Mo Ostin
Warner Records CEO Mo Ostin Remembered by Producer Russ Titelman: ‘He Had No Ego’
Grammy-winning producer Russ Titelman first met Mo Ostin, the legendary executive who ran Reprise and then Warner Records from 1960 to 1994, in the early ’60s when Titelman was still a teenager and freshly signed to Screen Gems-Columbia Music as a songwriter. Eventually, Ostin, who died July 31 at 95, and then head of A&R Lenny Waronker convinced Titelman to come to Warner Records, where he had an extraordinary run as an in-house producer for 25 years, working with such artists as Randy Newman, Eric Clapton, Paul Simon, James Taylor, Steve Winwood, Chaka Khan and so many more. Titelman, whose Grammy wins include record of the year for Winwood’s “Higher Love” (1986) and again for Clapton’s “Tears in Heaven,” as well as album of the year for Clapton’s “Unplugged” (1992), talked with Bill...
Mo Ostin, Legendary Warner Bros Records Executive, Dies at 95
Mo Ostin, the legendary Warner Bros Records executive, died on Sunday night in his sleep at the age of 95. Born on March 27, 1927, Ostin’s first job in the music business was working at Verve Records. In 1960, Reprise Records founder Frank Sinatra hired him to be the label’s general manager. Later that decade, the company was bought by Warner Bros. Records. In the early ’60s, Ostin signed the Kinks and Jimi Hendrix following his Monterey Pop Festival set in 1968. Ostin was named Warner-Reprise’s president in 1970 and was upped to CEO in 1972. During his tenure, Ostin worked with an all-star group of musicians, including Neil Young, Joni Mitchell, Fleetwood Mac, Grateful Dead, Tom Petty, Bonnie Raitt, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Green Day. Paul Simon, Van Morrison, and Van Halen. He left Warner ...
Mo Ostin, Legendary Warner Bros. Records Chief, Dies at 95
Mo Ostin, the legendary label executive who led Warner Brothers Records through a storied time of both artistic and commercial success for more than 30 years, died in his sleep July 31, at the age of 95. Ostin, who signed and/or worked with such acts at The Kinks, Fleetwood Mac, Joni Mitchell, Jimi Hendrix, R.E.M., Randy Newman and many more, was “one of the greatest record men of all time, and a prime architect of the modern music business,” said Tom Corson, co-chairman and COO, Warner Records, and Aaron Bay-Schuck, co-chairman and CEO, Warner Records, in a joint statement. “For Mo, it was always first and foremost about helping artists realize their vision,” their statement continues. “One of the pivotal figures in the evolution of Warner Music Group, in the 1960s Mo ushered Warner/Repri...
