Robert Alan Krasnow (July 20, 1934 – December 11, 2016) was an American

record label A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the pr ...

executive and entrepreneur who had a long and successful career in the

music industry The music industry consists of the individuals and organizations that earn money by writing songs and musical compositions, creating and selling recorded music and sheet music, presenting concerts, as well as the organizations that aid, train, ...

. He founded

Blue Thumb Records Blue Thumb Records was an American record label founded in 1968 by Bob Krasnow and former A&M Records executives Tommy LiPuma and Don Graham. Blue Thumb's last record was released in 1978. In 1995, the label was revived and remained active ...

, later became chairman of

Elektra Records Elektra Records (or Elektra Entertainment) is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group, founded in 1950 by Jac Holzman and Paul Rickolt. It played an important role in the development of contemporary folk and rock music between the ...

, and was a co-founder of the

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (RRHOF), sometimes simply referred to as the Rock Hall, is a museum and hall of fame located in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States, on the shore of Lake Erie. The museum documents the history of rock music and ...

Biography

Robert Krasnow was born in Rochester, New York, to Ben Krasnow, a commercial artist (sign painter), and to the former Gertrude Goldstein from Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, both of Russian Jewish parentage. Krasnow's early career included working as a promotions man for

James Brown James Joseph Brown (May 3, 1933 – December 25, 2006) was an American singer, dancer, musician, record producer and bandleader. The central progenitor of funk music and a major figure of 20th century music, he is often referred to by the hono ...

and sales representative for

Decca Records Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934 by Lewis, Jack Kapp, American Decca's first president, and Milton Rackmil, who later became American Decca's president. ...

. In the early 1960s, Krasnow founded MK Records, which released the novelty record "Report To The Nation," a

parody A parody, also known as a spoof, a satire, a send-up, a take-off, a lampoon, a play on (something), or a caricature, is a creative work designed to imitate, comment on, and/or mock its subject by means of satiric or ironic imitation. Often its sub ...

of the 1960 presidential campaign between John F. Kennedy and Richard M. Nixon. He ran the King Records branch office in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17t ...

from 1958 to 1964 before moving to Warner Bros Records' R&B label

Loma Records Loma Records was an American subsidiary record label of Warner Bros. Records managed by Bob Krasnow, then later Russ Regan. Its name was derived from Eloma, a cleared copyright Warner owned. History In March 1964, Warner Bros. president Mike Mai ...

, which he headed from 1964 to 1966. He became vice president of Kama Sutra Records in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...

in 1966, where he founded the

Buddah Records Buddah Records (later known as Buddha Records) was an American record label founded in 1967 in New York City. The label was born out of Kama Sutra Records, an MGM Records-distributed label, which remained a key imprint following Buddah's foun ...

subsidiary label. He discovered, signed and then produced the debut album '' Safe As Milk'' by

Captain Beefheart Don Van Vliet (; born Don Glen Vliet; January 15, 1941 – December 17, 2010) was an American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and visual artist best known by the stage name Captain Beefheart. Conducting a rotating ensemble known as Th ...

. In 1968 Krasnow left the Kama Sutra/Buddah labels and founded Blue Thumb Records in

Beverly Hills, California Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California. A notable and historic suburb of Greater Los Angeles, it is in a wealthy area immediately southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. ...

with producers Don Graham and

Tommy LiPuma Tommy LiPuma (July 5, 1936 – March 13, 2017) was an American music producer. He received 33 Grammy nominations, 5 Grammy wins, and his productions sold over 75 million albums. LiPuma worked with many musicians, including Barbra Streisand, Miles ...

. The first release on this label was the second Captain Beefheart album '' Strictly Personal''. Krasnow's use of phasing effects on this album is controversial. Beefheart subsequently condemned the production, which he said was done without his knowledge or approval, though it is claimed by other band members that he initially agreed to it. Among the other acts Krasnow brought to Blue Thumb were

Phil Upchurch Philip Upchurch (born July 19, 1941) is an American jazz and blues guitarist and bassist. Career Upchurch started his career working with the Kool Gents, the Dells, and the Spaniels, before going on to work with Curtis Mayfield, Otis Rush, an ...

Ben Sidran Ben Hirsh Sidran (born August 14, 1943) is an American jazz and rock keyboardist, producer, label owner, and music writer. Early in his career he was a member of the Steve Miller Band and is the father of Grammy-nominated musician, composer an ...

Gerry Rafferty Gerald Rafferty (16 April 1947– 4 January 2011) was a Scottish singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer. He was a founding member of Stealers Wheel, whose biggest hit was "Stuck in the Middle with You" in 1973. His solo hits in th ...

