Al Coury

Albert Eli "Al" Coury (October 21, 1934 – August 8, 2013) was a Lebanese-American music record executive during the 1970s, vice-president of American record label Capitol Records and co-founder of RSO Records, who had helped to develop the careers of such artists as The Beatles, Nat King Cole, The Beach Boys, Pink Floyd, Glen Campbell, Bob Seger, Guns N' Roses, Aerosmith, Don Henley, Cher and Linda Ronstadt.[1]

Al Coury
Al Coury presents John Lennon with RIAA Gold Record Award for the album “Walls & Bridges” Record Plant, NY 1974
Background information
Birth nameAlbert Eli Coury
Born(1934-10-21)October 21, 1934
Worcester, Massachusetts, U.S.
DiedAugust 8, 2013(2013-08-08) (aged 78)
Thousand Oaks, California, U.S.
Occupation(s)Vice-president of Capitol Records, Co-founder and President of RSO Records, General Manager Head Of Promotion Geffen Records
Years active1957-1994
Associated actsThe Beatles, Nat King Cole, The Beach Boys, Pink Floyd, Glen Campbell, Bob Seger, Linda Ronstadt

Biography

Albert Eli Coury was born October 21, 1934, and grew up in Worcester, Massachusetts. He played the trumpet as a teenager.[2]

In 1957, he joined Capitol Records as a promotion man in New England and rose to the position of a vice-president of marketing, sales and promotion. Time magazine called him “The Man Who Sells the Sizzle.”[3]

Work with Beatles

Coury was important to several solo Beatles releases in the 1970s, particularly Paul McCartney's 1973 album Band On The Run and John Lennon's 1974 album Walls and Bridges, both of which reached the top of the charts and yielded #1 singles. It was Coury who persuaded McCartney to include the successful single "Helen Wheels" on the US version of Band On The Run (because it was last-minute, the lyrics to the song were not included on the lyric sheet). He then chose the song "Jet" as the second single, which helped make the album the most successful of McCartney's solo efforts.[4]

The following year, Lennon invited Coury to "work his magic" promoting Lennon's Walls and Bridges album. It was Coury who chose the first single, "Whatever Gets You Thru The Night", which became Lennon's first #1 solo hit (and the only one in his lifetime).[5] Coury was also instrumental in the long-awaited release of Lennon's 1975 album Rock 'n' Roll, bartering with producer Phil Spector to retrieve the master tapes from their abandoned 1973 recording sessions.

RSO Records career

Coury's last signing to Capitol Records was the group Dolenz, Jones, Boyce & Hart, made up of former Monkees Micky Dolenz and Davy Jones, and songwriters Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart, who had written several Monkees hits.

He then left Capitol to become co-founder and president of RSO Records, with Robert Stigwood. At RSO, Coury marketed such hits as the Saturday Night Fever and Grease soundtrack albums, and Eric Clapton's Slowhand. Coury worked extensively with the Bee Gees, RSO's flagship group.[1]

New record label

In 1980, Coury created a new record label, Network Records. One of the label's initial successes was the soundtrack to the movie Flashdance.[6] The song "What a Feeling" won a Grammy Award and an Oscar for Song of the Year in 1984. Another was Del Shannon's Drop Down And Get Me album produced by Tom Petty and featuring the hit single "Sea Of Love."

In 1985, Network Records merged with Geffen Records, and Coury became Geffen's general manager, launching hit records for Guns & Roses, Aerosmith, Peter Gabriel and Don Henley. He retired from the record business in 1994. He died at the age of 78 on August 8, 2013, in Thousand Oaks, California, from complications of a stroke.[1]

Personal life

Coury was married to Mary Ann Coury, and they raised two children, Kacy and Albert Coury, Jr.[3]

References
  1. Al Coury, Promotions Man Who 'Worked His Magic' with Beatles, Beach Boys, and Pink Floyd, Dead at 78, Billboard.com
  3. "Al Coury, Promotions Man Who 'Worked His Magic' with Beatles, Beach Boys, and Pink Floyd, Dead at 78". Billboard.com. Retrieved 2020-05-02.
  4. Eight Arms To Hold You: The Solo Beatles Compendium, Madinger/Easter, 44.1 Publishing (2000), ISBN 978-0615117249
  5. Pang "Instamatic Karma" 2008
  6. "Irene Cara- What a Feelin' release". Discogs.com.
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