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Russ Regan

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Russ Regan
Birth nameHarold Rustigian
Born(1928-10-15)October 15, 1928
Sanger, California, U.S.
DiedMay 27, 2018(2018-05-27) (aged 89)
Palm Springs, California, U.S.
OccupationRecord executive
LabelsUNI, 20th Century, Motown

Russ Regan (born Harold Rustigian; October 15, 1928 in Sanger, California[1] – May 27, 2018 in Palm Springs, California)[2] was an American record executive who was President of both UNI Records and 20th Century Records[3] and was vice-president of A&R at Motown.[4] Regan is the rare executive to have seen No. 1 hits in four successive decades.

Career

He started his career in the 1950s as a composer and record producer. His first notable hit was a 1959 Christmas novelty song, inspired by "The Chipmunk Song", titled "The Happy Reindeer" credited to Dancer, Prancer and Nervous (No. 34, Pop) issued by Capitol Records.[5] In the early 1960s, Regan recorded "Joan of Love", backed with "Adults Only", which was released under the name Russ Regan.[citation needed] He also recorded "Calling All Cars" under the name Davy Summers for Warner Brothers with producer Sonny Bono.[citation needed] In the mid-1960s, he was drafted in to help form a musical direction for Warner Brothers' fledgling pop/soul music subsidiary, Loma Records.[citation needed]

Regan started in record promotion with Motown in the early years of the company.[citation needed] His first project there was the company's first Billboard Hot 100 number one record, "Please Mr. Postman" by The Marvelettes in 1961.[citation needed] He would go on to promote songs by The Supremes, Smokey Robinson & The Miracles, Stevie Wonder, The Temptations, and Marvin Gaye.[citation needed] He suggested the name of The Beach Boys when a Los Angeles group called Carl & The Passions had just recorded a song called "Surfin'".[3] He also helped Frank Sinatra record his No. 4 hit, "That's Life" in 1966.[citation needed] He struck a deal with Jimmy Miller Productions when Miller left The Rolling Stones, which resulted in albums from B.B. King, Henry Gross, Bobby Whitlock, and others.[citation needed] Regan also signed Ambrosia and Harriet Schock to 20th Century Records.[citation needed]

Russ Regan played a major role in the careers of a number of recording artists, as he headed up labels such as Uni, 20th Century and Phonogram Records.[3] Dozens of recording artists, including Elton John, Neil Diamond, Barry White, Olivia Newton-John and The Beach Boys had Regan to thank for opening the doors for their success.[6] One of his most surprising successes while at UNI was South African trumpeter Hugh Masakela's "Grazing In The Grass" in 1968, which sold over a million and reached the top spot in the Billboard pop chart.[citation needed]

While President of 20th Century Records, Regan was inspired from a dream to create the movie All This and World War II, which saw Fox News footage from WWII backed with various artists singing Beatles songs.[citation needed] The movie was never released on video, and it remains in the vaults of 20th Century Fox.[citation needed] Regan also supervised the soundtracks for the movies Endless Love, Breakin', The Karate Kid, All The Right Moves, Love At First Bite, This Is Spinal Tap, and A Chorus Line.[citation needed] Regan was also the Music Supervisor for four Academy Award-winning songs from the films The Poseidon Adventure, The Towering Inferno, Flashdance, and Chariots of Fire.[citation needed]

Notes

  1. ^ Murphy, James B. (8 June 2015). Becoming the Beach Boys, 1961–1963. McFarland. ISBN 9781476618531. Retrieved 13 October 2018 – via Google Books.
  2. ^ "Russ Regan, Music Executive Who Signed Elton John and Neil Diamond, Dies at 89". Variety.com. 29 May 2018. Retrieved 13 October 2018.
  3. ^ a b c Colin Larkin, ed. (1992). The Guinness Encyclopedia of Popular Music (First ed.). Guinness Publishing. p. 621. ISBN 0-85112-939-0.
  4. ^ "Georgio Groomed For Stardom" (PDF). Americanradiohistory.com. Retrieved 13 October 2018.
  5. ^ Edwards, Dave; Eyries, Patrice; Callahan, Mike (April 24, 2007). "Universal City Records [UNI] Album Discography". Discographies. Both Sides Now Publications. Retrieved July 2, 2011.
  6. ^ Freedland, Nat (August 31, 1974). "Sometimes Nice Guys Come In First: The Russ Regan Story". Billboard. Vol. 86, no. 35. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved July 2, 2011.

References

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