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 Allen Klein: Passes away
Music entrepreneur Allen Klein, who played a key role in the break-up of The Beatles, died in New York on July 4 after a battle with Alzheimer's disease. He was 77.
During a career spanning more than 50 years, the New Jersey-born Klein earned a reputation as a ruthless operator, extracting lucrative deals from labels for his clients.
In 1957 he began his own business, a partnership with his wife Betty. In 1965, Klein became the co-manager of The Rolling Stones.
Later, after managing The Beatles, Klein failed to secure control of copyrights on their behalf.
His ruthless business practices were reviled by many, but he also earned grudging respect for bullying labels into giving rich deals to his clients.
"Don't talk to me about ethics", Allen Klein once told Playboy magazine. "Every man makes his own. It's like a war. You choose your side early and from then on, you're being shot at. The man you beat is likely to call you unethical. So what?"
Klein said that John Lennon hired him to protect his interest in the Beatles because he wanted "a real shark -- someone to keep the other sharks away".
Klein's company, ABKCO Music & Records, is one of the biggest independent labels in the world.
Klein is survived by his longtime companion Iris Keitel, his wife Betty, three children, four grandchildren and a sister. His funeral will take place in New York on Tuesday.
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