David Libert (January 20, 1943 – February 20, 2024) was an American music executive, musician, and author. He was one of the founding members of the musical group,

The Happenings The Happenings are a pop music group that originated in the 1960s. Members of the original group, created in the spring of 1961 and initially called "The Four Graduates" because all had just graduated from high school in Paterson, New Jersey, we ...

. Hailing from

Paterson, New Jersey Paterson ( ) is the largest City (New Jersey), city in and the county seat of Passaic County, New Jersey, Passaic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.See You in September "See You in September" is a song written by Sid Wayne and Sherman Edwards. It was first recorded by the Pittsburgh vocal group the Tempos. This first version peaked at No. 23 in the USA in the summer of 1959, and No. 16 in Canada. The most po ...

" and a cover of "

I Got Rhythm "I Got Rhythm" is a piece composed by George Gershwin with lyrics by Ira Gershwin and published in 1930, which became a jazz standard. Its chord progression, known as the " rhythm changes", is the foundation for many other popular jazz tunes su ...

", each peaking at number 3 on the

Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100, also known as simply the Hot 100, is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), o ...

, in 1966 and 1967, respectively. Libert later left the group to join the Willard Alexander Agency as a booking agent. After a brief stint as road manager for Rare Earth, Libert became tour manager for

Alice Cooper Vincent Damon Furnier (born February 4, 1948), known by his stage name Alice Cooper, is an American rock singer and songwriter whose career spans sixty years. With a raspy voice and a stage show that features numerous props and stage illusion ...

during his most prominent years (1971–1975). Libert figured prominently in

Bob Greene Robert Bernard Greene Jr. (born March 10, 1947) is an American journalist and author. He worked for 24 years for the ''Chicago Tribune'' newspaper, where he was a columnist. Greene has written books on subjects including Michael Jordan, Alice C ...

's book about accompanying Cooper's band on 1973's

Billion Dollar Babies ''Billion Dollar Babies'' is the sixth studio album by American rock band Alice Cooper, released on February 27, 1973 The album became the best selling Alice Cooper record at the time of its release, hitting number one on the album charts in the ...

tour,

Billion Dollar Baby ''Billion Dollar Baby'' is a musical with the book and lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green and the score by Morton Gould. Comden and Green were fresh from their success with '' On the Town'', and the production team was something of an '' ...

(). Libert was also credited for singing background vocals on the Billion Dollar Babies album, which was recorded at

Morgan Studios Morgan Studios (founded as Morgan Sound Studios) was an independent recording studio in Willesden in northwest London. Founded in 1967, the studio was the location for recordings by notable artists and bands such as The Cure, Jethro Tull, the Ki ...

in London in 1973. In 1975 Libert migrated from

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

, and in 1976 he opened the David Libert Agency, which represented George Clinton,

Parliament/Funkadelic Parliament-Funkadelic (abbreviated as P-Funk) is an American music collective of rotating musicians headed by George Clinton, primarily consisting of the funk bands Parliament and Funkadelic, both active since the 1960s. With an eclectic style ...

Bootsy's Rubber Band A group is a number of persons or things that are located, gathered, or classed together. Groups of people * Cultural group, a group whose members share the same cultural identity * Ethnic group, a group whose members share the same ethnic iden ...

, and

The Runaways The Runaways were an American rock band who recorded and performed from 1975 to 1979. Formed in 1975 in Los Angeles, the band released four studio albums and one live album during its run. Among their best-known songs are " Cherry Bomb", " Holl ...

Cherie Currie Cherie Ann Currie (born November 30, 1959) is an American singer, musician, actress, and artist. Currie was the lead vocalist of the Runaways, a rock band from Los Angeles, in the mid-to-late 1970s. She later became a solo artist. Currie and h ...

Joan Jett Joan Jett (born Joan Marie Larkin; September 22, 1958) is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, and actress. Often referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music#J, Godmother of Punk", she is regarded as a Pop icon, rock icon and ...

, and

Lita Ford Lita Rossana Ford (born September 19, 1958) is an American guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter. She was the lead guitarist for the all-female rock band the Runaways in the late 1970s, and then embarked on a successful glam metal solo career tha ...

. In the late 1990s Libert formed Available Entertainment with entertainment attorney Alan Oken. A personal management company, Available Entertainment, went on to represent George Clinton;

;

Brian Auger Brian Albert Gordon Auger (born 18 July 1939) is an English jazz rock and rock keyboardist who specialises in the Hammond organ. Auger has worked with Rod Stewart, Tony Williams, Jimi Hendrix, John McLaughlin, Sonny Boy Williamson, Eric B ...

;

Living Colour Living Colour is an American rock music, rock band from New York City, formed in 1984. The band consists of guitarist Vernon Reid, lead vocalist Corey Glover, drummer Will Calhoun and bassist Doug Wimbish who replaced Muzz Skillings in 1992. T ...

;

Sheila E Sheila Cecilia Escovedo (born December 12, 1957), known under the stage name Sheila E., is an American singer, songwriter, and musician. Regarded as one of the greatest musicians of her generation; she is known for skills as a multi-instrumental ...

;

Vanilla Fudge Vanilla Fudge is an American rock band known predominantly for their slow extended heavy rock arrangements of contemporary hit songs, such as their hit cover of the Supremes' " You Keep Me Hangin' On". The band's original line–up was vocali ...

; Cactus; Iranian singer, writer, performer

Sussan Deyhim Sussan Deyhim (; born December 14, 1958) is an Iranian-American composer, vocalist, performance artist, and activist. She is internationally known for her invention of a unique sonic/vocal language. LA Times quotes her as "One of Iran's most pote ...

; Skye Issac; The Fabulous Miss Wendy; The Coryell Auger Sample Trio; and

Tomi Rae Brown Tomi Rae Hynie (born May 21, 1969) is an American singer who claimed to be the fourth and last wife of James Brown. Singing career Brown worked as a sound-alike Janis Joplin impersonator in Las Vegas and as a backup singer in the James Brown Rev ...

. Libert also wrote hit songs for other artists, including

The Tokens The Tokens were an American doo-wop band (rock and pop), band and production of phonograph records, record production company group from Brooklyn, Brooklyn, New York City. The group had four top 40 hits on the Billboard Hot 100, ''Billboard'' H ...

The Chiffons The Chiffons were an American girl group originating from the Bronx, a borough of New York City, in 1960. History Origins The group was originally a trio of schoolmates - lead singer Judy Craig, backed by Patricia Bennett and Barbara Lee - e ...

, and

Gerry & The Pacemakers Gerry and the Pacemakers were an English beat music, beat group prominent in the 1960s Beat music, Merseybeat scene. In common with the Beatles, they came from Liverpool, were managed by Brian Epstein and recorded by George Martin. Their early ...

. Libert promoted many concerts throughout his career, including sold out shows at Madison Square Garden in New York (George Clinton) and the Cricket Wireless Amphitheater in Kansas City (Kool and the Gang). Libert's record producing credits include co-producing The Happenings album, ''Piece of Mind,'' with fellow Happenings member Bobby Miranda, as well as producing, on his own, Tomi Rae Brown, Attus, Steel Water Blue, and Eric Kellogg's Imaginary Band. Libert had recently finished writing his autobiography, "Rock and Roll Warrior" (ISBN 978-1-68524-435-4), which was released on September 23, 2022, by Sunset Blvd Books. Libert resided in Southern California. Libert died on February 20, 2024, at the age of 81.

References

External links

Available Entertainment
* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Libert, David 1943 births 2024 deaths Record producers from New Jersey Songwriters from New Jersey Musicians from Paterson, New Jersey Talent managers