John Kalodner
Encyclopedia
John David Kalodner is a retired American A&R
executive. His achievements included signing Foreigner
, AC/DC
, Peter Gabriel
and Phil Collins
to Atlantic Records
in the seventies.
He was headhunted as the first A&R executive for David Geffen
's new label Geffen Records
in 1980, where he worked with White Zombie, Madness
, XTC
, Whitesnake
, Wang Chung
, Nelson
and Aerosmith
. He brought Jimmy Page
and Sammy Hagar
success as solo artists and was responsible for the musical collaboration Coverdale-Page
.
Kalodner also placed songs on soundtracks of such films as Top Gun
and Footloose. Kalodner followed Aerosmith
to Columbia
in the nineties, where he also worked with Cher
, Santana
, Journey
, Manowar
, Chicago
, Heart
, Iron Maiden
, Joe Satriani
, Steve Vai
, Ted Nugent
, REO Speedwagon
, Mars Electric
and the Black Crowes, among others.
Kalodner's special status was underlined by the fact that he is usually credited on albums for simply being himself. According to Kalodner's web site, the phrase "John Kalodner: John Kalodner" originated with Foreigner's 1978 Double Vision album, when the album's producer, Keith Olsen
, was wondering just how to credit Kalodner's involvement with the band and the album. In keeping with the double vision theme, Foreigner guitarist Mick Jones came up with idea of doubling Kalodner's name.
Kalodner worked with Billy Idol
, Jack Blades
, Roadstar
, Steve Perry
, Cher
, and Suzie McNeil
(of Rock Star: INXS
) before retiring in 2006.
A&R
Artists and repertoire is the division of a record label that is responsible for talent scouting and overseeing the artistic development of recording artists. It also acts as a liaison between artists and the record label.- Finding talent :...
executive. His achievements included signing Foreigner
Foreigner (band)
Foreigner is a British-American rock band, originally formed in 1976 by veteran English musicians Mick Jones and ex-King Crimson member Ian McDonald along with American vocalist Lou Gramm...
, AC/DC
AC/DC
AC/DC are an Australian rock band, formed in 1973 by brothers Malcolm and Angus Young. Commonly classified as hard rock, they are considered pioneers of heavy metal, though they themselves have always classified their music as simply "rock and roll"...
, Peter Gabriel
Peter Gabriel
Peter Brian Gabriel is an English singer, musician, and songwriter who rose to fame as the lead vocalist and flautist of the progressive rock group Genesis. After leaving Genesis, Gabriel went on to a successful solo career...
and Phil Collins
Phil Collins
Philip David Charles "Phil" Collins, LVO is an English singer-songwriter, drummer, pianist and actor best known as a drummer and vocalist for British progressive rock group Genesis and as a solo artist....
to Atlantic Records
Atlantic Records
Atlantic Records is an American record label best known for its many recordings of rhythm and blues, rock and roll, and jazz...
in the seventies.
He was headhunted as the first A&R executive for David Geffen
David Geffen
David Geffen is an American record executive, film producer, theatrical producer and philanthropist. Geffen is noted for creating Asylum Records in 1970, Geffen Records in 1980, and DGC Records in 1990...
's new label Geffen Records
Geffen Records
Geffen Records is an American record label, owned by Universal Music Group, and operated as one third of UMG's Interscope-Geffen-A&M label group.-Beginnings:...
in 1980, where he worked with White Zombie, Madness
Madness (band)
In 1979, the band recorded the Lee Thompson composition "The Prince". The song, like the band's name, paid homage to their idol, Prince Buster. The song was released through 2 Tone Records, the label of The Specials founder Jerry Dammers. The song was a surprise hit, peaking in the UK music charts...
, XTC
XTC
XTC were a New Wave band from Swindon, England, active between 1976 and 2005. The band enjoyed some chart success, including the UK and Canadian hits "Making Plans for Nigel" and "Senses Working Overtime" , but are perhaps even better known for their long-standing critical success.- Early years:...
