Frank Fenter (February 25, 1936 – July 21, 1983) was a South African music industry executive. Fenter was the first

managing director A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over the course of its first two decades, starting from the release of its first recor ...

for Europe, where he helped discover and get signed to Atlantic late-1960s

British Invasion The British Invasion was a cultural phenomenon of the mid-1960s, when Rock music, rock and pop music acts from the United Kingdom and other aspects of Culture of the United Kingdom, British culture became popular in the United States with sign ...

groups, including

Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin were an English rock music, rock band formed in London in 1968. The band comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist-keyboardist John Paul Jones (musician), John Paul Jones and drummer John Bonham. With a he ...

and the

progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog) is a broad genre of rock music that primarily developed in the United Kingdom through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early-to-mid-1970s. Initially termed " progressive pop", the ...

bands

Yes Yes or YES may refer to: * An affirmative particle in the English language; see yes and no Education * YES Prep Public Schools, Houston, Texas, US * Young Eisner Scholars, in Los Angeles, New York City, Chicago, and Appalachia, US * Young Ep ...

and

King Crimson King Crimson were an English progressive rock band formed in London in 1968 by Robert Fripp, Michael Giles, Greg Lake, Ian McDonald (musician), Ian McDonald and Peter Sinfield. Guitarist Fripp remained the only constant member throughout the ...

. Frank Fenter was also instrumental in introducing and breaking

Rhythm and Blues Rhythm and blues, frequently abbreviated as R&B or R'n'B, is a genre of popular music that originated within African American communities in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predomina ...

music across Europe, with such artists as

Otis Redding Otis Ray Redding Jr. (September 9, 1941 – December 10, 1967) was an American singer and songwriter. He is regarded as one of the greatest singers in the history of American popular music and a seminal artist in soul music and rhythm and blues. ...

and

Sam and Dave Sam & Dave were an American soul and R&B duo who performed together from 1961 until 1981. The tenor (higher) voice was Sam Moore (1935–2025) and the baritone/tenor (lower) voice was Dave Prater (1937–1988). Nicknamed "Double Dynamite", " ...

. He went on in the 1970s to be a co-founder, co-owner, partner and executive vice president of

Capricorn Records Capricorn Records was an independent record label founded by Phil Walden and Frank Fenter in 1969 in Macon, Georgia. Capricorn Records is often credited by music historians as creating the southern rock genre. History Label and studio fou ...

, the label identified with

Southern Rock Southern rock is a subgenre of rock music and a genre of Americana. It developed in the Southern United States from rock and roll, country and blues, and is focused generally on electric guitars and vocals. History 1950s and 1960s: origin ...

, led by

The Allman Brothers The Allman Brothers Band was an American rock band formed in Jacksonville, Florida, in 1969. Its founding members were brothers Duane Allman (slide guitar, lead guitar) and Gregg Allman (vocals, keyboards), as well as Dickey Betts (lead guitar, ...

The Marshall Tucker Band The Marshall Tucker Band is an American rock band from Spartanburg, South Carolina. Noted for incorporating blues, country and jazz into an eclectic sound, the Marshall Tucker Band helped establish the Southern rock genre in the early 1970s. Wh ...

Wet Willie Wet Willie is an American southern rock band from Mobile, Alabama. Their best-known song, " Keep On Smilin'", reached No. 10 on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart in August 1974. Several other of the group's songs also appeared on the single ...

and

Elvin Bishop Elvin Richard Bishop (born October 21, 1942) is an American blues and rock music singer, guitarist, bandleader, and songwriter. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the Paul Butterfield Blues Band in 2015, and in ...

. In 2014, Frank Fenter was posthumously Inducted into The Georgia Music Hall of Fame.

