Friends, family pay tribute to Phil Walden

<p>Hundreds of friends and family members of southern music pioneer Phil Walden gathered Wednesday to remember him as a larger-than-life character who never lost his sense of love and adventure throughout a career that helped shape the musical landscape of a nation.</p><p>"In a world of music where success is defined by gold or platinum, our friend Phil Walden was best defined by his heart of gold," said Tom Johnson, former CNN chairman and a childhood friend of Walden's.</p><p>Walden, who had battled cancer for about three years, died at his home Sunday night with family members by his side. He was 66.</p><p>The more than 300 people at Walden's funeral at the Cathedral of St. Philip included dozens of the musicians whose careers Walden helped nurture, and others who simply admired him.</p><p>"I'm just so grateful to the Lord we had a chance to meet this man," said rock legend Little Richard, who like Walden grew up in Macon, Ga. "He was a genius in his own right."</p><p>The Macon-based record label, founded in 1969, was influential in bringing together rock, country and blues artists who crafted a new style exemplified by groups like the Allmans and the Charlie Daniels Band, another act discovered by Walden.</p><p>One of the principal founders of Capricorn Records in 1969, along with Frank Fenter, Walden was influential in pioneering the Southern rock of the 1970s _ discovering and promoting bands including the Allman Brothers, the Charlie Daniels Band and the Marshall Tucker Band.</p><p>Walden got his start as a college student in Macon, booking and managing rhythm and blues acts.</p><p>He launched the career of Otis Redding, a personal friend and business partner who died in a 1968 plane crash, and headed up Capricorn for most of 40 years _ through financial ups and downs that included a bankruptcy filing and a lawsuit in the late '70s by the Allmans.</p><p>Walden sold the rights to Capricorn's catalog and contracts in 2000, and had been producing movies and working with his children at Velocette Records, a small, Atlanta-based independent music label.</p><p>Walden was an early backer of then-Georgia Gov. Jimmy Carter's bid for the White House _ helping Carter financially and encouraging bands like the Allmans to play benefit concerts for the Georgian's campaign.</p>

http://accesswdun.com/article/2006/4/125354