Gil Friesen Dies

Gil Friesen, 75, longtime president of A&M Records, died in his Los Angeles home Dec. 13 after a battle with leukemia. 

Friesen built A&M with Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss.

The label, which ran 27 years until a sale to PolyGram in 1989, let artists follow their creative muses.

Success stories include Peter Frampton, The Police, The Go-Go’s, Carole King, and The Carpenters.

Friesen, who began his career working in the mailroom of Capitol Records, was the day-to-day operator of the label, while Alpert handled the creative side and Moss handled sales.

Alpert told Rolling Stone that Friesen dated Dolores Erickson, the model on the iconic cover of Alpert’s Whipped Cream and Other Delights.