85-580: David Lawrence Geffen (born February 21, 1943) is an American film producer, record executive, and media proprietor . In music, he co-founded Asylum Records (with Elliot Roberts ) in 1971 before founding Geffen Records in 1980, DGC Records in 1990, and co-founding DreamWorks Records (with Mo Ostin , Michael Ostin and Lenny Waronker ) in 1996. In film, he founded the Geffen Film Company in 1986 and co-founded DreamWorks SKG (with Steven Spielberg and Jeffrey Katzenberg ) in 1994. David Geffen
170-843: A Tony Award and a Golden Globe award. She was awarded the Latin Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award by the Latin Recording Academy in 2011 and also awarded the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award by the Recording Academy in 2016. She was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in April 2014. On July 28, 2014, she was awarded the National Medal of Arts and Humanities. In 2019, she received
255-511: A media executive , media mogul or media tycoon , is an entrepreneur who controls any means of public or commercial mass media , through the personal ownership or holding of a dominant position within a media conglomerate or enterprise. Those with significant control of a large media -based forum may also be called a business magnate . Since the advent of social media , influencers and entertainers who have garnered large followings on platforms have also been considered media proprietors. In
340-535: A "barely passing 66 average". He attended the University of Texas at Austin for a semester, and then Brooklyn College , before again dropping out. He then moved to Los Angeles, California to find his way in the entertainment business. He attended Santa Monica College (then known as Santa Monica City College) in Santa Monica, California , but soon left. Geffen attributed his challenges in school to dyslexia . After
425-402: A "woman of strong opinions (who) knew what she wanted to do (with her career)", he nonetheless agreed to become her full-time producer and remained in that role through the late 1980s. Asher attributed the long-term success of his working relationship with Ronstadt to the fact that he was the first person to manage and produce her with whom there was a solely professional relationship. "It must be
510-493: A $ 100 million deal with ABC. In 2008, Geffen left DreamWorks. In 1995, he donated $ 5 million towards UCLA 's Westwood Playhouse. The theater was renamed the Geffen Playhouse . According to Forbes ("The 400 Richest Americans of 2004") and other sources, Geffen has pledged to give whatever money he makes from now on to charity, although he has not specified which charities or the manner of his giving. In 2002, he announced
595-545: A $ 200 million unrestricted endowment for the School of Medicine at UCLA. The School thereafter was named David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA . On December 13, 2012, UCLA announced that Geffen had donated another $ 100 million in addition to his 2002 donation of $ 200 million, making him the largest individual benefactor for the UC system . The latest donation funds the full cost of attendance for up to 30 students per year, beginning with
680-457: A 1969 interview in Fusion magazine that it was difficult being a single "chick singer" with an all-male backup band. According to her, it was difficult to get a band of backing musicians because of their ego problem of being labeled sidemen for a female singer. In general when you fall in love with an artist and their music, the plan is a fairly simple one. .. get people to go and see them, and make
765-502: A 6/8 time signature , but it really is a very syncopated 6/8. And that's how I attack vocals. —Linda Ronstadt, on reconciling her musical instincts with rock 'n' roll. Ronstadt captured the sounds of country music and the rhythms of ranchera music – which she likened in 1968 to "Mexican bluegrass" – and redirected them into her rock 'n' roll and some of her pop music. Many of these rhythms and sounds were part of her Southwestern roots. Likewise,
850-870: A Broadway tune or a Gilbert and Sullivan song, then I can't do it today. It's as simple as that. All of my influences and my authenticity are a direct result of the music played in that Tucson living room. —Linda Ronstadt Early on, her singing style had been influenced by singers such as Lola Beltrán and Édith Piaf ; she has called their singing and rhythms "more like Greek music ... It's sort of like 6/8 time signature ... very hard driving and very intense." She also drew influence from country singer Hank Williams . She has said that "all girl singers" eventually "have to curtsy to Ella Fitzgerald and Billie Holiday ". Of Maria Callas , Ronstadt says, "There's no one in her league. That's it. Period. I learn more ... about singing rock n roll from listening to Maria Callas records than I ever would from listening to pop music for
935-588: A Republican-led super PAC that opposed the re-election of Donald Trump and the Republican Senators who supported Trump in the 2020 election. Until 2017, Geffen owned a Malibu compound on Carbon Beach . In 1983 Geffen received permits from the California Coastal Commission to build a Cape Cod-style compound over multiple beachfront lots in exchange for creating a public pathway to the beach. He failed to build that pathway, and in 2002, filed
