ABE SOMER,
1938-2023
Abe Somer, the ground-breaking dealmaker who oversaw A&M’s legal department, negotiated an epic deal for The Rolling Stones and had a client roster that included The Beach Boys, Mamas & the Papas, Neil Diamond and The Doors, died Wednesday (8/16). He was 85.
Abe’s daughter Eve has confirmed his passing on social media—and shared a photo of her dad with the two other giants who just left us, Jerry Moss and Clarence Avant.
Somer spent his career at the firm of Mitchell Silverberg Knupp, which he joined in 1962.
Initially a music-loving trial lawyer, Somer jumped into the music business just a few years after graduating from USC. He would help Lou Adler assemble the Monterey Pop Festival and move his Ode Records to A&M for distribution, open doors for Chrysalis to go direct to the U.S. from the U.K., build a business empire for Johnny Rivers, and negotiate Irving Azoff’s deal to run MCA Records. Among his longtime behind the scenes clients were producer Richard Perry and songwriter Hoyt Axton.
His most earth-shaking deal came in early 1971 when he negotiated a five-album deal for The Rolling Stones with Ahmet Ertegun and Atlantic Records that gave them a then-unheard of $1m guaranteed advance and a 10% royalty rate. They were also given their own imprint, Rolling Stones Records, and started a string of successful releases with Sticky Fingers.
Somer’s first contact with Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss came in 1966 when he was repping Sergio Mendes, who was looking for a label home for his new band Brasil ‘66. About a year later, Moss made Somer general counsel for the label.
Following Monterey Pop, which Clive Davis attended thanks to Somer’s invitation and wound up signing Janis Joplin, Somer brought Adler’s Ode to A&M in 1970 after an unfruitful two years with Columbia. It started slowly, but after Carole King’s Tapestry became a massive hit in 1971, p[utting Ode on a five-year hot streak.
Somer was also key in bringing albums from U.K. artists to the U.S. During a trip to London, he became enamored with Jethro Tull’s first album, released in the U.K. by Chris Wright and Terry Ellis’ Chrysalis label.
He took one of their bands, Blodwyn Pig, and struck a deal to release their debut in the States on A&M. He then advised Wright and Ellis to set up a U.S. label to directly distribute their U.K. releases.
Similarly, he was able to get some of Chris Blackwell’s releases on Island to go through A&M prior to Island setting up Stateside operations.
He made many deals for Perry, who would produce Carly Simon, Ringo Starr, The Pointer Sisters and Rod Stewart among many others.
Famously, the photograph that fills the interior gatefold of George Harrison's 1973 Living in the Material World—featuring Harrison, Starr, Somer and others—was shot at Somer’s L.A. home.
Outside of work, he was an avid tennis player and steadfast USC supporter.
