NEW YORK — Music manager Allen Klein, a no-holds-barred businessman who bulldozed his way into and out of deals with the Beatles and the Rolling Stones, died Saturday, a publicist for his company said. He was 77.
Klein, who was one of the most powerful figures in the music business in the 1960s but ended up feuding with some of his biggest clients, died at his New York City home of Alzheimer’s disease, said Bob Merlis, publicist for ABKCO Music & Records Inc.
An accountant known for his brashness, temper and tenacity in tracking down royalties and getting better record deals, Klein garnered clients including Sam Cooke, Bobby Darin and Herman’s Hermits.
He became most famous — and later infamous — for signing on the Rolling Stones and the Beatles. Both arrangements eventually spurred lawsuits, with some Beatles fans blaming Klein for contributing to tensions that broke up the group.
Klein was convicted of tax fraud in 1979 and served two months in prison for failing to report income from sales of promotional records by the Beatles and other groups; the records were supposed to be given away. The Rolling Stones grew so infuriated with Klein — whose company still owns an enormous chunk of their 1960s songs — that Mick Jagger once chased him down the hall of a posh hotel.
Regardless, Klein remained “very proud of the position he was in and what he was able to do with the different artists he was able to work with,” Merlis said.
He is survived by a longtime companion, Iris Keitel; his estranged wife, Betty; three children; four grandchildren; and a sister.
