His patience is remarkable and affects all of us who work with him, because he allows us the freedom to make mistakes and be creative.” As Lenny Waronker – Mo’s executive partner, lifelong friend, and producer/A&R guru – once said, “When you work for Mo, you actually work with Mo. Not to mention Mo’s acquisition of Seymour Stein’s Sire Records, which brought the company the Ramones, Talking Heads, the Pretenders, Madonna, and many others.įamed Atlantic Records producer and executive Jerry Wexler once noted that Mo “confected what was possibly the most tasteful and commercial record label of its day,” with “an overriding intelligence, an unflappable cool and patience forever.” Under Mo, Warner was not only a bastion of artistic freedom, but he also inspired a generation of label staffers to devote their lives to the music business. Rex, ZZ Top, Van Halen, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Green Day, and the list goes on and on.
The list of artists signed during Mo’s tenure is an extraordinary reflection of the label’s eclectic and visionary presence: Ry Cooder, Arlo Guthrie, Van Morrison, Frank Zappa, Randy Newman, Van Dyke Parks, Captain Beefheart, James Taylor, Fleetwood Mac, Prince, Black Sabbath, the B-52s, George Benson, Devo, Dire Straits, George Harrison, Chaka Khan, Tom Petty, Curtis Mayfield, the Sex Pistols, Paul Simon, T.
As Mo said, “We developed an artist roster that changed the music, and the music business.” Long-time Warner/Reprise artist Randy Newman echoed the feeling: “They trusted us enough to allow us the freedom to make the records we wanted to make.” And legendary producer Quincy Jones noted that “What makes Mo Ostin a great music executive is his ability to always remember rule number one: Let the artist be an artist.” In 1972, Mo was upped to Chairman, with longtime colleague Joe Smith becoming President of Warner Bros, Records. Records, and he began to oversee both the Reprise and Warner labels, building a groundbreaking company driven by risk-taking, a free-wheeling culture, a keen sense of humor, and an unrelenting support of original artistry. In 1970, Mo became President of Warner Bros.
Artists with warner records full#
With the British invasion in full swing, one of the first acts Mo signed was the Kinks, and before the decade was out, he had brought iconic artists such as Jimi Hendrix, Joni Mitchell, and Neil Young into the Reprise fold. Records, bringing Mo into the pop culture mainstream just as a musical sea change was unfolding. Sinatra’s philosophy became the philosophy that Mo carried with him throughout his career: “to create a company in which the artist was the highest priority.” In 1963, Reprise was acquired by Warner Bros. He began his music career at Verve Records before Frank Sinatra hired him in 1960 to run a new label he had formed, Reprise Records. He lived an extraordinary life doing what he loved, and he will be deeply missed throughout the industry he helped create, and by the countless artists and colleagues whom he inspired to be their best selves.īorn in New York, Mo’s family moved to Los Angeles, where he attended Fairfax High School and UCLA. Over his next three decades at the label, he remained a tireless champion of creative freedom, both for the talent he nurtured and the people who worked for him. One of the pivotal figures in the evolution of Warner Music Group, in the 1960s Mo ushered Warner/Reprise Records into a golden era of revolutionary, culture-shifting artistry. For Mo, it was always first and foremost about helping artists follow their muse. Mo was a towering figure in the history of our company and one of the prime architects of the modern music business. Legendary Warner Records executive Mo Ostin passed away peacefully in his sleep last night at the age of 95.
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