Donald Dempsey Sr. was an American recording executive who helped launch Ozzy Osbourne

Ozzy Osbourne

John Michael "Ozzy" Osbourne is an English vocalist, whose musical career has spanned over 40 years. Osbourne rose to prominence as lead singer of the pioneering English heavy metal band Black Sabbath, whose radically different, intentionally dark, harder sound helped spawn the heavy metal...

 and Merle Haggard

Merle Haggard

Merle Ronald Haggard is an American country music singer, guitarist, fiddler, instrumentalist, and songwriter. Along with Buck Owens, Haggard and his band The Strangers helped create the Bakersfield sound, which is characterized by the unique twang of Fender Telecaster guitars, vocal harmonies,...

.

A one-time math teacher, Dempsey began his music career peddling albums for a distributor to dime and discount department stores that would eventually embark on a 25-year career with CBS Records

CBS Records

CBS Records is a record label founded by CBS Corporation in 2006 to take advantage of music from its entertainment properties owned by CBS Television Studios. The initial label roster consisted of only three artists; rock band Señor Happy and singer/songwriters Will Dailey and P.J...

. Dempsey became general manager in 1978 of Epic Portrait Associated (Epic Records

Epic Records

Epic Records is an American record label, owned by Sony Music Entertainment. Though it was originally conceived as a jazz imprint, it has since expanded to represent various genres. L.A...

, Portrait Records

Portrait Records

Portrait Records was a sister label of Epic Records and later of Columbia Records. Cyndi Lauper and Sade signed with Portrait, but their contracts were absorbed by Epic after that incarnation of the label was shuttered....

 and CBS Associated Labels Group) succeeding Ronald Alexenburg who would leave CBS to head up Infinity Records

Infinity Records

Infinity Records was a short-lived subsidiary of MCA Records established in New York City in 1977. The label was conceived by MCA president Sidney Sheinberg as a way for the Los Angeles-based entertainment conglomerate to improve its presence on the East Coast...

. When the music industry went into a tailspin in the mid 1980s, Dempsey was removed from his post in 1986 and retired shortly afterwards.

In his role as general manager of Epic Portrait Associated, he worked with The Clash

The Clash

The Clash were an English punk rock band that formed in 1976 as part of the original wave of British punk. Along with punk, their music incorporated elements of reggae, ska, dub, funk, rap, dance, and rockabilly...

, Culture Club

Culture Club

Culture Club are a British rock band who were part of the 1980s New Romantic movement. The original band consisted of Boy George , Mikey Craig , Roy Hay and Jon Moss...

, The Isley Brothers

The Isley Brothers

The Isley Brothers are a highly influential, successful and long-running American music group consisting of different line-ups of six brothers, and a brother-in-law, Chris Jasper...

, George Jones

George Jones

George Glenn Jones is an American country music singer known for his long list of hit records, his distinctive voice and phrasing, and his marriage to Tammy Wynette....

, Quiet Riot

Quiet Riot

Quiet Riot is an American Heavy Metal band. They are best known for their hit singles "Metal Health" and "Cum On Feel the Noize". They were founded in 1973 by guitarist Randy Rhoads and bassist Kelly Garni, under the original name Mach 1, before changing the name to Little Women and finally Quiet...

, Ricky Skaggs

Ricky Skaggs

Rickie Lee "Ricky" Skaggs is a country and bluegrass singer, musician, producer, and composer. He primarily plays mandolin; however, he also plays fiddle, guitar, and banjo.-Early career:...

 and Luther Vandross

Luther Vandross

Luther Ronzoni Vandross was an American singer-songwriter and record producer. During his career, Vandross sold over twenty-five million albums and won eight Grammy Awards including Best Male R&B Vocal Performance four times...

. His career high is seen to be the aggressive marketing of Michael Jackson

Michael Jackson

Michael Joseph Jackson was an American recording artist, entertainer, and businessman. Referred to as the King of Pop, or by his initials MJ, Jackson is recognized as the most successful entertainer of all time by Guinness World Records...

's 1982 album Thriller

Thriller (album)

Thriller is the sixth studio album by American recording artist Michael Jackson. It was released on November 30, 1982, by Epic Records as the follow-up to Jackson's critically and commercially successful 1979 album Off the Wall...

, which sold over 40 million copies.

He was asked in 2002 what he thought of Michael Jackson's eccentricities to which he responded, "they overshadowed his talent."

He died following a stroke at his home in Kissimmee, Florida

Kissimmee, Florida

Kissimmee is a city in Osceola County, Florida, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population was 59,682. It is the county seat of Osceola County...

. He is survived by his son, Don Dempsey, Jr., and Daughter