'Song For The Mira" Earns Notable Recognition
"Song for the Mira" by Allister MacGillivray is to be inducted into the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame as part of a unique partnership with the East Coast Music Association.
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Tim Harrison
Obituaries: Folk Artist and Summerfolk Founder Tim Harrison, Madonna Producer William Orbit
This week we also acknowledge the passing of garage rocker Jeff Conolly, English journalist and artist manager Vicki Wickham, label exec Mel Posner and producer David Z
Tim Harrison, a Canadian folk singer-songwriter and founder of Owen Sound's Summerfolk festival, has died, at age 75. His passing was announced on social media in early August.
According to a bio on his artist website, Harrison hailed from Owen Sound, Ontario, and debuted with the release of his 1979 album Train Going East, produced by folk legend Stan Rogers and engineered by legendary Canadian producer Daniel Lanois.
Harrison would later recall those sessions at the famed Grant Avenue Studio in Hamilton, noting that “Daniel was a master. In those days there was no cut and paste except for the very literal cut and paste of the two-inch tape. Danny would expertly cut windows out of the tape and replace the bits in exact time.”
He did not release a second album until 1995's The Stars Above, but later put out six more full-length records, the last being 2022's Backporch Confidential. He recently released Collected Works, 1975-2025, a CD collection of songs from five decades of writing and recording.
Harrison's reputation as a witty and charming storyteller made him a favourite at folk festivals and clubs in Canada and beyond. He played shows at Toronto's Harbourfront Centre, Canso's Stan Rogers Folk Festival, New York's Caffe Lena, Washington's Kennedy Center, England's Midland Arts Centre, Scotland's An Lanntair Arts Centre and many other venues.
Harrison's music has been published in the venerable magazine Sing Out, and earned praise in the pages of the Boston Globe, Folk Roots, Acoustic Guitar, Dirty Linen and other folk music publications.
Along with his songwriting, recording and performing, Harrison was actively involved in promoting folk music as a radio host, concert promoter and as artistic director of festivals across the country: Owen Sound Summerfolk (founder), Mariposa Folk Festival (1982), Northwind Folk Festival (1983-4), and Eaglewood Folk Festival (1993-1999).
At just 24, he co-founded the Summerfolk Music And Crafts Festival, with his late brother John, in 1976. Noted roots/folk/jazz guitarist Margaret Stowe was on the scene in Owen Sound as Summerfolk began. She recalls to Billboard Canada that ''Tim and I were part of a special convergence of people in Owen Sound circa 1975. He had just moved back to Owen Sound from living out east.
''A bunch of us (artists, craftspeople, musicians) had moved up to Owen Sound from the city to 'go back to the land.' It became an incredibly fertile scene of the arts and folk music; sweet years. In 1976, Tim founded Summerfolk, and despite losses, he said, 'In terms of a first year festival, we haven’t done badly.' The next year, in 1977, I got a job at the Grey Bruce Arts Council and was part of the GB Folk Committee and Summerfolk team with Tim and the others.''
Harrison was on hand to perform at the highly-respected festival's 50th anniversary last year. In 2019 he published his book Acoustic Espionage: Folk Clubs, Festivals, and Maps Of Paris, the story of his starting Summerfolk and his journey of personal growth as a writer and performing artist.
While living on the West Coast, Harrison produced concerts, performed in many venues, and wrote grants and a play for the Vancouver Tap Dance Society.
In recent years, back in Ontario, Harrison continued to write and record music as well as performing solo and with fellow songwriter Larry Jensen, presenting evenings of music entitled “The Song Trade.''
A 2025 feature profile of Harrison and Larry Jensen in On The Bay observed that ''Harrison later struggled to have his own artistic work recognized separately from his history as an organizer, articulating a common pressure in small communities to be what people expect of you: 'You can’t be a two-hat person in a one-hat town,' he writes.''
On The Bay reported that at last year's Summerfolk, ''generations of festivalgoers rose to their feet in a spontaneous ovation as Harrison and Jensen took their place among the star-studded local lineup to celebrate the anniversary.''
Upon word of his passing, affectionate tributes to Harrison circulated on social media. Here is a selection:
Summerfolk Music and Crafts Festival, on Facebook: ''We’re very sad to say that Tim Harrison has passed away. Tim, along with his brother John, started the Summerfolk Festival in 1976, and Tim was artistic director for many years. They invented this festival. Tim was such a vital part of our 50th anniversary last year, and he will be missed this year. But what he gave us goes on.Tim was a songwriter, a storyteller, a trailblazer. Our deepest condolences to his family.''