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#17329056401841020-749: A Tucson studio under the name "the New Union Ramblers". Their repertoire included the music they grew up on – folk, country, bluegrass, and Mexican. But increasingly, Ronstadt wanted to make a union of folk music and rock 'n' roll, and in 1964, after a semester at the University of Arizona, the 18-year-old decided to move to Los Angeles. Ronstadt visited a friend from Tucson, Bobby Kimmel , in Los Angeles during Easter break from college in 1964, and later that year, shortly before her eighteenth birthday, decided to move there permanently to form
1105-467: A band with him. Kimmel had already begun co-writing folk-rock songs with guitarist-songwriter Kenny Edwards , and eventually the three of them were signed by Nik Venet to Capitol in the summer of 1966 as " the Stone Poneys ". The trio released three albums in a 15-month period in 1967–68: The Stone Poneys ; Evergreen, Volume 2 ; and Linda Ronstadt, Stone Poneys and Friends, Vol. III . The band
1190-563: A brief appearance as an extra in the 1961 film The Explosive Generation , Geffen began his entertainment career in 1964 as a mailroom clerk at the William Morris Agency (WMA), where he quickly became a talent agent . He learned about showbiz politics while reading the memos he delivered between agents. In order to obtain the talent agent job, he had to prove he was a college graduate. As he later reported in an interview, he claimed in his job application at WMA that he had graduated from
1275-451: A country sound and style, a fusion of country music and rock 'n' roll called country rock , started to exert its influence on mainstream pop music around the late 1960s, and it became an emerging movement Ronstadt helped form and commercialize. However, as early as 1970, Ronstadt was being criticized by music "purists" for her "brand of music" which crossed many genres. Country Western Stars magazine wrote in 1970 that "Rock people thought she
1360-534: A gift of $ 75 million to support the school's new facilities in the Manhattanville neighborhood, north of Columbia's main campus. In recognition of his donation, the East Building will be renamed David Geffen Hall when opened in 2022. Geffen was initially defensive about his sexuality. During the 1970s he dated Cher and spent 18 months in a relationship with her. They began their relationship in 1973, while Cher
1445-544: A lawsuit to block public access altogether. After a protracted three-year legal battle, Geffen reached a settlement with the Coastal Commission, granting the public a nine-foot-wide easement to the beach and reimbursing the state and non-profit groups $ 300,000 in legal fees. The pathway was opened on May 30, 2005, to national and international media coverage. The controversy has been called the "most famous Malibu battle" for beach access. The Coastal Commission later contacted
1530-559: A lot harder to have objective conversations about someone's career when it's someone you sleep with," he said. Asher executive-produced a tribute CD called Listen to Me: Buddy Holly , released on September 6, 2011, on which Ronstadt's 1976 version of Buddy Holly 's " That'll Be The Day " appears among newly recorded versions of Holly's songs by various artists. I grew up singing Mexican music, and that's based on indigenous Mexican rhythms. Mexican music also has an overlay of West African music, based on huapango drums, and it's kind of like
1615-756: A month of Sundays. ... She's the greatest chick singer ever." She admires Callas for her musicianship and her attempts to push 20th-century singing, particularly opera, back into the bel canto "natural style of singing". A self-described product of American radio of the 1950s and 1960s, Ronstadt is a fan of its eclectic and diverse music programming. At age 14, Ronstadt formed a folk trio with her brother Peter and sister Gretchen. The group played coffeehouses, fraternity houses, and other small venues, billing themselves as "the Union City Ramblers" and "the Three Ronstadts", and they even recorded themselves at
1700-470: A new label, but at the time Lennon stated that Geffen was the only one with enough confidence in him to agree to a deal without hearing the record first. Yoko Ono , Lennon's wife and partner, stated that Geffen was the only label head to pay attention to her. In December 1980, Lennon was murdered and Double Fantasy became a massive seller. Over the years Geffen Records/DGC has released recordings by artists including Olivia Newton-John , Asia , Siouxsie and
1785-831: A record that you think properly presents their music to the public and some of which you can get on the radio. — Peter Asher , on collaborating with Ronstadt Ronstadt began her fourth solo album, Don't Cry Now , in 1973, with Boylan (who had negotiated her contract with Asylum Records ) and John David "JD" Souther producing most of the album's tracks. But needing someone willing to work with her as an equal, Ronstadt asked Peter Asher , who came highly recommended to her by James Taylor 's sister Kate Taylor , to help produce two of them: "Sail Away" and "I Believe in You". The album featured Ronstadt's first country hit, " Silver Threads and Golden Needles ", which she had first recorded on Hand Sown ... Home Grown – this time hitting
