Michael Klenfner

Michael Klenfner, a formidable figure in the music industry, passed away on July 14th. He was 62.

Mr. Klenfner was perhaps best known for plucking John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd's Blues Brothers act from "Saturday Night Live" and turning the pair into a touring and recording act when he was at Atlantic Records in the late 1970s. When Dan and John wrote the script for the Blues Brothers movie, they specifically wrote a part for Michael, as the executive "from Clarion Records" who used to work in the theatre as a bouncer and gave the the boys the $10k they needed to save the nuns.

The part was based somewhat in fact. Mr. Klenfner started as an outside security man at the Fillmore East, later working his way up to stage manager. He remained a lifelong close friend of Bill Graham's. He was soon hired away in the mid 70s by WNEW-FM program director Scott Muni to be that station's music director. He also did a weekend DJ shift, introducing some of his West Coast favorites including the Jefferson Airplane, Quicksilver Messenger Service, the Beach Boys and the Grateful Dead.

Soon Clive Davis, then at Columbia Records, hired Klenfner as the label's first AOR (Album Oriented Rock) promotion man in about 1974, the year we married. He worked on and/or helped launch Bruce Springsteen, Santana, Chicago and many others. When Davis left Columbia and started Arista Records, Klenfner was his first hire as Senior Vice President, where he helped break the Bay City Rollers and the Outlaws.

Klenfner was quickly lured away from Arista by the legendary Ahmet Ertegun to be Executive Vice President at Atlantic Records. It was there he came up with the Blues Brothers idea, and was instrumental in getting hits for numerous acts including AC/DC, Laura Branigan, Foreigner, Genesis, Yes, Phil Collins.

After leaving Atlantic around 1980, he started a consulting firm called Brighton Records (named for his home in Brighton Beach, Brooklyn) and worked for virtually every major label as a creative consultant to the CEOs. Among the hits he helped launch was Cher's "Believe," the song that would start her comeback.

Klenfner also worked with the World Wrestling Entertainment (one of his personal passions) and was a staunch supporter of the T.J. Martell Foundation, the main charity of the record industry, and NARAS, the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. He is survived by his wife, Carol, and two daughters, Kate and Bryn.