As I was watching the GRAMMY Awards last night, in the memoriam episode, I saw that the legendary A&R executive Don Grierson passed away.
Don was a A&R executive at RCA, Epic and Capitol Records.
I simply cannot say enough kind things about Don. My brother, Taylor, and I had the honor to befriend Don back in 1998 when we started our first indie record label.
For no reason other than wanting to helps us, Don invited us up to his house in Beverly Hills and gave us advice and encouragement on pursuing our interests in getting started in the music business.
Don gave us us feedback on our projects and was just full of enthusiasm for the music business.
I remember Don’s often insightful stories about working with bands like Cheap Trick, like how he convinced them to record “The Flame” which became their biggest hit, even though they hated it.
I would often invite Don out to lunch and dinner just to hear his wisdom.
In reading his obit, I had no idea that he worked with The Beatles and he also discovered Celine Dion – pretty remarkable achievements. Don truly had a gifted ear in discovering talent and was a good guy, too.