On Facebook, Mariposa Folk Festival posted this: ''Singer-songwriter, musician, and festival builder Tim Harrison has passed away at the age of 75. As co-founder of the Owen Sound Summerfolk Festival and artistic director of the Mariposa Folk Festival in 1982, his legacy will live on through the music, the festivals, and the community he helped inspire. Our thoughts are with his family, friends, and the entire folk music community.''
Music publicist and folk musician Beverly Kreller, on Facebook: ''My heart hurts and I haven’t stopped weeping since I heard the very sad news of the passing of my dear friend Tim Harrison. He was a terrific friend, mentor and tour buddy. I met him first at Summerfolk and he hired us at Eaglewood Festival when I was in the band 3 Our Tour. He then asked me to record on a few of his albums and consequently join his band at the time. He loved that I played the penny whistle, bodhran, and accordion, and could sing as strong and hard as he could. We had the kind of vocal match akin to sibling harmony.
''He was mischievous on stage and would never tell me ahead of time what song he was doing next. I loved his music and he loved that I knew all the Celtic tunes like 'Jock Stewart' and 'Carrickfergus.' I especially loved Tim’s version of it, haunting and deeply moving. We toured out east together and he introduced me to the Stan Rogers festival where I helped him lead the festival closing tune, The Mary Ellen Carter. All we seemed to eat were fries on tour and so instead of rise again, we’d sing 'fries again, fries again.'''
''We did that many times through the years at Eaglewood and Owen Sound's Summerfolk fest. And later too, when Tim and Curlyboy Stubbs (Paul Mills) and I played together. We had a lot of fun and laughs. It was a special trio playing and harmonizing with those two legends. I will miss this man so much. My heart breaks for his wife, son, and the whole family. He was one in a million, a true Canadian treasure, and one helluva singer-songwriter.''
Folk musician, publicist and former bandmate Alyssa Wright (on Facebook): ''I first met Tim Harrison in '93, when playing as part of Laura Thomas's house band for a weekly jam night at Toronto's Fallen Angel. He was just starting to record a new album in João Carvalho’s Umbrella Sound, and asked me to play cello on it.
''That soon became singing on it as well, and becoming part of his trio, with the man later to become my second husband. Tim brought me along to play at my first folk festival, Eaglewood, in '94 and then several more around Ontario and later the very first Stan Rogers Folk Festival in Canso, NS.
''My company, Take Note! Promotion, came into being because of him – I'd been working as a publicist for Hart/Murdock Artists Management (classical music), and he wanted me to do that and bookings for them. While the Tim Harrison Trio ended not-so-gloriously, recording Bridges and the years of shows with Tim remain some wonderful memories – and are a huge part of my branching out into non-classical playing.
''I hadn't known he'd been ill, so this is a shock, and a very sad trip down memory lane today. Thank you, Tim, for all the doors you opened in my life, for your friendship, and far too many beers and jalapeno poppers over the years. This is a big hole.''
Leslie Thompson, on Facebook: ''Remembering the early years when we were both really young and full of energy - me at Northern Lights and Tim at Summerfolk. I then volunteered with Tim for almost a year to help launch the Northwind Festival. We both loved 'The Dutchman' and in my mind, I can still see and hear him as he sang it at my bon voyage party on a boat in Toronto Harbour. A fine person whose commitment to Canadian folk music, especially to singer/songwriters, was a beacon. He will be missed.''
Margaret Stowe, to Billboard Canada: ''Tim wrote a piece for Summerfolk's first printed program asking 'What is folk music?' He wrote, 'All music has roots buried deep in human experience…each man has his joy, each man feels his pain, and each man has his folk song….'''
''Tim was deeply committed to both traditional folk music and also to songwriting. He wrote, 'We are responsible for writing music and songs which tell our story…we are always in motion, the metamorphosis continues…the [folk] process never ceases.' Rest in peace dear friend.''
Tim Harrison's wife, Carol L. Edwards-Harrison, posted this on Facebook: ''So touching to see this caring outpouring for my dear husband and love of my life. I’ll make sure his son reads your comments as it is such a kind comfort to see how his passion for music reached and impacted so many. Playing at Summerfolk last year to the appreciative audience meant the world to him.Thank you all.''
A celebration of life will be announced at a later date.
