RIP Jerry Moss
A&M Records Founder Jerry Moss Dies at 88, Leaves a Legacy of Music History
RIP Jerry Moss. Another record label giant has passed. Jerry founded A&M Records with trumpeter Herb Alpert in 1962 and together they brought the world The Tijuana Brass and a slew of Top-40 instrumental hits—ones that I grew up on and songs I played as a young trumpeter (and my dad also played on his gigs).
"It's not that complicated. If you hear something and it makes you want to hear it again, that's the ticket. You have to be lucky enough to find geniuses, welcome them and get out of their way.” —Jerry Moss
In 1984, Exit Records, the small independent label in Northern California, had released my debut album, Lie Down in The Grass. It was picked up by A&M Records for a re-release. I knew little to nothing about music distribution then. Word Records in Waco, Texas had distributed the first pressing. In my mind, it was obvious something had gone horribly wrong. I had a lot to learn. The record stores that mattered to me, my hometown Tower Records, and Rick Deprato’s Esoteric Records, didn’t even carry Lie Down in The Grass. I was confused and more than a little embarrassed. Now, with A&M, I was told it would be re-released in 1985 and available everywhere. And it was, just in time for a US tour with The Fixx arranged by the now legendary John Huie of CAA, then of Frontier Booking International.
Lynn Arthur Nichols, an A&R executive and future guitarist with the MCA act, Chagall Guevara, was instrumental in the A&M deal. Lynn and Mary Neely from Exit played Gil Friesen, and Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss (the A and the M) Lie Down In The Grass and made a deal. Along with taking on distribution of the entire Word catalog, A&M would give special marketing and promotion attention to me, Amy Grant, Russ Taff, and a phenomenal guitarist named Phil Keaggy (providentially, all artists I would go on to work with in years to come). It would be Amy, though, that exceeded all expectations—a pop star was born!
I’m forever grateful to Amy, Blanton & Harrell, Brown Bannister, Word Records, and A&M Records that I got to play a small role as a songwriter, arranger and keyboardist on one of A&M Records biggest hits, Heart In Motion by Amy. In 1991-92, the album and its four Top-40 singles would dominate the charts for A&M putting the album in its top four:
Amy Grant - "Heart In Motion": With tracks like "Baby, Baby" and "Every Heartbeat," it achieved significant commercial success.
Bryan Adams - "Waking Up the Neighbours": This album, featuring the massive hit "Everything I Do (I Do It for You)", was one of the top-selling albums not just for A&M but globally in 1991. And unfortunate for Amy, it was "Everything I Do (I Do It for You)” that kept “Every Heartbeat” at #2 on the Top 100—it would not budge from the #1 spot.
Sting - "The Soul Cages": The former Police frontman's solo career was in full swing by the early '90s, and "The Soul Cages" was another significant release for him, featuring tracks like "All This Time."
Soundgarden - "Badmotorfinger": As one of the standard-bearers for the grunge movement, Soundgarden's "Badmotorfinger" contained tracks like "Outshined" and "Rusty Cage" that would become staples of the genre. Over thirty years later, I was fortunate to work with Chris Cornell on the soundtrack for the film, 12 Years A Slave. Note: Amy is the #3 all-time Adult Contemporary singles artist for A&M records, behind Herb Alpert and The Carpenters (and I’m happy to have cowritten one of those singles, “Every Heartbeat” with Amy and Wayne Kirkpatrick—produced by Brown Bannister).
Thank you Jerry Moss for all the great music you helped launch into the world. May God bless and comfort your family. Peace and love.
