Clarence Avant, 'The Black Godfather' of Entertainment, Dead at 92
etonline.comBlack American culture as one of the most influential businessmen in entertainment. The Greensboro, North Carolina, native became a pillar in entertainment after moving to Los Angeles in the late 1960s.
He went on to manage Sarah Vaughan and Jimmy Smith and brokered the sale of Stax Records in the 1960s; discovered and signed «Ain't No Sunshine» singer Bill Withers after he formed his own record company, Sussex Records, in the '70s; purchased KAGB-FM making it the only Black-owned FM radio station in Los Angeles at the time; co-promoted Michael Jackson's first solo world tour in the '80s; mentored the careers of such figures as Muhammad Ali, for whom he secured a variety special on ABC; helped build Freedom National Bank of Harlem for baseball pioneer Jackie Robinson; and served as Motown's chairman of the board in the '90s after its sale to PolyGram.«He's a teacher, he's a master communicator, he's the perfect marriage between street sense and common sense,» Richie said when Avant received the Ahmet Ertegun Award from the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2021. «What he did for us, the sons and daughters of the Afro American community, he brought us some understanding of what the music business was all about.»«Without Clarence Avant, there is no Hank Aaron,» home run record breaker Hank Aaron — for whom Clarence negotiated the largest endorsement deal in professional sports history — told viewers in the 2019 documentary film, .The directed by Reginald Hudlin and produced by Clarence's daughter, Nicole, features interviews with Snoop Dogg, Jamie Foxx, Ludacris and former Presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton, among others.
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