Industry Veteran Alan Livingston Who Signed THE BEATLES In The US Dies At 91
March 16, 2009, 15 years ago
Associated Press is reporting:
Alan W. Livingston, the music executive who signed the Beatles during his tenure as president of Capitol Records and created Bozo the Clown, has died. He was 91.
Livingston died Friday of age-related causes in his Beverly Hills home, said his stepdaughter, Jennifer Lerner.
Livingston began his multifaceted career in show business as a writer and producer of children's read-along record albums for Capitol Records.
When he moved into executive positions at Capitol Records in the early 1950s, Livingston signed FRANK SINATRA, then at a low point in his career, and introduced him to arranger Nelson Riddle. Together, the pair produced 'I've Got the World On A String' and 'Young At Heart', which led to Sinatra's comeback.
Livingston left the record label in the late 1950s to work in television, where he produced the western series Bonanza. He returned to Capitol Records as president in the 1960s, when he signed THE BEACH BOYS, STEVE MILLER and THE BAND.
When Livingston heard THE BEATLES song 'I Want to Hold Your Hand', he agreed to release the single and brought the Fab Four to the United States in 1964 to promote it. Capitol, which was partly owned by the Beatles' record company EMI in the United Kingdom, earlier had rejected the group's initial hit singles as unsuitable for the American market.
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