Where would Elvis be without Col. Tom Parker? Or how far would the Beatles have gotten from Liverpool without Brian Epstein? One more question: does the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame include the people who helped the great superstars become what they eventually became? Are agents and managers recognized in the Hall of Fame?
If they are, then right behind Epstein and Col. Tom in the nominating procedure should come Dick Alen. Until his retirement from the William Morris Agency he was the guiding hand behind the "Grandfather" of Rock & Roll and the undisputed inventor of rock guitar, the great Chuck Berry.
Dick Alen agent to the Stars
Joe Reinartz, Dick Alen's ghostwriter of his autobiography has a great interview with Dick on the Pollstar website;
Dick
Alen has been with talent agency William Morris (now William Morris
Endeavor) for 39 years and has spent 60 years in the entertainment
industry.
Among the artists Alen is associated with are Aretha Franklin, Little Richard and Chuck Berry, who has been a client of Alen’s for more than 50 years. He also brought Jose Carreras, Julio Iglesias, Tom Jones and Juanes to the agency and has represented Cheech & Chong, Rod Stewart, Barry White and Enrique Iglesias. Alen will now be a consultant to WME as well as an adviser to Aretha Franklin and Chuck Berry.
Alen’s career began in 1952 working at Shaw Artists and handled acts like Fats Domino, Ray Charles, The Clovers and The Orioles. He is considered a pioneer in getting R&B acts on television. His history includes being road manager for Woody Herman and, in 1958, working at Universal Attractions repping acts like James Brown, Dinah Washington and Hank Ballard. He and Jack Bart eventually purchased Universal and signed Solomon Burke, Joe Tex and Johnny Taylor among others.
Alen’s career began in 1952 working at Shaw Artists and handled acts like Fats Domino, Ray Charles, The Clovers and The Orioles. He is considered a pioneer in getting R&B acts on television. His history includes being road manager for Woody Herman and, in 1958, working at Universal Attractions repping acts like James Brown, Dinah Washington and Hank Ballard. He and Jack Bart eventually purchased Universal and signed Solomon Burke, Joe Tex and Johnny Taylor among others.
We here at Rock & Roll Rehab will research the procedure for nominating individuals into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and if at all possible, we'll start the campaign for Dick Alen's induction right here. Check back to see our progress.
Dick also worked with every one from James Brown to Waylon jennings to steve martinm.
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