, Whitesnake
Whitesnake
Whitesnake are an English rock band, founded in 1978 by David Coverdale after his departure from his previous band, Deep Purple. The band's early material has been compared by critics to Deep Purple, but by the mid 1980s they had moved to a more commercial hard rock style...
, Wang Chung
Wang Chung (band)
Wang Chung are an English New Wave musical group.The group found their greatest success in America, with five Top 40 hits in the US, all charting between 1983 and 1987, including "Dance Hall Days" , "Everybody Have Fun Tonight" and "Let's Go!" .-Pre-history: The Intellektuals and 57 Men :Jeremy...
, Nelson
Nelson (band)
NELSON is a American hard rock band founded by singer/songwriters Matthew and Gunnar Nelson . NELSON featuring the twin lead front men had a No. 1 hit in the United States with " Love and Affection" during the week of September 29, 1990...
and Aerosmith
Aerosmith
Aerosmith is an American rock band, sometimes referred to as "The Bad Boys from Boston" and "America's Greatest Rock and Roll Band". Their style, which is rooted in blues-based hard rock, has come to also incorporate elements of pop, heavy metal, and rhythm and blues, and has inspired many...
. He brought Jimmy Page
Jimmy Page
James Patrick "Jimmy" Page, OBE is an English multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, and record producer. He began his career as a studio session guitarist in London and was subsequently a member of The Yardbirds from 1966 to 1968, after which he founded the English rock band Led Zeppelin.Jimmy Page...
and Sammy Hagar
Sammy Hagar
Sam Roy "Sammy" Hagar , also known as The Red Rocker, is an American rock singer, guitarist, and songwriter. Also sings Country Music....
success as solo artists and was responsible for the musical collaboration Coverdale-Page
Coverdale-Page
Coverdale and Page is an album by former Deep Purple and Whitesnake lead vocalist David Coverdale and former Led Zeppelin and London session guitarist Jimmy Page , released by Geffen Records on 15 March 1993.Adding to the Led Zeppelin sound of this album was the John Bonham-influenced and former...
.
Kalodner also placed songs on soundtracks of such films as Top Gun
Top Gun
Top Gun may refer to:* Top Gun is a 1986 film starring Tom Cruise.**Top Gun , soundtrack to the movie**Top Gun , a number of games based on the movie...
and Footloose. Kalodner followed Aerosmith
Aerosmith
Aerosmith is an American rock band, sometimes referred to as "The Bad Boys from Boston" and "America's Greatest Rock and Roll Band". Their style, which is rooted in blues-based hard rock, has come to also incorporate elements of pop, heavy metal, and rhythm and blues, and has inspired many...
to Columbia
Columbia Records
Columbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company...
in the nineties, where he also worked with Cher
Cher
Cher is an American recording artist, television personality, actress, director, record producer and philanthropist. Referred to as the Goddess of Pop, she has won an Academy Award, a Grammy Award, an Emmy Award, three Golden Globes and a Cannes Film Festival Award among others for her work in...
, Santana
Santana (band)
Santana is a rock band based around guitarist Carlos Santana and founded in the late 1960s. It first came to public attention after their performing the song "Soul Sacrifice" at the Woodstock Festival in 1969, when their Latin rock provided a contrast to other acts on the bill...
, Journey
Journey (band)
Journey is an American rock band formed in 1973 in San Francisco by former members of Santana. The band has gone through several phases; its strongest commercial success occurred between the 1978 and 1987, after which it temporarily disbanded...
, Manowar
Manowar (band)
Manowar is an American heavy metal band from Auburn, New York. Formed in 1980 the group is known for its lyrics based on fantasy and mythological topics along with their "loud and bombastic" sound...
, Chicago
Chicago (band)
Chicago is an American rock band formed in 1967 in Chicago, Illinois. The self-described "rock and roll band with horns" began as a politically charged, sometimes experimental, rock band and later moved to a predominantly softer sound, becoming famous for producing a number of hit ballads. They had...
, Heart
Heart (band)
Heart is an American rock band who first found success in Canada. Throughout several lineup changes, the only two members remaining constant are sisters Ann and Nancy Wilson. The group rose to fame in the 1970s with their music being influenced by hard rock as well as folk music...
