Chuck Kaye

Chuck Kaye is an American retired music industry executive, noted for his tenures at A&M Records, Warner/Chappell Music, and DreamWorks Records, working in areas as diverse as Artists and Repretoire (A&R), music publishing, and corporate governance.

Early years

Kaye's earliest efforts in music publishing began in New York City in the 1960s, working under the Philles Records label started by Phil Spector and his stepfather, Lester Sill. In 1964 Kaye relocated to Los Angeles to take the role of West Coast Director of the new Aldon Music label. While at Aldon, Kaye signed songwriter contracts to Carole King, Gerry Goffin, Barry Mann, Cynthia Weil, Howard Greenfield, and Neil Sedaka.

In 1966, Kaye began to demonstrate his business acumen by signing and managing acts while heading Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss’ Almo/Irving Music label. Kaye added staff writers to grow the size of the business' intellectual property holdings.

During this period, Kaye personally signed an extensive list of talent that included Alan Parsons, Bob Marley, Steve Winwood, Traffic, Free, Cat Stevens, Bryan Adams, Mason Williams, Jefferson Airplane, John Bettis, Troy Seals, Will Jennings, Paul Williams, Billy Preston, Roger Nichols, Peter Frampton, and Supertramp.