R.I.P.: Joe Smith, Former Record Exec, Broadcaster

Joe Smith

Joe Smith, a record executive who epitomized L.A. cool while heading up three major labels during some of the most fruitful moments in music business history, has died.

He was 91m according to Deadline.com.

Smith was the head of Warner Bros. Records in the 1960s and into the 1970s, then moved to Elektra in the later 1970s and 1980s, before joining Capitol Records in the late 1980s and 1990s. He was part of the record business in the pre-multinational corporate era, a moment in time when decisions could be made based on instinct, great ears, and sound judgment.

Smith retired from Capitol-EMI in 1993. At the time, he told the The Los Angeles Times that he felt he was getting out at the right time. He added: “There’s no fun anymore.”

Among the artists Smith was associated with during his long career was Van Morrison, Bonnie Raitt, Jamey Taylor, Rod Stewart, Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Jimi Hendrix, Neil Young, the Eagles, Linda Ronstadt, Jackson Browne, Queen, the Cars, Carly Simon, Judy Collins, Motley Crue, Hank Williams Jr. and X.

Born in Chelsea, Massachusetts, Smith spent time in the military and then earned a degree from Yale. Smith was a sportscaster and disc jockey in Virginia and Pennsylvania before moving to Boston, where he became a top-rated and pioneering rock ’n’ roll disc jockey.  Smith entered the music industry in 1961 as national promotion manager for Warner Bros. Records. He was selected as Promotion Executive of the Year four times by the industry trade publication The Gavin Report.

He became its president in 1972. He joined Elektra/Asylum in 1975, but briefly retired, then returned to become the chairman and CEO of Capitol-EMI.

Beyond music, Smith appeared in several films, doing cameos in Jamboree, FM and One Trick Pony. He also was a prominent talking head in several music business documentaries.