Jerome Sheldon Moss (May 8, 1935 – August 16, 2023) was an American recording executive, best known for being the co-founder of

A&M Records A&M Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group and functions as a branch of Interscope Geffen A&M Records, Interscope-Geffen-A&M. Established in 1962 by Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss, the label initially operated independent ...

, along with

trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz musical ensemble, ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest Register (music), register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitche ...

player and

bandleader A bandleader is the leader of a music group such as a dance band, rock or pop band or jazz quartet. The term is most commonly used with a group that plays popular music as a small combo or a big band, such as one which plays jazz, blues, rhyth ...

Herb Alpert Herb Alpert (born March 31, 1935) is an American trumpeter, pianist, singer, songwriter, record producer, arranger, conductor, painter, sculptor and theatre producer, who led the band Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass (sometimes called "Herb Alpe ...

Music career

Early stages (1958–60)

After graduating from

Brooklyn College Brooklyn College is a public university in Brooklyn in New York City, United States. It is part of the City University of New York system and enrolls nearly 14,000 students on a campus in the Midwood and Flatbush sections of Brooklyn as of fall ...

with a degree in English and serving in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

, Moss began his music career by promoting " 16 Candles", a 1958 hit for the Crests on Coed Records.

A&M Records (1960–99)

In 1960, he moved to California, where he teamed up with

, forming Carnival Records in 1962 and running the company from an office in Alpert's garage. Discovering that the name was already taken, they dubbed their newly founded company

. Moss and Alpert agreed in 1989 to sell A&M to PolyGram for a reported $500 million. Both continued to manage the label until 1993, when they left because of frustrations with PolyGram's constant pressure to force the label to fit into its corporate culture. In 1998, Alpert and Moss sued PolyGram for breach of the integrity clause, eventually settling for an additional $200 million payment in 2003. A&M, itself, would later be merged into Geffen and

Interscope Records Interscope Records is an American record label based in Santa Monica, California, owned by Universal Music Group through its Interscope Geffen A&M imprint. Founded in late 1990 by Jimmy Iovine and Ted Field as a $20 million joint venture ...

, which would then combine as

Interscope Geffen A&M Records Interscope Geffen A&M Records (IGA) is an American umbrella label operating as a unit of Interscope Capitol Labels Group, owned by Universal Music Group. It currently consists of record labels Interscope Records (with its subsidiary, A&M Records) ...

(now Interscope Capitol Labels Group) following a December 1998

Seagram The Seagram Company Ltd. (which trade name, traded as Seagram's) was a Canadian multinational beverage and during the last few years of its existence, entertainment Conglomerate (company), conglomerate formerly headquartered in Montreal, Quebec. ...

merger of PolyGram and

Universal Music Group Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as Universal Music Group or Universal Music) is a Netherlands, Dutch–United States, American multinational Music industry, music corporation under Law of the Netherlands, ...

Almo Sounds (1994–2000) and later life

Alpert and Moss then expanded their Almo Sounds music publishing company to produce records as well, using it as a vehicle for Alpert's music. Almo Sounds imitates the former company culture embraced by Alpert and Moss when they started A&M. Moss, Herb Alpert and Herb's cousin Steve Alpert were inducted into the

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (RRHOF), also 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 the ...

in 2006 in the non-performer category.

Horse racing

In 2004, Moss was appointed to the California Horse Racing Board, replacing longtime television producer Alan Landsburg. Moss was a longtime horse-breeder and owner who won the 2005

Kentucky Derby The Kentucky Derby () is an American Graded stakes race, Grade I stakes Thoroughbred racing, race run at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky. The race is run by three-year-old Thoroughbreds at a distance of . Colt (horse), Colts and geldin ...

with Giacomo, the first horse he had ever entered in that race, and the 2009 Breeders' Cup Classic with

Zenyatta Zenyatta (foaled April 1, 2004) is a champion American Thoroughbred racehorse who won the Breeders' Cup Classic and Breeders' Cup Distaff and 19 of her 20 starts. She was the 2010 American Horse of the Year, and American Champion Older Female H ...

. In 2011, he was inducted into the

Southern California Jewish Sports Hall of Fame The Southern California Jewish Sports Hall of Fame, in Beverly Hills, California, is a hall of fame dedicated to honoring American Jews, American Jewish athletes, other sports personalities, and teams from Southern California who have distingui ...

Art Collection

Part of his art collection sold for over $60 million at Christie's New York on 9 November 2023.

Personal life and death

Moss was married three times: his marriages to Helen Sandra Rusetos and to Ann Holbrook ended in divorce. Moss married Tina Morse in 2019, after dating since 2016. They lived in Bel Air, California and

Maui, Hawaii Maui (; Hawaiian language, Hawaiian: ) is the second largest island in the Hawaiian archipelago, at 727.2 square miles (1,883 km2). It is the List of islands of the United States by area, 17th-largest in the United States. Maui is one of ...

. He died from natural causes at his Bel Air home on August 16, 2023, at the age of 88.

Philanthropy

In 2020, Moss and his wife Tina donated $25,000,000 to the Music Center in downtown Los Angeles, the largest single contribution ever made to the venue.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Moss, Jerry 1935 births 2023 deaths Brooklyn College alumni A&M Records American music industry executives Record producers from New York (state) Grammy Award winners American racehorse owners and breeders Owners of Kentucky Derby winners Owners of a Breeders' Cup winner Burials at Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery