Lieberson, Goddard, 1911-1977

Goddard Lieberson (April 5, 1911 – May 29, 1977) was the president of Columbia Records from 1956 to 1971, and again from 1973 to 1975.[1] He became president of the Recording Industry Association of America in 1964.[2] He was also a composer, and studied with George Frederick McKay, at the University of Washington, Seattle. He married Vera Zorina in 1946 and with her had 2 children.
Lieberson was born to a Jewish family on April 5, 1911, in Hanley in Staffordshire; his father was a manufacturer of rubber shoe heels who took his family to the United States when Lieberson was a child. He studied classical piano and composition at the Eastman School of Music in the 1930s and after graduating he wrote classical concert reviews under the pseudonym "Johann Sebastian".
Lieberson was noted for his personal elegance, taste and style, and was renowned as a wit, bon vivant and international traveller

<p>Goddard Lieberson (1911-1977) was president of Columbia Records, and composer by training. In the 1940s, he introduced to the American public the long-playing records of classical repertoire and Broadway productions. His greatest legacy was original recordings of Broadway musicals and other productions, as well as studio cast recordings of major Broadway hits.</p>

<p>In 1946 he married ballet dancer and actress Vera Zorina; the marriage produced two sons, composer Peter Lieberson (1946-2011) and philosopher, writer and journalist Jonathan Lieberson (1949-1989).</p>