Early career in London, England. 1958 to 1966

Frank Fenter was born in

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu language, Zulu and Xhosa language, Xhosa: eGoli ) (colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, Jo'burg or "The City of Gold") is the most populous city in South Africa. With 5,538,596 people in the City of Johannesburg alon ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

, and moved to London, England, in 1958, at the age of 22, initially determined to become an actor. Fenter's acting career included a feature role in the BBC's 1963 The Big Pull; in 1964, he produced, co-wrote and acted in Africa Shakes, the first

n rock movie, which featured Fenter's music act Bill Kimber and the Couriers. The movie was the first to have an

interracial Interracial topics include: * Interracial marriage, marriage between two people of different races ** Interracial marriage in the United States *** 2009 Louisiana interracial marriage incident * Interracial adoption, placing a child of one raci ...

cast in

Apartheid South Africa Apartheid ( , especially South African English: , ; , ) was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. It was characterised by an ...

. While doing part-time acting, Fenter began to book bands around

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

in the early 1960s, including

The Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for over six decades, they are one of the most popular, influential, and enduring bands of the Album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the band pione ...

The Animals The Animals, currently billed as Eric Burdon & the Animals (featuring original frontman Eric Burdon) and also as Animals & Friends (featuring original drummer John Steel (drummer), John Steel), are an English Rock music, rock band formed in Ne ...

and

Manfred Mann Manfred Mann were an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. They were named after their keyboardist Manfred Mann (musician), Manfred Mann, who later led the successful 1970s group Manfred Mann's Earth Band. The group had two l ...

, long before they had recording contracts. Fenter got his first big break in the music industry in 1964, when he joined Chapell Music Publishing Co.; he went on to head Liberty-Imperial Record Publishing and later ARC/Chess Music.

Atlantic Records. London, England. 1966 to 1969

In 1966, Frank Fenter was chosen by

partner

Nesuhi Ertegun Nesuhi Ertegun ( Turkish spelling: Nesuhi Ertegün; November 26, 1917 – July 15, 1989) was a Turkish-American record producer and executive of Atlantic Records and WEA International. Early life Born in Istanbul in the Ottoman Empire, Nesuhi ...

to head the label in the United Kingdom. Within six months, Frank Fenter was the

in charge of Atlantic Records' operations in all of Europe. Fenter was responsible for making Atlantic Records "the most important American label in promoting British music", according to the late

Ahmet Ertegun Ahmet Ertegun ( ; , ; July 31, 1923 – December 14, 2006) was a Turkish-American businessman, songwriter, record executive and philanthropist. Ertegun was the co-founder and president of Atlantic Records. He discovered and championed many lead ...

, co-founder and Chairman of Atlantic Records and The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, who went on to say, "We wound up with quite a lot of British bands, due in large part to the fact that we had put Frank Fenter in charge of all Atlantic Records activity in Europe" In Frank Fenter's capacity and role as managing director of Atlantic Records European Operations, he played a vital role in having brought

to Atlantic Records and helped discover and sign such British progressive-rock groups as

and

. According to Ahmet Ertegun, Frank Fenter was also "instrumental in breaking

music throughout Europe", having brought the legendary " Hit the Road Stax" tour abroad in the spring of 1967; the tour included the acts

and

Booker T and the MGs Booker T. & the M.G.'s were an American instrumental, R&B, and funk band formed in Memphis, Tennessee, in 1962. The band is considered influential in shaping the sound of Southern soul and Memphis soul. The original members of the group were ...

. At the start of the European tour, according to renowned producer,

Tom Dowd Thomas John Dowd (October 20, 1925 – October 27, 2002) was an American recording engineer and producer for Atlantic Records. He was credited with innovating the multitrack recording method. Dowd worked on a veritable "who's who" of recordings ...

, Fenter suggested he record the live concerts and, with Frank Fenter's direction,

Stax Records Stax Records is an American record company, originally based in Memphis, Tennessee. Founded in 1957 as Satellite Records, the label changed its name to Stax Records in September 1961. It also shared its operations with sister label Volt Records. ...

, a label affiliated with Atlantic Records, experienced a sales jump, with seven of the eleven albums recorded live on the European tour received

gold certification Music recording certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped, sold, or streamed a certain number of units. The threshold quantity varies by type (such as album, single, music video) and by nation or territory (see ...

