Jerry Moss, the Grammy winner and Rock and Roll Hall of Famer who co-founded A&M Records with Herb Alpert more than 60 years ago and helped build it into one of the most successful independent record labels in history, died today in Los Angeles. He was 88.
His family shared the news in a statement to the Associated Press.
Named for its co-founder, the artist-focused A&M Records was launched in 1962 and has boasted such hitmaking and influential acts as The Police, Quincy Jones, The Carpenters, Carole King, Styx, Janet Jackson, Peter Frampton, The Go-Go’s, Supertramp, Rita Coolidge, Joe Cocker, Sheryl Crow, Bryan Adams, Humble Pie, The Tubes, Oingo Boingo, Cat Stevens/Yusuf, Nazareth and, of course, Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass. Billy Preston had a pair of No. 1 singles for the label with “Will It Go Around in Circles” and “Nothing From Nothing” in the mid-1970s.
For the first part of that decade, A&M distributed Ode Records, home of stoner comedy act Cheech & Chong and released The Rocky Horror Picture Show soundtrack.
The 1980s brought more success for A&M Records, with eight Top 10 singles by Jackson alone, including chart-toppers “When I Think of You” and “Miss You Much.” She would score three more No. 1 singles for the label in the ’90s. Another chart-topper was A&M/Virgin’s Human League, whose “Don’t You Want Me” and “Human” were No. 1 in 1982 and 1986, respectively.
Former Police chief Sting continued to record for A&M after his trio split in the mid-’80s. He had a slew of platinum albums for the label from 1986-99 and teamed with fellow longtime A&M act Adams as Rod Stewart in 1993 for the chart-topping smash “All I Do,” from the soundtrack to The Three Muskateers. Two years earlier, Adams had one of the decade’s biggest hit singles, “(Everything I Do) I Do It for You,” from the Robin Hood movie. He also topped the pop charts with “Heaven” in 1986 and “Have You Ever Really Loved a Woman” in 1995, along with scored consistent FM hits such as “Cuts Like a Knife,” “Run to You,” “Somebody” and the Tina Turner duet “It’s Only Love.”
For the first part of that decade, A&M distributed Ode Records, home of stoner comedy act Cheech & Chong and released The Rocky Horror Picture Show soundtrack.
The 1980s brought more success for A&M Records, with eight Top 10 singles by Jackson alone, including chart-toppers “When I Think of You” and “Miss You Much.” She would score three more No. 1 singles for the label in the ’90s. Another chart-topper was A&M/Virgin’s Human League, whose “Don’t You Want Me” and “Human” were No. 1 in 1982 and 1986, respectively.
Former Police chief Sting continued to record for A&M after his trio split in the mid-’80s. He had a slew of platinum albums for the label from 1986-99 and teamed with fellow longtime A&M act Adams as Rod Stewart in 1993 for the chart-topping smash “All I Do,” from the soundtrack to The Three Muskateers. Two years earlier, Adams had one of the decade’s biggest hit singles, “(Everything I Do) I Do It for You,” from the Robin Hood movie. He also topped the pop charts with “Heaven” in 1986 and “Have You Ever Really Loved a Woman” in 1995, along with scored consistent FM hits such as “Cuts Like a Knife,” “Run to You,” “Somebody” and the Tina Turner duet “It’s Only Love.”
(Excerpt) Read more in: Deadline