Gary Kurfirst

Kurfirst was born in Forest Hills, Queens.Bowman, David. [https://books.google.com/books?id=T4eIwWN2hwQC&pg=PA108&lpg=PA108 "This Must Be the Place"], HarperCollins, 2002, p. 109. {{ISBN|0-06-050731-4}}. Accessed June 18, 2009. "The man was Gary Kurfirst. He was born in Forest Hills, Queens, in 1947. He was a manager." He started promoting dances while he was still a student at Forest Hills High School in Queens. He rapidly moved on to organizing and promoting shows at the tennis stadium at the West Side Tennis Club in Forest Hills and moving across the East River to promoting gigs in Manhattan. Kurfirst helped arrange the first East Coast performances of acts including Jimi Hendrix and The Who.

He established the Village Theater in the East Village at Second Avenue at Sixth Street in 1967, which a year later became the Fillmore East under the management of promoter Bill Graham. In August 1968, Kurfist organized the New York Rock Festival at the Singer Bowl in Flushing Meadow Park, an open-air concert with 18,000 in attendance that featured performances by The Chambers Brothers, The Doors, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin and the Soft Machine.{{cite news|last=Shelton|first=Robert|url=https://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=FB0E12FE345F127A93C7AB1783D85F4C8685F9|title=Rock Fete With Jimi Hendrix Draws 18,000 to Singer Bowl|work = The New York Times|date=25 August 1968|access-date=20 January 2009}} In his obituary, The New York Times credited Kurfirst's success at the New York Rock Festival with inspiring the creation of the Woodstock Festival in Bethel, New York in August 1969.

While negotiating a contract for the group Mountain in the late 1960s, Kurfirst developed a close relationship with Chris Blackwell, his counterpart at Island Records. Blackwell, quoted in Kurfirst's obituary in The New York Times, described him as "one of the first managers who basically built the rock business", stating that Kurfirst "stayed below the radar and once refused the cover of Rolling Stone because he felt it was not the right time for his band".

Kurfirst managed reggae artists The Wailers founder Peter Tosh and Toots & the Maytals. His reach spanned new wave, reggae, punk, rock and pop. His client list as manager included the Ramones, Blondie, Talking Heads, Tom Tom Club, the B-52's, Eurythmics, Jane's Addiction, Holly and the Italians and Shirley Manson (Angelfish).{{cite web|url=http://garykurfirst.com/ |title=Gary Kurfirst |publisher=Gary Kurfirst |access-date=2014-08-19}}

File:Gary & Talking Heads.jpg

Gary Kurfirst began managing Talking Heads in 1977 after attending their show at CBGB in New York. He remained their only manager.{{cite web|last=Swash|first=Rosie|title=Talking Heads, Blondie and Ramones manager dies: |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2009/jan/15/music-manager-gary-kurfirst-dies|work=The Guardian|access-date=January 15, 2009}} Talking Heads are an American new wave band formed in 1975 in New York City.[https://www.rockhall.com/inductees/talking-heads Talking Heads] Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, retrieved November 23, 2008 The band was composed of David Byrne (lead vocals, guitar), Chris Frantz (drums), Tina Weymouth (bass) and Jerry Harrison (keyboards, guitar). Described as "one of the most critically acclaimed bands of the '80s," Talking Heads helped to pioneer new wave music by combining elements of punk, art rock, funk, and world music with an anxious yet clean-cut image.{{cite web|last=Erlewine|first=Stephen Thomas|title=Talking Heads Biography:

|url=http://www.allmusic.com/artist/talking-heads-mn0000131650/biography|work=AllMusic|access-date=April 27, 2014}}

Gary was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award at The 36th annual Pollstar awards show on April 16, 2025 at The Beverly Hilton in Los Angeles, California. The Lifetime Achievement Award recognizes those who have influenced and led the live entertainment sector for decades. {{Cite web |last=Staff |first=Pollstar |date=April 2, 2025 |title=Steve Ballmer & Gary Kurfirst To Be Honored At Pollstar Live!, iHeartRadio’s Valentine To Host Awards Show |url=https://news.pollstar.com/2025/04/02/steve-ballmer-gary-kurfirst-to-be-honored-at-pollstar-live-iheartradios-valentine-to-host-awards-show/ |url-status=live |access-date=April 2, 2025 |website=Pollstar}} Gary's son Josh Kurfirst was also in attendance at the event as a guest speaker and accepted the award on Gary's behalf.{{Cite web |last=Areliz |first=Oscar |date=April 17, 2025 |title=Pollstar Awards 2025: Chappell Roan, Stevie Nicks, Missy Elliott, Jelly Roll, Taylor Swift, Bad Bunny & Billie Eilish Among Honorees |url=https://news.pollstar.com/2025/04/17/pollstar-awards-2025-chappell-roan-stevie-nicks-missy-elliott-jelly-roll-taylor-swift-bad-bunny-billie-eilish-among-honorees/#:~:text=His%20son%20Josh%20Kurfirst%2C%20who%20is%20a%20Partner%20and%20Global%20Head%20of%20Festivals%20for%20WME%2C%20accepted%20the%20award%20on%20behalf%20of%20his%20father. |url-status=live |access-date=April 17, 2025 |website=Pollstar}}

Kurfirst produced True Stories and Siesta and executive produced Stop Making Sense.

Kurfirst died at age 61 on January 13, 2009, while he was vacationing in the Bahamas.

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• {{official website|http://garykurfirst.com}}

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Category:1947 births

Category:2009 deaths

Category:American music managers

Category:Record producers from New York (state)

Category:People from Forest Hills, Queens

Category:Forest Hills High School (New York) alumni

Category:American music promoters