Former Elektra chief Bob Krasnow dies at 81

Bob Krasnow, former Chairman of Elektra Records and founder of Blue Thumb Records, has died aged 81.

Krasnow, who was also co-founder of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, made a major contribution to music by signing some of rock’s biggest acts including Prince, Metallica, The Cure, Tracy Chapman, Parliament-Funkadelic, Captain Beefheart, Motley Crue and Ike & Tina Turner.

Born in New York, he started in the 1960s as a promotions man for James Brown. He relaunched the fortunes of Ike & Tina Turner. In 1966 as VP of Kama Sutra Records, he set up Buddah Records with an eclectic lineup.

It included acts that made their mark in Australia: the bubble-gum pop Ohio Express (Yummy Yummy Yummy) and the 1910 Fruitgum Company (Simon Says) as well as folk singer Melanie (Lay Down). His biggest coup however was signing Captain Beefheart whose debut album Safe As Milk was also produced by the music entrepreneur.

He co-founded Blue Thumb in the late ‘60s and put the spotlight on Buddy Guy, Hugh Masakela, The Pointer Sisters, Dave Mason of Traffic, Dan Hicks & The Hot Licks and T-Rex.

A stint at Warner Bros saw him ink Parliament Funkadelic, Chaka Khan, Prince and George Benson, tapping into the upsurge of experimental black music.

In 1983, he was brought in as Chairman of Elektra Records, with instructions to revive the once high flying Warner Music imprint which had given the world The Doors and Blue Cheer among others. He cut the roster by 90% and fired 200 staffers, and built it up again from scratch.

This was achieved through the signing of  Metallica, Tracy Chapman, Anita Baker, The Cars, Simply Red, Teddy Pendergrass, Motley Crue, 10,000 Maniacs, The Cure, The Pixies, Gipsy Kings and the Bjork-fronted The Sugarcubes.

A power struggle within Warner Music saw Krasnow leave in July 1994 to set up Krasnow Entertainment as a jv with MCA Music Entertainment.

In tribute to his passing,  Bob Hurwitz, co-President of Nonesuch Records, said that Krasnow had a “big” personality that “wasn’t always the easiest” to deal with. He also said that Krasnow was a “brilliant man” with a wide range of interests.

“In terms of skill-set, I never met anyone who combined a knowledge of A&R, promotion and marketing like he did.”

Aside from making music a more interesting place with the establishment of Blue Thumb and Elektra, Hurwitz said of Nonesuch: “Well, it might have stayed a small and interesting budget label.”