Billboard remembers some of the notable executives who passed in 2005 and whose presence will be sorely missed.

Alfred G. Aronowitz Eddie Barclay Al Berman Beebe Bourne Perry Cooper David Fine

Dan Heilicher Chet Helms Nathan Joseph Tim Lane Frankie LaRocka Harold Leventhal

Bob Moog Donald Plunkett Sol Saffian Simon "Si" Waronker Theresa Brilli Wilson Georgie Woods

Music executive Tim Lane, 67, Feb. 7 in Los Angeles. As assistant director of LP sales and marketing for Atlantic during the late 1960s, he was instrumental in the early careers of Led Zeppelin, Cream, Iron Butterfly and Crosby Stills & Nash. He was the first executive to give away albums to emerging FM stations. Lane also pursued creative merchandising concepts such as placing promotional stickers on album covers.

Industry executive Theresa Brilli Wilson, 45, March 20 in New York. Wilson held posts at Elektra, Sony Music, Universal Music Group and Arista from 1981-2003 and also managed C+C Music Factory from 1994-1997. She worked with such acts as Aerosmith, Bob Dylan, Billy Joel, Mariah Carey and OutKast.

Record Executive Frankie LaRocka, 51, May 12 in Staten Island, N.Y. As VP of A&R for Epic Records, LaRocka signed successful artists including multiplatinum act the Spin Doctors. After leaving the label, LaRocka did an A&R stint at Mercury Records before founding Straight Line Productions. Earlier in his career, LaRocka played drums with David Johansen, John Waite, Bryan Adams and others.

Groundbreaking executive Eddie Barclay, 84, May 13 in Paris. Barclay ruled the music scene in France from 1955-1979, signing such artists as Jacques Brel, Charles Aznavour, L?o Ferr? and Claude Nougaro. His career as an executive started in 1949 when he created with then-wife Nicole the independent jazz label Blue Star, which evolved into Disques Barclay. In 1955, he flew to the United States and brought back the vinyl LP, which he introduced in France. His label expanded in the 1960s and 1970s, attracting France's top-selling artists, including Dalida, Bernard Lavilliers and Daniel Balavoine.

Independent distributor/retailer Dan Heilicher, 82, May 23 in Minneapolis. Heilicher joined brother Amos' jukebox operation in 1945. By 1947, the Heilicher Brothers expanded to independent distribution after landing the Mercury Records account for North and South Dakota, Iowa, Nebraska and Minnesota. In 1955, the Heilichers started the Musicland chain.

Music industry veteran Perry Cooper, 59, May 28 in Fredericksburg, Va. Cooper started in the industry as assistant music director for WINS New York. He made his transition to the label side in the promotion department at Liberty Records. Cooper joined Arista as national promotion director in 1975. Two years later, he moved to Atlantic and began moving up the ranks, eventually becoming VP of artist relations. Leaving Atlantic in 1995, Cooper formed Perco Artist Development and Management.

Co-founder and chairman of Liberty Records Simon "Si" Waronker, 90, June 7. Waronker started as a violinist and worked as a musician in Germany before fleeing the Nazis in 1939. In Los Angeles, Waronker recorded music for 20th Century Fox films until 1955. He and Jack Ames founded Liberty Records later that year. In 1958 Ross Bagdasarian scored the label's second-most popular song in its history: "Witch Doctor" (recorded under his pseudonym David Seville). Bagdasarian then started the cartoon trio the Chipmunks, naming them after Liberty execs Waronker, president Alvin Bennett and engineer Theodore Keep.

Legendary radio personality Georgie Woods, 78, June 18 in Boynton Beach, Fla. Woods is credited with introducing Philadelphia to the Temptations and Stevie Wonder as a DJ with the city's WDAS-AM and WHAT-AM in the 1950s and 1960s. Woods also helped book then-newcomers James Brown and Aretha Franklin at Philadelphia's landmark Uptown Theater. He was inducted into the Broadcast Pioneers Hall of Fame in November.

Manager/promoter Chet Helms, 62, June 25 in San Francisco. Touted as the "Father of the Summer of Love," Helms founded and managed Big Brother & the Holding Company, a group that featured Janis Joplin on vocals. Helms was also an influential rock promoter, helping to stage free concerts and "Human Be-Ins" at the city's Golden Gate Park. He set the stage for major-label interest in Joplin by booking Big Brother at the 1967 Monterey Pop Festival, where their version of Big Mama Thornton's "Ball and Chain" was captured on film.

