SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (CelebrityAccess) – Eddie Rosenblatt, a veteran record executive best known for his long tenure at Geffen Records, died July 16. He is 89 years old.
Rosenblatt died at a Santa Barbara hospital from complications from pneumonia, according to a statement from his publicist.
A native New Yorker, Rosenblatt attended Brooklyn College and served in the U.S. Army in the 1950s before moving to Cleveland where he held his first music industry position at Cosnat Distribution and later Mainline Distribution, where he There he met music legends such as Phil and Leonard Chess.
In 1967, Rosenblatt moved to Los Angeles to serve as sales director for A&M Records. Later, he co-founded the independent record label TA Records with Steve Binder.
In 1971, Rosenblatt joined Warner Bros. Records as director of sales, where he helped oversee the launch of WEA Distribution and was eventually named vice president of sales and broadcast promotions.
Nine years later, he founded Geffen Records with David Geffen, serving as the label’s first president and helping breakout artists such as Peter Gabriel, Quarterflash and Whitesnake.
After Geffen was sold in 1990, Rosenblatt joined Geffen’s new project DGC, again serving as the brand’s first president. After Geffen announced his resignation in 1995, Rosenblatt was appointed as DreamWorks SKG’s successor.
“If you think of David as the vision behind Geffen Records, Eddie was at the heart of it,” said Warner Records executive Mo Ostin, according to an obituary provided by Rosenblatt’s publicist. Not only was the label profitable, it was also trendy and hot, and Eddie was the glue that held the label together over the years.
In 1998, as the label industry consolidated, Rosenblatt exited the label business and moved to Montecito with his wife, Barbara “Bobbi” Rosenblatt. There they engage in local charitable activities, including at the non-profit clinic Sansum Clinic.
Eddie is survived by four children: Michael, Steven, Peter and Gretchen, six grandchildren and one great-grandchild. He was preceded in death by his wife of 68 years, Bobbi, in 2023.
A memorial service is still being planned and details will be shared with friends and family in the coming weeks. In lieu of flowers, Eddie’s family requests that in lieu of flowers, donations be made to the non-profit medical organization Sansum Clinic at https://www.sansumclinic.org/donate-now.
