Remembering Sam Kaiser
• We were deeply saddened to learn of the passing of yet another talented industry veteran — promotion ace Sam Kaiser, President of MVP Entertainment, died at home on Saturday morning, July 25 after a battle with cancer.
Kaiser got his start in radio, most notably a five-year run with KADI and KSHE 95 in his native St. Louis. He joined Atlantic Records in 1976 to do local promotion. Less than two years later, Kaiser was promoted to Director of Pop Promotion, later rising to VP of Promotion. In late 1986 Kaiser joined MTV as Head of Music Programming, and in 1989 he moved to Los Angeles as SVP of Promotion for Enigma Records — a gig that lasted a year before he launched his MVP Entertainment in 1990.
RAMP spoke with Alan Rommelfanger of Daybreak Entertainment, who shares a lengthy history — and friendship — with Kaiser. “I had the pleasure of working side-by-side — literally and figuratively — with Sam from 1993 to 2000,” he said. “When we first connected he had recently launched MVP Entertainment and took a chance on me, a Midwest kid moving to L.A., no doubt, in part, recalling his own career path, which also began in the Midwest.”
Rommelfanger added, “Sam was the consummate promotion man. Always working. I have yet to meet his equal. Watching him in action over those years was the greatest industry education I could have hoped for. In more recent years, our conversations usually centered on his children and his beloved St. Louis Cardinals. He was immensely proud of both. The industry has lost one of its very best, and I feel fortunate to have learned from — and worked alongside — one of the finest.”
“Of all of the people in my life who have taught me about the ‘music business,’ no one person has ever taught me more than Sam Kaiser,” said Cruze, Pres./CEO of RFC Media and SuiteRadio. “He was a true friend, a consummate pro, loved to laugh, and was the living definition of the word, ‘mensch.'”
Greg Lawley of Lawman Promotions said of Kaiser, “Sam and I were very close as we began working together in radio at WDBR/Springfield, IL. I lost a great friend and mentor and an ICON in the music industry.”
Kaiser is survived by daughters Alexa and Grace, and son Jack (pictured on the water with his Dad, who was a certified master diver).
