To Absent Friends
• We were extremely saddened over the holiday break to hear of the passing of beloved record promotion legend Vicki Leben, a longtime friend (and surrogate mother) to many in our industry, who died on Thursday, December 21 from complications following a recent surgery.
Over the course of her long and remarkable record industry career, Vicki worked her promotional magic at Motown, RCA, Geffen, Reprise, Island, Zoo Entertainment and DreamWorks, before launching her own successful promotion and marketing company, Vicki Leben Consulting.
Promo pro Bob Catania beautifully encapsulated the feelings of many of us who knew and loved Vicki over the years when he posted, “When the history of promo people is written, Vicki will be up there among the best of all time. She raised the bar with her intelligence, warmth, caring, relationships and the ability to break a song. I am honored to have been a peer and friend to her all these years. You will be missed by all. RIP Vicki.”
Vicki is survived by two daughters, Debbi and Hollie and five grandchildren. At her request, no memorial services will be held.
• We were also deeply distressed to hear of the untimely passing of another promotional pal — Margaret Locicero, who died on December 17 at her home in Las Vegas. Margaret’s colorful career included promotional stints for Tommy Boy Records, MCA, IRS, Capitol, Priority, Interscope, Red Ant and others. She got her first industry break in the promotions department at WMMR/Philadelphia, and she also worked for Billboard and the New Music Seminar.
To those of us who knew her, Margaret was a generous and loyal friend and she loved animals. To get an idea of the love Margaret engendered over the years, please spend some time reading the heartfelt notes on her Facebook page.
