{"id":242517,"date":"2025-10-20T14:37:18","date_gmt":"2025-10-20T13:37:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.musicbusinessworldwide.com\/?p=242517"},"modified":"2025-10-20T21:38:30","modified_gmt":"2025-10-20T20:38:30","slug":"key-songs-in-the-life-of-tom-corson","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.musicbusinessworldwide.com\/key-songs-in-the-life-of-tom-corson\/","title":{"rendered":"Key Songs In The Life Of… Tom Corson"},"content":{"rendered":"

MBW’s Key Songs In The Life Of… is a series in which we ask influential music industry figures about the tracks that have defined their life and career so far. Here, to coincide with his Spirit of Life Award Warner Records Co-Chairman and COO Tom Corson punches the buttons on the jukebox of his memory to call-up some classics. The Key Songs<\/strong>… series is supported by Sony Music Publishing<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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Asking Tom Corson to select his Key Songs over this last couple of weeks might have been perfect or terrible timing.<\/span><\/p>\n

Last Wednesday [October 15], Warner Records’ Co-Chairman and COO was presented (by Cher!) with the Spirit of Life Award at the annual fund-raising gala for City of Hope, the US cancer treatment and research organization.<\/span><\/p>\n

It was, of course, a huge honor and something that Corson welcomed with open arms and a full heart, but it will undoubtedly have added pressure and stolen hours from what is by default an always-heavy schedule.<\/span><\/p>\n

So, did he need to be tasked with picking a pitifully small selection of songs to sum up his life so far at the same time? Maybe not. Or maybe, with the Award reflecting not only his long-standing commitment to City of Hope, but also his stellar career, it was the perfect time to think back on why he\u2019s in the business in the first place \u2013 and the joy that music has brought him along the way.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Reflecting first on the Spirit of Life recognition, Corson says: \u201cIt’s sort of surreal, because I’ve been involved in a number of these occasions with former bosses and mentors, and it never really occurred to me that I would be honored.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cMy family’s been hit by cancer \u2013 my wife, my son, my mom; it\u2019s something that\u2019s very real and very close to me. So, whilst I was surprised and humbled to be asked, once it had sunk in I was extremely grateful and determined to do it properly.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

And on the challenge of selecting his Key Songs, he says: \u201cIt\u2019s been more fun than not. I had a flight from LA to New York last week, and I spent pretty much the whole time making lists. I didn’t limit myself, I didn\u2019t try to be strategic <\/span>or <\/span>especially diplomatic, I just kind of went for it.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cSome of them do have a business context, but all of them are very personal. And in every case, if I was on a desert island and these were all I had to listen to, I\u2019d be happy with that\u2026\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

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<\/a><\/i><\/a><\/figure>1) Sly & The Family Stone, Dance To The Music (1967)<\/b><\/h6>\n

I grew up in Seattle and the music in our home was everything from Bix Beiderbecke to Robert Johnson to Hank Williams. My mom and dad would be dancing in the living room, my sister<\/span>s were<\/span> listening to the local AM station.<\/span><\/p>\n

And then I ended up <\/span>going<\/span> to a mostly Black middle school, and so different influences started to come into my life.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

When I was about 13, I bought a stereo, the best one I could afford. And pretty much the first thing I did was go to Tower Records and buy Sly & The Family Stone\u2019s Dance To The Music<\/em>.<\/span><\/p>\n

They also ended up being my first concert around the same time, at the Paramount Theater. The memory\u2019s a bit blurry, but I was with three of my friends, a lot of weed smoke in the air.<\/span><\/p>\n

Exactly 45 minutes late, Sly came on and blew us away. It\u2019s still one of the most amazing shows I\u2019ve seen.<\/span><\/p>\n

I actually met him much later on, when I was at A&M, and he was on the label. It was sad, because he was never able to get it together to put out a record, but he was around the studio.<\/span><\/p>\n

This song was probably the first seriously great piece of music that hit me, when everything before then had been quite sugary pop music. So it was a really important discovery for me.<\/span><\/p>\n

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