Former CBS Records Head Yetnikoff Dies At 87

• Walter Yetnikoff, the colorful and legendarily volatile head of CBS Records during its heyday in the 1970s and ’80s, died on Sunday, August 8. He would have turned 88 years old on August 11.

Over the course of his colorful career, Yetnikoff worked with such A-list artists as Michael Jackson, Bruce Springsteen, Paul McCartney, The Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, Billy Joel, Paul Simon, Barbra Streisand, Gloria Estefan, Cyndi Lauper and James Taylor, to name just a few high profile names. It was Yetnikoff who famously helped break MTV’s “color barrier” by pressuring the network to air Michael Jackson’s “Billie Jean” video.

Yetnikoff graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Brooklyn College in 1953 and received his law degree in 1956 from Columbia University. He joined CBS Records in 1962 and quickly rose through the ranks, becoming President of CBS Records International from 1971-1975, and was elevated to President of CBS Records, where he served from 1975-1990. Yetnikoff was also instrumental in the eventual sale of CBS Records to Sony, creating Sony Music Entertainment in January 1988.

Yetnikoff’s legendary exploits and misadventures — including his well-known drug and alcohol addictions — were extensively chronicled in his 2004 autobiography (co-written by David Ritz), titled, Howling At The Moon — “The Odyssey of a Monstrous Music Mogul in an Age Of Excess.”

Veteran promotion executive Ron Alexenburg, who served as Sr. VP & GM Epic/CBS Associated Labels back in the day, said of his time with Yetnikoff, “I worked at CBS Records with Walter for many years, both when he ran the International division and then all of CBS Records. He was a very big supporter of mine when it came to various signings — two in particular were Johnny Nash and Michael Jackson. I had a wonderful working relationship with him as he supported my efforts in building the Epic/Associated labels into having such major success. He was also a brilliant lawyer who helped me in the signing of Charlie Daniels, and he was very helpful when my dear friend Steve Popovich needed his help with Sony. I will always be thankful to him for all his support and friendship. Say hello to Michael, who you helped with many #1’s.”

For more details about Yetnikoff’s remarkable life and career, please take the time to read Roy Trakin‘s excellent piece in Variety.