Joe smith record executive biography medical director
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Joe Smith, who signed Grateful Dead, remembered as a rarity: ‘A well-loved executive’
Of all the descriptions of veteran record executive Joe Smith — some heartfelt, some laugh-out-loud funny — served up Tuesday at a memorial celebration of his life, perhaps the most revealing of his legacy in the music business was one that would have sounded unremarkable in many other settings.
“He was a well-loved executive,” said Eagles co-founder Don Henley, in a message taped last week in Dallas on a tour that precluded him from attending. To underscore just how remarkable that comment really was, Henley quickly elaborated: “You don’t hear those two things together very much — ‘a well-loved executive’ — in the record industry.”
The memorial, staged three months after Smith’s death in December at 91, gave proof to Henley’s assertion, drawing a who’s who of musicians, music executives, managers, music writers, publicists and rank-and-file record label personnel who filled the seat Bram Goldsm
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Legendary Label Executive Joe Smith Dies at 91; Bonnie Raitt and Garth Brooks Remember His Legacy
Photo by Taylor Hill /Getty Images &#; Honoree Joe Smith attends the 2nd annual Billboard Power Cocktail Reception at Emerson Theater on Jan. 23, in Hollywood, Calif.
Smith, who signed the Grateful Dead, oversaw Warner Bros., Elektra/Asylum and Capitol-EMI
Joe Smith, a legendary record executive who signed the Grateful Dead and helmed three labels, including as president and CEO of Capitol-EMI Music, has died. He was His son confirmed his death to Billboard.
Smith, who received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in , worked closely with a number of artists, including Bonnie Raitt, whom he signed while president at Warner Bros. Records in the ‘70s and then brought to Capitol and was part of her comeback in the late ‘80s, including her multiple Grammy winner &#;s Nick of Time.
&#;So sorry to mark the passing of my fr
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Warner Bros., Elektra, Capitol Label Head Joe Smith Dead at 91
Joe Smith, a former label chef with Warner Bros., Elektra and Capitol Records, has died at the age of
He was head of Warners during the period of signing Black Sabbath, Alice Cooper, the Doobie Brothers and others. Later, as head of Capitol, he wrote the book Off the Record: An Oral History of Popular Music, which featured interviews with Bob Dylan, Paul McCartney, Mick Jagger, Elton John, Neil Diamond, Billy Joel and others he was associated with.
As a young jazz fan, Smith got his start in the music industry as a DJ before joining Warner Bros. in as a promotions executive. He became president 12 years later, before moving to sister company Elektra in He announced his retirement in but became chef of Capitol in , before retiring for good in
I&#x;m so fortunate to have gotten out when I got out of it because there&#x;s no fun anymore, Smith told Variety in We were there during a