# Chuck Kaye

> Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Chuck_Kaye
> Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Chuck_Kaye.md
> Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chuck_Kaye
> Source revision: 1339199962
> License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/)

**Charles Kaye** (August 28, 1940 – February 1, 2021) was an American [music industry](/source/Music_industry) executive, noted for his tenures at [A&M Records](/source/A%26M_Records), [Warner/Chappell Music](/source/Warner/Chappell_Music), and [DreamWorks Records](/source/DreamWorks_Records), working in diverse areas such as artists and repertoire (A&R), music publishing, and corporate governance.

## Early life

Kaye's earliest efforts in music publishing began in New York City in the 1960s, working under the [Philles Records](/source/Philles_Records) label started by [Phil Spector](/source/Phil_Spector) and his stepfather, [Lester Sill](/source/Lester_Sill).[1] In 1964, Kaye relocated to Los Angeles to take the role of West Coast Director of [Aldon Music](/source/Aldon_Music). While at Aldon, Kaye worked with songwriters [Carole King](/source/Carole_King), [Gerry Goffin](/source/Gerry_Goffin), [Barry Mann](/source/Barry_Mann), [Cynthia Weil](/source/Cynthia_Weil), [Howard Greenfield](/source/Howard_Greenfield), and [Neil Sedaka](/source/Neil_Sedaka).

In 1966, Kaye started both Rondor Music and Almo/Irving Music which were the publishing companies for [A&M Records](/source/A%26M_Records), owned by [Herb Alpert](/source/Herb_Alpert) and [Jerry Moss](/source/Jerry_Moss).[2]

Kaye began to demonstrate his business acumen by signing acts while heading Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss’ Almo/Irving Music label. During this period, Kaye signed an extensive list of talent that included [Alan Parsons](/source/Alan_Parsons), [Bob Marley](/source/Bob_Marley), [The Beach Boys](/source/The_Beach_Boys), [Allee Willis](/source/Allee_Willis), [Steve Winwood](/source/Steve_Winwood), [Traffic](/source/Traffic_(band)), [Free](/source/Free_(band)), [Cat Stevens](/source/Cat_Stevens), [Bryan Adams](/source/Bryan_Adams), [Mason Williams](/source/Mason_Williams), [Jefferson Airplane](/source/Jefferson_Airplane), [John Bettis](/source/John_Bettis), [Troy Seals](/source/Troy_Seals), [Will Jennings](/source/Will_Jennings), [Paul Williams](/source/Paul_Williams_(songwriter)), [Billy Preston](/source/Billy_Preston), [Roger Nichols](/source/Roger_Nichols_(songwriter)), [Peter Frampton](/source/Peter_Frampton), and [Supertramp](/source/Supertramp).

In 1977, Kaye was appointed president of both Almo/Irving and Rondor Music, while also serving as vice-president of [A&M Records](/source/A%26M_Records).[2]

## Warner era

In 1980, Kaye partnered with [David Geffen](/source/David_Geffen) to form the Geffen/Kaye Music label.[3] With Geffen, Kaye signed artists like [John Lennon](/source/John_Lennon), [Quarterflash](/source/Quarterflash), [Michael Sembello](/source/Michael_Sembello), and [Dean Pitchford](/source/Dean_Pitchford).

After one year, Geffen/Kaye was acquired by its distributor, Warner Brothers Music. Kaye was subsequently appointed chairman of that company,[4] a title which he retained until that company's merger with Chappell & Co. in 1987. Upon completion of the merger which Kaye helped engineer, Kaye became chief executive officer of [Warner/Chappell Music](/source/Warner/Chappell_Music).

During his time at Warner, Kaye continued to sign acts to his label. Some of these acts included artists like [David Foster](/source/David_Foster), [Michael Jackson](/source/Michael_Jackson), [Yes](/source/Yes_(band)), [Madonna](/source/Madonna_(entertainer)), [Mr. Mister](/source/Mr._Mister), [Mötley Crüe](/source/M%C3%B6tley_Cr%C3%BCe), [Scorpions](/source/Scorpions_(band)), [Albert Hammond](/source/Albert_Hammond), [John Bettis](/source/John_Bettis), [Troy Seals](/source/Troy_Seals), [Jerry Leiber](/source/Jerry_Leiber), and [Mike Stoller](/source/Mike_Stoller). Kaye acquired 20th Century Fox which had Johnny Mercer and all of the TV episodes of Mash.

