Richard Paul Brutton Rowe, better known as Dick Rowe (1921 – 1986), was one of the music industry’s most successful executives and record producers. In charge of talent acquisition, he signed up some of the world’s best artists. Unfortunately, as seen below, he is best remembered today not for his great hits, but for his monumental misses.
The Decca Records Executive Remembered for His Misses Instead of His Hits
From the 1950s to the 1970s, English music executive Dick Rowe was in charge of Artists and Repertoire (A&R) for Decca Records. He was responsible for scouting, financing, and overseeing the artistic development of emerging recording artists and musicians. He was generally quite good at it. So good, that he was nicknamed “the man with the golden ear”. He signed up the Rolling Stones, Van Morrison, Cat Stevens, Tom Jones, The Animals, and Procol Harum, among others. Despite those successes, he is best known as the music executive who did not sign the Beatles when he could have.
On New Year’s Day, 1962, the Beatles auditioned before Rowe at Decca Records. So did another band, Brian Poole and the Tremeloes. The label’s head of A&R passed on the Beatles, but signed up the Tremeloes. That made Rowe and Decca Records synonymous with catastrophic commercial misjudgments. Passing on the biggest band of all time was enough in of itself to enshrine Rowe’s name in the Bad Business Decisions Hall of Fame. Incredibly, it was not the only time he proved himself monumentally shortsighted.
Passing on Jimi Hendrix
Just five years after he turned down The Beatles, Rowe passed on another icon. In late 1966, Jimi Hendrix arrived in London and instantly created a stir. He made his debut in the British capital in front of an audience that included Eric Clapton, and blew everybody away with guitar play the likes of which those present had never heard before. A bassist and drummer were quickly rounded up to form the Jimi Hendrix Experience, and they recorded their first single, Hey Joe. Michael Jeffrey, the new band’s manager, approached Dick Rowe to try and get a record deal. Decca Records’ A&R turned him down. So Hendrix ended up at the recently-launched Track Records, instead.
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Some Sources & Further Reading
Cheat Sheet – Jimi Hendrix Got Turned Down by the Same Decca Producer Who Turned Down the Beatles
McDermott, John – Hendrix: Setting the Record Straight (1992)
