Ron Fair
Ron Fair, veteran record man, six-time Grammy nominee and president of A&M Records, will present the keynote speech at the 117th AES Convention at noon on Thursday, October 28, 2004, at San Francisco’s Moscone Center. “In his more than two decades as an outstanding hitmaker, Ron Fair has exhibited a rare combination of creative and technical prowess and remarkable business acumen,” said AES 117th convention chair John Strawn. “Considering the multiplicity of his talents, we anticipate an extremely interesting presentation.”
An A&R man, producer, arranger, musician and recording engineer, Fair’s credits stretch from collaborating with legendary composer/producer Bill Conti on the recording of “Gonna Fly Now,” the Number One hit theme from Rocky to discovering five-time Grammy Award-winner Christina Aguilera and serving as executive producer for the superstar’s 10-time Platinum album Stripped and worldwide Number One Grammy-winning “Beautiful.”
Fair was named senior director of A&R for Chrysalis Records in1981, after he found the Number One hit “We Belong” for Pat Benatar and worked with many other Platinum artists. In 1990, he joined EMI Records as senior VP of A&R, where his credits include the eight-time Platinum Pretty Woman soundtrack. Rejoining RCA Records in 1993 as senior VP of A&R, Fair was executive producer of the five-time Platinum Reality Bites soundtrack CD, which included Lisa Loeb’s Number One hit, “Stay.”
As president of A&M Records since 1999, Fair oversees an artist roster that includes Sting, Sheryl Crow, the Black Eyed Peas and Vanessa Carlton. He is a 25-year member of NARAS, serving as national trustee and member of the Board of Governors, where he remains an active committee member.
For more information about the AES show, go to www.aes.org.