## Windswept Pacific era

In 1989, Kaye cofounded **Windswept Pacific** with Joel Sill. Some of the music catalogs and copyrights acquired were as follows: [Tommy James and the Shondells](/source/Tommy_James_and_the_Shondells), [Rod Stewart](/source/Rod_Stewart), [Willy Nelson](/source/Willie_Nelson)'s catalog, [The Isley Brothers](/source/The_Isley_Brothers) "[Shout](/source/Shout_(The_Isley_Brothers_song))", [KC and the Sunshine Band](/source/KC_and_the_Sunshine_Band), [Tito Puente](/source/Tito_Puente), and [John Cougar Mellencamp](/source/John_Mellencamp). [EMI Music Publishing](/source/EMI_Music_Publishing) acquired the copyrights of Windswept Pacific in 1999.[5]

## DreamWorks

In 1997, Kaye returned to work with [David Geffen](/source/David_Geffen) as Head of Music Publishing at [DreamWorks Records](/source/DreamWorks_Records) Music.[6] Kaye acquired the following:

**Catalogs:** [John Denver](/source/John_Denver), [Stevie Ray Vaughan](/source/Stevie_Ray_Vaughan), [The Byrds](/source/The_Byrds), [Rickie Lee Jones](/source/Rickie_Lee_Jones), [Martha Davis](/source/Martha_Davis_(singer)) ([The Motels](/source/The_Motels)), and [Billy Strayhorn](/source/Billy_Strayhorn). **Songs:** "[Disco Inferno](/source/Disco_Inferno)" and "[Monster Mash](/source/Monster_Mash)". **Bands:** [Papa Roach](/source/Papa_Roach), [Lifehouse](/source/Lifehouse_(band)), [Powerman 5000](/source/Powerman_5000), and [Jimmy Eat World](/source/Jimmy_Eat_World).

## Death

Kaye died from complications of [COVID-19](/source/COVID-19) in [Santa Barbara, California](/source/Santa_Barbara,_California), on February 1, 2021, at the age of 80.[7]

## References

1. Betrock, Alan (1982). [*Girl groups: the story of a sound - Alan Betrock - Google Boeken*](https://books.google.com/books?id=WDYJAQAAMAAJ). Delilah Books. ISBN 9780933328259. Retrieved 2014-06-30.

1. ["Almo Music, Irving Music and Rondor Music International On A&M Records.com"](https://www.onamrecords.com/labels/rondor-music-international/146449/history). Onamrecords.com. Retrieved 2014-06-30.

1. [*Billboard - Google Boeken*](https://books.google.com/books?id=oiQEAAAAMBAJ&q=%22chuck+kaye%22&pg=PT48). 1981-09-05. Retrieved 2014-06-30.

1. [*Billboard - Google Boeken*](https://books.google.com/books?id=eyQEAAAAMBAJ&q=%22chuck+kaye%22&pg=RA1-PA30). 1980-08-09. Retrieved 2014-06-30.

1. Sandler, Adam (1999-07-29). ["EMI acquires Windswept"](https://variety.com/1999/music/news/emi-acquires-windswept-1117744308/). *Variety*. Retrieved 2020-12-30.

1. [*Billboard - Google Boeken*](https://books.google.com/books?id=fxEEAAAAMBAJ&q=%22chuck+kaye%22&pg=PA42). 2000-09-16. Retrieved 2014-06-30.

1. ["SAIL ON, SAILOR: CHUCK KAYE, 1940-2021"](https://www.hitsdailydouble.com/news/rumor-mill/sail-on-sailor-lessbrgreaterchuck-kaye-lessbrgreater1940-2021). *[Hits](/source/Hits_(magazine))*. 2021-02-04. Retrieved 2025-08-28.

---
Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Chuck Kaye](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chuck_Kaye) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chuck_Kaye?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.