Allen Klein (December 18, 1931 – July 4, 2009) was an American businessman, talent agent, and record label executive, most noted for his tough persona and unethical practices. He founded ABKCO Music & Records, Inc in 1961. As manager of the Rolling Stones, he controversially acquired sole copyrights to all of their music composed before 1971.In 1979, Klein was sentenced to two months in jail for tax evasion after it was discovered that he defrauded the Concert For Bangladesh and UNICEF.
| # | Fact |
|---|
| 1 | Founded ABKCO Records in 1961 in New York City. |
| 2 | He is survived by his sister, Naomi Klein; longtime female companion, Iris Keitel; his wife Betty Klein; two daughters-Robin and Beth Klein; a son Jody Klein; and four grandchildren. |
| 3 | Convicted of tax fraud in 1979 and served two months in prison for failing to report income from sales of promotional records by The Beatles and other groups. |
| 4 | Although he had lived with a girlfriend for years, he never divorced his wife. |
| 5 | The Rolling Stones grew so infuriated with Klein--whose company still owns an enormous chunk of their 1960s songs--that Mick Jagger once chased him down the hall of a posh hotel. |
| 6 | Candid and earthy by nature, especially when it came to business. Once held a press conference at Apple, during the fight for Northern Songs (in which music publisher Dick James had recently sold his shares to ATV) in 1969; one London newspaper remarked that the conference "must have set some kind of record for unprintable language." |
| 7 | When his health began to decline, his son Jody Klein assumed control of much of ABKCO. |
| 8 | Klein's mother died when he was less than a year old; his father (a kosher butcher of Hungarian descent) left Klein and his two sisters in the care of an orphanage. |
| 9 | First came to note in the late 1950s, when Klein's review of Bobby Darin's accounts turned up $100,000 unpaid in royalties and session fees. (Darin soon received his payments, and Klein his first notoriety, alongside Darin's thank-yous.) |
| 10 | Studied accounting in his teens; became expert at mentally calculating figures, without resorting to paper. |
| 11 | Paul McCartney was the only Beatle who never signed a management agreement or contract with Klein, though he posed with Klein for photos at a pretend "contract signing" in 1969. John Lennon, Ringo Starr and Yoko Ono were also present; the photos appear in Anthony Fawcett's Lennon biography.) |
| 12 | Clients included Donovan, Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gormé, The Animals, Connie Francis, Herman's Hermits, Sam Cooke, The Rolling Stones and three of The Beatles. |
| 13 | As manager for three of The Beatles, Klein only received a percentage of their increased revenues; had their company Apple Corps continued to lose money, Klein would have been paid nothing. |
| 14 | Renegotiated The Beatles' record contract with EMI in 1969; got them the highest royalty rate ever paid to an artist at that time. Also responsible for the release of "Something"/"Come Together" as a single, to get the group some needed cash. |
| 15 | Was responsible for bringing Phil Spector onboard The Beatles' Let It Be (1970) movie/album project, to remix and post-produce the soundtrack. |
| 16 | Helped George Harrison organize and produce the Concert for Bangladesh (The Concert for Bangladesh (1972)). A minor blunder of Klein's tied up a portion of the proceeds, through a years-long tax investigation. (The money was eventually released to UNICEF.) |
| 17 | Ended his involvement with The Beatles in 1977 for a settlement of £3 million; dissolved his last management ties to John Lennon and Yoko Ono while visiting their New York apartment that year. |
| 18 | Parodied by John Belushi as "Ron Decline" in The Rutles: All You Need Is Cash (1978) . |
| 19 | Bought the publishing company which owned the song "He's So Fine" in the late 1970s, during its plagiarism suit against George Harrison over the similar-sounding "My Sweet Lord"; Klein effectively "switched sides" in the suit, which continued into the 1990s, and Klein ultimately lost. |
| 20 | Klein's company ABKCO still owns the copyrights and masters to the old Cameo/Parkway Records catalog, including many 1950s and 1960s R&B and rock hits ("The Twist" by Chubby Checker, "So Much In Love" by The Tymes). |
| 21 | The production/distribution company ABKCO Films was a division of ABKCO Industries, Inc.. |
| 22 | "ABKCO" stands for "Allen & Betty Klein and Company". |
| 23 | In February of 1969, Cameo-Parkway changed its name to "ABKCO Industries Inc." ("ABKCO" for short). |
| 24 | On September 16, 1968, the stockholders of Cameo-Parkway approved its acquisition of Allen Klein & Co., Inc.. |
| 25 | In July of 1967, acquired a controlling interest in Cameo-Parkway Records, Inc. |
| 26 | Founded Allen Klein & Co. in 1957; incorporated it in 1965. |
| 27 | Father of Jade Klein and designer Jennifer Klein. |
