David Alan Sonenberg is an American music manager, and the founder of the music management company DAS Communications. He is the producer of the

Oscar Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to: People and fictional and mythical characters * Oscar (given name), including lists of people and fictional characters named Oscar, Óscar or Oskar * Oscar (footballer, born 1954), Brazilian footballer ...

-winning film ''

When We Were Kings ''When We Were Kings'' is a 1996 American documentary film directed by Leon Gast about the " Rumble in the Jungle" heavyweight championship boxing match that was held on October 30, 1974, in Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo) betw ...

'' (1997).

Early life and education

Born and raised in

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 * ...

, Sonenberg received a degree in Theater and Political Science at

Tufts University Tufts University is a private research university in Medford and Somerville, Massachusetts, United States, with additional facilities in Boston and Grafton, as well as Talloires, France. Tufts also has several Doctor of Physical Therapy p ...

and a

juris doctor A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, Harvard Law School is the oldest law school in continuous operation in the United ...

. Since 1972, he has been a licensed attorney in New York State.

Career

Sonenberg joined the

entertainment law Entertainment law, also known as media law, encompasses legal services provided to the entertainment industry. These services often overlap with intellectual property law, which includes key components such as trademarks, copyright, and the right ...

firm of Weissberger & Frosch. There, he represented Broadway and

Off-Broadway An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer tha ...

musical productions including ''

Hair Hair is a protein filament that grows from follicles found in the dermis. Hair is one of the defining characteristics of mammals. The human body, apart from areas of glabrous skin, is covered in follicles which produce thick terminal and ...

'', ''

Godspell ''Godspell'' is a musical in two acts with music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz and a book by John-Michael Tebelak. The show is structured as a series of parables, primarily based on the Gospel of Matthew, interspersed with music mostly set t ...

'' and ''

Cabaret Cabaret is a form of theatrical entertainment featuring music song, dance, recitation, or drama. The performance venue might be a pub, casino, hotel, restaurant, or nightclub with a stage for performances. The audience, often dining or drinking, ...

''.

DAS Communications

Sonenberg then established his own law firm and began DAS Communications Ltd., a full-service management company located in New York and Los Angeles for artists in the entertainment industry. DAS's first management project,

Meat Loaf Michael Lee Aday (born Marvin Lee Aday; September 27, 1947 – January 20, 2022), known professionally by his stage name Meat Loaf, was an American singer and actor. He was known for his powerful, wide-ranging voice and theatrical live shows. ...

's '' Bat Out of Hell'', set an industry record for a debut album with worldwide record sales to date of more than 50 million. Other clients of DAS Communications have included

Jim Steinman James Richard Steinman (November 1, 1947 – April 19, 2021) was an American composer, lyricist and record producer. He also worked as an arranger, pianist, and singer. His work included songs in the adult contemporary, rock, dance, pop, mus ...

Jimmy Cliff James Chambers, Jamaican Order of Merit, OM (born 30 July 1944), known professionally as Jimmy Cliff, is a Jamaican ska, rocksteady, reggae and soul musician, multi-instrumentalist, singer, and actor. He is the only living reggae musician to hol ...

, Southside Johnny,

Jimmy Iovine James Iovine ( ; born March 11, 1953) is an American entrepreneur, former Music executive, record executive, and media proprietor. He is the co-founder of Interscope Records and became chairman and CEO of Interscope Geffen A&M Records, Interscop ...

BeBe & CeCe Winans BeBe & CeCe Winans are an American gospel/ R&B music brother and sister duo. BeBe and CeCe Winans are the seventh and eighth of the Winans family's ten children, most of whom have had gospel music careers. Together, they have received several a ...

, Keith Thomas, The Spin Doctors,

Joan Osborne Joan Elizabeth Osborne (born July 8, 1962) is an American singer, songwriter, and interpreter of music, having recorded and performed in various popular American musical genres including rock, pop, soul, R&B, blues, and country. She is best kn ...

, Spacehog, The Fugees including

Lauryn Hill Lauryn Noelle Hill (born May 26, 1975) is an American musician. She is celebrated as one of the most influential musical artists of her generation. Hill is credited with breaking barriers for female rappers, contributing to the popular music, m ...

The Black Eyed Peas The Black Eyed Peas are an American musical group formed in Los Angeles in 1995, composed of rappers will.i.am, apl.de.ap and Taboo (rapper), Taboo. Fergie (singer), Fergie was a member during the height of their popularity in the 2000s, and ...

John Legend John Roger Stephens (born December 28, 1978), known professionally as John Legend, is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. He began his musical career working behind the scenes for other artists, playing piano on Lauryn Hill's " Every ...

Kesha Kesha Rose Sebert (born March 1, 1987), formerly stylized as Ke$ha, is an American singer and songwriter. Her first major success came in 2009 when she was featured on rapper Flo Rida's number-one single, "Right Round". Kesha's music and ima ...

, Saraya and Indiggo. To date, artists represented by DAS Communications have written, produced, and performed recordings with sales totaling in excess of 300 million records worldwide. DAS Ventures Ltd., another of the DAS family of companies, entered into agreements with

Yoko Ono Yoko Ono (, usually spelled in katakana as ; born February 18, 1933) is a Japanese multimedia artist, singer, songwriter, and peace activist. Her work also encompasses performance art and filmmaking. Ono grew up in Tokyo and moved to New York ...

and the Estate of

John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer-songwriter, musician and activist. He gained global fame as the founder, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of the Beatles. Lennon's ...

in 1997, which culminated in the launch of The John Lennon Songwriting Contest.

Productions

Sonenberg first worked on Celia Cruz and the Fania Allstars in Africa and B.B. King: Live in Africa in 1974, on both of which he worked as a producer. 1997 saw the release of Sonenberg's first film project, the acclaimed documentary ''When We Were Kings,'' about boxer

Muhammad Ali Muhammad Ali (; born Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr.; January 17, 1942 – June 3, 2016) was an American professional boxer and social activist. A global cultural icon, widely known by the nickname "The Greatest", he is often regarded as the gr ...

, for which Sonenberg received an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature. In 2002, Sonenberg produced Dance of the Vampires on Broadway.

Personal

Sonenberg has two daughters, and enjoys

table tennis Table tennis (also known as ping-pong) is a racket sport derived from tennis but distinguished by its playing surface being atop a stationary table, rather than the Tennis court, court on which players stand. Either individually or in teams of ...

. On the track "How Many Mics" from the blockbuster album "The Score" by The Fugees, David Sonenberg was mentioned by Wyclef in the lyric: So on my day off, with David Sonenberg I play golf. Run through Crown Heights screaming out, "Mazel tov!"

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sonenberg, David Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Tufts University School of Arts and Sciences alumni Harvard Law School alumni New York (state) lawyers Producers of Best Documentary Feature Academy Award winners