Wednesday, October 24, 2007
Remembering Corb
Randy St.John sent me the following thoughts a dear friend of Corb's posted on the web:
This is not meant to be a thread for today. It has taken me more than a week to be able to sit down and write this tribute to my friend Corb Donohue. Many of you may never have heard the name Corb Donahue. But Corb was the one responsible for Jimmy Buffett’s musical career. He is also the one who is responsible for all this Parrothead phenomena. When he became disillusioned with the record business and moved to Costa Rica back in the early 70’s he sent Jimmy all these Caribbean images which Jimmy began putting on his record albums. Jimmy will directly attribute his success to the direction of Corb in his book A Pirate Looks At 50. I first met Corb back in the 60’s on the Sunset Strip when he was Artist Relations Manager for ABC Dunhill Records. Corbs clients included the Mamas and Papas, Three Dog Night, and Jim Croce among others. Jim Croce became one of Corbs closest friends. Corb always said that if Jim Croce had lived he would have become the Johnny Carson of today, he was that versatile. It was Corb who announced to the world the death of Jim Corce. Corb was formerly also a senior record executive at Motown Records, A&M Records, Elektra Records and was the Music Editor of Daily Variety Magazine. He was a founding partner of the “Leading Psychedelicatessen” near UCLA a founding partner of the Rainbow Bar & Grill in Hollywood and a member of the advisory board of the Surfrider Foundation. At the time of his death he was Marketing Director of Silverback Wireless. His clients included AT&T, DirecTV, and Sirius Satellite Radio and AOL. It was Corb who was the mentor to Jimmy and inspired his storytelling. Nobody could match Corb when it came to spinning stories. Jimmy once said to me “Why doesn’t he just sit down and write a book?” It wasn’t in Corbs nature to just sit and write. He had larger visions and inspirations, all to make the world a better place and inspire other people. I could name drop some recognizable names here, but I’ll leave that to them. Corb was one of the most intelligent intellectual people I have ever met in my life. He could talk about any subject and be more than knowledgeable. If you had a different opinion than him, he would hear you out and then if he had any questions he would politely question your references. In other words, you better know what you were talking about and be able to document it. There was no superficial conversation . Corb did not have a TV in his house, only books, a computer and music. In Corbs world, everyone else came first. When he went in for his many hospitalizations, he would leave a phone message on his phone apologizing for any inconvenience it may cause someone. Whenever he came over to our house for dinner, he would always bring a bottle of wine and a huge bouquet of flowers for Linda, even on a spur of the moment invitation. Everyone whoever met Corb was drawn to his wit and ability to converse. Just about anyone I ever introduced to him always made the comment to me that “he is the most interesting person I’ve ever met.” My last conversation with him was about 5 days before he passed away, he could hardly talk but he called to tell Linda and I that he loved us. I could hardly talk and had to terminate the conversation with him, partly because I knew how much strength it was taking for him just to talk and partly because I couldn’t keep my composure. Linda and I will be forever grateful to have someone like him come into our lives. He truly enriched our lives and was a true friend and a man who epitomized the words gentleman and class. God Speed Corb….._________________What the world needs is more Aloha! Lucky to be a kama'aina
This is not meant to be a thread for today. It has taken me more than a week to be able to sit down and write this tribute to my friend Corb Donohue. Many of you may never have heard the name Corb Donahue. But Corb was the one responsible for Jimmy Buffett’s musical career. He is also the one who is responsible for all this Parrothead phenomena. When he became disillusioned with the record business and moved to Costa Rica back in the early 70’s he sent Jimmy all these Caribbean images which Jimmy began putting on his record albums. Jimmy will directly attribute his success to the direction of Corb in his book A Pirate Looks At 50. I first met Corb back in the 60’s on the Sunset Strip when he was Artist Relations Manager for ABC Dunhill Records. Corbs clients included the Mamas and Papas, Three Dog Night, and Jim Croce among others. Jim Croce became one of Corbs closest friends. Corb always said that if Jim Croce had lived he would have become the Johnny Carson of today, he was that versatile. It was Corb who announced to the world the death of Jim Corce. Corb was formerly also a senior record executive at Motown Records, A&M Records, Elektra Records and was the Music Editor of Daily Variety Magazine. He was a founding partner of the “Leading Psychedelicatessen” near UCLA a founding partner of the Rainbow Bar & Grill in Hollywood and a member of the advisory board of the Surfrider Foundation. At the time of his death he was Marketing Director of Silverback Wireless. His clients included AT&T, DirecTV, and Sirius Satellite Radio and AOL. It was Corb who was the mentor to Jimmy and inspired his storytelling. Nobody could match Corb when it came to spinning stories. Jimmy once said to me “Why doesn’t he just sit down and write a book?” It wasn’t in Corbs nature to just sit and write. He had larger visions and inspirations, all to make the world a better place and inspire other people. I could name drop some recognizable names here, but I’ll leave that to them. Corb was one of the most intelligent intellectual people I have ever met in my life. He could talk about any subject and be more than knowledgeable. If you had a different opinion than him, he would hear you out and then if he had any questions he would politely question your references. In other words, you better know what you were talking about and be able to document it. There was no superficial conversation . Corb did not have a TV in his house, only books, a computer and music. In Corbs world, everyone else came first. When he went in for his many hospitalizations, he would leave a phone message on his phone apologizing for any inconvenience it may cause someone. Whenever he came over to our house for dinner, he would always bring a bottle of wine and a huge bouquet of flowers for Linda, even on a spur of the moment invitation. Everyone whoever met Corb was drawn to his wit and ability to converse. Just about anyone I ever introduced to him always made the comment to me that “he is the most interesting person I’ve ever met.” My last conversation with him was about 5 days before he passed away, he could hardly talk but he called to tell Linda and I that he loved us. I could hardly talk and had to terminate the conversation with him, partly because I knew how much strength it was taking for him just to talk and partly because I couldn’t keep my composure. Linda and I will be forever grateful to have someone like him come into our lives. He truly enriched our lives and was a true friend and a man who epitomized the words gentleman and class. God Speed Corb….._________________What the world needs is more Aloha! Lucky to be a kama'aina
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
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