Walter Yetnikoff, CBS Records Head Who Helped Make Michael Jackson a Superstar, Dies at 87
Roy Trakin Walter Yetnikoff, a colorful record label executive who led CBS Records as president/CEO from 1975 to 1990 — when its roster was stacked with superstars like Michael Jackson, Bruce Springsteen, Billy Joel, Barbra Streisand, Paul McCartney and the Rolling Stones — died Sunday night at age 87. He would have turned 88 on August 11.A cause of death has not been given, although he had been battling several illnesses in recent years. His wife, Lynda, confirmed the death to friends Monday.Born in 1933 in Brooklyn’s largely Jewish Brownsville neighborhood, Yetnikoff described his childhood as “extremely painful” as a result of having been physically abused by his father.