Died On This Date (July 7, 2008) Jason Gula / Marketing Executive
themusicsover Jason Gula
May 5, 1970 – July 7, 2008
Jason Gula was most recently the Executive Vice President of Marketing & Sales for 80/20 Music Entertainment where hew worked with such up and coming artists as Lisa Genee, Recession, Cellofourte, Izzy and Chris, and Brooke Annibale. Gula began his career at legendary midwest retailer, Camelot Music. He later landed in distribution, working for Sony out of the Chicago and Cleveland branches where he earned tremendous respect from the retail community for his hard work and knack for creative marketing promotions. Jason Gula died suddenly of a heart attack on July 7, 2008 at the age of 38.
Ann Spencer Gates was a Boston area disc jockey and later, publicist for Matador Records. Moving from Buffalo to Boston for college in the late ’70s, Gates soon had a radio program on MIT’s hip WMBR radio station. She, along with friend Lisa “Sheena” Bucholz hosted “The Mystery Girls” where they were one of the first to champion such local bands as Lemonheads and Mission Of Burma. By the late ’80s, Gates was living in New York City where she went to work for Matador Records as a publicist, working with such acts as Liz Phair, Pavement, Cat Power and Bettie Serveert. Ann Spencer Gates died on July 6, 2008 after a long struggle with breast cancer.
Harvey Fuqua was a much respected R&B performer, songwriter and producer who is mostly remembered for his longtime association with Motown Records. In 1951, Fuqua formed the Moonglows, a popular doo wop group who recorded such hits as “Sincerely,” “Don’t Be Afraid of Love,” and “Ten Commandments of Love.” In 1958, Fuqua recruited a young singer, 
Van McCoy was a musician, producer, arranger and prolific songwriter who has penned upwards of 700 songs during his career. But, he is perhaps best remembered for just one, “The Hustle,” which was massive disco hit of 1975 and to this day, arguably defines the era. McCoy began singing in the church choir as a child and by his early teens, he and his brother were performing as a doo wop duo. While in college, McCoy started his own record label to release his first single, “Hey Mr. DJ.” He was soon hired by Scepter Records as an A&R rep and songwriter. Over the years, he penned hits for Gladys Knight & The Pips (“Giving Up”), Barbara Lewis (“Baby, I’m Yours”), the Shirelles (“Stop The Music”) and 
Allen Klein was a record company executive and powerful artist manager during the 1960s. Known as a ruthless businessman, many artists benefited from his abilities to get them better record deals and higher royalties. His client list included