Dick Rowe

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Dick Rowe
Born
Richard Paul Brutton Rowe

(1921-06-09)9 June 1921
London, England
Died6 June 1986(1986-06-06) (aged 64)
London, England
Occupation(s)Record producer, music executive
Known forHead of A&R singles at Decca Records

Richard Paul Brutton Rowe (9 June 1921

A&R (Singles) at Decca Records
from the 1950s to the 1970s, and produced many top-selling records during that period. Known as, "the man with the golden ear," Rowe discovered and signed The Rolling Stones, Van Morrison, Tom Jones, Cat Stevens, The Moody Blues, Procol Harum, The Animals and Engelbert Humperdinck amongst others. Known as being artist friendly and a true music lover he always wanted the best for talent sometimes putting him at odds with upper management.

He is historically presented in popular music history as the man who did not sign The Beatles.[1] In Brian Epstein's 1964 autobiography, Rowe is quoted as having rejected them with the words: "Guitar groups are on their way out, Mr. Epstein", although he denied ever having said this.[1] He later signed the Rolling Stones after their audition, thanks to an introduction and encouragement from George Harrison.

Life and career

Rowe was born in London. He joined the A&R department at Decca in 1948, where his responsibilities were to both discover and produce records by new talents. In 1953, he produced "

(How Much Is) That Doggie in the Window", another number one hit in the UK, and had further success in the early and mid-1950s with recording artists including David Whitfield, Winifred Atwell, Jimmy Young, and the Beverley Sisters.[3]

In 1959, he left Decca to join

death disc" "Johnny Remember Me", produced by Joe Meek.[3]

Rowe returned to Decca in 1961, and promoted the career of

Brian Poole and the Tremeloes. Rowe and Smith agreed to accept the latter group and reject the Beatles, partly because the Tremeloes were based closer to London and would be easier to work with.[4][5]
However, the Beatles went on to land a recording contract with EMI/Parlophone and become the biggest selling and most influential band of all time.

Rowe subsequently signed several Liverpool bands and musicians to Decca, including

Gilbert O Sullivan amongst others.[4]

Rowe retired in 1975, and died as a result of diabetes in 1986 at the age of 64.[3]

List of productions

As a producer he had several number ones in the singles chart, and his discography includes:

Legacy

His son, Richard Rowe, is a solicitor who went into the music business as a lawyer for CBS Records and then head of their business affairs. He was president of SonyATV music publishing (and made the deal to create a joint partnership with Michael Jackson to publish the Beatles catalogue at Sony/ATV when he ran the worldwide publishing division of Sony Music). Rowe spent the evening explaining to Jackson why this deal would transform the world of music publishing and give the artists power over their legacy. Jackson was interested but when he needed one more reason. Rowe then admitted his father has been incorrectly known as the man who turned the Beatles down. Jackson knew the true story and agreed that was cruelly unfair and decided then and there he wanted to make the deal. "Let's change history," Jackson said. That single deal transformed music publishing forever.

References

  1. ^ a b c Viner, Brian (12 February 2012). "The man who rejected the Beatles". The Independent.
  2. ISBN 9780857121172
    . Retrieved 8 October 2021 – via Google Books.
  3. ^ a b c d e Lin Bensley, "The Engine Room: Dick Rowe", Record Collector, No. 533, July 2022, p. 136
  4. ^
    ISBN 0-85112-939-0
    .
  5. ^ "The Beatles audition for Decca Records", Beatles Bible. Retrieved 25 September 2022
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