For the past 10 years, most of my time in Miami, I have had both the honor and the pleasure of working for an amazing music man, Henry Stone at Henry Stone Music USA, Inc.. When I joined the company, he was in his early 80s, having gone blind a few years earlier. My job was to help them aggregate and digitize the historic releases from his labels from the 50s, 60s, 70s, and up into the 80s. In my opinion, no one has had such a profound impact on the music scene in Miami. Over the course of 60+ years, his labels released many thousands of tracks recorded right here in the Magic City. His labels contributed more to the distribution of that Caribbean Miami sound than any other, especially in the early days, and had an influence on music world-wide. Despite his success, he never parlayed that into being a mega-rich oligarch. He never moved off to LA or New York. He stayed right here in Miami, bringing that sound to the world. He shared that wealth and gave so many people a chance that otherwise would not have had it. I never knew him in his heyday, but I did know his music. However, knowing him for the last 10 years of his life was very rewarding. I got to hear his stories, stories of the history of the music, over and over, until I could recite many of them better than he. I learned about the music business, and most importantly its history, direct from the source. He lived through the height of the 45, through the dominance of the album, to the debut of the CD and on into the time of digital downloads. He really saw it all. Very few people had his perspective, and he was on top of it right up to the end. He passed away last night, quietly. He never lost his sharp mind or wit, which was amazing. He was a great man, and all Miamians, owe him gratitude for all of the fantastic musicians he produced out of our city. It was unfortunate he did not live to see the completion of his biographical movie, but it will be released in a few months, and we are very excited about honoring his work and his life. Thank you to the Miami New Times for this great obituary article honoring the life of this man who made his way up from being an orphan in the Bronx to being a pillar in the music business. blogs.miaminewtimes/crossfade/2014/08/rip_henry_stone_king_of_independent_records_dead_at_93.php
Posted on: Fri, 08 Aug 2014 19:34:43 +0000
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