The legendary former head of Warner Bros. Records, the globally revered Mo Ostin, died in his sleep of natural causes on July 31st at age 95, according to Variety. Ostin, who was predeceased by his wife and two sons, is survived by his son Michael.
Ostin, who always put the artists and the music first, is directly responsible for helping facilitate so much of the most enduring music of the 20th century. He played a key role in the careers of so many artists that were part of the WEA — Warner, Elektra/Asylum, Atlantic — family, including Frank Sinatra, Neil Young, Joni Mitchell, the Grateful Dead, the Eagles, James Taylor, the Everly Brothers, Chicago, Paul Simon, George Harrison, America, Fleetwood Mac, Alice Cooper, Tom Waits, the Beach Boys, the Kinks, Elvis Costello, Jimi Hendrix, Prince, Talking Heads, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, Bonnie Raitt, Van Halen, the Doobie Brothers, Jackson Browne, Linda Ronstadt, the Traveling Wilburys, Van Morrison, the Ramones, Ice-T, John Fogerty, Ricky Lee Jones, Little Feat, Gordon Lightfoot, Madonna, Metallica — and so many more.
Warner Records' co-chairman/CEO Aaron Bay-Schuck and co-chairman/COO Tom Corson issued a statement, which reads: