Lenny Bronstein
“And now, the end is near And so I face the final curtain…I’ve lived a life that’s full, I traveled each and every highway, And more, much more than this, I did it my way,” and with that song lyric, Lenny Bronstein announces his music industry retirement after a 50-year run.
Lenny continues, “Music has driven me forever and I was fortunate to open many doors and be invited in. In high school, I was a big fan of the WMCA GOOD GUYS in NYC and used to sit on the hotline with Dandy Dan during the Tuesday countdowns providing obscure chart facts. WMCA was wonderful to this persistent fan and I was dubbed the ‘good guy music maven.’ Along the way, I met many of NY’s promotion community.”
Bronstein began his music industry career in 1970 with A&M Records running its just initiated College Radio promotion department.
“I owe so much of my early years mentorship to Jerry Love (first free-form DJ) mentorship and the indulgence of Harold Childs (A&M Senior Executive). They let me do it ‘my way’ and I won’t take any bows but I’m proud to have helped artists at A&M ranging from Peter Frampton, Billy Preston, STYX, Supertramp, Nazareth, Joe Cocker, Ozark Mountain Daredevils, Pablo Cruise, Humble Pie, 38 Special, Rita Coolidge, Stealers Wheel, Strawbs, Carole King, Cheech & Chong, Joe Jackson, Cat Stevens, Joan Armatrading and Police as well as Herb Alpert, Carpenters, Captain & Tennille, Chuck Mangione and more,” Bronstein relflects.
In 1980, Bronstein formed his own Independent promotion company, HEAVY LENNY PROMOTIONS, specializing in AOR (Album Oriented Rock) promotion. Lenny worked an array of successful artists including: Joan Jett, Big Country, Joe Satriani, Loverboy, Collective Soul, Billy Idol, Robert Palmer, Pat Benatar, Night Ranger, Eurythmics, Rik Emmett, Richard Marx, Warrant, Huey Lewis & The News, Saga, Hooters, Autograph, Gov’t Mule, Megadeth, 7 Mary 3, Robert Cray, Tedeschi Trucks, Warren Haynes, North Mississippi All Stars and many more.
Charisma Records was Bronstein’s next label adventure in 1990 where he was part of the executive promotion team that started the storied imprint in the U.S., and orchestrated campaigns for Gary Moore, John Lee Hooker & Albert Collins, Maxi Priest, Wallflowers and Jellyfish.
In 1993, he resumed his independent promotion career where he hung his shingle until his recent retirement.
Bronstein concludes, “I was fortunate to have thousands of stories and nearly 2,000 artists I helped. But now, the industry and practices have changed. Promotion was always about communication and relationships, friendships and bold ideas, creating excitement about the artists and their music. Even before the pandemic, the climate changed and communication withered. Instead of one-to-one dialogue, an eblast is considered brilliance. I’ll miss the interaction but am thrilled at all the friendships I made and still will maintain.”
Lenny’s contact info remains the same: heavylenny90405@yahoo.com