International
William Orbit (born William Wainwright), the British producer who worked extensively with Madonna, U2, Blur and more, died on July 23, at age 69. A cause of death was not given.
The news was announced via a statement from his family and friends on Orbit’s verified Instagram account.
Billboard reports that ''Orbit was best known for his work on Madonna’s 1998 album, Ray of Light, on which his signature sounds — which contained elements of techno, trip-hop and downtempo — brought an ethereal backing to songs such as 'Frozen' and the title track. The album peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 and won best pop album at the 1999 Grammys; its title track won best dance recording at the same ceremony.
''The pair frequently worked together over the following decade, with Orbit receiving production credits on 'Beautiful Stranger,' 'American Pie' and songs on Madge’s 2000 LP Music and 2012’s MDNA.''
In addition to the Queen of Pop, Orbit also acted as producer Blur’s 1997 album 13, which saw the group move away from its Britpop sound and embrace darker themes and a sound influenced by global music. The LP spawned a number of songs that the group would continue to perform over the years, including “Coffee & TV,” “Tender” and “No Distance Left to Run.'''
Elsewhere throughout his career, Orbit had credits on singles from U2 (“Electrical Storm,” 2000), All Saints (“Pure Shores,” 2000), P!NK (“Feel Good Time,” 2003), Britney Spears (“Alien,” 2013) and Chris Brown (“Don’t Wake Up,” 2012).
Prior to his production career, Orbit made a mark in the U.K. by releasing work under his own name. In 1980, he formed the electronic trio Torch Song with Laurie Mayer and Grant Gilbert, with whom he released three albums between 1984 and 1987.
He also created the soundtrack for Youngblood, the 1986 sports drama starring Rob Lowe, Patrick Swayze, and Keanu Reeves. In the early 1990s, he helmed Bassomatic, whose hit “Fascinating Rhythm” made the U.K. Singles and Dance charts. Orbit and Gilbert would go on to found Guerilla Studios together, out of which came Orbit’s label, Guerilla Records.
Billboard notes that ''His Strange Cargo LP trilogy from 1987 to 1993, is considered a classic of the British electronic scene. His 1999 LP, Pieces in a Modern Style, reached No. 2 on the U.K.’s Official Albums Chart, and his version of 'Barber’s Adagio for Strings' peaked at No. 4 on the Singles Chart.
Paste observes that ''Orbit created distinct, widely popular remixes of U2 and Prince songs, and he is also widely credited with discovering the folk-electronic artist Beth Orton. Orbit had a number of successful solo albums, including 1995’s Pieces in a Modern Style.''
David Rivkin, a Grammy-winning producer and engineer also known as David Z, died on Aug. 2 at the age of 78. The Minneapolis Star Tribune reports that he died due to complications from an infection.
Billboard's obituary reports that ''Widely regarded as one of the architects of the Minneapolis Sound, David Z played a pivotal role in launching rock icon Prince's career by producing his early demo recordings and engineering some of his early albums.
''His expertise also extended to work on Lipps Inc.’s chart-topping 'Funkytown,' which earned the No. 1 spot on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1980. Additionally, David Z co-produced Fine Young Cannibals’ 'She Drives Me Crazy,” which topped the Hot 100 in 1989 and earned a Grammy nomination for record of the year in 1990.
''Throughout his career, David Z collaborated with an extensive list of acclaimed artists, including Etta James, Buddy Guy, Jonny Lang and Al Green. He co-produced Jody Watley’s No. 2 Hot 100 hit 'Looking for a New Love' and her top 10 'Some Kind of Lover,' as well at top 10 hits on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart for Prince-affiliated artists The Family ('Screams of Passion,' No. 9 in 1985) and Sheila E ('Hold Me,' No. 3 in 1987), among others."
His studio work earned him a Grammy Award in 2005 for his production on Etta James’ Blues to the Bone album, solidifying his reputation as one of the most respected producers to emerge from Minnesota’s music scene.
In the statement announcing his passing, David Z’s brother, Bobby Z — drummer for Prince & The Revolution — remembered the producer as a fearless innovator in the studio, recalling his unconventional approach to recording and describing him as a 'true rebel.'''
Billboard notes that ''Beyond his technical experience, David Z’s influence stretched across generations of musicians, helping define the distinctive Minneapolis Sound that rose to international prominence in the late 1970s and 1980s. His production style and engineering techniques left a lasting imprint on funk, pop, rock, blues and soul recordings.''
