An Insider’s Guide to the Royal Court

Naming the members of Los Angeles rock’s royal court is a tricky proposition. In this high-stakes field, careers rise and fall on the whims of radio programmers and public taste--and knowing last year’s names can be worse than knowing no names at all.

Five pop music reporters and critics whose work appears regularly in The Times--Richard Cromelin, Patrick Goldstein, Paul Grein, Robert Hilburn and William Knoedelseder Jr.--were asked to name and profile 1987’s rock royalty in Los Angeles.

Here are their choices--the people whose telephone calls are always returned and those special artists whose music adds character and flavor to the Los Angeles scene. At least this year.

JEFF AYEROFF AND JORDAN HARRIS

They recently were named co-managing directors of Virgin Records America, the new U.S. arm of the British firm owned by flamboyant entrepreneur Richard Branson. Formerly creative services director at A & M Records and head of creative marketing at Warner Bros. Records, Ayeroff is considered one of the most imaginative image shapers in the business. His video campaign for Madonna three years ago helped the Material Girl sell close to 4 million records before she ever performed in front of a live audience. As senior vice president of artists and repertoire at A & M, Harris had a hand in signing such acts as Simple Minds and Suzanne Vega. With all that experience and Branson’s money to spend, Ayeroff-Harris is a team to watch. They’ve already signed Steve Winwood, Warren Zevon and Keith Richards.

IRVING AZOFF

The feisty bantamweight made his name as rock’s most formidable--and feared--manager, baby-sitting such super-talents as the Eagles, Dan Fogelberg, Stevie Nicks and the Go-Go’s. Now he runs MCA Records, once the laughingstock of the industry because of its weak leadership and lackluster roster. Never known as a graceful loser, Azoff has been spending lots of money trying to revive the label with a catchy blend of powerhouse sound-track albums and an influx of young black singers. A shrewd, volatile kingmaker, Azoff courts the press, soothes tender superstar egos and relishes outsmarting his rivals. His feuds are legendary. After a falling-out with a top manager in town, Azoff livened up his rival’s 40th birthday party with a surprise gift--a live snake.

JOHN BRANCA

In 1981, Branca joined the powerful entertainment firm of Ziffren, Brittenham & Gullen, bringing along a special client, Michael Jackson. Now, at age 36, he is considered one of the most powerful of the entertainment elite--a status saluted in 1985 by his becoming a partner in the firm. He also represents Don Johnson, Peter Gabriel, Mick Jagger, David Lee Roth, the Beach Boys, Giorgio Moroder and Stevie Nicks, among numerous others. Major coups: He masterminded Jackson’s nearly $50-million purchase of Lennon and McCartney’s songs and the $125-million purchase of CBS Songs by SBK Entertainment. Branca, who enjoys close ties with label heads, specializes in renegotiating contracts for superstars.

JHERYL BUSBY

As MCA Records’ president of black music and executive vice president, A&R;, Busby has transformed a company with virtually no black artists to one with such young hit makers as Jody Watley, the Jets, New Edition and Ready for the World. As a reward, Busby now also oversees all the label’s acquisitions, making him the industry’s most powerful black exec--and perhaps the first in line to run a major label. Having worked in sales, marketing, A&R; and promotion before joining MCA, Busby sees the big picture, which is why he gets high marks for long-term career planning as well as for shrewd talent scouting. Busby doesn’t have to check his ego at the door. A handmade sign behind his desk reads: “Will you still love me when I’m cold?”

FREDDY DEMANN

Fired four years ago by Michael Jackson, DeMann has rebounded to become the hottest manager in town. He now guides the careers of Madonna, Lionel Richie, Billy Idol, Peter Cetera and former Bruce Springsteen sidekick Little Steven. Genteel and unassuming, he’s the kind of guy who gets what he wants without yelling. He produced a few records in the early ‘70s, then became a middle-level exec at Elektra Records before teaming with former partner Ron Weisner and establishing Jackson as a force in the industry with his “Off the Wall” album.

BOB DYLAN

“It’s kind of funny,” rock’s most influential songwriter says. “When I see my name anywhere, it’s (often) ‘the ‘60s this’ or ‘the ‘60s that.’ I can’t figure out sometimes if people think I’m dead or alive. But I’m not through yet.” Dylan proved the point last year by going on the road with Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers and playing with an energy and force that wowed fans, many of whom weren’t even born when Dylan made albums--like “Bringing It All Back Home”--that changed the face of rock more than any artist since Elvis Presley. Wherever the Malibu resident goes, all eyes are on him--whether it’s backstage at a U2 concert or at 1985’s “We Are the World” recording session, where almost every other superstar in the room paid their respects. More than any other living figure in American rock, the word legend fits him.

DON ENGEL

In the 11 years since he switched his practice from book publishing to the record business, Engel has ruffled countless feathers by specializing in representing rock stars who are suing their record labels, usually to get out of their contracts. The small (five-lawyer) firm of Engel & Engel (the other being his wife, Judith) has shepherded Sammy Hagar from Capitol Records to Geffen Records, Donna Summer from Casablanca to Geffen, Teena Marie from Motown to CBS and Boston from CBS to MCA. The latter move so angered CBS chief Walter Yetnikoff that he pushed CBS lawyers into suing Engel personally. Engel is currently countersuing. He never met an artist’s royalty statement he liked, and says that the record business is “a sick industry suffering from a series of ethical maladies.” And that’s the nicest thing he has to say about it.

GIL FRIESEN

Friesen is president of A&M; Records, the industry’s largest and most respected independently owned label. He joined the company in 1964, two years after it was formed by Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss, and now runs its day-to-day operations, overseeing the recording careers of such best sellers as Janet Jackson, Bryan Adams and Sting. He recently supervised A & M’s entry into film production with hits like “The Breakfast Club” and Sting’s “Bring On the Night.” Driven and ambitious, Friesen is credited with updating A & M’s former middle-of-the-road image. Always on the move, Friesen is interested in art and architecture, image and style. His clothes are imported from Europe; he looks classy even at the company picnic.

DAVID GEFFEN

Arguably the most broadly experienced creative executive in the entertainment industry, Geffen was formerly an artist manager (credited with establishing the careers of the Eagles, Jackson Browne and Joni Mitchell), founder of Asylum Records and chairman of Elektra Records. Now he’s chairman of the David Geffen Co., which produces records (Peter Gabriel, Whitesnake, Sammy Hagar), movies (“Risky Business,” “Personal Best,” “After Hours”) and Broadway plays (“Dreamgirls,” “Little Shop of Horrors,” “Cats”). Brilliant, egomaniacal, an outrageous gossip, Geffen is on the telephone from the moment he opens his eyes in the morning until he closes them at night. He knows where all the show-biz bodies are buried, and who buried some of them.

DON HENLEY

As co-writer a decade ago of such hits as “Hotel California” and “Life in the Fast Lane,” Henley not only helped the Eagles sell $300 million in records, but he also chronicled the pursuit of the American Dream with an insight and bite that had all but disappeared from rock after the turbulent ‘60s. Yet Henley had little identity outside the band. He has changed that dramatically, thanks to two distinguished solo albums and a rousing 1986 tour. The center of the Los Angeles rock-politics connection, Henley, 40, is a thoughtful, articulate activist. Don’t rule it out someday: Henley for U.S. Senate.

JIMMY IOVINE

The short, glib Brooklyn native, who began his move to the ranks of top producers by helping engineer records by John Lennon and Bruce Springsteen in the mid-’70s, has since worked with many of the most distinguished rock artists of the last two decades: Tom Petty, Patti Smith, Bob Seger, Stevie Nicks, the Pretenders and U2. His influence today can be measured by who answers the phone when he calls. Among those who answered Iovine’s call for musical contributions to a charity Christmas album this year: Springsteen, Whitney Houston, Sting, the Pretenders, Bon Jovi and Madonna.

WAYNE ISHAM

It seems as though every year ushers in an incredibly hot young video director--and ushers out a burned-out wizard whose MTV touch has grown cold. This year’s wunderkind is 33-year-old Isham. In less than half a decade, he has gone from obscure sound-stage manager at A&M; Records to video’s top star maker, cranking out hip clips for such rock heavyweights as Bon Jovi (“Wanted Dead or Alive”), Motley Crue (“Girls, Girls, Girls”) and Bryan Adams (“Hearts on Fire”). Blessed with a frisky rock ‘n’ roll personality, Isham is popular with bands of all stripes. He turns down assignments nearly every day.

