Bob Krasnow

Who is Bob Krasnow?

Bob Krasnow is a leading music industry entrepreneur. His early career included working as a promotions man for James Brown and sales representative for Decca Records. In the early 1960s, Krasnow founded MK Records, which released the novelty record "Report To The Nation," a parody of the 1960 presidential campaign between John F. Kennedy and Richard M. Nixon.

Krasnow also ran the King Records branch office in San Francisco from 1958 to 1964 before founding Loma Records, which he headed from 1964 to 1966. He became vice president of Kama Sutra Records in Los Angeles in 1966, where he founded the Buddah Records subsidiary label.

He left Kama Sutra/Buddha in 1968 to create Beverly Hills-based Blue Thumb Records, with producers Don Graham and Tommy LiPuma. Among the acts Krasnow brought to Blue Thumb were Ike & Tina Turner, the Pointer Sisters, Dave Mason, Dan Hicks and His Hot Licks, Marc Bolan, Arthur Lee, Clifton Chenier, Albert King and John Mayall.

Krasnow served as president of Blue Thumb until 1974, when he became vice president/talent acquisition for Warner Bros. Records, a role he held until 1983 when he was elevated to chairman and CEO of Elektra/Asylum/Nonesuch Records. While with Warner and Elektra, he signed Chaka Khan, George Benson, George Clinton and The Cure to the labels. Krasnow also became notorious for shelving projects such as Dee Snider's post-Twisted Sister outfit, Desperado, as detailed in Snider's 2012 autobiography, Shut Up and Give Me the Mic.