Industry Figures Passings
Compiled by Kristina Tunzi
Here is a look at some of the notable artists and executives who passed in 2006.
Pioneering booking agent Ian Copeland, 57, May 24 in Los Angeles. Copeland is credited with founding Frontier Booking International (F.B.I)., one of the top agencies of the '80s. F.B.I. acts included R.E.M., Sting, the Bangles, the Go-Gos, the Smiths, UB40, Joan Jett and the Black Hearts, the Dead Kennedys and the Cure. F.B.I. merged into InterTalent, which disbanded in 1992. In recent years, Copeland opened the Backstage Cafe in Beverly Hills.
Legendary producer/arranger Arif Mardin, 74, June 25 in New York. Mardin's career included landmark recordings by acts ranging from Aretha Franklin to the Bee Gees, and culminated in 2001 with Norah Jones' breakthrough Blue Note album "Come Away With Me." Since 1965, Mardin produced hits for an array of Atlantic artists, including Phil Collins, Hall & Oates, Roberta Flack, and Dusty Springfield. Mardin remained at Atlantic until 2001, rising to senior VP. Shortly after retiring from the label, he re-emerged as co-VP/GM of EMI's revived Manhattan label. Mardin collected close to 60 gold or platinum albums and won 12 Grammy Awards. In 1990, he was inducted into the Recording Academy's Hall of Fame.
Co-founder of Mercury Records, Irving Green, 90, July 1, in Palm Springs, Calif. Mercury Records, founded in 1945, launched the careers of acts ranging from Sarah Vaughan to the Platters, and from Lesley Gore to Quincy Jones. In 1969, Green sold Mercury to PolyGram, and turned his attention to real estate.
Recording industry pioneer, Jordan-Mimi Trepel, 98, Sept. 18 in New York. After a career as a drama coach, Trepel left broadcasting in New York to work at London Records, where she rose to become a corporate officer running London's copyright, publishing and foreign distribution divisions. At a time when few women held positions of responsibility in the recording business, Trepel represented the company around the world, including in Japan and at the annual recording industry meeting in Cannes.
Eminent pianist, composer, musical director and arranger Gerald Cook, 85, Oct. 22 in Chicago. He performed with the Illinois Symphony Orchestra and in nightclubs, starting out in a duo piano act with Margaret Bonds, then going on to accompany singers and personalities including Ethel Waters, Lena Horne, Carmen McRae, Shirley Jones, Johnny Hartman and Sammy Cahn. Cook was the pianist and musical director for Libbby Holman's one-woman show, "Blues, Ballads and Sin-Songs," and Alberta Hunter's comeback late in her life was due largely to his efforts.
The father of the Billboard Hot 100, Tom Noonan, 78, Oct. 29 in Los Angeles. Noonan started working as a vacation replacement at the magazine's New York headquarters in 1949, becoming full time in 1952. At just 29, he was appointed head of the charts department. In the Nov 12, 1955, issue, he introduced the Top 100 -- merging sales and radio data, a format that still guides Billboard's Hot 100. Noonan left Billboard for Columbia-distributed Date Records in 1965, the first of 10 label jobs he would hold in a 10-year stretch. He returned to Billboard in 1975, first overseeing sales and marketing before returning to the charts department in 1982. After retiring from the magazine in 1990, he launched New Marketing, a consulting firm whose clients included Michael Jackson, Janet Jackson and Barbra Streisand.
Producer and songwriter, Rudy Taylor, 52, Oct. 28 in Baton Rouge, La. Taylor toured with Bobby Womack, for whom he acted as musical arranger. Taylor co-produced, arranged and co-wrote many of the Gap Band hits, including "Oops Upside Your Head," "You Dropped a Bomb on Me" and "Early in the Morning."
Ronnie Lippin, 59, Dec. 4 in Los Angeles. Lippin, who had an illustrious career as one of music's most respected music publicists and managers, was president of the international entertainment marketing and public relations firm, The Lippin Group. Her career spanned over three decades, during which she represented such legendary acts as Prince, Eric Clapton, Mark Knopfler, Steven Stills, the Doobie Brothers and Olivia Newton-John.
Ahmet Ertegun, 83, Dec. 14 in New York. Ertegun, a Turkish immigrant, co-founded Atlantic Records in 1947 and built it into one of the most formidable labels in music history. Throughout his career, Ertegun shepherded the careers of Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin, Led Zeppelin and the Rolling Stones. He was immortalized in the Charles biopic "Ray" and was still active at Atlantic up until his death.
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