MICHAEL JACKSON

“Thriller” (38.5 million sales worldwide) gave the Encino resident the widest pop constituency of anyone since the Beatles and made him the biggest backlash target in pop since the Bee Gees. But the legend continues. A master of psychology (much of the mystery associated with him is part of a campaign with manager Frank Dileo to keep the public intrigued) and blessed with keen business instincts, Jackson is probably the most valuable performer, pound for pound, since Presley. In August, his latest album, “Bad,” entered the pop charts at No. 1.

QUINCY JONES

The most respected record producer of the rock era, Jones has been responsible for hits spanning 25 years, from Lesley Gore’s “It’s My Party” to Michael Jackson’s mega-selling albums. He produced the historic “We Are the World” session and co-produced the film “The Color Purple.” Jones was one of the first black composers to get a shot at scoring films and one of the first black execs at a pop label. Now he has his own label, Qwest Records. More famous than all but a few of the artists he has produced, and an extremely charismatic cheerleader, he uses his talent, taste and personality to get the best out of artists.

JOHN DAVID KALODNER

You don’t see many record execs who look wilder than their bands, but you learn to expect the unexpected from Kalodner, the only rock talent scout who resembles a wayward rabbinical student and shows up at recording sessions packing a stun gun. A longtime hard-rock enthusiast (he signed such hit makers as Foreigner at Atlantic), Kalodner is one of the industry’s most outspoken critics, having taken potshots at everything from new-wave music to MTV. Now an A&R; man at Geffen Records, Kalodner has helped resurrect the careers of Sammy Hagar, Whitesnake and Aerosmith, has obtained enormous sound-track exposure for up-and-comers Wang Chung and has just finished up a Cher comeback project.

LOS LOBOS

Years ago, as an acoustic Mexican folk band, they endured abuse by opening for post-punk radicals Public Image Ltd. The payoff is a respect enjoyed by few of their peers. Now the East L.A. quintet is talking the language that Hollywood understands. The group’s latest album, “By the Light of the Moon,” is the most culturally arresting work by a local band in nearly a decade. Los Lobos’ remake of Ritchie Valens’ “La Bamba” and the sound track of the movie of the same name have brought them an enthusiastic national following.

MADONNA

It’s almost as if she and her husband, Sean Penn, are living out a rock ‘n’ roll version of a ‘40s Hollywood fantasy: gum-chewing, hip-swiveling, eyelash-fluttering dame on the arm of the short-fused, two-fisted guy. The industry’s first reaction to her was that she was getting ahead simply on personality and with the help of some studio pros. Even after selling many millions of records, she is still dismissed as a bimbo by some. But don’t be fooled: She’s as bright as she is talented--a master of show-biz psychology who won acclaim for her acting in “Desperately Seeking Susan” and recently became the first woman to headline a stadium rock tour.

JOHN MCCLAIN

McClain is the A&M; exec who made Michael Jackson’s sister a thriller in her own right. He teamed Janet Jackson with producers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, taking her album sales from 100,000 to more than 5 million. He was rewarded earlier this year with a tongue-twisting title (senior vice president of artists and repertoire and executive vice president / general manager, urban music). But the promotion alienated some execs on the lot who see him as aloof and arrogant. Typical comment: “John cares about John.” Still, as one of his critics says, “he’s very hot right now. He’s performed.”

BOB MERLIS

The press honcho for Warner Bros., the town’s prestige label, Merlis is one of the few such execs with a real rock ‘n’ roll heart. You’re more likely to spot him on “Li’l Art’s Poker Party,” the cable-TV public-access gabfest, than at a trendy club, and the media can count on him to give it to them straight. One more thing: He owns three Studebakers. Is that cool or what? But Merlis gets the job done. Who do you think helped make those straggly Texas long-beards (ZZ Top) fashionable?

CHARLIE MINOR

The senior vice president of promotion for A & M was nicknamed “Jaws” by label co-founder Herb Alpert for his ability to talk non-stop on the telephone. He can have six lines blinking at once and go back and forth without missing a beat. Flamboyant, boisterous, gregarious, he likes to be the hit of the party. Still, Minor’s a hard-working salesman and one of the industry’s few senior VPs of promotion who actually calls radio stations.

