Henry Stone RIP

HENRY STONE, a hugely influential figure in R&B, soul and disco music, died late last week in Miami; he was 93. Stone brought Ray Charles into the studio for his first sides in 1948; played a role in the signing of James Brown and the Famous Flames; established numerous indie labels (including Chart Records, Dade Records, Glades, Weird World, Dash, Alston and Cat) and pubcos; and, after co-founding TK Records in 1972, spearheaded the careers of disco hitmakers like KC & the Sunshine Band, Betty Wright, Anita Ward and George McRae. TK went bankrupt in 1981, but Stone continued developing projects (including the dance-reissue entity Hot Productions and his son’s rap-parody group, 2 Live Jews) and burnishing his legend for more than three decades. In 2004 he received the first-ever Pioneer Award from the Dance Music Hall of Fame. You can watch him chatting with BBC Radio 6 in this clip from 2008. (8/11a)