Jheryl Busby

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Jheryl Busby (May 5, 1949 – November 4, 2008) was an American recording company executive who was the former President and Chief Executive Officer of Motown Records.

Biography

Busby grew up in South Central Los Angeles, where he went to John C. Fremont High School. He attended Long Beach State College, dropping out after two years.

Busby began his business career at Mattel Toys, starting as an inventory clerk and ultimately being promoted to new-toy coordinator.

His first exposure to the recording industry was at Stax Records, where he was named head of West Coast promotion and marketing, After leaving Stax, he did promotional work for A&M Records and Casablanca Records.

At MCA Records, where he was hired in 1984, Busby was vice-president of the black music division building the unit largely from scratch, promoting established acts such as Patti LaBelle and helping to discover and market acts including family band The Jets, Jody Watley, Bobby Brown and New Edition. By the mid-'80s, the division's sales reached $50 million and was top-ranked for years in black album sales. By 1988, Busby was president of the black music division at MCA, and his business unit led the industry in black album sales.