Pete Ganbarg is Executive Vice President of 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...

. He began his major label A&R

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 :...

 career in 1989 at SBK Records

SBK Records

SBK Records was a record label of the EMI Group that was founded in 1988.Stephen Swid, Martin Bandier, and Charles Koppelman formed the production company SBK in 1989 after they purchased the music publishing division of CBS Records in 1986....

, where his first project was the campy film soundtrack, “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are a fictional team of four teenage anthropomorphic turtles, who were trained by their anthropomorphic rat sensei in the art of ninjutsu and named after four Renaissance artists...

.” He commissioned Partners In Kryme

Partners in Kryme

Partners in Kryme was an American hip hop duo from New York City. Its members were James Alpern and Richard Usher. Their first single, "Turtle Power", was written for and featured in the movie Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles in 1990, and became a hit in the US and UK...

, a rap duo he was developing at the time to write an end title theme to the movie. The result, “Turtle Power

Turtle Power

"Turtle Power" is a 1990 single performed by rap duo Partners in Kryme. The song was released by SBK Records and was from the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles soundtrack and was featured in the film's closing credits.-Song information:...

,” sold 5 million singles worldwide and spent over a month at #1 throughout Europe. Subsequent signings at SBK included Blessid Union of Souls

Blessid Union of Souls

Blessid Union of Souls is an American rock band from Morrow, Ohio that was formed in 1990 by friends Jeff Pence and Eliot Sloan....

 and singer-songwriter Darrell Scott

Darrell Scott

James Darrell Scott known as Darrell Scott , the son of musician Wayne Scott with whom he has collaborated, is an American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. He moved as a child to East Gary, Indiana. He was playing professionally by his teens in Southern California, later living in...

, now one of Nashville’s top songwriters. Pete also A&R’d Vanilla Ice

Vanilla Ice

Robert Matthew Van Winkle , best known by his stage name Vanilla Ice, is an American rapper, extreme athlete and home improvement television personality...

’s 7X platinum debut, “To The Extreme

To the Extreme

To the Extreme is the major label debut studio album of American rapper Robert "Vanilla Ice" Van Winkle. Released in 1990, it is Van Winkle's best selling album. The album was initially released in 1989 by independent record label Ichiban Records under the title Hooked. Van Winkle signed to SBK...

”.

When SBK/EMI Records folded in America in the late-90’s, Pete joined Arista Records

Arista Records

Arista was an American record label. It was a wholly owned subsidiary of Sony Music Entertainment and operated under the RCA Music Group. The label was founded in 1974 by Clive Davis, who formerly worked for CBS Records...

 as Sr. Director, A&R. The first artist he worked with at Arista was 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...

, for whom Pete A&R’d the 27X Platinum World Wide, 9X Grammy Winning Album of the Year

Grammy Award for Album of the Year

The Grammy Award for Album of the Year is the most prestigious award category at the Grammys. It has been awarded since 1959 and though it was originally presented to the artist alone, the award is now presented to the artist, the producer, the engineer and/or mixer and the mastering engineer...

, Supernatural. He also worked with Run DMC, and signed hard rock band Adema

Adema

-2003–2004: Unstable, Mark Chavez's and Mike Ransom's departure:Adema's second album, Unstable, was released by Arista in August 2003. It was produced by Howard Benson, whose credits also include producing albums with P.O.D., Hoobastank and Cold....

 and 13 year old blues-rock prodigy Shannon Curfman

Shannon Curfman

Shannon Marie Curfman is an American blues-rock guitarist and singer. She came to prominence in 1999, at the age of 14, with the release of her first album, Loud Guitars, Big Suspicions, which she recorded a year earlier.Curfman has toured with John Mellencamp, Buddy Guy, George Thorogood and The...

.

In early 2001, Pete left Arista and joined Epic Records

Epic Records

Epic Records is an American record label, owned by Sony Music Entertainment. Though it was originally conceived as a jazz imprint, it has since expanded to represent various genres. L.A...

 as Sr. Vice President, A&R. At Epic, he signed the rock band Revis

Revis

Revis is an American post-grunge band from Carbondale, Illinois. They released one major label album, Places for Breathing, in 2003 before disbanding in 2005...

 and singer-songwriter

Singer-songwriter

Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...

 Rachel Loy

Rachel Loy

Rachel Loy is an indie recording artist originally from Austin, Texas. Loy burst onto the scene while still studying at Berklee College of Music with the hit song, "The Same Man," released by Sony, which is an account of a friend serving in Iraq...

 and worked with artists ranging from Michael Jackson

Michael Jackson

Michael Joseph Jackson was an American recording artist, entertainer, and businessman. Referred to as the King of Pop, or by his initials MJ, Jackson is recognized as the most successful entertainer of all time by Guinness World Records...

 to Celine Dion

Celine Dion

Céline Marie Claudette Dion, , , is a Canadian singer. Born to a large family from Charlemagne, Quebec, Dion emerged as a teen star in the French-speaking world after her manager and future husband René Angélil mortgaged his home to finance her first record...

 to Keb Mo, whose album Keep It Simple (A&R’d by Pete) was honored as Best Contemporary Blues Album at the 2005 Grammy Awards.

Pete left Epic in late 2003 to start his own A&R consulting business, Pure Tone Music

Pure Tone Music

is an A&R consulting firm formed in late 2003 by major label A&R veteran Pete Ganbarg. Based in Westwood, New Jersey, Pure Tone works with its different major label and artist clients to help conceive, construct and oversee all creative aspects of the record making process.Since its inception,...