Capricorn Records. Macon, Georgia. 1969 to 1983

In 1970, Frank Fenter and

Phil Walden Phil Walden (January 11, 1940 – April 23, 2006) was a co-founder of the Macon, Georgia-based Capricorn Records, along with former Atlantic Records executive Frank Fenter. Biography Walden received his undergraduate degree in economics from Ma ...

, former co-manager of Otis Redding, Sam and Dave, and other Stax artists, formed

with a distribution deal from

. Working with Phil Walden and

Jerry Wexler Gerald Wexler (January 10, 1917 – August 15, 2008) was a music journalist turned music producer, and was a major influence on American popular music from the 1950s through the 1980s. He coined the term "rhythm and blues", and was integra ...

, Frank Fenter negotiated the Capricorn deal with his mentor,

Frank Fenter and Phil Walden envisioned a new kind of record company structure that would be

vertically integrated In microeconomics, management and international political economy, vertical integration, also referred to as vertical consolidation, is an arrangement in which the supply chain of a company is integrated and owned by that company. Usually each ...

. Capricorn Records would have loosely held subsidiary companies that encompassed all facets of the music business, including

artist management A talent manager (also known as an artist manager, band manager, or music manager) is an individual who guides the professional career of artists within the entertainment industry. The responsibility of a talent manager is to oversee the day- ...

, with Phil Walden and Associates; a booking agency, the Paragon Agency; a

music publishing A music publisher is a type of publisher that specializes in distributing music. Music publishers originally published sheet music. When copyright became legally protected, music publishers began to play a role in the management of the intellectua ...

house, No Exit Music; and artist merchandising, with the Great Southern Company. Frank Fenter took the helm of Capricorn Records while Phil Walden focused on artist management where they together pioneered and popularized the music genre known as

. At the height of Capricorn Record's success,

Fortune magazine ''Fortune'' (stylized in all caps) is an American global business magazine headquartered in New York City. It is published by Fortune Media Group Holdings, a global business media company. The publication was founded by Henry Luce in 1929. T ...

, the business periodical, went on to recognize Fenter as a "Promotional Genius".Fortune, Profile on The rise of Capricorn Records. September, 1975 Singly or together, the two partners discovered and signed such recording artists as

Sea Level Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an mean, average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal Body of water, bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical ...

The Dixie Dregs Dixie Dregs is an American rock band from Augusta, Georgia. Formed in 1970, the band is known for instrumental music that fuses elements of rock, classical music, country music, country, jazz and bluegrass music, bluegrass into an eclectic sou ...

Jonathan Edwards Jonathan Edwards may refer to: Musicians *Jonathan and Darlene Edwards, pseudonym of bandleader Paul Weston and his wife, singer Jo Stafford *Jonathan Edwards (musician) (born 1946), American musician **Jonathan Edwards (album), ''Jonathan Edward ...

Billy Thorpe William Richard Thorpe AM (29 March 1946 – 28 February 2007) was an English-born Australian singer-songwriter, and record producer. As lead singer of his band Billy Thorpe & the Aztecs, he had success in the 1960s with "Blue Day", "Poison Iv ...

, Stillwater and Alex Taylor and eventually made Capricorn Records one of the most successful independent recording companies in America. Capricorn Records declared

bankruptcy Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the deb ...

in late 1979, but, in 1983,

was restructured and ready to forge a comeback, however, in the middle of negotiating a distribution deal with

Mo Ostin Mo Ostin (born Morris Meyer Ostrofsky; March 27, 1927 – July 31, 2022) was an American record executive. The chairman and CEO of Warner Bros. Records from 1972 to 1994 and co-founder of DreamWorks Records, he was inducted into the Rock an ...

, the chairman of

Warner Bros. Records Warner Records Inc. (known as Warner Bros. Records Inc. until 2019) is an American record label. A subsidiary of Warner Music Group, it is headquartered in Los Angeles, California. It was founded on March 19, 1958, as the recorded music division ...

