Jim Conkling

Born March 1, 1915 Died April 12, 1998. Married to singer Donna King (3). Father of of Candy Brand. Initially a jazz trumpeter, he started working for then-new Capitol Records in 1944, just out of Navy service in World War II. His first job was to produce an album for Stan Kenton. He also went on to work with such artists as Nat King Cole, Jackie Gleason, Mel Tormé, Bob Hope, Mel Blanc and even Bozo The Clown. He was Capitol’s first Vice-president. In 1951, Conkling became President of Columbia Records, where he initiated the Columbia Record Club (which became Columbia House) and helped introduce long-playing (LP) records. He also helped organize and served as President of the Record Industry Association of America (Riaa). In 1957, he joined four other record executives to found the National Academy Of Recording Arts & Sciences, which sponsors the Grammy awards. Conkling served as the group’s founding Chairman and produced the first Grammy awards shows. In 1995, the Grammy’s MusiCares Division honored him with a lifetime achievement award and staged a fund-raising dinner for Alzheimer’s research. Asked by Jack Warner to create Warner Bros. Records in 1958, Conkling served as the company’s first President and signed such recording artists as Bob Newhart, the Everly Brothers, Peter, Paul & Mary, John Raitt, and Connie Stevens. Always considered a recording industry wunderkind, Conkling retired at age 46 to devote his time to charity and public causes. He headed the Nat King Cole Cancer Foundation, helped set up a recording industry in China, was active in the NAACP and joined The Church Of Jesus Christ Of Latter-day Saints (the Mormon Church), where he served on the board of directors for its broadcast arm, Bonneville International Corporation. He passed away in 1998.