RUNAWAYS Manager KIM FOWLEY Dies At 75
January 15, 2015, 9 years ago
Kim Fowley, the self-mythologizing musician / writer / producer who epitomized Hollywood music biz hucksterism in the ‘60s and ‘70s, died on January 15th after a long battle with bladder cancer. He was 75.
A ubiquitous behind-the-scenes figure on the Los Angeles scene, the towering, skeletal Fowley was best known as producer and promoter of the all-girl ‘70s rock act The Runaways, reports Christopher Morris of Variety.
Fowley’s greatest notoriety began in 1975, when he facilitated a meeting between guitarist Joan Jett and drummer Sandy West, local teens who were interested in starting an all-girl band. Fowley then recruited singer Cherie Currie, guitarist Lita Ford and bassist Jackie Fox for the group, which he christened The Runaways.
Jailbait pin-ups who could actually rock, The Runaways secured a contract with Mercury Records. Bringing the full extent of his promotional guile to his dream project, Fowley co-wrote and produced their first two albums, The Runaways (1976) and Queens Of Noise (1977), which garnered more media attention than sales. Fowley’s relationship with his headstrong protégées, fractious from the first, ended in 1977; after Currie left the band later that year, he produced her solo debut, which went unreleased in The US. Jett and Ford both later mounted successful solo careers.
Further details can be found here.