, Last Poets, The Credibility Gap, The Crusaders,

Hugh Masekela Hugh Ramapolo Masekela (4 April 1939 – 23 January 2018) was a South African trumpeter, flugelhornist, cornetist, singer and composer who was described as "the father of South African jazz". Masekela was known for his jazz compositions and for ...

, Southwind,

Ike & Tina Turner Ike & Tina Turner were an American musical duo consisting of husband and wife Ike Turner and Tina Turner. From 1960 to 1976, they performed live as the Ike & Tina Turner Revue, supported by Ike Turner's band the Kings of Rhythm and backing voca ...

the Pointer Sisters The Pointer Sisters are an American pop and R&B singing group from Oakland, California, that achieved mainstream success during the 1970s and 1980s. Their repertoire has included such diverse genres as pop, jazz, electronic music, bebop, bl ...

Dave Mason David Thomas Mason (born 10 May 1946) is an English singer-songwriter and guitarist from Worcester, who first found fame with the rock band Traffic. Over the course of his career, Mason has played and recorded with many notable pop and rock mu ...

, Dan Hicks and His Hot Licks,

Marc Bolan Marc Bolan ( ; born Mark Feld; 30 September 1947 – 16 September 1977) was an English guitarist, singer and songwriter. He was a pioneer of the glam rock movement in the early 1970s with his band T. Rex. Bolan was posthumously inducted in ...

& T.Rex, Arthur Lee, Clifton Chenier,

Love Love encompasses a range of strong and positive emotional and mental states, from the most sublime virtue or good habit, the deepest Interpersonal relationship, interpersonal affection, to the simplest pleasure. An example of this range of ...

Gábor Szabó Gábor István Szabó (March 8, 1936 – February 26, 1982) was a Hungarian American guitarist whose style incorporated jazz, pop, rock, and Hungarian music. Early years Szabó was born in Budapest, Hungary. He began playing guitar at the age ...

Mark-Almond Mark–Almond was a jazz-influenced English pop group of the 1970s and early 1980s, sometimes also called The Mark-Almond Band. The core members were Jon Mark, who sang lead and played guitar, percussion, and harmonica and Johnny Almond who pl ...

, and

John Mayall John Mayall, OBE (born 29 November 1933) is an English blues singer, musician and songwriter, whose musical career spans over sixty years. In the 1960s, he was the founder of John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers, a band that has counted among it ...

. Krasnow served as president of Blue Thumb until 1974, when he became vice president/talent acquisition for Warner Bros. Records, a role he held until 1983 when he was elevated to chairman and CEO of Elektra/

Asylum Asylum may refer to: Types of asylum * Asylum (antiquity), places of refuge in ancient Greece and Rome * Benevolent Asylum, a 19th-century Australian institution for housing the destitute * Cities of Refuge, places of refuge in ancient Judea ...

Nonesuch Records Nonesuch Records is an American record company and label owned by Warner Music Group, distributed by Warner Records (formerly called Warner Bros. Records), and based in New York City. Founded by Jac Holzman in 1964 as a budget classical label, No ...

(later known as Elektra Entertainment). While with Warner and Elektra starting 1984, he signed

Chaka Khan Yvette Marie Stevens (born March 23, 1953), better known by her stage name Chaka Khan (), is an American singer. Her career has spanned more than five decades, beginning in the 1970s as the lead vocalist of the funk band Rufus. Known as the " Q ...

George Benson George Washington Benson (born March 22, 1943) is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He began his professional career at the age of 19 as a jazz guitarist. A former child prodigy, Benson first came to prominence in the 1960s, play ...

Funkadelic Funkadelic was an American funk rock band formed in Plainfield, New Jersey in 1968 and active until 1982. The band and its sister act Parliament, both led by George Clinton, pioneered the funk music culture of the 1970s.John, Bush. Funkade ...

Bootsy Collins William Earl "Bootsy" Collins (born October 26, 1951) is an American bass guitarist and singer. Rising to prominence with James Brown in the early 1970s, and later with Parliament-Funkadelic, Collins established himself as one of the leading ...

Kraftwerk Kraftwerk (, "power station") is a German band formed in Düsseldorf in 1970 by Ralf Hütter and Florian Schneider. Widely considered innovators and pioneers of electronic music, Kraftwerk were among the first successful acts to popularize t ...

Anita Baker Anita Denise Baker (born January 26, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter. She is one of the most popular singers of soulful ballads, especially renowned for her work during the height of the quiet storm period in the 1980s. Starting her career ...