. Pure Tone’s label clients included Arista Records

Arista Records

Arista was an American record label. It was a wholly owned subsidiary of Sony Music Entertainment and operated under the RCA Music Group. The label was founded in 1974 by Clive Davis, who formerly worked for CBS Records...

, RCA Records

RCA Records

RCA Records is one of the flagship labels of Sony Music Entertainment. The RCA initials stand for Radio Corporation of America , which was the parent corporation from 1929 to 1985 and a partner from 1985 to 1986.RCA's Canadian unit is Sony's oldest label...

, SonyBMG Strategic, Nickelodeon

Nickelodeon (TV channel)

Nickelodeon, often simply called Nick and originally named Pinwheel, is an American children's channel owned by MTV Networks, a subsidiary of Viacom International. The channel is primarily aimed at children ages 7–17, with the exception of their weekday morning program block aimed at preschoolers...

, Virgin Records

Virgin Records

Virgin Records is a British record label founded by English entrepreneur Richard Branson, Simon Draper, and Nik Powell in 1972. The company grew to be a worldwide music phenomenon, with platinum performers such as Roy Orbison, Devo, Genesis, Keith Richards, Janet Jackson, Culture Club, Lenny...

, 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...

, Groove United and Burgundy Records

Burgundy Records

Burgundy Records is an American record label, and subsidiary of Sony Music Entertainment.- History :In January 2006 the Sony BMG Strategic Marketing Group announced the launch of its new record label, Burgundy Records. The new Sony BMG SMG imprint label, which was spearheaded by former Executive...

. Company projects included albums by Daughtry, Kelly Clarkson

Kelly Clarkson

Kelly Brianne Clarkson is an American pop rock singer-songwriter and actress. Clarkson came into prominence after becoming the winner of the inaugural season of the television series American Idol in 2002 and would later become the runner-up in the television special World Idol in 2003.In 2003,...

, David Cook

David Cook (singer)

David Roland Cook is an American rock singer-songwriter, who rose to fame after winning the seventh season of the reality television show American Idol...

, Halestorm

Halestorm

Halestorm is an American rock band from Red Lion, Pennsylvania. The group's self-titled debut album was released on April 28, 2009 through Atlantic Records.-History:...

, Michael Lington

Michael Lington

Michael Lington is a contemporary jazz saxophonist and recording artist.Lington plays a distinctive contemporary saxophone leaning strongly towards the pop side of jazz. He reaches a younger demographic than traditional jazz listeners and is emerging as a contemporary face of jazz.Born in...

, Train

Train (band)

Train is an American pop rock band from San Francisco, California, formed in 1994. The band currently comprises a core trio of Patrick Monahan , Jimmy Stafford and Scott Underwood ....

, 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...

, Kenny G

Kenny G

Kenneth Bruce Gorelick , better known by his stage name Kenny G, is an American, adult contemporary and smooth jazz saxophonist. His fourth album, Duotones, brought him breakthrough success in 1986...

, Aaron Neville

Aaron Neville

Aaron Neville is an American soul and R&B singer and musician. He has had four top-20 hits in the United States along with four platinum-certified albums...

, Taylor Hicks

Taylor Hicks

Taylor Reuben Hicks is an American singer who achieved fame in 2006, when he won the fifth season of American Idol. Hicks got his start as a professional musician in his late teens and performed around the Southeastern United States for well over the span of a decade, during which he also released...

, America

America (band)

America is an English-American folk rock band that originally included members Gerry Beckley, Dewey Bunnell and Dan Peek. The three members were barely out of their teens when they became a musical sensation during 1972, scoring #1 hits and winning a Grammy for best new musical artist...

, Donna Summer

Donna Summer

LaDonna Adrian Gaines , known by her stage name, Donna Summer, is an American singer/songwriter who gained prominence during the disco era of the 1970s. She has a mezzo-soprano vocal range. Summer is a five-time Grammy winner and was the first artist to have three consecutive double albums reach...

, Chaka Khan

Chaka Khan

Chaka Khan , frequently known as the Queen of Funk, is a 10-time Grammy Award winning American singer-songwriter who gained fame in the 1970s as the frontwoman and focal point of the funk band Rufus. While still a member of the group in 1978, Khan embarked on a successful solo career...

, Blake Lewis

Blake Lewis

Blake Colin Lewis is an American singer-songwriter and beatboxer who was the runner-up on the sixth season of American Idol. His major label debut album A.D.D. was released on December 4, 2007 through 19 Recordings/Arista Records. On October 30, 2007, his first single "Break Anotha" was released....

, Human Nature

Human Nature (band)

Human Nature are an Australian pop vocal group. The group was originally formed as a doo-wop band in 1989 while the current members were at school together in Sydney. So far, the band has had 17 Top 40 hits and five Top 10 hits in Australia since 1996 when their first album Telling Everybody was...

, and Dora The Explorer

Dora the Explorer

Dora the Explorer is an American animated television series created by Chris Gifford, Valerie Walsh, and Eric Weiner. Dora the Explorer became a regular series in 2000. The show is carried on the Nickelodeon cable television network, including the associated Nick Jr. channel. It aired on CBS until...

.

Pete joined Atlantic Records as Executive Vice President/Head of A&R in mid-October 2008.

Ganbarg is a graduate of Wesleyan University

Wesleyan University

Wesleyan University is a private liberal arts college founded in 1831 and located in Middletown, Connecticut. According to the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, Wesleyan is the only Baccalaureate College in the nation that emphasizes undergraduate instruction in the arts and...

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