Music Executive Joe Smith Honoured With Star On The Hollywood Walk Of Fame

Music Executive Joe Smith Honoured With Star On The Hollywood Walk Of Fame

The Hollywood Chamber of Commerce honoured music executive Joe Smith  with the 2,558^th star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, the star was in the category of Recording and was dedicated in front of the historic Capitol Records Building at 1750 N. Vine Street.  Hollywood Chamber President/CEO Leron Gubler unveiled the star, Joe Smith’s guest speakers were Jackson Browne and Bonnie Raitt 

Joe Smith has spent 4 decades in the music business,  he was the head of three major record labels. In 1961, Smith relocated from Chelsea, Mass to Los Angeles to work as a National Promotion Manager for Warner Bros and 10 years later Smith was named President of Warner Bros. Records. At Warner Bros. Records Smith signed  such artists as Peter, Paul & Mary, Rod Stewart, James Taylor, Alan Sherman, The Grateful Dead, Don Rickles, Van Morrison, Bonnie Raitt, Carl Reiner and Mel Brooks, Black Sabbath, Deep Purple, Petula Clark, The Allman Brothers Band, The Doobie Brothers, George Benson, Al Jarreau, Seals & Crofts to name a few.  Smith also worked closely with many of the company’s Reprise Records artists including Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Jimi Hendrix, Jethro Tull, Trini López, Neil Young, Joni Mitchell and Randy Newman.

In 1975, Smith became Chairman of Elektra/Asylum Records, a division of Warner Communications. where he worked with artists such as The Eagles, Linda Ronstadt, Jackson Browne, Queen, The Cars, Carly Simon, Judy Collins,  Joni Mitchell, Grover Washington Jr., Mötley Crüe, X, and Hank Williams Jr.

In 1987, Smith became President and CEO of Capitol-EMl Music. During time at Capitol, the company registered record profits from such artists as Garth Brooks, Tina Turner, Bonnie Raitt, MC Hammer, Bob Seger, David Bowie, Poison, Megadeth.

In 2001, Smith was elected to the New England Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame, the Doo Wop Hall of Fame, and received the Boston Music Lifetime award.  Just last year Smith was the recipient of Billboard Magazine’s inaugural Clive Davis Visionary Award,

Smith served as Vice President of the Country Music Association, he was the first full-time President of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, President of the Record Industry for Community Relations, board member of the Recording Industry Association of America & the Black Music Association.

Smith has been the recipient of a multitude of awards from organizations such as the City of Hope, B’nai Brith, NARAS and others, and was granted an honorary Doctorate of Music from Berklee College of Music in Boston, where he served as a Commencement Speaker. He has served as an officer or director of the City of Hope, Cedars-Sinai Hospital, TJ Martell foundation, Variety Club and the Neil Bogart Memorial Lab. He is a Trustee at the California Institute of the Arts, Yale School of Music, the Basketball Hall of Fame, Magic Johnson Foundation, Rhythm and Blues Foundation and the Museum of Science and Industry and today Los Angeles City Councilman Mitch O’Farrell presented Smith with a very beautiful proclamation honouring his distinguished career.

Congratulations Joe Smith On your Hollywood Walk Of Fame Star.