Died On This Date (August 22, 2011) Frank DiLeo / Label Veteran; Managed Michael Jackson
themusicsover Frank DiLeo
October 23, 1947 – August 22, 2011
Frank DiLeo was a longtime and sometimes controversial music industry executive as well as a part-time actor. Launching his music career just after high school, DiLeo first worked as a rack jobber in Pittsburgh. He went on to work for several labels in radio promotion, while along the way, building a reputation for getting records played. He held high-ranking positions at CBS Records, Bell, RCA and ultimately, for Walter Yetnikoff at Epic, where during the ’80s, he was credited for taking the label from #14 in the U.S. to #2. He was largely responsible for the success of such acts as Michael Jackson, Quiet Riot, REO Speedwagon, Ozzy Osbourne and Cyndi Lauper, to name a few. His methods may have been considered less than above-board by some, but he clearly got results. After the success of Jackson’s Thriller, the singer asked DiLeo to be his manager in a partnership that lasted until 1989. Over the years, DiLeo also managed Richie Sambora, Taylor Dane and Laura Branigan. He also formed a business relationship with Prince. As an actor, DiLeo appeared in Wayne’s World, Wayne’s World 2, and Goodfellas in which he played Tuddy Cicero, based on real life organized crime figure, Vito “Tuddy” Vario. In March of 2011, Frank DiLeo had heart surgery. He died from complications on August 22, 2011.
Esther Gordy Edwards was a pioneering businesswoman who is perhaps best remembered as an executive at her younger brother, Berry Gordy’s Motown Records. After graduating from Howard University in the mid ’40s, Edwards opened Gordy Printing Company with two of her brothers with whom she later started Ber-Berry Co-Op along with her husband (then Michigan state Representative, George Edwards) as a way to provide loans for family members. It was with an $800 loan from the lender that brother Berry launched Motown. Edwards soon joined the label’s management team and took charge of booking tours and artist management among other duties. Within the label, Edwards was affectionately referred to as the “Mother of Motown” due to her nurturing and encouragement, particularly of some of the younger artists. On occasion, she served as a strict chaperone on the their early Motortown Revue tours. Edwards eventually became the Senior Vice President and CEO of the Motown. She later served on the boards of the Detroit Chamber of Commerce and a local bank. During the mid ’80s, Edwards took over the day-to-day of Hitsville, USA – the Motown museum, which houses the original Motown studios among other priceless artifacts. Esther Gordy Edwards was 91 when she passed away peacefully in her home on August 24, 2011.
Jerry Leiber along with partner, Mike Stoller was arguably the greatest pop songwriting team of the second half of the 20th century if not all time. Originally from Baltimore, Maryland, Leiber moved to Los Angeles where he met Stoller in 1950 while the pair were still in high school. Leiber, a record store clerk, and Stoller, a pianist quickly realized that they shared a love of the blues and rhythm & blues music and immediately began collaborating on songs. Within the next few years, their creations were becoming hits for singers of jazz, blues, R&B and rock ‘n roll alike. The list of their early hit songs includes “Hard Times” by 
Joel Chin was the Director of A&R for the family run reggae dynasty known as VP Records. Founded in New York City in 1979 by Chin’s Jamaican-born grandparents, Patricia and Vincent Chin, VP has grown into the world’s largest independent reggae label. Its name has become synonymous with contemporary roots reggae, dancehall and soca. During the mid ’90s, Chin joined the family business – his father is legendary reggae producer, Clive Chin who has worked with Black Uhuru and 
Rich Fitzgerald was a greatly respected music industry professional who took his tireless passion for music and made a successful career out of it. Raised in Seattle, Washington, it was the young Fitzgerald who was likely turning his classmates on to the newest records. He went as far, it has been said, as creating his own pop charts and distributing them to his friends. Fitzgerald began his career working for Capitol Records there in Seattle, and by the mid 1970s, he was employed by one of the hottest new labels at the time, RSO Records, where he played a role in the success of such artists as the Bee Gees, Andy Gibb, and Eric Clapton with whom he would build a lifelong business and personal relationship. He was also directly involved with the pop culture phenomenons known as Saturday Night Fever, Grease, and Fame while at RSO. He went on to work for Network, Geffen, Reprise, and Warner Bros. Fitzgerald eventually rose to the position of Vice President of Promotions while at Warner Bros. where he helped such future stars as Madonna, Prince, Green Day, and the Pretenders get their first records played on radio. During his final years, Fitzgerald was working directly with Clapton. Rich Fitzgerald was 64 when he died of esophageal cancer on August 15, 2011.