PRobit: Norman Winter

Norman Winter, former head of Press for MCA/Universal and the PR to Michael Jackson, has died.

Winter was doing the press for Jackson at the time of Thriller, which would be enough for a career in itself; but his client list just rolls on and on:

Neil Diamond, Bob Dylan, Billy Joel, Janet Jackson, Queen, Rick James, Barry White, Lynyrd Skynyrd, The Who, AC/DC, Steppenwolf, Meatloaf, Johnny Rivers, the Jefferson Airplane's Marty Balin, Christopher Cross, Bobby Ross Avila, Donny Osmond, Garth Brooks, Herb Alpert, Paul Anka, Phil Ramone, James Brown, Marvin Gaye, Bootsy Collins, Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis, Brian McKnight, Outkast, Usher, Jimmy Cliff, Steve Martin, Joan Collins, Arsenio Hall, Morris Day and gospel luminaries Jennifer Knapp and Deniece Williams.

And that's before you get to the rap artists.

Eazy-E, Dr. Dre, Babyface and Bangin' On Wax (the Bloods & Crips collaboration), Domino, Bone Thugs - N - Harmony and Eddie Griffin.

And the Latin artists.

Emmanuel, Lucia Mendez, Chichi Peralta, Renegade, Luis Cardenas and the Golden Eagle Awards

I've lifted those client lists from Billboard; it's worth noting that Billboard merely cut and pasted a big chunk of them direct from Winter's own website.

That website also recalls the time Winter introduced Elton John to the US:

A real London bus. Whoever would have thought?

Norman Winter died from complications related to Lewy Body dementia on Thursday, 22nd August.

Another ex-exec

It's the season for Record Company executives to come to the conclusion, totally on their own and without any pressure from their companies, that maybe its time they started to cast about for new employment. Thus, we have to break the news to you that Jay Boberg has decided to leave MCA after seven years. He's proud of what he done did do:

" Few of my peers at major labels have enjoyed a tenure as long as mine at MCA. Arriving from IRS Records, I came in with a reputation as a maverick, as a champion of groundbreaking artistry and a person with a true love of music. As I walk out of here today, all those attributes remain intact."

Hmmm. "Maverick" is one of those labels, like "eccentric", which you can't actually claim for yourself. Especially if your contribution to the gaiety of nations adds up to records by Bobby Brown, Shaggy and, erm, Blink 182.