Phil Walden
Encyclopedia
Phil Walden was co-founder of the Macon, Georgia
-based Capricorn Records
with his younger brother Alan Walden
and a good friend and former Atlantic Records
executive, Frank Fenter
.
He graduated from Mercer University
where he was a member of Phi Delta Theta
. Walden served as Otis Redding
’s manager from 1959 until Redding's death in 1967. Walden hosted one of Redding's first shows at the Phi Delta Theta lodge in the sixties. He later helped launch the career of the Allman Brothers Band.
After managing several R&B
acts in the 1960s, including Al Green
, Sam & Dave
, Percy Sledge
, and Redding, Walden helped create the Southern rock
genre with Capricorn Records
, where the roster featured the Allmans, the Marshall Tucker Band
, Elvin Bishop
, Wet Willie, Bonnie Bramlett
, White Witch
, Hydra
, Grinderswitch
, and the Dixie Dregs
.
Personal and financial difficulties led to the demise of Capricorn in 1980, but Walden resurrected the label ten years later in Nashville, kicking off the return with the debut album from Widespread Panic. More recently, the label had successes with Cake
and 311
.
After graduating from Mercer University in Macon, Georgia, in 1962, Phil Walden became a booking agent and then a manager. His work with R&B acts led to his affiliation with Atlantic Records and producer Jerry Wexler
. During a stint in the military, Walden recruited his younger brother, Alan, to take over the management business.
Working with Wexler, the Walden brothers and Frank Fenter
established Capricorn – an imprint of Atlantic named for Wexler and Walden's star sign – in Macon in 1969. Walden met guitarist Duane Allman
, then under contract to Rick Hall, owner of FAME Studios
, through Wexler, and set about making him a star in his own right. Alan Walden left the label soon thereafter and later managed Lynyrd Skynyrd
and Outlaws.
The Allman Brothers were not an instant success, selling just 33,000 copies of their debut album
. But the breakthrough of their 1971 live double set, At Fillmore East
, helped convince Walden to end Capricorn's affiliation with Atlantic and move to Warner Bros. Records
. A later agreement with Polygram
ended in 1979.
Redding's death in a plane crash in 1967 had been a huge blow to Walden, who considered the client one of his closest friends. He suffered another devastating loss in 1971, when Duane Allman died in a motorcycle crash. Yet Walden soldiered on, creating a small empire in Macon with the label, a recording facility, real estate holdings and other ventures. In 1976 Walden and the Allmans threw their support behind a presidential candidate from Georgia named Jimmy Carter
.
Walden dropped out of sight during the 1980s, struggling with drug and alcohol dependencies and other setbacks. When he returned to artist management, his anchor was not a rock band but the comic actor Jim Varney
, whose "Hey Vern" commercials made him a hillbilly icon and the star of a string of movies. Walden also met a struggling actor, screenwriter, Billy Bob Thornton
, and for several years acted as Thornton's manager as well.
In 1991, Walden relaunched Capricorn in Nashville,TN via a joint venture with Warner Bros. Records. The label's first signing was Athens, GA based rock band, Widespread Panic
. The label made several changes in partners and ended up at Mercury Records
, due to the enthusiasm then Mercury president Danny Goldberg had for the Capricorn roster, which had grown to include 311, CAKE, and Gov't Mule
among others. Walden was also the first to sign a then unknown country singer, Kenny Chesney
. In early September, 1991 after reading an article about a memorial ceremony for blues guitarist Robert Johnson
in Billboard Magazine, Walden contacted Mt. Zion Memorial Fund founder Skip Henderson who had produced that event and commissioned a bronze sculpture mounted on a granite headstone in honor of Elmore James whose catalog was then owned by Capricorn. The memorial was placed on James' grave in the Newport Baptist Church Cemetery in Ebenezer, Mississippi on December 10th, 1992 with several members of the Mississippi State Legislature in attendance along Walden, members of James' family, and many others.
Macon, Georgia
Macon is a city located in central Georgia, US. Founded at the fall line of the Ocmulgee River, it is part of the Macon metropolitan area, and the county seat of Bibb County. A small portion of the city extends into Jones County. Macon is the biggest city in central Georgia...
