Larry Newton
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Larry Newton ''(né'' Louis I. Nutinsky May 7, 1920 – January 30, 2005) was an American record company entrepreneur who, earlier in his career, worked with several independent labels. He then became sales manager at the 1955 startup of
ABC-Paramount Records ABC Records was an American record label founded in New York City in 1955. It originated as the main popular music label operated by the Am-Par Record Corporation. Am-Par also created the Impulse! Records, Impulse! jazz label in 1960. It acquire ...
, ascending to president in 1965. He oversaw what became a major multimarket, multi-label company, which, for its jazz subsidiary Impulse!, included
Ray Charles Ray Charles Robinson (September 23, 1930 – June 10, 2004) was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. He is regarded as one of the most iconic and influential musicians in history, and was often referred to by contemporaries as "The Gen ...
,
Oliver Nelson Oliver Edward Nelson (June 4, 1932 – October 28, 1975) was an American jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, arranger, composer, and bandleader. His 1961 Impulse! album '' The Blues and the Abstract Truth'' (1961) is regarded as one of the most signi ...
,
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Pharoah Sanders Pharoah Sanders (born Ferrell Lee Sanders; October 13, 1940 – September 24, 2022) was an American jazz saxophonist. Known for his overblowing, harmonic, and multiphonic techniques on the saxophone, as well as his use of "sheets of sound", San ...
, and
John Coltrane John William Coltrane (September 23, 1926 – July 17, 1967) was an American jazz saxophonist, bandleader and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the Jazz#Post-war jazz, history of jazz and 20th-century musi ...
.


Career

Newton's career began in 1938, while still in high school, when he worked in the stockroom of a Columbia distributor in Philadelphia. He became a salesman for Varsity, Combo, and Rainbow Records Newton enlisted in the
U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary 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 the United Stat ...
in December 1941. He served as a
paratrooper A paratrooper or military parachutist is a soldier trained to conduct military operations by parachuting directly into an area of operations, usually as part of a large airborne forces unit. Traditionally paratroopers fight only as light infa ...
during
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
and was honorably discharged November 15, 1945. In 1946, he became sales manager for Black & White Records. In March 1949, Newton left B&W to become general manager of Peak Records. Also, around July 1949, Newton co-founded, co-owned, and co-managed, with Eddie Heller, Derby Records — which produced hit by the Eddie Wilcox Orchestra, with Sunny Gale singing " Wheel of Fortune" – and Jaye P. Morgan. Newton overextended financially and, in 1953, formed a record Central Records with Lee Magid 1953. Eventually, in 1954, he had to file for bankruptcy. The Derby masters were sold to
RCA RCA Corporation was a major American electronics company, which was founded in 1919 as the Radio Corporation of America. It was initially a patent pool, patent trust owned by General Electric (GE), Westinghouse Electric Corporation, Westinghou ...
where Newton became an executive. In 1955, Newton became General Manager of Murray Katz's Treat Records, then located at 236 West 55 Street in Manhattan. In 1956, he joined
ABC-Paramount ABC Records was an American record label founded in New York City in 1955. It originated as the main popular music label operated by the Am-Par Record Corporation. Am-Par also created the Impulse! Records, Impulse! jazz label in 1960. It acquire ...
as sales manager where, in 1959, he rose to vice president of sales and, in 1965, president. 1967 saw Newton's most infamous decision: his refusal to promote
Louis Armstrong Louis Daniel Armstrong (August 4, 1901 – July 6, 1971), nicknamed "Satchmo", "Satch", and "Pops", was an American trumpeter and vocalist. He was among the most influential figures in jazz. His career spanned five decades and several era ...
's recording of the song "
What a Wonderful World "What a Wonderful World" is a song written by Bob Thiele (as "George Douglas") and George David Weiss. It was first recorded by Louis Armstrong on August 16, 1967. In April 1968, it topped the pop chart in the United Kingdom, but performed p ...
" at Bill Porter's United Recording studio in Las Vegas. The song had been written with Armstrong in mind, but when Armstrong, who had recently signed with ABC Records, was recording it, Newton tried to stop the session, because he disliked the slow pace. Newton was physically locked out of the studio, and the session continued with him fuming outside. During the session, the whistles of passing
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freight trains, which prompted Armstrong and the musicians to work overtime following a late night concert at the Tropicana resort in
Las Vegas Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...
, also contributed to the slow production of the single. After its recording, Newton put no promotion effort into the single, calling it a mistake. As a result of Newton's attitude, "What a Wonderful World" did not do well in the U.S., though it succeeded elsewhere in the world, including hitting #1 in the UK. It remained essentially unknown in the United States until 20 years later, when it gained popularity after being used in the 1987 film ''
Good Morning, Vietnam ''Good Morning, Vietnam'' is a 1987 American war comedy film written by Mitch Markowitz and directed by Barry Levinson. Set in Saigon in 1965, during the Vietnam War, the film stars Robin Williams as an Armed Forces Radio Service (AFRS) D ...
''. In 1970, Newton became vice-president of ABC Pictures. In 1972, he returned to the record business by co-founding and heading GSF Records.


Death

Sometime in the 1940s, Newton married Dorothy Liberman ''(aka'' "Dolly;" 1921–2014). He died on January 30, 2005, in Pompano Beach, Florida. He was 84 years old. Larry and his wife are both buried at Star of David Memorial Gardens, North Lauderdale, Florida.


Notes


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Newton, Larry 1920 births 2005 deaths American music industry executives Jazz record producers United States Army personnel of World War II