Jerry Moss, Co-Founder of A&M Records, Dead at 88

Photo: Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic, Inc

Jerry Moss, the eponymous M of A&M records, died Wednesday, August 16. He was 88. According to the Associated Press, Moss died in his Bel Air home. His death was confirmed in a statement from his widow, Tina. “They truly don’t make them like him anymore and we will miss conversations with him about everything under the sun,” it read, “the twinkle in his eyes as he approached every moment ready for the next adventure.”

Moss launched A&M records with pal Herb Alpert in 1962. The first intended single was Alpert’s “Tell it to the Birds,” which Rolling Stone says cost $2000 to produce and manufacture. Charlie Robinson’s “Love Is Back in Style,” with a trumpet solo from Alpert, was the B-side. A&M was pivotal in the success of artists like Janet Jackson, the Police, Carole King, Soundgarden, and Peter Frampton. The last artist the pair signed, after the label had been acquired by Polygram, was Sheryl Crow. “Every once in a while a record would come through us and Herbie would look at me and say, ‘What did we do to deserve this,’” Moss said in 2007. “‘that this amazing thing is going to come out on our label?’”