, Fenter died of a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...

in the Capricorn office; and with his death, the deal with

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (WBEI), commonly known as Warner Bros. (WB), is an American filmed entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California and the main namesake subsidiary of Warner Bro ...

fell apart.

References

External links

*Ahmet Ertegun, Co-founder and Chairman of Atlantic Records and Rock N Roll Hall of Fame interview circa 2006 discussing the founding of Capricorn Records with Phil Walden and Frank Fenter. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zfC26KHTCQ4 *New York Magazine, Article on The Allman Brothers and Capricorn Executives, Frank Fenter and Phil Walden, backing Jimmy Carter for President.1975. *Macon Telegraph, Obituary, on Frank Fenter, Capricorn co-founder's passing. July 21, 1983 *Macon Telegraph feature article on effort to get Frank Fenter into the Georgia Music Hall of Fame. December 14, 2009 https://web.archive.org/web/20100106063410/http://www.macon.com/local/story/952458.html *Billboard,1976. https://books.google.com/books?id=FSUEAAAAMBAJ&dq=frank+fenter%2C+new+york+magazine&pg=PT9 *Billboard Magazine, 1978.https://books.google.com/books?id=ZyQEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PT19&dq=frank+fenter&ei=KY0lS-m4AqLqygT80omnCw&cd=9#v=onepage&q=frank%20fenter&f=false *Associated Press, April 26, 2006 *Atlanta Journal & Constitution, Frank Fenter, co-founder of Capricorn Records, Obituary. July 21, 1983. *Macon Telegraph, on The Capricorn Studio. November 2, 2009. *Hit the Road Stax/Volt Tour of 1967. https://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/03/arts/television/03soul.html *Alabama Blues Machine on Wet Willie. http://www.alabamabluesmachine.com/press_200810_01.html *Billy Thorpe Capricorn recording artist. http://www.morlingmanor.com/milestones/bthorpe.html *Rick Hirsch, co-founder of Wet Willie, website.http://www.ktb.net/~insync/index2.html *WNEW Radio Station. http://www.wnew.com/allman_brothers_band/page/2/ *11 Alive TV. http://www.11alive.com/life/story.aspx?storyid=136993&catid=182 *Macon Telegraph, 2009 on Paul Harpin and Le Bistro. http://www.iorr.org/talk/read.php?1,1091858 *Capricorn Records BIO on The Marshall Tucker Band. https://web.archive.org/web/20091229030917/http://www.originalmarshalltucker.com/images/PDF/BIO.pdf *Georgia New Encyclopedia on Chuck Leavell. http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/nge/Article.jsp?id=h-3140 *BBC's Big Pull,1963. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1108041/ *Article n Capricorn Records.Swampland.com.http://www.swampland.com/articles *Photo scrap book of Frank Fenter at Capricorn./view/title:the_legends_of_southern_rock_photo_scrapbook_part_six_capricorn_days *Article on Capricorn Records. Swampland.com.http://www.swampland.com/articles/view/title:capricorn_records_a_tribute *Book review of Music From Macon, by Candice Dyer. https://web.archive.org/web/20081120053219/http://www.swampland.com/reviews *Soulsville USA: The Story of Stax Records, by Rob Bowman. https://books.google.com/books?id=XLdsRwpZ9oYC&dq=frank+fenter&pg=PA118 *Then, now and rare British Beat: 1960 to 1969, by Terry Rawlings.https://books.google.com/books?id=iDE0dH6ZLwUC&pg=PA80&dq=frank+fenter&lr=&ei=fY0lS6mKJ6K0#v=onepage&q=frank%20fenter&f=false *Taped conversation with Roger Cawles, former Paragon Publicity executive, on how Frank Fenter brought the band Yes to Atlantic Records. *Interview with Chris Squire of Yes mentioning their first manager, Roy Flynn, who also managed Speakeasy. http://www.classicbands.com/YesChrisSquireInterview.html *Interview with Peter Banks, founding member of Yes discussing The Speakeasy