-based Capricorn Records
Capricorn Records
Capricorn Records was an independent record label which was launched by Phil Walden, Alan Walden, and Frank Fenter in 1969 in Macon, Georgia.-First Incarnation:...
with his younger brother Alan Walden
Alan Walden
Alan Walden was born May 23, 1943 in Macon, Georgia to C.B. and Carolyn Walden. He is an American manager, publisher, booking agent, and promoter....
and a good friend and former Atlantic Records
Atlantic Records
Atlantic Records is an American record label best known for its many recordings of rhythm and blues, rock and roll, and jazz...
executive, Frank Fenter
Frank Fenter
Frank Fenter was a music industry executive.Fenter was the first Managing Director of Atlantic Records for Europe, where he helped discover and sign to Atlantic late-1960s British Invasion groups including Led Zeppelin and the progressive rock bands Yes and King Crimson...
.
He graduated from Mercer University
Mercer University
Mercer University is an independent, private, coeducational university with a Baptist heritage located in the U.S. state of Georgia. Mercer is the only university of its size in the United States that offers programs in eleven diversified fields of study: liberal arts, business, education, music,...
where he was a member of Phi Delta Theta
Phi Delta Theta
Phi Delta Theta , also known as Phi Delt, is an international fraternity founded at Miami University in 1848 and headquartered in Oxford, Ohio. Phi Delta Theta, Beta Theta Pi, and Sigma Chi form the Miami Triad. The fraternity has about 169 active chapters and colonies in over 43 U.S...
. Walden served as Otis Redding
Otis Redding
Otis Ray Redding, Jr. was an American soul singer-songwriter, record producer, arranger and talent scout. He is considered one of the major figures in soul and R&B...
’s manager from 1959 until Redding's death in 1967. Walden hosted one of Redding's first shows at the Phi Delta Theta lodge in the sixties. He later helped launch the career of the Allman Brothers Band.
After managing several R&B
Rhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues, often abbreviated to R&B, is a genre of popular African American music that originated in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly to urban African Americans, at a time when "urbane, rocking, jazz based music with a...
acts in the 1960s, including Al Green
Al Green
Albert Greene , better known as Al Green, is an American gospel and soul music singer. He reached the peak of his popularity in the 1970s, with hit singles such as "You Oughta Be With Me", "I'm Still In Love With You", "Love and Happiness", and "Let's Stay Together"...
, Sam & Dave
Sam & Dave
Sam & Dave were an American soul and rhythm and blues duo who performed together from 1961 through 1981. The tenor voice was Samuel David Moore , and the baritone/tenor voice was Dave Prater .Sam & Dave are members of...
, Percy Sledge
Percy Sledge
Percy Sledge is an American R&B and soul performer who recorded the hit "When a Man Loves a Woman" in 1966.-Early career:...
, and Redding, Walden helped create the Southern rock
Southern rock
Southern rock is a subgenre of rock music, and genre of Americana. It developed in the Southern United States from rock and roll, country music, and blues, and is focused generally on electric guitar and vocals...
genre with Capricorn Records
Capricorn Records
Capricorn Records was an independent record label which was launched by Phil Walden, Alan Walden, and Frank Fenter in 1969 in Macon, Georgia.-First Incarnation:...
, where the roster featured the Allmans, the Marshall Tucker Band
Marshall Tucker Band
The Marshall Tucker Band is an American Southern rock band originally from Spartanburg, South Carolina. The band's blend of rock, rhythm and blues, jazz, country, and gospel helped establish the Southern rock genre in the early 1970s...
, Elvin Bishop
Elvin Bishop
Elvin Bishop is an American blues and rock and roll musician and guitarist.-Career:Bishop was born in Glendale, California, and grew up on a farm near Elliott, Iowa. His family moved to Tulsa, Oklahoma, when he was ten years old...
, Wet Willie, Bonnie Bramlett
Bonnie Bramlett
Bonnie Bramlett is an American singer and sometime actress known for her distinctive vocals in rock and pop music. This began in the mid 1960s as a backing singer, forming the husband-and-wife team of Delaney & Bonnie, and continuing to the present day as a solo artist.-Life and career:Bramlett...
, White Witch
White Witch (band)
White Witch was a glam rock/psychedelic/hard rock band from Tampa, Florida that made two albums for Capricorn Records in the early 1970s. Their name was a paean to "white magic", contrary to the "black magic" of groups like Black Sabbath...
, Hydra
Hydra (band)
Hydra is an American Southern rock band founded in the late 1960s by Spencer Kirkpatrick , Wayne Bruce , and Steve Pace . Pace and Kirkpatrick first played together in 1968 in the band Strange Brew. Wayne Bruce was playing with the band Nickelodian and accepted the offer to join Pace and...