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#17329056401841870-486: A result of a degenerative condition initially diagnosed as Parkinson's disease but later determined to be progressive supranuclear palsy . Since that time Ronstadt has continued to make public appearances, going on a number of public speaking tours in the 2010s. She published an autobiography, Simple Dreams: A Musical Memoir , in September 2013. A documentary based on her memoirs, Linda Ronstadt: The Sound of My Voice ,
1955-653: A rock-and-roll artist. This venture paid off, and Ronstadt remained one of the music industry's best-selling acts throughout the 1980s, with multi-platinum-selling albums such as Mad Love ; What's New ; Canciones de Mi Padre ; and Cry Like a Rainstorm, Howl Like the Wind . She continued to tour, collaborate, and record celebrated albums, such as Winter Light and Hummin' to Myself , until her retirement in 2011. Most of Ronstadt's albums are certified gold, platinum, or multi-platinum. Having sold in excess of 100 million records worldwide and setting records as one of
2040-470: A star jointly with Dolly Parton and Emmylou Harris on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for their work as the group Trio . Ronstadt was among five honorees who received the 2019 Kennedy Center Honors for lifetime artistic achievements. Ronstadt has released 24 studio albums and 15 compilation or greatest hits albums. She charted 38 US Billboard Hot 100 singles. Twenty-one of those singles reached
2125-546: A talent agent for Ashley-Famous Agency . In 1969, he was executive vice president and talent agent for Creative Management Associates . At this time he also started working as a personal manager and was immediately successful with Laura Nyro and Crosby, Stills and Nash . When Geffen was engaged in the process of looking for a record deal for young Jackson Browne , Atlantic Records founder Ahmet Ertegun suggested that Geffen start his own record label. Geffen co-founded Asylum Records in 1971 with Elliot Roberts after Geffen
2210-428: A unit merger with sister label, Capitol Records (which they acquired from now-defunct EMI in 2012). As a result, in today's time, Geffen, Interscope and Capitol now operate autonomously under a newly built music label unit, Interscope Capitol Labels Group. Despite the fact that Geffen founded and owned Geffen Records, former president Eddie Rosenblatt, who died on July 17, 2024 (aged 89), was acknowledged to have been
2295-406: Is "blessed with arguably the most sterling set of pipes of her generation". Ronstadt reduced her activity after 2000 when she felt her singing voice deteriorating. She released her final solo album in 2004 and her final collaborative album in 2006, and performed her final live concert in 2009. She announced her retirement in 2011 and revealed shortly afterward that she is no longer able to sing, as
2380-581: Is an American singer who has performed and recorded in diverse genres including rock, country, light opera, the Great American Songbook , and Latin music . Ronstadt has earned 11 Grammy Awards , three American Music Awards , two Academy of Country Music awards, an Emmy Award , and an ALMA Award . Many of her albums have been certified gold, platinum or multiplatinum in the United States and internationally. She has also earned nominations for
2465-502: Is the founder of London-based Fintech Advisory Ltd, a financial house that specializes in buying Third World debt . The sale made No. 5, 1948 the most expensive painting ever sold (outstripping the $ 134 million paid in October 2006 for Gustav Klimt 's portrait Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I , purchased by cosmetics heir Ronald Lauder ). Wealth-X reported in June 2013 that Geffen owns
2550-613: Is widely known for their hit single " Different Drum " (written by Michael Nesmith prior to his joining the Monkees ), which reached number 13 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart as well as number 12 in Cashbox magazine. Nearly 50 years later, the song remains one of Ronstadt's most popular recordings. Still contractually obligated to Capitol Records, Ronstadt released her first solo album, Hand Sown ... Home Grown , in 1969. It has been called
2635-697: The Big Sur Folk Festival . Another backing band included Don Henley , Glenn Frey , Bernie Leadon , and Randy Meisner , who went on to form the Eagles . They toured with her for a short period in 1971 and played on Linda Ronstadt , her eponymous third album, from which a failed single, Ronstadt's version of Browne's " Rock Me on the Water ", was drawn. At this stage, Ronstadt began working with producer and boyfriend John Boylan . She said, "As soon as I started working with John Boylan, I started co-producing myself. I
David Geffen - Misplaced Pages Continue
