Walter Yetnikoff
Walter Yetnikoff | |
---|---|
U.S. | |
Died | August 9, 2021 Bridgeport, Connecticut, U.S. | (aged 87)
Nationality | American |
Alma mater | Brooklyn College (BA) Columbia University (LLB) |
Years active | 1958–2021 |
Spouse(s) | June May Horowitz (divorced) Cynthia Slamar (divorced) Lynda Kady (m. 2007) |
Children | 2 |
Walter Yetnikoff (August 11, 1933 – August 9, 2021) was an American
During his career at CBS Records, which included Columbia Records and Epic Records, he guided the careers of Michael Jackson, Billy Joel, Culture Club, Earth, Wind & Fire, Cyndi Lauper, Bruce Springsteen, Barbra Streisand, Sade, "Weird Al" Yankovic, Miami Sound Machine, and many other successful acts.[1]
In 1975, William Paley appointed Yetnikoff President and CEO of CBS Records. During his tenure he attracted stars like
With Yetnikoff at the helm of CBS Records, Michael Jackson's Thriller sold over 40 million copies, Springsteen's Born in the U.S.A. sold over 20 million and Billy Joel's The Stranger sold in excess of 13 million. Yetnikoff also helped launch the careers of Lauper (on Portrait Records, which CBS owned), Culture Club (on Virgin Records, which CBS distributed at the time), and Gloria Estefan.
Yetnikoff was known for being a strong artist advocate. For example, Billy Joel speaks of how Yetnikoff bought back Joel's publishing rights and gave them to him as a birthday present. Yetnikoff notes in the documentary film The Last Play at Shea that he had to threaten Artie Ripp to close the deal.[4] Also, in its early years, when the cable music station MTV refused to air many music videos by Black, Latino, Asian, and other non-white Anglo acts, Yetnikoff threatened to go public and accuse the station of racism and stated he would pull all of CBS Records acts from MTV if the station didn't air the video to Michael Jackson's "Billie Jean", a CBS artist, which had become a US number one hit.[5]
At CBS, Yetnikoff was the chief architect of the sale of CBS Records, (which included Epic Records and Columbia Records) to Sony, which in turn created
Early life and education
Yetnikoff was born to a
Career
CBS Records International
After receiving his
In 1962, Yetnikoff joined CBS Records as a staff attorney at the behest of general counsel Clive Davis, a former colleague from Rosenman & Colin. After serving as general counsel of the CBS Records law department, he moved over in 1969 as Executive Vice President of CBS Records International, which grew exponentially under his leadership.
In 1968, as general counsel, Yetnikoff was instrumental together with Harvey Schein in forming CBS/Sony, a Japanese joint venture which became highly profitable under Akio Morita and Norio Ohga.[10] Yetnikoff forged a close and lucrative working partnership with Sony executives, thereby establishing a groundbreaking collaboration between a major U.S. company and Japanese corporation.
In 1971, he was appointed President of CBS Records International. [11]
CBS Records
In 1975, he became President and CEO of CBS Records.
Among his accomplishments, he is credited with having broken the
Under Yetnikoff's partial watch, "Weird Al" Yankovic became the highest-selling comedy artist of all time.
Yetnikoff also popularized and helped usher in the genre of
Yetnikoff relentlessly pursued
Yetnikoff was also involved in Barbra Streisand's biggest selling album, Guilty with Barry Gibb from the Bee Gees.
Yetnikoff features prominently in
Sony Music Entertainment
In 1988, Yetnikoff was the chief architect of CBS Records' sale to the
Velvel Records
After leaving Sony/CBS Records, Yetnikoff tried to make a movie about Miles Davis and launched a record label called Velvel which lasted for three years.[16]
Autobiography
In the late 80s, Jackie Kennedy Onassis, then an editor of Doubleday, approached Yetnikoff about writing his life story.
Howling at the Moon
Yetnikoff's autobiography, Howling at the Moon, co-written with David Ritz, was published in 2004. He recounted in it how a Catholic priest, Monsignor Vincent E. Puma, had helped him recover from his addictions to alcohol and drugs. The Jewish Yetnikoff noted that he viewed Father Puma as a mentor: "It'd be easier for the Pope to convert to Islam than for me to turn Catholic, but that didn't stop me from hanging out with a priest who understood the need for redemption."[9] Entertainment Weekly praised the book as candid and noted "few record-company heads have written autobiographies, and fewer still have penned ones as candid as Howling at the Moon...Yetnikoff knows what readers want."[17]
Philanthropy
Eva's Village
In addition to being involved with Father Puma, in Eva's Recovery Center in Paterson, New Jersey, Yetnikoff volunteered in recovery centers around the New York region.
Over the years, Yetnikoff received awards from many philanthropic organizations such as the
Personal life
Yetkinoff married three times. His first wife was his college sweetheart June May Horowitz;[6] they had two sons, Michael Yetnikoff and Daniel Yetnikoff, before she died of cancer.[18] His second wife was Cynthia Slamar.[19] He lived with his third wife Lynda Kady and their dog Alexandra in New York City and upstate New York.
Yetnikoff died of bladder cancer on August 9, 2021, at a hospital in Bridgeport, Connecticut, two days before his 88th birthday.[7]
References
- ^ [1] The New York Times. 1984-01-22. The King of Records of CBS.
- ^ [2] The Guardian. Vodka for breakfast, secretary for lunch, signed the Stones at tea. Retrieved on 2014-04-12.
- ^ [3] The New Yorker. Blockbuster. Retrieved on 2014-04-12
- ^ The Last Play at Shea (2010). October 28, 2010. New York Times.
- ^ "Michael Jackson, "Billie Jean". blender.com. Archived from the original on March 12, 2007. Retrieved 2007-04-11.
- ^ a b "Walter Yetnikoff: On the record". The Independent. February 29, 2004.
- ^ a b Genzlinger, Neil (10 August 2021). "Walter Yetnikoff, Powerful but Abrasive Record Executive, Dies at 87". The New York Times. Retrieved August 11, 2021.
- ISBN 9780810322035. Retrieved 2019-12-25.
- ^ ISBN 0-349-11797-7.
- ^ [4]. Sony Global. Corporate Info. CBS/Sony Records is Established in First Round of Capital Deregulation. Retrieved on 2014-04-12.
- ^ Billboard - Google Books. Books.google.com (1971-07-31). Retrieved on 2013-07-16.
- ^ [5] CNN. Michael Jackson Broke Down Racial Barriers. Retrieved on 2014-04-12.
- ^ [6] youtube.com. 1984 Grammy Awards. 1 minute 30 seconds into video. Retrieved on 2014-04-12.
- ^ The Last Play at Shea (documentary film). 2010.
- ISBN 0099813106)
- TheGuardian.com. 3 September 2021.
- ^ [7] Entertainment Weekly. The Hit Man.
- New York Observer.
- ASIN B005IEH8DU.girlfriends
The occasion was Walter Yetnikoff's wedding to Cynthia Slamar, the latest in his line of blonde Gentile
External links
- "Sex, Drugs and Ego: A Music Mogul's Swath of Destruction; A Deposed President of CBS Records Chronicles His Debauchery and Detox", The New York Times, March 4, 2004 (retrieved January 28, 2010)
- Walter Yetnikoff discography at Discogs
- Walter Yetnikoff at IMDb
- Allmusic.com