He switched to concert promotion in the ‘60s and produced shows and tours by Harry Belafonte, Van Cliburn, Peter, Paul & Mary, Janis Joplin, Joan Baez, Pete Seeger and many more. Gessar died of cancer on April 2, 2008 at the age of 78.
Posted in Producer, Promoter, Record Label | Tagged: Harry Belafonte, Janis Joplin, Joan Baez, Pete Seeger, Peter Paul & Mary, Sam Gesser, Van Cliburn | Leave a Comment »
Posted by themusicsover on March 10, 2010
Ralph Mercado
September 29, 1941 – March 10, 2009
Ralph Mercado was a successful Latin music impresario who had his hands in many facets of the entertainment industry. He started out promoting Latin jazz shows in clubs throughout Manhattan, but it was just a matter of time before he was putting on Salsa shows at the Hollywood Bowl and Madison Square Garden. During the early ’70s, Mercado opened his own management company where he represented the likes of Celia Cruz and Tito Puente. In 1987, he started his own label, RMM Records, the home to over 100 Latin artists. He sold the label to Universal Music in 2001. The success he achieved and the Salsa music dynasty he built lead to his being called “the Berry Gordy of Salsa.” On March 10, 2009, Ralph Mercado died of cancer at the age of 67.
Posted in Latin, Manager, Promoter, Publishing, Record Label | Tagged: Berry Gordy, Celia Cruz, Ralph Mercado, Tito Puente | Leave a Comment »
Posted by themusicsover on January 3, 2010
Greg Pineda
April 20, 1954 – January 3, 2009
Greg Pineda, was the lead singer and guitarist for Southern California band, Aluminum Marshmallow. Originally formed by Pineda and Tom Behrens back while while still in elementary school in 1967, the group had reunited several years ago. Since then, they have become local favorites in Sierra Madre, California. Pineda also owned and operated a recording studio, All Media Services, in Westlake Village, California. It was there that he produced a series of music videotapes called The Hollywood Music Store with the help of Chuck Negron, as well as members of Ambrosia, REO Speedwagon, Chicago and more. Greg Pineda was 54 when he passed away on January 3, 2009. He had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer just a few months earlier.
Thanks to Sierra Madre Sue for the help
Posted in Musician, Promoter, Rock, Singer | Tagged: Aluminum Marshmallow, Ambrosia, Chicago, Chuck Negron, Greg Pineda, REO Speedwagon, Tom Behrens | 8 Comments »
Posted by themusicsover on November 13, 2009
Maurice Jones
DOB Unknown – November 13, 2009
Maurice Jones began his career as an artist manager, overseeing the career of English rock band, Slade. He eventually started his own promotion company, helping popularize such bands as Def Leppard, the Eurythmics, AC/DC, and Simple Minds. In 1984, Jones joined forces with Bob Geldolf and Midge Ure to promote Live Aid, the massive fund raising concerts that were held in Philadelphia and London and seen by an estimated 400 million people world wide. The concerts featured the biggest acts in popular music at the time. After the success of Live Aid, Jones went on to create the Monsters Of Rock festival that ran for many years outside of England’s Castle Donnington and other locations from time to time. The festivals featured the biggest names in hard rock music. Maurice Jones was 64 when he died of cancer on November 13, 2009.
Posted in Manager, Promoter | Tagged: AC/DC, Bob Geldolf, Def Leppard, Eurythmics, Maurice Jones, Midge Ure, Simple Minds, Slade | Leave a Comment »
Posted by themusicsover on October 25, 2009
Bill Graham (Born Wolodia Grajonca)
January 8, 1931 – October 25, 1991
Bill Graham was a world famous concert promoter who played a key part in the growth of ’60s American rock ‘n roll. As a Jewish child born in Berlin, Graham barely escaped the Nazis by being placed in an orphanage by his mother. Fortunately, that orphanage relocated him to France before the Halocaust. Graham moved to New York City where he received his schooling after which he served in the Korean War and eventually ended up in San Francisco. In 1965, he landed his first show businees job, managing the San Francisco Mime Troupe which lead to him booking and promoting shows at the Fillmore Auditorium. Graham had a knack for finding acts that appealed to the city’s growing counter-culture scene and in doing so helped the scene itself grow. Some of the acts he featured in those early years were Janis Joplin, Country Joe & the Fish, the Fugs, Jefferson Airplane and of course, the Grateful Dead. By the late ’60s, Graham was the most popular rock concert promoter in the country. Besides the Fillmore and Winterland in San Francisco, he was booking the Fillmore East in New York City. He also promoted tours by the Rolling Stones as well as such concert events as Live Aid and Human Rights Now tour for Amnesty Now. On October 25, 1991, 60-year-old Bill Graham was flying home after a Huey Lewis concert in nearby Concord, California. The helicopter he was in crashed shortly after takeoff, killing Graham, his girlfriend, and the pilot. Reports indicate that less-than-ideal weather caused the pilot to crash into an electrical tower.
Posted in Manager, Promoter | Tagged: Bill Graham, Country Joe & the Fish, Grateful Dead, Huey Lewis, Janis Joplin, Jefferson Airplane, The Fugs, Wolfgang Grajonca | Leave a Comment »