In a nod to excellence and endurance, the Black Business Association (BBA) saluted the trailblazing careers of Clarence Avant and Lee Bailey, two major icons in the entertainment industry.
The gala event, held June 20 at the Millennium Biltmore Hotel in downtown Los Angeles, capped off the BBA’s “Salute to Black Music – The Business Behind the Music” by honoring Avant, a renowned music executive and film producer, and Bailey, the pioneering founder of “RadioScope” and EURweb.com.
“Clarence Avant and Lee Bailey are two highly influential executives in the music and entertainment industries,” said BBA president and ceo Earl “Skip” Cooper II. “They each are single-handedly responsible for opening doors and making the way for today’s Black music genres. It is the BBA’s honor to acknowledge and highlight their contributions to disseminating African American culture around the world.”
Validating Cooper’s comments, hundreds of people came out to applaud Avant and Bailey accomplishments. The audience featured a wide range of African American entrepreneurs and executives including Ethiopia Habtemariam, president of Motown Records and Urban Music-UMPG, Inc., who served as the dinner chair, and Quincy Jones, honorary dinner chair and a close friend of Avant.
Another close friend of Avant’s in attendance was Danny Bakewell, Sr., chairman and executive publisher of Bakewell Media, who noted, “There is no more fitting tribute than Clarence Avant being honored by the Black Business Association during Black Music Month. Congrats to Skip Cooper and Gwen Moore for selecting my good friend, Clarence, as this year’s honoree.”
“Clarence Avant is a man who has dedicated is life to improving the quality of life for Black music artist, Black music executives and Black people all over this country. That is why he is so deserving of this honor and I am also deeply humbled to call him my friend. Congratulations to Clarence Avant and Lee Bailey on being this year’s BBA Honorees,” added Bakewell.
Other notable attendees were Debra Lee, chairman/ceo of BET Network; the Honorable Mark Ridley-Thomas, chairman of the L.A. County Board of Supervisors; the Honorable David Cunningham, former L.A. Councilmember; Jon Platt, ceo/chairman of Warner Chappell Music; the Honorable Nicole Avant Sarandos, former U.S. Ambassador to the Bahamas; Ted Sarandos, COO of Netflix; Jerry Moss, co-founder of A&M Records and Gene Hale, founder/ceo of G&C Equipment Corporation and president of the Greater Los Angeles African American Chamber of Commerce. Also, Grammy award winner BeBe Winans and vocalist Zipporah Robinson delivered stirring musical tributes.
Avant’s 60 years in entertainment is filled with significant achievements. Known as the “Godfather of Black Music,” he has managed an eclectic group of artists such as Blues legend Little Willie John, jazz producer Creed Taylor and composer Lalo Schifrin. Avant also promoted Michael Jackson’s first solo tour and mentored music producers Jimmy Jam, Terry Lewis, L.A. Reid and Kenneth “Babyface” Edmonds.
As for his business feats, Avant founded the Sussex and Tabu record companies that launched the careers of Bill Withers, Dennis Coffey, and the S.O.S. Band. In addition, Avant worked with Al Bell to sell Stax Records to Gulf & Western Industries for $4.3 million, a record-setting amount in the late 1960s.
Bailey began his nearly four-decade career by debuting Bailey Broadcasting Services from his garage in 1979. This enterprise produced “RadioScope,” the iconic on-air magazine that lasted for 20 years. In 1996, Bailey launched Electronic Urban Report, commonly known as EURweb.com. The urban entertainment and news site boasts more than two million visitors per week.
During the course of his career, Bailey has interviewed several A-list music superstars from Michael Jackson to Chaka Khan to Don Cornelius. His awards and honors include “Best Syndicated Urban Radio Program” from Billboard magazine and the “Men of Courage” award from The Carnation Company.
The BBA’s acknowledgement of Avant and Bailey reflects the nonprofit organization’s long history of promoting Black business owners. Since its establishment in 1970, the BBA has acquired nationwide access and influence with more than 100,000 African American-owned and women/minority-owned firms via strategic alliances with W/MBE trade associations.