Jeff Conolly, frontman and organist in noted Boston garage-punk bands Lyres and DMZ , died on July 31, at age 69, of bladder cancer.
DMZ was prominent in the 1970s, prior to Conolly founding Lyres in 1979. Known for intense performances, both bands were led by the organ-playing vocalist Conolly (aka 'Monoman', a nickname referencing his fetish for old-school mono records).
A Rolling Stone obituary noted that ''the Lyres’ Jeff 'Monoman' Conolly was a true rock & roll legend. When the gods of rock built this guy, they broke the mold, probably on purpose. Conolly was a Boston rock kingpin, the garage-punk godfather who cranked out a string of ferocious indie records in the 1980s, snarling frantic raves like 'Don’t Give It Up Now' and 'She Pays the Rent.'''
''A Lyres show meant witnessing Conolly in full frenzy, swept up in the high-strung psycho attack of the music, a skinny tornado of a man whipping himself into a state of shamanic possession during 'I Really Want You Right Now,' chanting that title over and over, banging on a beer bottle for percussion. He was one of the most maniacally brilliant frontmen I’ve ever seen.''
''He was also a notoriously difficult character — tough on his bandmates, tough on the audience. He was constantly firing the other Lyres, or battling them onstage.''
Rolling Stone wrote that ''Conolly started started making noise in the 1970s with the Stooges-style punk group DMZ, who fell apart after a killer indie EP and a terrible major-label album.'' Intriguingly, that self-titled full-length album, released on Sire in 1978, was produced by Flo & Eddie. The record flopped and the band splintered.
Of note: Early drummer David Robinson (who had previously been in the Modern Lovers) left DMZ to join the Cars. Bassist Mike Lewis later joined the Lyres, as did guitarist Peter Greenberg, who went on to found Barrence Whitfield and the Savages.
Rolling Stone observes that ''Conolly went for a leaner, meaner, dirtier approach with the Lyres, on the Boston DIY label Ace of Hearts. The sound was rooted in Sixties garage rock, long before that was a style hipsters appreciated or cultivated. He was the generational bridge between the Nuggets originators and the Nineties inheritors.''
Lyres made a splash with its low-budget 1981 debut EP, but their big breakthrough was On Fyre, from the summer of 1984. “Here it is, THE beach-party album of the year,” Rolling Stone proclaimed in a rave review. That publication claimed Conolly had a big influence on more successful bands that followed, writing ''Lyres had a massive impact on Nineties rock. Even bands who never heard of this guy ended up copping his tricks.''
Rolling Stone adds that ''Conolly kept rocking to the end — the Lyres were still touring until earlier this year. The band’s final show was Feb. 13 in Austin, right before his bladder-cancer diagnosis. When the news of his illness spread, there was a benefit in Boston, on March 12, gathering musicians who nobody expected to ever play together again. It united bands like the Flies, Classic Ruins, Unnatural Axe, the Dogmatics, and more, including — for one night only — his old friends in Mission of Burma.'' At that show, Conolly joined his Mission of Burma comrades in covering a Stooges classic.
Over multiple visits to Ontario to perform with Lyres, Conolly befriended many fellow musicians and industry types here, and upon hearing of his passing they responded with affectionate social media posts.
Veteran Hamilton rock promoter Lou Molinaro posted that ''Many of us have colourful memories about Jeff. I was fortunate to see Jeff perform a few times over the years. We hosted two of his shows with the Canadian Lyres at [Hamilton bar] This Ain’t Hollywood. During one of his visits, he took it upon himself to rearrange all of our stage monitors to a specific plot. He explained it as 'sound architecture.' Doug our sound tech at first thought that Jeff was messing up our stage. Afterwards he expressed, 'He might be a genius.'''
''My personal favourite memory of Jeff was when Rob Sweeney brought him to a Toronto show by Tongue Fu [a band featuring Molinaro , Sweeney and Gord Lewis of Teenage Head]. After our set, I asked Jeff, “what did you think of our set?”.Jeff replied, “ I heard a lot of Blue Oyster Cult in there.' My spirits were lifted. Until the next orbit Mr. Conolly.'''
Oshawa rock guitarist Rob Sweeney also remembered Conolly on Facebook: ''In 1995 Jeff had kinda invited himself up to play along at a gig. This idea had originated years back to when my band The Purple Toads opened for Lyres at The Bamboo Club in Toronto.