, Grinderswitch
Grinderswitch
Grinderswitch was an American southern rock band. They recorded a number of albums for Capricorn Records in the 1970s, but never achieved the same widespread recognition enjoyed by some of the label's other artists, such as The Allman Brothers Band and Marshall Tucker Band. They also recorded for...
, and the Dixie Dregs
Dixie Dregs
The Dixie Dregs are an American band formed in the 1970s. Their mostly instrumental music fuses jazz, southern rock, bluegrass and classical forms in an often unique style.-Formation and early years:...
.
Personal and financial difficulties led to the demise of Capricorn in 1980, but Walden resurrected the label ten years later in Nashville, kicking off the return with the debut album from Widespread Panic. More recently, the label had successes with Cake
Cake (band)
Cake is an American alternative rock band from Sacramento, California. Consisting of singer John McCrea, trumpeter Vince DiFiore, guitarist Xan McCurdy, bassist Gabe Nelson and drummer Paulo Baldi, the band has been noted for McCrea's sarcastic lyrics and deadpan voice, DiFiore's trumpet parts, and...
and 311
311 (band)
311 is an American rock band from Omaha, Nebraska. The band was formed in 1988 by vocalist/rhythm guitarist Nick Hexum, lead guitarist Jim Watson , bassist Aaron "P-Nut" Wills and drummer Chad Sexton...
.
After graduating from Mercer University in Macon, Georgia, in 1962, Phil Walden became a booking agent and then a manager. His work with R&B acts led to his affiliation with Atlantic Records and producer Jerry Wexler
Jerry Wexler
Gerald "Jerry" Wexler was a music journalist turned music producer, and was regarded as one of the major record industry players behind music from the 1950s through the 1980s...
. During a stint in the military, Walden recruited his younger brother, Alan, to take over the management business.
Working with Wexler, the Walden brothers and Frank Fenter
Frank Fenter
Frank Fenter was a music industry executive.Fenter was the first Managing Director of Atlantic Records for Europe, where he helped discover and sign to Atlantic late-1960s British Invasion groups including Led Zeppelin and the progressive rock bands Yes and King Crimson...
established Capricorn – an imprint of Atlantic named for Wexler and Walden's star sign – in Macon in 1969. Walden met guitarist Duane Allman
Duane Allman
Howard Duane Allman was an American guitarist, session musician and the primary co-founder of the southern rock group The Allman Brothers Band...
, then under contract to Rick Hall, owner of FAME Studios
FAME Studios
FAME Studios are located at 603 East Avalon in Muscle Shoals, Alabama. They have been an integral part of American popular music from the late 1950s to the present...
, through Wexler, and set about making him a star in his own right. Alan Walden left the label soon thereafter and later managed Lynyrd Skynyrd
Lynyrd Skynyrd
Lynyrd Skynyrd is an American rock band prominent in spreading Southern Rock during the 1970s.Originally formed as the "Noble Five" in Jacksonville, Florida, in 1964, the band rose to worldwide recognition on the basis of its driving live performances and signature tune, Freebird...
and Outlaws.
The Allman Brothers were not an instant success, selling just 33,000 copies of their debut album
The Allman Brothers Band (album)
The Allman Brothers Band, released in 1969, was the eponymous debut album of Southern rock group, The Allman Brothers Band.The album sold poorly outside of Southern United States, reaching #188 on the Billboard charts...
. But the breakthrough of their 1971 live double set, At Fillmore East
At Fillmore East
At Fillmore East is a double live album by The Allman Brothers Band. The band's breakthrough success, At Fillmore East was released in July 1971. It ranks Number 49 among Rolling Stone magazine’s 500 Greatest Albums of All Time and remains among the top-selling albums in the band’s catalogue...
, helped convince Walden to end Capricorn's affiliation with Atlantic and move to Warner Bros. Records
Warner Bros. Records
Warner Bros. Records Inc. is an American record label. It was the foundation label of the present-day Warner Music Group, and now operates as a wholly owned subsidiary of that corporation. It maintains a close relationship with its former parent, Warner Bros. Pictures, although the two companies...
. A later agreement with Polygram
PolyGram
PolyGram was the name of the major label recording company started by Philips from as a holding company for its music interests in 1945. In 1999 it was sold to Seagram and merged into Universal Music Group.-Hollandsche Decca Distributie , 1929-1950:...
ended in 1979.