2720-601: The COVID-19 pandemic , Geffen drew backlash for posting on Instagram that he and a 45-member crew were self-isolating in the Grenadines on the Rising Sun . David Geffen has been ranked the most polluting individual American and second most polluting individual in the world, largely due to his yachts. Geffen is a keen collector of American artists' work, including Jackson Pollock , Mark Rothko and Willem de Kooning . According to
2805-553: The Southwest (at that time a part of Mexico) in the 1840s from Hanover , Germany. He married Margarita Redondo y Vásquez, a Mexican citizen and eventually settled in Tucson. In 1991, the City of Tucson opened its central transit terminal on March 16 and dedicated it to Linda's grandfather, Federico José María Ronstadt , a local pioneer businessman; he was a wagon maker whose early contribution to
2890-579: The UCLA medical school , which is named after him. In June 2021, Geffen gave $ 150 million to the Yale School of Drama . This gift allowed the drama school to eliminate tuition for all students enrolled in master’s, doctoral, and certificate programs. The school was renamed the David Geffen School of Drama at Yale University. In September 2021, Columbia Business School announced that David Geffen had made
2975-437: The University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA). Because he worked in the mailroom, Geffen was able to intercept a letter from UCLA to WMA which stated that he had not graduated from UCLA. He modified the letter to show that he had attended and graduated, then submitted it to WMA. His colleagues in the mailroom included Elliot Roberts , who later became Geffen's partner at Asylum Records . In 1968, Geffen left WMA and became
3060-496: The 1970s Geffen left Asylum, which was later acquired by Atlantic's parent company, Warner Communications , and merged with Elektra Records in 1972 to become Elektra/Asylum Records. The label was revived in 2004 as an urban music operation, signing hip-hop artists such as Waka Flocka Flame, Cam’ron, Gucci Mane, Paul Wall, Mike Jones and Bun B. Geffen remained in charge until December 1975, when he went to work as vice chairman of Warner Bros. film studios. He then retired and in 1977
3145-756: The Banshees , Elton John , Cher , Sonic Youth , Aerosmith , Whitesnake , XTC , Peter Gabriel , Weezer , Lone Justice , Blink-182 , Guns N' Roses , Nirvana , the Simpsons , Lifehouse , Tyketto , Pat Metheny , Sloan , the Stone Roses and Neil Young . The label had been distributed by Warner Bros. Records since its inception, but in 1990 the label was sold to MCA Records with Geffen receiving shares in MCA worth $ 550 million. A year later, Matsushita Electric acquired MCA and paid Geffen $ 670 million. Geffen continued to run
3230-621: The Class of 2017. In 2015, Geffen pledged $ 100 million toward renovation of what was then called the Avery Fisher Hall, part of Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York. His gift, which amounted to about 20% of the hall's renovation costs, gave him naming rights in perpetuity over the building, now known as David Geffen Hall . In December 2020, Geffen pledged to donate $ 46 million to
3315-530: The Country Top 20. With the release of Don't Cry Now , Ronstadt took on her biggest gig to date as the opening act on Neil Young's Time Fades Away tour, playing for larger crowds than ever before. Backstage at a concert in Texas, Chris Hillman introduced her to Emmylou Harris, telling them, "You two could be good friends," which soon occurred, resulting in frequent collaborations over the following years. Meanwhile,
3400-527: The November 2008 election . Proposition 8 would have amended California's Constitution to ban same-sex marriage . California's voters passed Proposition 8 by a margin of 52.24% to 47.76%. Decisions in federal courts ultimately invalidated California's prohibition of same-sex marriage. See 2008 California Proposition 8 § Legal challenges . Geffen, among other wealthy Democrats, donated to the Lincoln Project ,
3485-594: The US Billboard albums chart. Ronstadt has lent her voice to over 120 albums, collaborating with artists in many genres, including Dolly Parton, Emmylou Harris, Bette Midler , Billy Eckstine , Frank Zappa , Carla Bley ( Escalator Over the Hill ), Rosemary Clooney , Flaco Jiménez , Philip Glass , Warren Zevon , Gram Parsons , Neil Young , Paul Simon , Earl Scruggs , Johnny Cash , and Nelson Riddle . Christopher Loudon, of Jazz Times , wrote in 2004 that Ronstadt
David Geffen - Misplaced Pages Continue
3570-413: The United States, newspaper proprietors first became prominent in the 19th century with the development of mass circulation newspapers. In the 20th century, proprietorship expanded to include ownership of radio and television networks, as well as film studios, publishing houses, online platforms, and other forms of multimedia companies. Reflecting this, the term "press baron" was replaced by "media baron" and
3655-470: The album became Ronstadt's most successful up to that time, selling 300,000 copies by the end of 1974. Asher turned out to be more collaborative, and more on the same page with her musically, than any producer she had worked with previously. Ronstadt's professional relationship with Asher allowed her to take command and effectively delegate responsibilities in the recording studio. Although hesitant at first to work with her because of her reputation for being