''Jump to December 1995 & Jeff is flying to Toronto by way of collected Air Miles points. Jeff thinks he is coming to the Boneyard Devils gig to improvise along with an organ, adding some color to the tunes while also playing a couple of his requests ('Three Time Loser'). BUT, when Jeff arrives at our rehearsal & finds we have a white board loaded with Lyres tunes, he gets very excited & after playing a few songs he comments "' can't believe you guys know these songs. I've never had it so good!'''
''Jeff seemed pleased with what he called "an experiment" of playing with a pick-up band...pleased enough that he said 'next time we'll call it Lyres.' A shout out to Kelly Mulvey for helping to organize this show!''
Sweeney also notes that ''Jeff would sometimes play gigs in Toronto, Hamilton & Montreal, backed by 'Canadian Lyres,' 'Fake Lyres' or sometimes 'Lyres, Toronto Chapter,' like a bike gang.!''
Toronto musician and former label executive Kelly Mulvey posted this memory on Facebook: ''DMZ and the Lyres were part of my rock and roll grooming courtesy of my past band. Much later, through my manager Al Cole, I had the opportunity for my new band called Tastes Like Chicken to open for a great friend Rob Sweeney's band Boneyard Devils with Jeff Conolly of the legendary Lyres. My challenge was to find a keyboard for Jeff. The now shuttered Steve's Music helped me source a vintage Farfisa for the show and my band went on to play at the El Mocambo with Monoman. What a fantastic time!''
Canadian-born garage rock impresario Miriam Linna (Norton Records) posted this tribute on Facebook: ''Goodbye to the remarkable Jeff Conolly, major influence and superman. An honor to have worked with another member of the Esquerita Fan Club. No one was a more ardent fan.
''Have been on the telephone this morning with Lyres youngster- guitar cat Danny McCormack, regaling the daze - RIP Jeff, ball of fire and dearest, most intense of humans. Just thinking about seeing him front DMZ at CBGB's "back when". I guess the band blasting right into 'Teenage Head 'there galvanized them into my heart forever.
''An absolute honor to have had the man on Norton, to have been his friend, and to have been present in his majesty, in both DMZ and the Lyres. It was the Lyres for me, though, in spades, and the first Lyres 45 on Sounds Interesting is forever in my Top Ten, on replay. Jeff was a top writer, musician, funny man, and acerbic wit. Love you forever.''
Vicki Wickham, an English journalist, producer, songwriter, talent manager and driving force behind the 1960s pop music TV show Ready Steady Go!, died on August 1, at age 87.
A Guardian obituary reports that ''Wickham guided the careers of Dusty Springfield, Labelle and Marc Almond, wrote for the music paper Melody Maker, contributed to the teen magazine Fabulous, and assembled the talent for each weekly edition of the groundbreaking pop music programme Ready Steady Go!
''She also managed the 'unmanageable' (his word) Morrissey for a while, ran the New York office of the label set up by the Who’s management, Track Records, and co-wrote Springfield’s biggest hit, 'You Don’t Have to Say You Love Me.'''
''The song, released in 1966, perhaps best embodied her ability to get stuck into a project and triumph, no matter her lack of experience. In its original form it had an Italian lyric, and needed an English translation before Springfield could record it. Springfield was reluctant to do it herself, 'and I, like a bigmouth, said, ‘Any fool can write lyrics,' Wickham recalled in a US radio interview in 2002. Springfield told her to go right ahead.''
''Wickham and her friend Simon Napier-Bell, the Yardbirds’ manager, wrote the words over dinner that night,Magnificently overwrought, the track was a smash – Springfield’s only UK No 1 and still one of her most feted songs 27 years after her death.''
“I never had any idea what I wanted to do, so I was just in the right place at the right time,” was Vicki Wickham’s modest way of explaining, in 1999, her involvement in some of pop culture’s great moments.
In early 1963, she accepted a secretarial job on a forthcoming TV pop show, Ready Steady Go!, but only when her boss promised that she would quickly be promoted to a creative role. By the time the pilot had been put together – the first show aired in August 1963 – she was producing it.
The Guardian notes that ''she quickly developed an ear for the young British bands and American R&B artists who were starting to storm through UK popular culture.
''After the show ended in 1966, she worked with the Beatles’ manager, Brian Epstein, as the booker for a lineup of Sunday concerts he promoted at the Saville theatre in London. In the series’ short existence, she pulled in some of the biggest rock names, including The Who and Jimi Hendrix.''