Redding's death in a plane crash in 1967 had been a huge blow to Walden, who considered the client one of his closest friends. He suffered another devastating loss in 1971, when Duane Allman died in a motorcycle crash. Yet Walden soldiered on, creating a small empire in Macon with the label, a recording facility, real estate holdings and other ventures. In 1976 Walden and the Allmans threw their support behind a presidential candidate from Georgia named Jimmy Carter
Jimmy Carter
James Earl "Jimmy" Carter, Jr. is an American politician who served as the 39th President of the United States and was the recipient of the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize, the only U.S. President to have received the Prize after leaving office...
.
Walden dropped out of sight during the 1980s, struggling with drug and alcohol dependencies and other setbacks. When he returned to artist management, his anchor was not a rock band but the comic actor Jim Varney
Jim Varney
James Albert "Jim" Varney, Jr. was an American stand-up comedian, actor, musician, writer, voice artist, and comedian, best known for his role as Ernest P...
, whose "Hey Vern" commercials made him a hillbilly icon and the star of a string of movies. Walden also met a struggling actor, screenwriter, Billy Bob Thornton
Billy Bob Thornton
Billy Bob Thornton is an American actor, screenwriter, director and musician. Thornton gained early recognition as a cast member on the CBS sitcom Hearts Afire and in several early 1990s films including On Deadly Ground and Tombstone...
, and for several years acted as Thornton's manager as well.
In 1991, Walden relaunched Capricorn in Nashville,TN via a joint venture with Warner Bros. Records. The label's first signing was Athens, GA based rock band, Widespread Panic
Widespread Panic
Widespread Panic is an American rock band from Athens, Georgia. The current lineup includes guitarist/singer John Bell, bassist Dave Schools, drummer Todd Nance, percussionist Domingo "Sunny" Ortiz, keyboardist John "JoJo" Hermann, and guitarist Jimmy Herring...
. The label made several changes in partners and ended up at Mercury Records
Mercury Records
Mercury Records is a record label operating as a standalone company in the UK and as part of the Island Def Jam Motown Music Group in the US; both are subsidiaries of Universal Music Group. There is also a Mercury Records in Australia, which is a local artist and repertoire division of Universal...
, due to the enthusiasm then Mercury president Danny Goldberg had for the Capricorn roster, which had grown to include 311, CAKE, and Gov't Mule
Gov't Mule
Gov't Mule is a Southern rock jam band formed in 1994 as an Allman Brothers Band side project by Warren Haynes and Allen Woody.The band released their debut album Gov't Mule in 1995...
among others. Walden was also the first to sign a then unknown country singer, Kenny Chesney
Kenny Chesney
Kenneth "Kenny" Arnold Chesney is an American country music singer and songwriter. Chesney has recorded 15 albums, 14 of which have been certified gold or higher by the RIAA. He has also produced more than 30 Top Ten singles on the U.S...
. In early September, 1991 after reading an article about a memorial ceremony for blues guitarist Robert Johnson
Robert Johnson
Robert Leroy Johnson was an American blues singer and musician. His landmark recordings from 1936–37 display a combination of singing, guitar skills, and songwriting talent that have influenced later generations of musicians. Johnson's shadowy, poorly documented life and death at age 27 have given...
in Billboard Magazine, Walden contacted Mt. Zion Memorial Fund founder Skip Henderson who had produced that event and commissioned a bronze sculpture mounted on a granite headstone in honor of Elmore James whose catalog was then owned by Capricorn. The memorial was placed on James' grave in the Newport Baptist Church Cemetery in Ebenezer, Mississippi on December 10th, 1992 with several members of the Mississippi State Legislature in attendance along Walden, members of James' family, and many others.
In 2000, Walden sold the majority of Capricorn's catalog.
In recent years, with the Capricorn name retired, Walden tried his hand with another label, this one called Velocette. The entire staff was made up of Waldens, including his son, Philip Jr., daughter, Amantha, and nephew, Jason.
"Phil was one of the preeminent producers of great music in America," former president Jimmy Carter said in a statement. Walden's work with Redding, the Allmans and others, Carter said, "helped to put Macon and Georgia on the musical map of the world.
Walden was inducted into the Georgia Music Hall of FameGeorgia Music Hall of FameThe Georgia Music Hall of Fame, located in downtown Macon, Georgia, preserves and interprets the state's rich musical heritage through programs of collection, exhibition, education and performance...
in 1986. Phil Walden died of cancerCancerCancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...
at the age of 66 in his home in Macon on April 23rd, 2006.
External links
- Obituary in the New York Times
- Obituary in Rolling Stone MagazineRolling StoneRolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...