The Boss: Joel Peresman, Drawn to the Music
June 28, 2010 by admin
Filed under Career News and Advice
I’VE always loved music. I remember saving 63 cents when I was 6 so my mother could buy me my first single, and my older sisters bringing home Beatles and Rolling Stones albums, which I listened to endlessly. Unfortunately, after several years of trumpet and guitar lessons, it was evident that I had no musical talent. Still, I knew I wanted to be around music.
JOEL PERESMAN
Chief executive, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Foundation
AGE 53
HOMETOWN Pittsburgh
HOBBIES Reading, New York City history and tennis
I went to the University of Texas at Austin, where I received a degree in finance. During the summers, I worked for a concert promoter in Pittsburgh, my hometown, and during the school year I embraced and was inspired by Austin’s vibrant music scene.
My father was a merchandise manager for Gimbels, the department store, in Pittsburgh. A week after I graduated from college in 1978, I went with him to New York to try to set up meetings with the limited contacts I had. By chance, one of his vendors mentioned that his cousin was the songwriter Sammy Cahn …
Read the original article at NYTimes
