Post by Dale Latimer on Aug 14, 2023 12:08:46 GMT -5
Clarence Avant, whose unofficial title of the “Black Godfather” spanned the worlds of music, sports, entertainment and politics, died Sunday at his home in Los Angeles, according to a statement from his family. No cause of death was provided; he was 92.
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Avant’s list of accomplishments is long, broad, and varied. Initially a nightclub manager, he spent the 1960s managing the likes of Lalo Schifrin and Jimmy Smith. He went on to found two record labels, through which he gave the world Bill Withers, Sixto Rodriguez, and Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis. He helped broker the sale of the legendary Stax Records back in the late ’60s; 30 years later, he became chairman of the board of Motown Records, and subsequently the first African-American board member at PolyGram. He launched one of the first fully black-owned radio stations, and didn’t hesitate to take stands in defense of black culture as a consultant to MGM and ABC in the 1970s. He also served as an advisor, official and otherwise, to Presidents Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, George Bush and Barack Obama.
variety.com/2023/music/news/clarence-avant-dead-black-godfather-1235695291/
dL
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Avant’s list of accomplishments is long, broad, and varied. Initially a nightclub manager, he spent the 1960s managing the likes of Lalo Schifrin and Jimmy Smith. He went on to found two record labels, through which he gave the world Bill Withers, Sixto Rodriguez, and Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis. He helped broker the sale of the legendary Stax Records back in the late ’60s; 30 years later, he became chairman of the board of Motown Records, and subsequently the first African-American board member at PolyGram. He launched one of the first fully black-owned radio stations, and didn’t hesitate to take stands in defense of black culture as a consultant to MGM and ABC in the 1970s. He also served as an advisor, official and otherwise, to Presidents Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, George Bush and Barack Obama.
variety.com/2023/music/news/clarence-avant-dead-black-godfather-1235695291/
dL