MOTLEY CRUE

The most colorful of the current crop of perennially popular heavy metal bands has no taste, no talent--just sheer gall and the cash receipts to back it up. This glam-metal Crue has risen from the pack of lipsticked star-heads grinding it out at Gazzarri’s and the Troubadour and delivered the goods that sell a million and make critics cringe--like the latest LP, “Girls, Girls, Girls.”

BRIAN MURPHY

If Springsteen, U2, Madonna or virtually any other superstar wants to play Southern California, Murphy is their man. He runs the concert-promotion firm known as Avalon Attractions, which grossed $20 million in 1986 with about 250 concerts. The first moment of reckoning with every show is the day tickets go on sale. Within hours, he knows whether the concert is going to be a winner. The second test comes on the day of a big show. Industry bigwigs invariably call at the last minute to say that they’ve just got to have tickets. “They’ve known about the show for weeks, but they always call at the last minute,” Murphy grumbles. “It’s like they want to test their clout.” If they have it, Murphy can always find the tickets.

KATHY NELSON

In tandem with MCA Records chief Irving Azoff, Nelson has made the label’s film-music division the envy of the industry. MCA has cracked the Top 10 with sound-track hits from “Beverly Hills Cop” I and II, “Miami Vice,” “Back to the Future” and “The Color of Money.” Ozzie and Harriet’s niece, Nelson worked in A & R at Chrysalis Records before moving over to sound tracks. A fearless supporter of offbeat sound-track projects (“Something Wild,” “Sid & Nancy”), Nelson has such great access to talent that she now serves as an A & R exec as well as the label’s key liaison with the film community.

RANDY NEWMAN

The owlish songsmith, nephew of Hollywood film scorers Lionel and Alfred Newman and conductor Emil Newman, has become the quintessential Westside social satirist. Since the late ‘60s, he’s turned out everything from uproarious spoofs to penetrating character sketches to scathing political commentary to bleak, despairing theology. Not to mention the hit novelty “Short People” and the city’s unofficial municipal anthem and 1984 Olympics theme song, “I Love L.A.”

MO OSTIN

Ostin, the chairman of Warner Bros. Records, is perhaps the most respected chief executive in the industry. A former accountant, he was one of the original officers of Reprise Records, founded by Frank Sinatra in 1961. When Reprise was acquired by Warner Bros., Ostin went along as part of the deal and subsequently helped build the record operation of Warner Communications into the billion-dollar baby it is today. He’s credited with signing such acts as Jimi Hendrix, Frank Zappa, Neil Young, the Beach Boys, Paul Simon and ZZ Top. Despite his talent for wooing, befriending and socializing with eccentric, flamboyant rock stars, Ostin remains a solid, colorless executive who is uncomfortable in public situations, rarely speaks at industry functions and even more rarely grants interviews.

NORM PATTIZ

Called the “king of rock radio” by Rolling Stone magazine, Pattiz has made about $40 million from Westwood One, the radio syndication company he started in 1975. Industry analysts estimate that almost 15% of the $400 million in advertising dollars spent each year on network radio goes to Westwood One, which started with rock-related shows but now also owns the Mutual Radio Network (its main prize is talk-show host Larry King), the RKO radio network and the three NBC radio networks.

L. LEE PHILLIPS

Phillips isn’t the most exciting entertainment lawyer in town, which is probably why even his pals pass along the oft-repeated bon mot : “He lights up a room when he leaves.” But if you want an attorney with clout, it’s Phillips, a key figure at the Manatt, Phelps, Rothenberg & Phillips firm whose high-powered client list includes Barbra Streisand, Prince, Linda Ronstadt and Jackson Browne. A savvy, tenacious lawyer renowned for his rugged negotiating tactics, Phillips is both respected and feared in record company corridors.

