Remembering Joe Smith
• Legendary label executive Joe Smith, who ran Warner Bros. Records, Elektra-Asylum and Capitol-EMI Music back in the day, has died at the age of 91. His son confirmed his death to Billboard.
Over the course of an amazingly prolific four-decade music industry career, Smith worked closely with a large number of phenomenally talented artists, including Bonnie Raitt, whom he signed while President of Warner Bros in the ’70s and then later brought her over to Capitol and was part of her comeback with Nick of Timein the late ’80s. He also notably signed The Grateful Dead and Garth Brooks at various points in his career, as well as Van Morrison, Black Sabbath, America, Alice Cooper and The Doobie Brothers, to name a few.
As reported by Variety, Smith, a native of Chelsea, MA, got into the music business as disc jockey, working at several Boston radio stations. In 1961 Smith moved out to the West Coast to work in promotion for Warner Bros., working his way up through the ranks to the label presidency in 1972, along the way working with such artists as Rod Stewart, James Taylor, Deep Purple, Petula Clark, The Allman Brothers Band, Jethro Tull, George Benson, Al Jarreau and Seals & Crofts. On the Reprise side, he was also involved with the careers of Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Jimi Hendrix, Neil Young, Randy Newman and Joni Mitchell.
In 1975 Smith was named Chairman of the sister company at Warner Communications, Elektra/Asylum, replacing David Geffen, who left to enter the film business. While there he worked with Joni Mitchell again, as well as The Eagles, Linda Ronstadt, Jackson Browne, Queen, The Cars, Carly Simon, Judy Collins, Mötley Crüe, Hank Williams Jr. and X.
In 1983 Smith announced he was quitting Elektra and retiring from the music business. It was a decision that lasted exactly four years… and that’s when he went back to work, this time as Vice Chairman and Chief Executive of the then deeply troubled Capitol-EMI, right at the dawn of the CD era. While there, Smith developed contemporary acts like MC Hammer. He retired from Capitol-EMI Music in March 1993, at the age of 65.
Upon receiving his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame honor in 2015, Smith (pictured here with Jackson Browne, Bonnie Raitt and Irving Azoff) talked about drifting away from the music business, telling Variety, “I loved what I was doing, then it was time to hang it up. The record business fell apart when you could get music for nothing.” [Photo credit: ©Clinton H. Wallace / Photomundo International / DemiGoddessChronicle]