3740-519: The allegations and claimed it was "simply a lucky bet". In 2010, Geffen was a recipient of Ahmet Ertegun Award from the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame . In 2011, Geffen was awarded with the President's Merit Award for "indelible contributions to the music industry" from the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences at the 53rd Grammy Awards . While Geffen has produced music, he has also been
3825-610: The chief curator at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles, Paul Schimmel : "There's no collection that has a better representation of post-war American art than David Geffen's." In October 2006, Geffen sold two paintings by Jasper Johns and a De Kooning from his collection for a combined sum of $ 143.5 million. On November 3, 2006, The New York Times reported that Geffen had sold Pollock 's 1948 painting No. 5, 1948 from his collection for $ 140 million (£73.35 million) to Mexican financier David Martinez . Martinez
3910-466: The city's mobility included six mule-drawn streetcars, delivered in 1903–04. Ronstadt's mother Ruth Mary, of German, English, and Dutch ancestry, was raised in Flint, Michigan . Ruth Mary's father, Lloyd Groff Copeman , a prolific inventor and holder of nearly 700 patents, invented an early form of the electric toaster, many refrigerator devices, the grease gun, the first electric stove, and an early form of
3995-415: The entertainment industry. In 1980, he founded his eponymous record label and recruited Warner Bros. Records executive Ed Rosenblatt as president. The Geffen label's meteoric rise to prominence within the year proved a bittersweet success. Geffen's first artist to sign on was Donna Summer , who was anxious to leave Casablanca / PolyGram Records . Geffen shortly after released her The Wanderer album,
4080-534: The first alternative country record by a female recording artist. During this same period, she contributed to the Music from Free Creek "super session" project. Ronstadt provided the vocals for some commercials during this period, including one for Remington electric razors, in which a multitracked Ronstadt and Frank Zappa claimed that the electric razor "cleans you, thrills you ... may even keep you from getting busted". Ronstadt's second solo album, Silk Purse ,
4165-797: The first "arena-class rock diva" with "hugely anticipated tours" she began her solo career touring the North American concert circuit. Being on the road took its toll both emotionally and professionally. In a 1976 Rolling Stone interview with Cameron Crowe , Ronstadt said, "they haven't invented a word for that loneliness that everybody goes through on the road. The world is tearing by you, real fast, and all these people are looking at you. ... People see me in my 'girl-singer' suit." In 1974 she told Peter Knobler in Crawdaddy , "People are always taking advantage of you; everybody that's interested in you has got an angle." There were few "girl singers" on
4250-462: The label before leaving Geffen Records in 1995. In late 1996 after being sold to Seagram , MCA reincorporated into its subsidiary name, Universal Studios, Inc. , while MCA Music Entertainment was renamed Universal Music Group . The Geffen label was restructured under the recently renamed company. On December 10, 1998, Seagram acquired PolyGram for $ 10.6 billion; the latter's music division was merged into UMG, thus, on New Year's Day 1999, Geffen Records
4335-576: The lead singer of a folk-rock trio, the Stone Poneys . Later, as a solo artist, she released Hand Sown ... Home Grown in 1969, which has been described as the first alternative country record by a female recording artist. Although fame eluded her during these years, Ronstadt actively toured with the Doors , Neil Young, Jackson Browne, and others, appeared numerous times on television shows, and began to contribute her singing to albums by other artists. With
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#17329056401844420-417: The lead single of which reached No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 , and the album certified gold. Casablanca countered by releasing more singles off her 1979 Bad Girls album such as the song Walk Away and a similarly named hits compilation to compete, but by then New Wave sound was dominating the airwaves. The November 1980 release of John Lennon 's album Double Fantasy seems an impressive feat for
4505-630: The microwave oven. His flexible rubber ice cube tray earned him millions of dollars in royalties. Everybody has their own level of doing their music. ... Mine just happened to resonate over the years, in one way and another, with a significant enough number of people so that I could do it professionally. —Linda Ronstadt Establishing her professional career in the mid-1960s at the forefront of California's emerging folk rock and country rock movements – genres which defined post-1960s rock music – Ronstadt joined forces with Bobby Kimmel and Kenny Edwards and became
