RIP Jerry Moss

Record-label execs are often thought of as faceless rich guys. But dig a little deeper and someone like Jerry Moss, who was the "M" in A&M Records is not that stereotype. He helped make and nurture the careers of so many artists that rock n' roll wouldn't be what it is today without him. 

He initially started as a champion of the likes of Herb Alpert, but then he saw Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin and was embarrassed that he hadn't signed any of the new generation. Soon followed the signings of the Carpenters, Cat Stevens, the Police, Bryan Adams, Styx, Peter Frampton, Soundgarden, and Janet Jackson.

Even better, he recognized that rock was evolving and went out more on a limb with the likes of, partially aided by IRS being folded into A&M, the Go-Gos, the Flying Burrito Brothers, R.E.M., the English Beat, and Squeeze. Read more at the L.A. Times.