Charles Koppelman
| Charles Koppelman | |
|---|---|
| Born |
March 30, 1940 Brooklyn, New York |
| Occupation | Business executive |
| Spouse(s) | --Brenda "Bunny" Koppelman (until her death) --Gerri Kyhill Koppelman |
| Children |
with Bunny: --Jennifer Koppelman Hutt --Stacy Koppelman Fritz --Brian Koppelman |
| Parent(s) | Ruth and Charles Koppelman |
Charles Koppelman (born March 30, 1940) is a musician, music producer, and businessman. He has held executive positions at EMI and Steve Madden, and he is former Chairman of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia. He is currently CEO of CAK Entertainment.
Koppelman was born to a Jewish family, the son of Ruth and Irving Koppelman.
His uncle, Morris Koppelman, held a patent for inventing the Egg carton.
Koppelman broke into the music business as a member of the musical group The Ivy Three which had a Top 10 hit in 1960 entitled "Yogi", after the cartoon Yogi Bear. Soon, Koppelman and bandmate and future business partner Don Rubin joined the songwriting staff of Aldon Music under CEO Don Kirshner, a group that included Carole King, Neil Sedaka, Barry Mann, and Cynthia Weil. When Columbia Pictures purchased Aldon Music, Koppelman was promoted to director of Screen Gems/Columbia Music, the new company that resulted from the merger. In 1965, with financial backing of his uncle, Leon Koppelman, Koppelman and Rubin left Columbia to form Koppelman/Rubin Associates, an entertainment company that signed The Lovin Spoonful the same year. In 1967, Koppleman/Rubin signed The Little Bits of Sound a group from Long Island, New York with a psychedelic sound. In 1968, Commonwealth United purchased Koppelman/Rubin Associates and Koppelman and Rubin stayed on to run the music division. In 1968 they signed the psychedelic band the Rahgoos and famously made the band change its name to Gandalf. During the early 1970s, Koppelman moved on to CBS Records and held numerous positions, including Vice President/National Director of A&R where he signed acts including Billy Joel, Dave Mason, Janis Ian, Journey, and Phoebe Snow.
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