Jerry Moss

Jerry Moss
Born	May 8, 1935 (1935-05-08) The Bronx, New York, United States
Residence	Los Angeles, California
Education	Brooklyn College
Occupation	Record company executive, Racehorse owner/breeder
Known for	A&M Records, Zenyatta
Spouse	Ann

Honors
	Grammy Trustees Award (1997)
	Hollywood Walk of Fame (1999)
	Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (2006)
	Big Sport of Turfdom Award (2009)

Jerome S. "Jerry" Moss (born May 8, 1935) is an American recording executive, best known for being the co-founder of A&M Records, along with trumpeter and bandleader Herb Alpert.

After graduating with a degree in English from Brooklyn College and a stint in the Army, Moss began his music career by promoting "16 Candles," a hit for The Crests on Coed Records. In 1960 he moved to California where he teamed up with Alpert, forming Carnival Records in 1962 and running the company from an office in Alpert's garage. Discovering that the name was already taken, they dubbed their new-found company A&M Records.

After the A&M label was purchased by PolyGram, the two men went on to form Almo Sounds in 1994, a new record label which continues to operate.

Moss and Herb Alpert were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2006 as nonperformers.

Thoroughbred horse racing

Jerry Moss and his wife, Ann, are also longtime horse breeders and owners who received the largest ever first-place purse from the Kentucky Derby in 2005 after the victory of the first horse he had ever entered in that race, Giacomo.

Giacomo was named by Jerry and Ann Moss in honor of a friend of theirs, rock musician Sting, who has a son by the same name. The colt's dam was named Set Them Free, a reference to Sting's song If You Love Somebody Set Them Free.

Like Giacomo, the Mosses have named another runner after a connection to The Police. Zenyatta, a half-sister to the multiple grade I winner Balance, was purchased as a $60,000 yearling at the Keeneland Sales in September 2005. The Mosses named her after The Police's third album Zenyattà Mondatta.