Russ Regan
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Russ Regan | |
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| Born | Albert Harold Rustigian October 15, 1928 Sanger, California, U.S. |
| Died | May 27, 2018 (aged 89) Palm Springs, California, U.S. |
| Occupation | Record executive |
| Labels | UNI, 20th Century, Motown |
Russ Regan (born Albert Harold Rustigian; October 15, 1928 in Sanger, California[1] – May 27, 2018 in Palm Springs, California)[2] was an American record executive who was President of both UNI Records and 20th Century Records[3] and was vice-president of A&R at Motown.[4] Regan is the rare executive to have seen No. 1 hits in four successive decades.
Career
[edit]Regan started his career in the 1950s as a composer and record producer. His first notable hit was a 1959 Christmas novelty song, inspired by "The Chipmunk Song", titled "The Happy Reindeer" credited to Dancer, Prancer and Nervous issued by Capitol Records.[5] The song reached number 34 on the Billboard Hot 100.[6] He also recorded "Calling All Cars" under the name Davy Summers for Warner Brothers with producer Sonny Bono.[citation needed] In 1961, Regan was hired by Buckeye Record Distributors as a record promoter. The company handled distribution for Tamla, Disneyland, Dot, and other labels.[7] Regan has often been attributed as the person who renamed the Pendletones to the Beach Boys when the group's first record "Surfin'" was set to be released on Candix.[8]
He would go on to promote songs by The Supremes, Smokey Robinson & The Miracles, Stevie Wonder, The Temptations, and Marvin Gaye.[citation needed] In the mid-1960s, he was drafted in to help form a musical direction for Warner Brothers' fledgling pop/soul music subsidiary, Loma Records.[citation needed] He also helped Frank Sinatra record his No. 4 hit, "That's Life" in 1966.[citation needed] He struck a deal with Jimmy Miller Productions when Miller left The Rolling Stones, which resulted in albums from B.B. King, Henry Gross, Bobby Whitlock, and others.[citation needed] Regan also signed Barry White, Patti Dahlstrom (whom he brought with him from Uni Records), Ambrosia and Harriet Schock to 20th Century Records.[citation needed]
Russ Regan played a major role in the careers of a number of recording artists, as he headed up labels such as Uni, 20th Century and Phonogram Records.[3] Dozens of recording artists, including Elton John, Neil Diamond, Barry White, Patti Dahlstrom, Olivia Newton-John and The Beach Boys had Regan to thank for opening the doors for their success.[9] One of his most surprising successes while at UNI was South African trumpeter Hugh Masakela's "Grazing In The Grass" in 1968, which sold over a million and reached the top spot in the Billboard pop chart.[citation needed]
While President of 20th Century Records, Regan was inspired from a dream to create the movie All This and World War II, which saw Fox News footage from WWII backed with various artists singing Beatles songs.[citation needed] The movie was never released on video, and it remains in the vaults of 20th Century Fox.[citation needed] Regan also supervised the soundtracks for the movies Endless Love, Breakin', The Karate Kid, All The Right Moves, Love At First Bite, This Is Spinal Tap, and A Chorus Line.[citation needed] Regan was also the Music Supervisor for four Academy Award-winning songs from the films The Poseidon Adventure, The Towering Inferno, Flashdance, and Chariots of Fire.[citation needed]
Notes
[edit]- ↑ Murphy 2015, p. 117.
- ↑ "Russ Regan, Music Executive Who Signed Elton John and Neil Diamond, Dies at 89". Variety.com. 29 May 2018. Retrieved 13 October 2018.
- 1 2 Colin Larkin, ed. (1992). The Guinness Encyclopedia of Popular Music (First ed.). Guinness Publishing. p. 621. ISBN 0-85112-939-0.
- ↑ "Georgio Groomed For Stardom" (PDF). Americanradiohistory.com. Retrieved 13 October 2018.
- ↑ Edwards, Dave; Eyries, Patrice; Callahan, Mike (April 24, 2007). "Universal City Records [UNI] Album Discography". Discographies. Both Sides Now Publications. Retrieved July 2, 2011.
- ↑ Murphy 2015, p. 118.
- ↑ Murphy 2015, p. 119.
- ↑ Murphy 2015, p. 120-121.
- ↑ Freedland, Nat (August 31, 1974). "Sometimes Nice Guys Come In First: The Russ Regan Story". Billboard. Vol. 86, no. 35. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved July 2, 2011.
References
[edit]- Wayne, Artie (2006). "Russ Regan Interviewed". Spectropop. Retrieved July 2, 2011.
- "Clearvision International, Inc. and Velocity Entertainment, Inc. Sign Letter Of Intent". Business Wire. Hollywood, California. January 20, 2007.
- Murphy, James B. (2015). Becoming the Beach Boys, 1961-1963. McFarland. ISBN 978-0-7864-7365-6.
External links
[edit]- "Discography of Loma Records". Archived from the original on 2007-12-25. Retrieved 2008-02-03.
- Russ Regan discography at Discogs
- Russ Regan at IMDb
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