Shelly Liebowitz - Major Labels (Late 1960s-1980)

Major Labels (Late 1960s-1980)

At Roulette he began a working relationship with Count Basie, who introduced him in turn to Sammy Davis, Jr., an artist who, along with his partners in The Rat Pack, (Frank Sinatra & Dean Martin) Liebowitz would work with through his lifetime. Basie also introduced him to Ella Fitzgerald, with whom Liebowitz would collaborate on several projects. By the 1970s he was moving heavily into production, working with top acts in the jazz and rock worlds, including Miles Davis, the Rolling Stones, Frankie Avalon, and more. In 1978 he was appointed Vice-President of East Coast Operations for Capitol Productions, a management company that represented more than 100 singers, musical groups, songwriters and actors. In this time he also wrote and produced two television pilots for NBC: “Anything Goes” and “Just for Laughs.” Neither were picked up. Towards the end of the decade he worked with Harry Nilsson and John Lennon on personal and professional projects, before deciding to leave the big recording companies and create an independent label of his own.