, Iron Maiden
Iron Maiden
Iron Maiden are an English heavy metal band from Leyton in east London, formed in 1975 by bassist and primary songwriter Steve Harris. Since their inception, the band's discography has grown to include a total of thirty-six albums: fifteen studio albums; eleven live albums; four EPs; and six...
, Joe Satriani
Joe Satriani
Joseph "Joe" Satriani is an American instrumental rock guitarist and multi-instrumentalist, with multiple Grammy Award nominations...
, Steve Vai
Steve Vai
Steven Siro "Steve" Vai is a three time Grammy Award-winning American guitarist, songwriter and producer who has sold over 15 million albums. Steve Vai is widely known as a flamboyant guitar virtuoso....
, Ted Nugent
Ted Nugent
Theodore Anthony "Ted" Nugent is an American guitarist, musician, singer, author, reserve police officer, and activist. From Detroit, Michigan, he originally gained fame as the lead guitarist of The Amboy Dukes, before embarking on a lengthy solo career...
, REO Speedwagon
REO Speedwagon
REO Speedwagon is an American rock band. Formed in 1967, the band grew in popularity during the 1970s and peaked in the early 1980s. Hi Infidelity is the group's most commercially successful album, selling over ten million copies and charting four Top 40 hits in the US...
, Mars Electric
Mars Electric
-History:Lead singer Jacob Bunton first formed the group under the name Wish in Birmingham in 1995. They signed with Atlantic Records in 1997 and recorded an album, but Atlantic dropped them before releasing any of their material. In 1999, legendary A&R guru John Kalodner signed the band to...
and the Black Crowes, among others.
Kalodner's special status was underlined by the fact that he is usually credited on albums for simply being himself. According to Kalodner's web site, the phrase "John Kalodner: John Kalodner" originated with Foreigner's 1978 Double Vision album, when the album's producer, Keith Olsen
Keith Olsen
Keith Olsen is one of the most prolific and successful music producers in the industry.-Career:With over 120 albums produced netting a 1 in 4 Gold or better ratio, of which more than 24 are Platinum or better, and more than 14 are multi-Platinum, sales from Keith Olsen’s work exceeds 110 million...
, was wondering just how to credit Kalodner's involvement with the band and the album. In keeping with the double vision theme, Foreigner guitarist Mick Jones came up with idea of doubling Kalodner's name.
Kalodner worked with Billy Idol
Billy Idol
William Michael Albert Broad , better known by his stage name Billy Idol, is an English rock musician. A member of the Bromley Contingent of Sex Pistols fans, Idol first achieved fame in the punk rock era as a member of the band Generation X...
, Jack Blades
Jack Blades
Jack Martin Blades is an American musician. He has worked in several bands: Rubicon, Night Ranger , and Damn Yankees . He also recorded with Tommy Shaw under the name Shaw/Blades, and has done work alongside TMG, the Tak Matsumoto Group...
, Roadstar
Roadstar
Heaven's Basement are a British hard rock and heavy metal band formed in 2008 and Signed with Red Bull Records.-Heaven's Basement:Heaven's Basement are a hard rock band from the UK that are renowned for their heavy touring schedule and extreme energy live shows...
, Steve Perry
Steve Perry (musician)
Stephen Ray "Steve" Perry is an American singer and songwriter best known as the lead vocalist of the rock band Journey from 1977–1987 and 1995–1998. Perry had a successful solo career throughout the late 1980s and early '90s.Perry's voice has garnered acclaim from musical peers and music...
, Cher
Cher
Cher is an American recording artist, television personality, actress, director, record producer and philanthropist. Referred to as the Goddess of Pop, she has won an Academy Award, a Grammy Award, an Emmy Award, three Golden Globes and a Cannes Film Festival Award among others for her work in...
, and Suzie McNeil
Suzie McNeil
Susan Jane "Suzie" McNeil is a Canadian pop rock recording artist.-Early life:McNeil was born in Mississauga, Ontario. She has a sister, Laura Norris, a teacher at a public high school in Toronto.-Rock Star: INXS:...