In 1970, she accepted an offer to manage the New York office of the Who’s label, Track Records. She relocated there – a move that turned out to be permanent. She started managing Labelle, boosting their career to No. 1 with the 1974 smash hit ''Lady Marmalade.'' Wickham lived with Labelle’s Nona Hendryx for a long period and the couple married in 2011.
Wickham was Dusty Springfield’s manager for the last 13 years of the singer's life and in 1999, Wickham and the journalist Penny Valentine wrote the authorised Springfield biography, Dancing With Demons.
Other management clients included Morrissey, Marc Almond, Holly Johnson (Frankie Goes To Hollywood) and the American funk band Cameo.
In 1999 she received the British music industry’s Woman of the Year lifetime achievement award.
Mel Posner, the former president of Elektra/Asylum and later head of Geffen International, died on July 30 in Los Angeles. He was 90.
An obituary in Hits Daily Double reported that ''A Brooklyn native, Posner entered the business almost by accident. After leaving the Army in 1958, he answered a newspaper ad for a temporary job at the tiny Greenwich Village offices of Elektra, where founder Jac Holzman and his former wife, Nina, ran virtually every aspect of the company themselves. Posner was hired to ship records, collate LP jackets, run errands and, as he later liked to recall, sweep the floor. Within a few years, he had worked his way into sales, beginning one of the industry’s most remarkable ascents.
''Posner became one of the architects of Elektra’s extraordinary growth during the 1960s, helping build the label around artists including Judy Collins, The Doors, Bread, The Stooges and MC5 while pioneering innovative retail and distribution strategies. He also played a key role in the creation of Nonesuch Records, whose success helped redefine the market for budget classical releases, and was one of the driving forces behind the formation of the groundbreaking WEA distribution network alongside Dave Glew, Eddie Rosenblatt and Joel Friedman. By the end of 1972, WEA had become the industry’s premier branch-distribution system.
''As president of Elektra/Asylum under David Geffen, Posner helped oversee one of the hottest labels of the 1970s. After leaving Elektra, Posner founded the indie label Silver Seagull before rejoining Geffen to build the company’s international operation. He helped establish worldwide careers for artists including Aerosmith, Nirvana and Canadian Nelly Furtado. Following the sale of Geffen to MCA, he later ran international operations for DreamWorks Records under Mo Ostin, continuing a career that spanned the industry’s transformation from independent labels to global entertainment companies.''
Hits Daily Double states ''Posner will be remembered as both a killer salesman and a genuine mensch, a combination that earned him lasting admiration throughout the industry. But his greatest legacy extended beyond sales. From helping build Elektra into a powerhouse to creating the WEA branch system and later expanding Geffen’s international reach, he helped invent the modern record-distribution business.”
Back in 2010, Posner offered his thoughts on the changing labels landscape to Today.com. Recalling the '70s, he noted that '“In those days, there was a lot more latitude by the record companies, because they were independent. They didn’t have Wall Street looking over their shoulders. You invested in an artist not just for one album, but for a career. At Elektra, there was an ease, a more relaxed attitude about putting out albums and starting careers with artists.”
''But Posner said when multinational corporations bought up the record companies, it all started to go downhill. Now? 'There’s less passion in both the consumer and the record industries themselves,' he said. 'It’s too easy for a record company now to say, ‘Well, we tried,’ and let’s pass after only one album.'''
Posner made friends with many colleagues in the Canadian music industry. On Facebook, Sarah Norris posted this tribute: ''He was ‘Uncle Mel’ to so many of us. I had the great honour of working with Mel for over a decade when he helmed the International divisions for Geffen, then Dreamworks.''
''Mel was a giant in the music industry – an inspiration and mentor, and that special kind of man who always had time for you… and his stories about the business, the best! Yet so much more than that, I felt privileged to call him and his ‘lovely bride’ Cheryl dear friends. To take a line from Mel himself, who recently wrote about his own dear friend’s passing, 'He has been an inspiration and a model of excellence in all facets of life.' RIP Uncle Mel. Luvyu. x"
Also on Facebook, Canadian label veteran turned author Kevin Shea also paid tribute: ''Mel was very good to me when I was doing National Promo at WEA and we distributed Geffen. Leaned on me to get Enya added at CHED Edmonton, and when we did, it was like I was the conquering hero. Met him when I joined MCA and Geffen had changed Canadian distributors. We had a lot of heart to hearts and a lot of laughs. Rest well, Mel.''