WALTER YETNIKOFF

They both carved out sterling reputations as military and political leaders over years of public service.

Record exec dies Walter Yetnikoff was the president of CBS Records from 1975 to 1990. (Carlos Rene Perez/Associated Press, file)Walter Yetnikoff, the volatile and abrasive president of CBS Records when the label had Michael Jackson, Billy Joel and Bruce Springsteen in its stable, died Monday. Yetnikoff was president/chief executive of CBS Records from 1975 to 1990, the Los Angeles Times reported. Walter Yetnikoff, Infamous CBS Records Head Who Helped Make Michael Jackson a Superstar, Dies at 87 https://t.co/A83YeAuIet — Variety (@Variety) August 10, 2021CBS Records’ annual revenue grew from $485 million annually to more than $2 billion under Yetnikoff’s leadership, the newspaper reported. The pop star called Yetnikoff “the best president of any record company.”RIP Walter Yetnikoff, a titan in the music business.

Obit Walter Yetnikoff FILE - Walter Yetnikoff, president of CBS Records, presents gold records in New York on Jan. 17, 1978. Yetnikoff, the rampaging, R-rated head of CBS Records who presided over blockbuster releases by Michael Jackson, Billy Joel and many others and otherwise devoted his life to a self-catered feast of “schmoozing, shmingling and bingling,” has died at age 87. Two, whatever he earned, we earned more.”He joined CBS as a staff attorney in the early 1960s, was named president of CBS Records International in 1971 and CEO of CBS Records in 1975, after Clive Davis was fired amid allegations of payola and mismanagement of expenses. When Yetnikoff helped convince James Taylor to jump from Warner to CBS, Warner lured Paul Simon away from CBS. “If I were a CBS stockholder, I would sue for dilution of assets,” former CBS Records A&R chief Mitch Miller once complained.

NEW YORK — (AP) — Walter Yetnikoff, the rampaging, R-rated head of CBS Records who presided over blockbuster releases by Michael Jackson, Billy Joel and many others and otherwise devoted his life to a self-catered feast of “schmoozing, shmingling and bingling,” has died at age 87. “It’s my pleasure to give Michael Jackson a big, big check. Two, whatever he earned, we earned more.”He joined CBS as a staff attorney in the early 1960s, was named president of CBS Records International in 1971 and CEO of CBS Records in 1975, after Clive Davis was fired amid allegations of payola and mismanagement of expenses. When Yetnikoff helped convince James Taylor to jump from Warner to CBS, Warner lured Paul Simon away from CBS. “If I were a CBS stockholder, I would sue for dilution of assets,” former CBS Records A&R chief Mitch Miller once complained.

Former CBS Records boss Walter Yetnikoff has died at age 87.