(June 8, 2001 – Hollywood, CA) – If a record executive’s Hall of Fame existed, Stan Monteiro would have been inducted. He survived over three decades of the corporate label rat race as a promotion man with ethics, dignity and integrity – qualities needed now more than ever. Monteiro passed away unexpectedly in his sleep on May 4, 2001 at age 73 in Los Angeles.
In his memory, the National Association of Record Industry Professionals has dedicated its Mentor Program to Stan Monteiro – henceforth, it will be called the Stan Monteiro Mentor Program. “He was the inspiration, the one who started the idea when I interviewed him several years ago for our publication,” says Tess Taylor, president of the National Association of Record Industry Professionals.
Born in Boston, Mass., he played sax and clarinet with such greats as Roy Eldridge, the Jimmy Rushing Band, Teddy Wilson (Bill Holiday’s pianist), Wild Bill Davidson, Pete Fountain, Al Hirt and the Dick Creedan Band. Monteiro was a full time jazz saxophone and clarinet player until the late ’50s when he got his start in the record business as a salesman. He advanced to local promotion manager in Boston for an independent distributor, then served as director of national promotion for Metromedia Records, which led to a position in national promotion for CBS Records. In just a few years he was promoted to VP of promotion of Columbia Records.
While at Columbia, he helped orchestrate a feat that has yet to be duplicated – the company achieved the #1, #2, #3 and #4 albums on Billboard, Cashbox and Record World charts simultaneously. Typically, he credited his staff for the coup. During his career he co-founded the Jefferson Airplane label, Grunt; served as VP of promotion at United Artists; ran the Epic Records west coast office and was associate publisher of Record World Magazine. He was named best VP of Promotion by Billboard, Radio & Records, Bobby Poe and the Gavin Report several times.
“As I listened to him during our interview, I was so taken not only by his breadth and depth of knowledge and experience, but with his humanity,” says Taylor. He was highly regarded among his peers and beloved by his co-workers and those who knew him. When co-workers were laid off, Monteiro would often slip $50-bills into their pockets for “walking-around-money,” never asking to be repaid.
“I asked if he would be willing to take a few rising professionals under his wing,” says Taylor, “because I recognized the value of pairing his experience with younger folks.” And that was the beginning of the Stan Monteiro Mentor Program. Since then, Taylor has orchestrated the pairings of dozens of successful record execs with professionals lower on the learning curve. Current mentors include former CEOs, label heads and VPs from major record companies as well as artist managers, agents, promoters and music publishers. “By tapping the perspectives of people like Stan Monteiro, we hope to elevate the level of professionalism and quality achievable in this business,” says Taylor.
“Stan is someone we should emulate, both as a person and a record executive,” concludes Taylor. “He demonstrated how one can maintain genuine humanity while working at a major corporation. This is an excellent life lesson especially in today’s competitive and sometimes hostile corporate climate.”
For more information about the Stan Monteiro Mentor Program, please call the National Association of Record Industry Professionals at (818) 769-7007, email info@narip.com or visit us at www.narip.com.
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