4590-417: The most valuable private art collection in the world, and estimated its worth at $ 1.1B at the time. In February 2016, Bloomberg News reported that Geffen had sold De Kooning's 1955 oil painting, Interchange , for $ 300 million, and Pollock's 1948 painting, Number 17A , for $ 200 million, both to hedge fund billionaire Ken Griffin . Geffen is a donor to Democratic Party candidates and organizations, and
4675-416: The multi-format single " Long, Long Time ", and earned her first Grammy nomination (for Best Contemporary Vocal Performance/Female). Judy Henske , who was the then reigning queen of folk music, said to me at The Troubadour , "Honey, in this town there are four sexes. Men, women, homosexuals, and girl singers." —Linda Ronstadt Soon after she went solo in the late 1960s, one of her first backing bands
4760-639: The one who led Geffen Records during its glory years in the 1980s and 1990s. Through the Geffen Film Company , Geffen produced dark-tinged comedies such as the remake of Little Shop of Horrors (1986), Risky Business (1983) and Beetlejuice (1988). Geffen was the Broadway backer for the musicals Dreamgirls and Cats . In 1994, Geffen co-founded the DreamWorks SKG studio with Steven Spielberg and Jeffrey Katzenberg . In 1995, DreamWorks signed
4845-474: The radio by the age of 10. She credits her mother for her appreciation of Gilbert and Sullivan and her father for introducing her to the traditional pop and Great American Songbook repertoire that she would, in turn, help reintroduce to an entire generation. If I didn't hear it on the radio, or if my dad wasn't playing it on the piano, or if my brother wasn't playing it on the guitar or singing it in his boys' choir, or my mother and sister weren't practicing
4930-510: The release of chart-topping albums such as Heart Like a Wheel , Simple Dreams , and Living in the USA , Ronstadt became the first female "arena class" rock star. She set records as one of the top-grossing concert artists of the decade. Referred to as the "First Lady of Rock" and the "Queen of Rock", Ronstadt was voted the Top Female Pop Singer of the 1970s. Her rock-and-roll image
5015-471: The richest people in the entertainment industry. In February 2020, Geffen sold his Beverly Hills estate to Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos for $ 165 million, a price believed to be the highest ever paid for a home in a California real estate transaction. In June 2020, Geffen purchased Casey Wasserman 's Beverly Hills estate for $ 68 million. In 2007, Geffen bought a half-share in friend Larry Ellison 's luxury yacht Rising Sun , then at 138 metres (453 ft)
5100-489: The rock circuit at the time, and they were relegated to "groupie level when in a crowd of a bunch of rock and roll guys", a status Ronstadt avoided. Relating to men on a professional level as fellow musicians led to competition, insecurity, bad romances, and a series of boyfriend-managers. At the time, she admired singers like Maria Muldaur for not sacrificing their femininity but says she felt enormous self-imposed pressure to compete with "the boys" at every level. She noted in
5185-730: The sixth largest motor yacht in the world. After Ellison ordered a new and more compact 91 metres (299 ft) yacht, he sold his remaining half share in Rising Sun to Geffen in 2010. In 2009, Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich agreed to a divorce settlement with his wife Irina that resulted in her taking ownership of the 115-metre (377 ft) yacht Pelorus . Approached on Geffen's behalf by broker Merle Wood, Geffen bought Pelorus in 2011 for $ 300 million. Later that year Geffen sold Pelorus to Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan for €214 million, way below its former price. During
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#17329056401845270-683: The state transportation department without receiving a response to ask if the curb cuts that prevented public parking were valid, amid rumors that Geffen had installed four fake garage doors. On March 9, 2022, The Wall Street Journal reported that Geffen, Barry Diller and Diller's stepson, Alex Von Furstenberg , were being investigated by the Securities and Exchange Commission and the United States Department of Justice for insider trading of options on Activision Blizzard just three days before Microsoft's announced acquisition. Diller denied
5355-481: The stylistic and musical choices she later made in her career. Growing up, she listened to many types of music, including Mexican music , which was sung by her entire family and was a staple in her childhood. Ronstadt has remarked that all the styles she has recorded on her own records – rock and roll, rhythm and blues, gospel, opera, country, choral, and mariachi – are music she heard her family sing in their living room or heard played on
5440-509: The subject of several songs, documentaries and books. Joni Mitchell and Geffen were close friends and, in the early 1970s, made a trip to Paris with Robbie Robertson and Robertson's wife, Dominique. As a result of that trip, Mitchell wrote " Free Man in Paris " about Geffen. Geffen can be heard on Barbra Streisand 's The Broadway Album , released in 1985. The track " Putting It Together " features Geffen, Sydney Pollack , and Ken Sylk portraying
