Remembering George Skaubitis

The tightknit New England radio and record community is mourning the passing of popular longtime promo exec George Skaubitis, who died Wednesday evening, April 12 after a brief illness. He was 66 years old. Born in Latvia, George and his family emigrated to the U.S. shortly thereafter and George grew up in Concord, MA. Skaubitis was out in Los Angeles trying to break into the music industry when, after several meetings with the legendary Russ Thyret at Warner Bros., he was given his first promotional opportunity back in Hartford, CT and later, he moved up to Boston, where he served as Regional Promotion Manager until approximately 1998 when he was caught up in corporate staff reductions. He continued his career as an independent promoter and was tied to a management company until 2016, when he retired.

As Skaubitis’ longtime friend and former WB colleague Michael Symonds tells RAMP, “George was a dedicated lover of music and would go to great lengths to help music in which he believed to succeed; a particular lover of the Rolling Stones (read, Keith Richards, not so much Mick Jagger) and Los Lobos (“the best American rock and roll band in the world”), and in many Boston-based bands such as the Del Fuegos, Jen Trynin, Robin Lane, The Raindogs and Mark Cutler, he continued his absolute love and dedication to music.”

Symonds continued, “With everything in life, George turned it up to ’11,’ sometimes seemingly on the edge of control; he was a loyal friend, a hardworking promo guy and I would have chosen him from the entire lot to work MY record if I had ever had one. George also possessed a truly sharp and witty sense of humor that entertained me for all the years I knew him.” Skaubitis is survived by his wife Christine, and his parents, Aina and Imants. A memorial service will be held on Saturday, April 22 from 1-3pm at the Concord Funeral Home in Concord, MA.