(of Rock Star: INXS
Rock Star: INXS
Rock Star: INXS is the first season of the reality television show Rock Star where 15 contestants competed to become the lead vocalist for the Australian rock band INXS....
) before retiring in 2006.
In other media
- John Kalodner briefly appeared in a few AerosmithAerosmithAerosmith is an American rock band, sometimes referred to as "The Bad Boys from Boston" and "America's Greatest Rock and Roll Band". Their style, which is rooted in blues-based hard rock, has come to also incorporate elements of pop, heavy metal, and rhythm and blues, and has inspired many...
music videoMusic videoA music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
s including the videos for "Let the Music Do the TalkingLet the Music Do the TalkingLet the Music Do the Talking is the first of four albums by The Joe Perry Project. It was also the most successful, selling approximately 250,000 copies in the United States. The title song, Let the Music Do the Talking was then covered and rerecorded by Aerosmith on their album Done With...
", "Dude (Looks Like a Lady)Dude (Looks Like a Lady)"Dude " is a song by United States hard rock band Aerosmith. It was released as the first of three singles from the Permanent Vacation album in 1987. It reached #14 on the Billboard Hot 100, #41 on the Hot Dance Club Play chart, #4 on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart, and peaked at #45 on the UK...
", "The Other SideThe Other Side (Aerosmith song)-Radio Single:...
", "Eat the RichEat the Rich (Aerosmith song)"Eat the Rich" is a song performed by American hard rock band Aerosmith. It was written by Steven Tyler, Joe Perry, and Jim Vallance. It was released as the second single from the band's 1993 album Get a Grip. The song had success on rock radio, peaking at number five on the Mainstream Rock Tracks...
", "Blind ManBlind Man"Blind Man" is a song by American hard rock band Aerosmith. It was written by Steven Tyler, Joe Perry, and Taylor Rhodes. It was released as a single in December 1994 from the Geffen-era compilation album Big Ones, one of three songs from that greatest hits record not previously released on any...
", and "PinkPinkPink is a mixture of red and white. Commonly used for Valentine's Day and Easter, pink is sometimes referred to as "the color of love." The use of the word for the color known today as pink was first recorded in the late 17th century....
". He was dressed as a bride in the "Dude (Looks Like a Lady)" video as a private joke, because he almost always dresses entirely in white. - John Kalodner appeared in the "Flaming Moe'sFlaming Moe's"Flaming Moe's" is the tenth episode of The Simpsons third season. It first aired on the Fox network in the United States on November 21, 1991. In the episode, Homer tells Moe Szyslak of a secret alcoholic cocktail that includes cough medicine and fire that he calls "Flaming Homer"...
" episode of The SimpsonsThe SimpsonsThe Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...
, which featured Aerosmith. - John Kalodner also made a cameo appearance in Revolution X as the face of the sphinx in the Middle East level. This being so because the main characters in Revolution X are none other than Aerosmith themselves, and at the time, Aerosmith was still with Geffin Records during their Get a Grip tour.
- John Kalodner appeared in videos for the band JackylJackylJackyl is an American rock band formed in 1990. Their sound has been described as hard rock, heavy metal and Southern metal.The band is probably best-known for its song "The Lumberjack", which features a chainsaw solo by lead singer Jesse James Dupree. On the recording, Dupree alternately revs the...
, with whom he worked in the late 1990s. - John Kalodner appeared as the judge in Sammy Hagar's "I Can't Drive 55I Can't Drive 55"I Can't Drive 55" was the lead single and first track from Sammy Hagar's eighth studio album VOA in 1984. Perpetuated by a very successful music video, it became a concert staple that continued throughout Sammy's tours as a member of Van Halen....
" music video. - John Kalodner appeared on the cover of GPS' (a band featuring ex-AsiaAsia (band)Asia are an English rock group formed in 1981. The band was labelled a supergroup as it included former members of several veteran progressive rock bands, namely John Wetton , Geoff Downes , Steve Howe and Carl Palmer Asia are an English rock group formed in 1981. The band was labelled a...
members) 2006 album Windows to the Soul as sitting in front of a TV.