Harold Childs, who broke by means of business obstacles within the ‘70s as a Black man overseeing pop music promotion at A&M Data, died of leukemia in Los Angeles on Sunday, Aug. 27. He was 80 years previous. Childs’ demise follows that of A&M co-founder Jerry Moss, who died Aug. 16.
Recognized for his innate enterprise savvy, vibrant persona and dapper type, Childs spent greater than 50 years in a music profession that included tenures with RCA Victor, Qwest Data and Warner Bros. Data.
“He was a consummate ‘File Man,’” Direct Administration co-founder Martin Kirkup tells Billboard of Childs, a longtime pal and fellow A&M alumnus. “I used to be vp of artist improvement from 1975-85 and labored with Harold for many of that decade. He was passionate concerning the wide selection of music that A&M embraced, with nice instincts for the techniques and technique of breaking data. However what actually made him particular was his private heat, good humor and his countless curiosity in different individuals. That’s why individuals have been so dedicated to him.”
Ray Harris, founder and chairman emeritus of the Dwelling Legends Basis, labored with Childs at Warner Bros. the place the previous served because the label’s senior vp of Black music promotion. Sharing his recollections of Childs with Billboard, Harris says, “They are saying your identify and repute will attain a stranger’s door earlier than you do. It was such with Harold Childs. Once I entered the music enterprise within the ‘70s, Harold was one of many individuals I might always hear about. He labored at one of many hottest unbiased labels [A&M] as vp of promotion accountable for the pop division in addition to different genres of music.
“That was distinctive,” provides Harris, “as a result of Harold was an African American male navigating by means of a pop world usually carved out for our white counterparts. There was only a few African People transferring in that world throughout that interval. Childs not solely moved in it, he was a dominant a part of that firm’s success. I obtained to know Harold and located him to be stylish, fashion-forward, skilled and a pleasant man. Sleep properly my pal, you’ve made your mark.”
Born Could 8, 1943 in Philadelphia, Childs was a scholar on the metropolis’s Dobbins Excessive Faculty when he started working within the inventory room at Marnel File Distributors. He later segued to RCA Victor as regional promotion supervisor the place he labored with artists equivalent to Peter Nero and Henry Mancini. Then in 1969 he joined A&M as nationwide gross sales and promotion director for its CTI (Creed Taylor Worldwide) imprint, based mostly in New York.
Relocating to Los Angeles in 1971, Childs retained his similar position for A&M solely after CTI grew to become unbiased. Throughout his subsequent appointments as vp of promotion in 1974 and senior vp of promotion and gross sales in 1978, Childs performed an integral position in A&M’s evolution as one of many business’s main unbiased labels within the ‘70s and ‘80s. He and his group broke tasks from the Carpenters, Cat Stevens, Captain & Tennille, Peter Frampton, Supertramp, the Brothers Johnson, Styx, Joe Jackson, the Police, the Human League and George Harrison’s A&M-distributed Darkish Horse label.
Leaving A&M in 1984, Childs joined PolyGram as senior vp after which served as president of Quincy Jones’ Qwest Data on the latter’s request. Throughout a later stint at Warner Bros. Data, Childs headed the label’s jazz promotion division, working with a roster that included Al Jarreau, David Sanborn and George Benson, who started his profession at CTI.
Ed Eckstein, former president of Mercury Data, described being mentored by Childs as “a godsend and a blessing to say the least. I obtained to see firsthand — throughout my years working with Quincy Jones — [Childs’] distinctive area normal, fearless-leader type of management; the extent of respect he obtained from his troops and associates, coupled with the outcomes he accrued, was awe inspiring. Harold was sensible, incisive, sharp, demanding, humorous, honest and the Essence of Sartorial Splendor always.”
Childs’ resumé contains serving as senior advisor for Soundboard Advertising and marketing. The Los Angeles-based firm has collaborated with manufacturers equivalent to Paul Mitchell Salons in addition to Timothy B. Schmidt of the Eagles, Ray Parker Jr. and producer Patrick Leonard. Childs was additionally a advisor for Japanese-based Alpha Data, working as its U.S. liaison in a gross sales and promotion capability. The Dwelling Legends Basis offered Childs with its Lifetime Achievement Award in 2000.
Donations in reminiscence of Harold Childs could also be made to The United Negro School Fund.