5525-546: The term "media mogul" (or "Hollywood mogul" when applied to people specifically working in the American film industry ) was popularized in colloquial English. Media proprietors are likely to claim that their publications are editorially independent and unbiased, but this is often questioned. Social networking services such as Facebook are sometimes considered media companies due to their widespread influence. Linda Ronstadt Linda Maria Ronstadt (born July 15, 1946)
5610-400: The time I was 10. It just is my rule that I don't break because ... I can't do it authentically ... I really think that you're just hard-wiring (synapses) in your brain up until the age of maybe 12 or 10, and there are certain things you can't learn in an authentic way after that. —Linda Ronstadt Ronstadt's early family life was filled with music and tradition, which influenced
5695-665: The time, was under leadership of Jimmy Iovine . In 2003, Universal dissolved MCA Records and DreamWorks Records ; MCA president Jay Boberg had resigned the prior spring while UMG (in October) acquired the latter label from Geffen's film label, DreamWorks Pictures , with rosters from both labels transitioning to Geffen Records. The acquisitions and later dissolutions of both imprints caused 120 staff layoffs, while some remained under Geffen; few went to work for its parent, Interscope. In February 2024, Universal Music Group reorganized Geffen Records and its parent label, Interscope Records, through
5780-522: The top 40, ten reached the top 10, and one reached number one (" You're No Good "). Ronstadt also charted in the UK; two of her duets, " Somewhere Out There " with James Ingram and " Don't Know Much " with Aaron Neville , peaked at numbers 8 and 2 respectively, and the single " Blue Bayou " reached number 35 on the UK Singles Chart . She has charted 36 albums, ten top-10 albums, and three number one albums on
5865-517: The top-grossing concert performers for over a decade, Ronstadt was the most successful female singer of the 1970s and stands as one of the most successful female recording artists in U.S. history. She opened many doors for women in rock and roll and other musical genres by championing songwriters and musicians, pioneering her chart success onto the concert circuit, and being in the vanguard of many musical movements. I don't record (any type of genre of music) that I didn't hear in my family's living room by
5950-852: The voices of record company executives talking to Streisand. Geffen is the subject of several books, most recently The Operator: David Geffen Builds, Buys, and Sells the New Hollywood (2001) by Tom King, who initially had Geffen's cooperation, but later did not. An earlier biography was The Rise and Rise of David Geffen (1997) by Stephen Singular. He is also a featured character in Mailroom: Hollywood History From The Bottom Up by David Rensen, in Mansion On The Hill by Fred Goodman, in Hotel California by Barney Hoskyns, and in several books about Michael Ovitz . He
6035-672: Was always a part of my productions. But I always needed a producer who would carry out my whims." Also in 1971, Ronstadt began talking with David Geffen about moving from Capitol Records to Geffen's Asylum Records label. In 1975, Ronstadt performed shows with Jackson Browne, the Eagles, and Toots and the Maytals . In these shows she would sing lead vocal on numerous songs including the Eagles' " Desperado " while singing background and playing tambourine and acoustic guitar on others. Several years before Ronstadt became what author Gerri Hirshey called
6120-488: Was an early financial supporter of President Bill Clinton . In 2001, he had a quarrel with the former president over Clinton's decision not to pardon Leonard Peltier , on whose behalf he had lobbied the President. Geffen was an early supporter of Barack Obama ’s presidential campaign and raised $ 1.3 million for Obama in a Beverly Hills fundraiser. Along with other Hollywood figures including Steven Spielberg and Brad Pitt , Geffen donated to oppose Proposition 8 in
6205-503: Was as famous as her music; she appeared six times on the cover of Rolling Stone and on the covers of Newsweek and Time . In the 1980s, Ronstadt performed on Broadway and received a Tony nomination for her performance in The Pirates of Penzance , teamed with the composer Philip Glass , recorded traditional music, and collaborated with the conductor Nelson Riddle, an event at that time viewed as an original and unorthodox move for
6290-815: Was born in Borough Park, Brooklyn , New York, to Abraham Geffen and Batya Volovskaya (1909–1988). Geffen's mother owned a clothing store in Borough Park called Chic Corsets by Geffen. Both of his parents were Jewish immigrants who met in British Mandatory Palestine and then moved to the United States . His older brother Mitchell (born Mischa) Geffen (1933–2006) was an attorney who attended UCLA Law School and later settled in Encino, California . Geffen graduated from Brooklyn's New Utrecht High School in 1960 with
6375-573: Was featured in Family Circle magazine in 1953. Ronstadt's father came from a pioneering Arizona ranching family and was of Mexican descent with a German male ancestor. The family's influence on and contributions to Arizona's history, including wagon making, commerce, pharmacies, and music, are documented in the library of the University of Arizona . Her great-grandfather, the engineer Friedrich August Ronstadt (who went by Federico Augusto Ronstadt), immigrated first to Sonora, Mexico , and later to
