Stan Klees (29 April 1932 – 22 September 2023) was a Canadian music industry businessman. He created the music recording companies Tamarac and Red Leaf Records in the 1960s.

Life and career

A native of

Toronto, Ontario Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

, Klees was a presenter at CHUM radio in the late 1940s then was employed by

London Records London Recordings (or London Records and London Music Stream) is a British record label that marketed records in the United States, Canada, and Latin America for Decca Records from 1947 to 1980 before becoming semi-independent. The London nam ...

. He founded Tamarac Records in 1963. His advice to

Walt Grealis Walter Grealis Order of Canada, OC (18 February 1929 – 20 January 2004) was a Canadian publisher and music industry leader. With partner Stan Klees, he co-founded Canada's national music honours, the Juno Awards. As an ardent supporter of Cana ...

led to the development of ''

RPM Weekly ''RPM'' ( and later ) was a Canadian music-industry publication that featured song and album charts for Canada. The publication was founded by Walt Grealis in February 1964, supported through its existence by record label owner Stan Klees. ''R ...

'' in 1964. A frequent contributor from the magazine's inception, Klees formally joined ''RPM'' as a staff member in 1971 to assist with organisation and publication design. He also designed the "MAPL" logo to identify

Canadian content Canadian content (abbreviated CanCon, cancon or can-con; ) refers to the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) requirements, derived from the Broadcasting Act of Canada, that radio and television broadcasters (inclu ...

of produced songs, also known as the Cancon movement. Klees and Grealis established ''RPMs annual awards for Canadian music in 1964 which led to the creation of the

Juno Award The Juno Awards (stylized as JUNOS), or simply known as the Junos, are awards presented by Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences to recognize outstanding achievements in Canada's mu ...

s ceremonies in 1970. In 1995, Klees was inducted into the

Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame The Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame honours Canadian country music artists, builders or broadcasters, living or deceased. The artifact collection includes extensive biographical information on the inductees. The Canadian Music Hall of Fame can ...

. In 2001, he was awarded the Special Achievement Award at the

SOCAN The Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada (SOCAN) is a Canadian performance rights organization that represents the performing rights of more than 175,000 songwriters, composers and music publishers. The organization collect ...

Awards in Toronto. Klees died in his sleep on 22 September 2023, at the age of 91.

References

External links

*
RPM Music Weekly Tribute Site.
1932 births 2023 deaths 20th-century Canadian businesspeople Businesspeople from Toronto Canadian music industry executives {{Canada-business-bio-stub