Teddy Pendergrass Theodore DeReese Pendergrass (March 26, 1950 – January 13, 2010) was an American soul and R&B singer-songwriter. He was born in Kingstree, South Carolina. Pendergrass spent most of his life in the Philadelphia area, and initially rose to musi ...

, Womack & Womack, Public Image Ltd and

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to those labels. Krasnow also became known for shelving projects such as

Dee Snider Daniel "Dee" Snider (born March 15, 1955)Tayler, LettaTwisted Sister's Dee Snider remembers his challenging Long Island upbringing "Newsday", March 15, 2016Archived here/ref> is an American singer, songwriter, radio personality, and actor. He w ...

's post-

Twisted Sister Twisted Sister was an American heavy metal band originally from Ho-Ho-Kus, New Jersey, and later based on Long Island, New York. Their best-known songs include " We're Not Gonna Take It" and " I Wanna Rock", both of which were associated with ...

outfit, Desperado, as detailed in Snider's 2012 autobiography, ''Shut Up and Give Me the Mic''. During this period Krasnow let

Queen Queen or QUEEN may refer to: Monarchy * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom ** List of queens regnant * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...

buy back their rights to their catalogue as he was not a fan of their music. The deal was conducted with the band's manager John Reid, paying $1 million ($ in dollars) to have it, they had a backdoor deal already set for $10 million ($ in dollars) with

Hollywood Records Hollywood Records is an American record label of the Disney Music Group. The label focuses in pop, rock, alternative, hip hop, and country genres, as well as specializing in mature recordings not suitable for the flagship Walt Disney Records ...

profiting for $9 million ($ in dollars) instantly. This incident went on to sour the relationship between him and Elektra's founder

Jac Holzman Jac Holzman (born September 15, 1931) is an American music businessman, best known as the founder, chief executive officer and head of record label Elektra Records and Nonesuch Records. Holzman commercially helped launch the CD and home video form ...

. Krasnow abruptly resigned from his position at Elektra in July 1994, the result of a bitter internal struggle within the Warner Music group during 1994-95 that also led to the departure of long-serving and highly respected Warner Bros. Records executives Mo Ostin and

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. Following his resignation he established Krasnow Entertainment, a joint venture with the

MCA Music Entertainment Group MCA Records was an American record label owned by MCA Inc., which later became part of Universal Music Group. Pre-history MCA Inc., a powerful talent agency and a television production company, entered the recorded music business in 1962 w ...

. In private life, Krasnow has been a member of board of directors of

New York City Center New York City Center (previously known as the Mecca Temple, City Center of Music and Drama,. The name "City Center for Music and Drama Inc." is the organizational parent of the New York City Ballet and, until 2011, the New York City Opera. and t ...

(theater for independent choreography); a member of the board of directors and president's council of the

Brooklyn Academy of Music The Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) is a performing arts venue in Brooklyn, New York City, known as a center for progressive and avant-garde performance. It presented its first performance in 1861 and began operations in its present location in ...

; co-president of the French Music Office; national committee member of the

March of Dimes March of Dimes is a United States nonprofit organization that works to improve the health of mothers and babies. The organization was founded by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1938, as the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis, to comb ...

; executive vice-president of the

Paul Taylor Dance Company Paul Taylor Dance Company, is a modern dance company, formed by dancer and choreographer Paul Taylor (1930—2018). The modern dance company is based in New York, New York and was founded in 1954. Taylor originally performed in the companies of ...

; and a member of board of directors of the Wadleigh School and a co-founder of the

. Krasnow died on December 11, 2016 in

Wellington, Florida Wellington is a village just west of West Palm Beach in Palm Beach County and north of Miami. As of 2019, the city had a population of 65,398 according to U.S. Census Bureau estimates, making it the most populous village in the state. It is th ...

of organ cancer.

Awards and honors

Krasnow's honors include being named the T.J. Martell Foundation Cancer Research Man of the Year in 1984 and 1989; Nordoff-Robbins Music Therapy honoree in 1989; and recipient of the

Ellis Island Ellis Island is a federally owned island in New York Harbor, situated within the U.S. states of New York and New Jersey, that was the busiest immigrant inspection and processing station in the United States. From 1892 to 1954, nearly 12 mil ...

Medal of Honor in 1992.

References

External links

*
The Story of Blue Thumb Records

Enotes.com Biography of Bob Krasnow

{{DEFAULTSORT:Krasnow, Bob 1934 births 2016 deaths American music industry executives American people of Russian-Jewish descent Elektra Records