Howie Klein
Howie Klein (born 1950) is an American DJ, music producer, record label founder, record label executive, and political blogger, who was president of Reprise Records from 1989 to 2001.
Born in Brooklyn in 1950, Klein was a co-founder, with Chris Knab and Butch Bridges, of the San Francisco new wave record label, 415 Records.[1] and discovered Romeo Void, Translator and Wire Train among others. When he lived in San Francisco, he hosted a long-running Sunday night program on KUSF. He joined Sire Records in 1987 and was president of Reprise/Warner Bros. Records between 1989 and 2001. During his tenure he attracted artists such as Lou Reed, with whom he had worked while at Sire, to the upscale label.[2] After the Time Warner merger with AOL, Klein accepted a buyout.[3] As it happened, the day he retired was the day that the Reprise band Wilco turned in its disputed album Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, which the Washington Post observed marked a "seismic shift" from the label's former "artist-friendly" reputation.[4]
Klein received a Spirit of Liberty Award in 1999 from People for the American Way for his anti-censorship efforts.[5] Klein was honored by the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California "Bill of Rights Award" for his activism in the area of free speech. [6]
Klein now lives in Los Angeles, where he writes the progressive political blog, DownWithTyranny! and regularly guest blogs on Crooks and Liars.com's Late Night Music Club feature. He is also an adjunct professor of music at McGill University in Montreal where he sometimes lectures.
[edit] References In Popular Culture
In his song "Talking Christmas Goodwill Blues," John Wesley Harding mentions a meeting with Klein and Seymour Stein who ask him to record a Christmas song.
[edit] References
- ^ Levitin, Daniel. "A Brief History of 415 Records". http://www.psych.mcgill.ca/levitin/415.html. Retrieved 2011-06-26.
- ^ "Lou Reed Signs With Reprise". Rolling Stone. http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/5926786/lou_reed_signs_with_reprise/print. Retrieved 2007-09-09.
- ^ Greg Kot (July 24, 2004). "'A rock & roll swindle'". Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=245564. Retrieved 2007-09-09.[dead link]
- ^ Richard Harrington (August 9, 2002). "And the Band Played On". The Washington Post. http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A59385-2002Aug8. Retrieved 2007-09-09.
- ^ James Sullivan (January 9, 2000). "Reprise's Klein Fights Censorship". San Francisco Chronicle. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2000/01/09/PK51967.DTL. Retrieved 2007-09-09.
- ^ Warner Bros. Records. "ACLU honors Reprise president Howie Klein". URL accessed February 10, 2007.
[edit] External links
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