Club and their first Manager, Roy Flynn. https://web.archive.org/web/20071028232020/http://www.themarqueeclub.net/interview-peter-banks-yes *Email communication with Madeleine Hirsiger Carr, former Paragon Publicity executive, who worked very closely with Giorgio Gomelsky, former Yardbirds Manager, on how Frank Fenter brought Yes and Led Zeppelin to Atlantic Records. *"Africa Shakes", the movie.http://www.rock.co.za/legends/africashakes/africa_shakes_part3.htm *Africa Shakes", the movie.http://www.rock.co.za/legends/africashakes/africa_shakes_part5.htm *Street Singers, Soul Shakers, Rebels with A Cause: Music From Macon, by Candice Dyer. https://web.archive.org/web/20100410115808/http://www.streetsingersandsoulshakers.com/ *Southern Rockers: Roots and Legacy of Southern Rock, by Marley Brant, https://books.google.com/books?id=Np-5yPcvnEMC&dq=frank+fenter&pg=PA98 *A Rock and a Hard Place, by Chuck Leavell. https://books.google.com/books?id=GiIGsH9hy2IC&dq=frank+fenter&pg=PA77 *Midnight Riders, *The Story of The Allman Brothers Band, by Scott Freeman; *No Saints, No Saviors: My Years With The Allman Brothers Band, by Willie Perkins. https://books.google.com/books?id=MxAHFcWFlhIC&dq=frank+fenter&pg=PA43 *Fleur De Lys Circles, by Damian Jones. http://www.dysongs.net/lfdl/home.htm *The Allman Brother's documentary, Please Call Home. The Big House Years. http://www.thebighousemuseum.org/ *Interview with the late Ahmet Ertegun, co-founder and Chairman of Atlantic Records, on Frank Fenter's role at Capricorn Records. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zfC26KHTCQ4. * Interview with Phil Walden, former co-manager of Otis Redding, on the "Hit the Road Stax" Tour of 1967 and *Monterey Pop Festival" documentary.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R52G_xK9z08 *Macon Telegraph article on Frank Fenter's legacy in the music industry and push to get him into the Georgia Music Hall of Fame. https://web.archive.org/web/20100106063410/http://www.macon.com/local/story/952458.html *TV news segment on WMAZ channel 13 on Frank Fenter's legacy in the music business and campaign to get him into the GMHF. http://www.13wmaz.com/video/default.aspx?aid=71761#/Son+Believes+Step-Dad+Belongs+in+Hall+of+Fame/61371830001 *http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=AT&p_theme=at&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&s_hidethis=no& *Atlanta Journal-Constitution article on Frank Fenter's legacy and merit for Induction into the Georgia Music Hall of Fame http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=AT&p_theme=at&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&s_hidethis=no&s_dispstring=frank%20fenter&p_field_advanced-0=&p_text_advanced-0=%28frank%20fenter%29&xcal_numdocs=20&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&xcal_useweights=no *Access Atlanta Magazine article on Frank Fenter's legacy in the music industry as Atlantic Records Managing Director and Capricorn Records co-founder and the campaign to get him into the Georgia Music Hall of Fame. https://web.archive.org/web/20100131041342/http://atlanta.creativeloafing.com/gyrobase/campaign_for_capricorn_s_frank_fenter/Content?oid=1302673 *TV news segment on channel 41 NBC recognizing Frank Fenter's legacy as co-founder and partner of Capricorn Records and support for getting him into the Georgia Music Hall of Fame. http://www.41nbc.com/ *Macon Telegraph announcement of Frank Fenter being Inducted into Georgia Music Hall of Fame in 2014. http://www.macon.com/2014/08/06/3236114/wet-willie-fenter-among-gmhf-inductees.html {{DEFAULTSORT:Fenter, Frank 1936 births 1983 deaths Businesspeople from Johannesburg American music industry executives Impresarios Capricorn Records artists 20th-century American businesspeople