TOM ROSS

The top booking agent at Creative Artists Agency, Ross plots tour strategies for Madonna, Prince, Bette Midler, ZZ Top, Fleetwood Mac and Neil Diamond, and he’s just been tapped by Michael Jackson. Down-to-earth and comfortable, not at all pretentious, Ross doesn’t look out of place in a grimy coliseum, as many silk-suited agents do. Typical comment from an industry insider: “If I were a rock ‘n’ roll band, he’d be the first guy I’d go to.”

JOE SMITH

For years, Smith was the industry’s most entertaining and effective spokesman, whether roasting a colleague at a charity banquet or trying to convince a congressman that the record business isn’t dominated by long-haired dope fiends. After his resignation as chairman of Elektra / Asylum in 1983 and subsequent four-year “retirement” from the business, Smith is back as president and chief executive of Capitol Industries-EMI Inc., charged with revitalizing the nearly moribund Capitol Records.

BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN

The Boss may forever be tied to his native New Jersey, but he spends much of the year here, where he sometimes catches concert (U2 at the Sports Arena, Prince at the Forum) but mostly keeps away from the celebrity circuit. The most acclaimed American rocker since Dylan, Springsteen exerts a clout that extends beyond album and ticket sales. He represents integrity. “We Are the World” coordinator Ken Kragen will tell you Springsteen’s participation was the key to attracting other rock artists to the historic session. “As soon as they heard Bruce was involved,” Kragen said, “all the excuses and reservations were thrown out the window. Everyone felt safe once they knew Bruce was involved.”

BARBRA STREISAND

A world-class superstar at 20, she’s still on top at 45. First female to win the Oscar, Emmy, Grammy and Tony, Streisand is an obsessive perfectionist with unerring instincts for what works for her. She is increasingly conscious of social, political and environmental causes; a benefit concert she gave in her Malibu backyard last fall was the season’s hottest ticket. If she ever decided to tour, she could name her price and be virtually assured of doing sell-out business--and the same would have been true in 1977 or 1967.

RUSS THYRET

As director of promotion at Warner Bros. Records for the past 11 years, Thyret heads the largest department (60 people) at the most successful label on the West Coast, a position that makes him so important that “artists and their managers don’t feel fulfilled unless they get a sit-down with Russ when their new record is coming out,” a co-worker says. “You practically have to take a number to get in to see him.” He is credited with having brought Prince to the attention of Warner A&R; execs. Thyret eschews the glamor side of the business, hates having his picture taken, always wears jeans and sneakers and almost never tucks in his shirt.

PAUL WASSERMAN

A media junkie, Wasserman estimates that he scans 20 magazines a week and pores over more than a dozen newspapers a day. Wasserman, who also is the publicist for film clients Jack Nicholson, George C. Scott and Dennis Hopper, among others, started his music publicity career with the Beatles and Apple Records in the ‘60s and has since mapped strategy for the Rolling Stones, the Who, Bob Dylan, Neil Diamond, Linda Ronstadt and James Taylor. De-emphasizing music in recent years, he rebounded this year with a masterful campaign that landed U2 on the cover of Time. He once stood outside Mick Jagger’s San Antonio hotel room until 4 a.m. to make sure the singer kept an interview appointment.

STEVIE WONDER

The most respected pop musician of his generation, Wonder won the Grammy for album of the year in 1973, 1974 and 1976 and won an Oscar in 1985. He first topped the chart at age 13, billed as Little Stevie Wonder. A perfectionist in the studio, Wonder has no concept of time and is chronically late. Typical joke is that he runs on Standard Wonder Time. He can be mystically philosophical or wickedly prankish and does a spot-on impersonation of Motown founder Berry Gordy Jr.

JEFF WYATT

One of the few bright spots in the vast wasteland of rock radio has been KPWR-FM (better known as Power 106), a silky-smooth dance-music outlet that, along with KIIS-FM, has ruled the ratings roost for the past year. The brains behind the beat is Wyatt, the hot young program director who won his spurs (and a heated ratings war) at Philadelphia’s WUSL-FM, which was the first station to use the Power moniker. When Wyatt hit town 18 months ago, he put rock rival KIIS on notice, saying that deejay Rick Dees was “going south.” Dees is still riding pretty high, but Power 106 has momentum, thanks to Wyatt’s shrewd dance format (a mix of Top 40 and crossover black music) and the station’s morning team, led by contagiously obnoxious shock-jock Jay Thomas.