Former Audio Engineering Society executive director Donald Plunkett, 81, July 15 in New York. The early years of his career included stints at Capitol Records and Fairchild Recording Equipment. Plunkett was awarded fellowship honors and a distinguished service medal for his 50-plus years with AES.

Booking agent Sol Saffian, 68, July 21 in Nashville. In a career that spanned almost 50 years, he represented such musical luminaries as Louis Armstrong; Chubby Checker; Sam Cooke; the Four Tops; Neil Diamond; Kool & the Gang; Earth, Wind & Fire; and Reba McEntire. Credited as one of the first high-profile agents to demand equal pay for black artists, Saffian took on several Motown performers and within weeks brought their performance pay to the level of other artists. In 1970, he started American Talent International, whose clients included Rod Stewart, ZZ Top and Kiss. Saffian went on to head what later became the urban music department at the William Morris Agency. He also worked for Buddy Lee Attractions.

Head of the Harry Fox Agency Al Berman, 86, July 23 in Pompano Beach, Fla. Berman took over the New York-based mechanical rights organization in 1969 following the death of Harry Fox. In the mid-1970s, Berman's testimony before Congress was instrumental in upping the statutory rate for mechanical licenses from 2 cents, which had been in effect since 1909.

Rock journalist Alfred G. Aronowitz, 77, Aug. 1 Elizabeth, N.J. Aronowitz paved the way for writers covering the evolving rock scene of the 1960s. Aronowitz prided himself on introducing Bob Dylan to the Beatles at the Hotel Delmonico in New York. He also managed folk performers Rosalie Sorrells and David Bromberg for several years.

Inventor Bob Moog, 71, Aug. 21 in Asheville, N.C. Moog was one of the most influential figures in the evolution of electronic music. An introduction to experimental artist Herbert Deutsch lead to the creation of his prototype, the Moog Modular Synthesizer. Moog's instruments were initially used for generating evocative sound effects in broadcast commercials. Their sounds went mainstream on Wendy Carlos' groundbreaking 1968 Columbia Records release "Switched-On Bach," which won three Grammy Awards. Moog was honored with a Grammy Trustees Award for lifetime achievement in 1970. In 2001, the Royal Swedish Music Academy awarded him Sweden's Polar Music Prize.

Longtime music industry figure David Fine, 76, Aug. 30. Fine was an IFPI board member from 1987-1998. In 1983, he was appointed executive VP of the PolyGram Group, with responsibility for its subsidiaries throughout the world. In 1987, Fine was promoted to president/CEO of PolyGram worldwide and oversaw a period of expansion through internal growth and the landmark acquisitions of Island and A&M. In January 1991, Fine handed over executive responsibility for the PolyGram Group and became non-executive chairman of PolyGram N.V.'s supervisory board.

Nathan Joseph, 66, Aug. 30 in London. In 1961, Joseph founded British indie label Transatlantic Records, discovering acts like Ralph McTell, Bert Jansch, John Renbourn, the Dubliners and Pentangle. Joseph also took a gamble on Scottish folk singer Billy Connolly, releasing his between-song banter as a comedy album to much success. Joseph sold the company in the mid-1970s and left the business to produce plays.

Promoter Harold Leventhal, 86, Oct. 4 in New York. Leventhal introduced audiences to international and American artists from the 1950s to the time of his death. He presented a 21-year-old Bob Dylan at New York's Town Hall April 12, 1963, for the singer's first major concert hall appearance. He won a Grammy Award in 1989 as a producer for the album "Folkways: A Vision Shared: A Tribute to Woody Guthrie and Leadbelly."

Music Publisher Beebe Bourne, Nov. 1. Bourne helmed the New York-based Bourne Co., one of the largest privately owned international music publishers. Earlier this year, she received the 2005 Abe Olman Publishers Award from the Songwriters Hall of Fame. She was only the second woman to receive the award; the first was her mother, Bonnie Bourne. Bourne served as president of the Music Publishers Assn., a member of the NMPA board and executive director of the New York chapter of the Assn. of Independent Music Publishers. In 2002, she received the Women in Music Touchstone Award, given for distinguished service to the music industry.