6460-484: Was from this moment that Geffen became a media celebrity. Eventually, Cher left him for Gregg Allman . Geffen eventually came out as gay in 1992. In May 2007, Out magazine ranked Geffen first in its list of the 50 "Most Powerful Gay Men and Women in America". Geffen reportedly married former go-go dancer Donovan Michaels in 2023. As of October 2023, Geffen has an estimated net worth of $ 9.1 billion, making him one of
6545-463: Was informed (erroneously) that he had cancer. During his retirement period he spent a short time (the fall of 1978 and spring of 1979) teaching a noncredit seminar on the music industry and arts management at Yale University , where he featured classroom guests Jackson Browne and Paul Simon . In 1980 a new medical diagnosis revealed the error in the original diagnosis and Geffen was given a clean bill of health, whereupon he decided to return to working in
6630-441: Was merged with its sister label, Interscope Records , and PolyGram subsidiary, A&M Records , to become Interscope Geffen A&M Records . Its division, DGC Records, would be absorbed into Geffen soon after, but Beck and Sonic Youth did not fulfill their contracts with the sublabel until 2003. After years of low sales and profits, Geffen laid off or vacated 110 workers, but later recovered under Interscope's supervision, which at
6715-548: Was released in 2019. Linda Maria Ronstadt was born in Tucson, Arizona on July 15, 1946, the third of four children of Gilbert Ronstadt (1911–1995), a prosperous machinery merchant who ran the F. Ronstadt Co., and Ruth Mary (née Copeman) Ronstadt (1914–1982), a homemaker. Ronstadt had a Roman Catholic upbringing and was raised on the family's 10-acre (4 ha) ranch with her siblings Peter (who served as Tucson's chief of police from 1981 to 1991), Michael, and Gretchen. The family
6800-606: Was released in March 1970. Recorded entirely in Nashville, it was produced by Elliot Mazer , whom Ronstadt chose on the advice of Janis Joplin , who had worked with her on the Cheap Thrills album. The Silk Purse album cover showed Ronstadt in a muddy pigpen, while the back and inside cover depicted her onstage wearing bright red. Ronstadt has stated that she was not pleased with the album, although it provided her with her first solo hit,
6885-486: Was still married to Sonny Bono , but their marriage was already ending. Geffen helped Cher gain independence in her career, since she was dependent on Sonny for some business contracts that Geffen would later call "slave labor." In early 1974, Cher's divorce became public and was heavily covered by the media, and it was at this time that Cher and Geffen made their first appearance together, at the Grammy Awards ceremony. It
6970-569: Was the pioneering country-rock band Swampwater , which combined Cajun and swamp rock elements in their music. Its members included Cajun fiddler Gib Guilbeau and John Beland , who later joined the Flying Burrito Brothers , as well as Stan Pratt, Thad Maxwell, and Eric White, brother of Clarence White of the Byrds . Swampwater went on to back Ronstadt during TV appearances on The Johnny Cash Show and The Mike Douglas Show , and at
7055-481: Was the subject of an American Masters PBS television documentary titled Inventing David Geffen . The documentary was directed by Susan Lacy and was first broadcast on 20 November 2012. In the first series of The West Wing , the actor Bob Balaban played a character reported to be a thinly-veiled version of Geffen, as he pressured a sitting President to come out more strongly for Gay rights in America . Media proprietor A media proprietor , also called
7140-816: Was too gentle, folk people thought she was too pop, and pop people didn't quite understand where she was at, but Country people really loved Linda." She never categorized herself and stuck to her genre-crossing brand of music. Ronstadt is considered an "interpreter of her times", and has earned praise for her courage to put her "stamp" on many of her songs. Ronstadt herself has indicated that some of her 1970s hits were recorded under considerable pressure to create commercially successful recordings, and that she prefers many of her songs that were non-hit album tracks. An infrequent songwriter, Ronstadt co-composed only three songs over her long career. Ronstadt's natural vocal range spans several octaves from contralto to soprano , and occasionally she will showcase this entire range within
7225-566: Was unable to get Jackson Browne a record deal anywhere else. The name Asylum was chosen because of the owners' reputations for signing artists who would struggle to find a record company that would contract with them. The label was distributed by Atlantic Records at this time. Asylum became a generator of the Southern California folk-rock sound and signed artists such as Eagles , Joni Mitchell , Bob Dylan , Tom Waits , Linda Ronstadt , Warren Zevon , Judee Sill , and JD Souther . Later in
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