Goddard Lieberson | |
|---|---|
 Goddard circa 1950 | |
| Born | (1911-04-05)April 5, 1911 Hanley, Staffordshire, England, UK |
| Died | May 29, 1977(1977-05-29) (aged 66) New York City, U.S. |
| Years active | 1949–1977 |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 2, includingPeter Lieberson |
Goddard Lieberson (April 5, 1911 – May 29, 1977) was the president ofColumbia Records from 1956 to 1971, and again from 1973 to 1975.[1] He became president of theRecording Industry Association of America in 1964.[2] He was also a composer, and studied withGeorge Frederick McKay, at theUniversity of Washington,Seattle. He marriedVera Zorina in 1946 and with her had 2 children.
Lieberson was born to a Jewish family[3] on April 5, 1911, inHanley inStaffordshire; his father was a manufacturer of rubber shoe heels who took his family to the United States when Lieberson was a child.[4] He studied classical piano and composition at theEastman School of Music in the 1930s and after graduating he wrote classical concert reviews under the pseudonym "Johann Sebastian".[5] He was married to actress/dancerVera Zorina from 1946 until his death in 1977. They had two sons:Peter Lieberson, a composer, and Jonathan Lieberson. Lieberson was noted for his personal elegance, taste and style, and was renowned as a wit,bon vivant and international traveller, whose circle of friends and acquaintances includedJacqueline Kennedy Onassis,Richard Rodgers,W. Somerset Maugham,Noël Coward andJohn Gielgud.[5]
Lieberson began working for the CBS group of labels in 1938 – the same year the company was acquired by theCBS broadcasting empire – and he began his career at Columbia as an A&R Manager. Before becoming president of the company, Lieberson was responsible for Columbia's introduction of thelong-playing record.[6] The LP was particularly well-suited to Columbia's long-established classical repertoire, as recorded by thePhiladelphia Orchestra underEugene Ormandy and theNew York Philharmonic Orchestra conducted byArtur Rodziński,Dimitri Mitropoulos, andLeonard Bernstein. Lieberson was also a lifelong friend of musician, recording artist, TV personality and Columbia A&R manager/producerMitch Miller, having met Miller when the two were studying music at theEastman School of Music in the 1930s[7]
He was promoted to president ofColumbia Records from 1956 to 1971 and again from 1973 to 1975. In 1957,Temple University awarded him an honorary Doctor of Music degree.[8] In 1966, in a reorganization,Columbia Records became subsidiary to the newly formed CBS/Columbia Group.[9] In 1967, Lieberson promotedClive Davis to president ofColumbia Records.
In 1977, Lieberson co-wrote and produced theCBS-TV specialThey Said it with Music: From Yankee Doodle to Ragtime, a salute to American songwriters throughout the ages, starringBernadette Peters,[10]Tony Randall,Jason Robards,[11]Jean Stapleton[12] andFlip Wilson,[13][14] with appearances byThurl Ravenscroft andJimmy Griffin, a founding member of the soft-rock bandBread.[15] The show aired July 4,[16] thirty-seven days after Lieberson died of cancer inNew York City on May 29, 1977, aged 66.[6]
| Preceded by | President ofColumbia Records/CBS Records 1956 to 1971 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | President ofRIAA 1964 to 1977 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | President ofCBS Records 1973 to 1975 | Succeeded by |
Goddard Lieberson, head of Columbia Records, was elected president of the Record Industry Association of America yesterday. ...
Goddard Lieberson, president of Columbia Records for 19 years, who introduced long-playing records to the American public, died of cancer early yesterday at his home in Manhattan. He was 66 years old.
Goddard Lieberson, one of the more prominent figures in the phonograph recording industry, has been named president of the C.B.S./Columbia Group, a new unit of the Columbia Broadcasting System for expanded activities in education and music. The unit is part of the company's long range plans to achieve greater diversification outside the field of broadcasting.
