Artie Kornfeld

Artie Kornfeld is an American music executive, songwriter, record producer, festival promoter, and broadcaster known for co-creating the Woodstock Music & Art Fair and for a prolific career in the popular music industry. He worked with prominent labels, artists, and media figures across decades, contributing to landmark recordings, large-scale festivals, and television and radio programming. Kornfeld's influence spans the Brill Building era, the rise of rock music in the 1960s, and later developments in adult contemporary and oldies broadcasting.

Early life and education

Born in Brooklyn during the early 1940s, Kornfeld grew up amid the cultural milieu of New York City boroughs including Kings County, New York and nearby neighborhoods associated with the American folk music revival. He attended local schools while being exposed to rhythms from Tin Pan Alley, the Brill Building, and the burgeoning Rhythm and blues and Doo-wop scenes. His formative years coincided with the careers of contemporaries active in Atlantic Records, Columbia Records, and the early staff of MGM Records recording studios. Influences included songwriters and producers who worked in venues like the Apollo Theater and studios in Manhattan and Queens.

Music career and songwriting

Kornfeld began songwriting and producing during the 1950s and 1960s, collaborating with figures from the Brill Building songwriting community, staff at Capitol Records, and independent producers linked to A&M Records and Motown Records. He co-wrote and produced songs recorded by acts associated with Liberty Records, MCA Records, and United Artists Records, and worked with artists who toured venues such as the Fillmore East, Madison Square Garden, and the Civic Auditorium (San Francisco). His compositions were registered with performing rights organizations frequenting studios near Sweden Street and publishing houses like Chappell & Co. and Irving Berlin Music. Collaborations and professional intersections included songsmiths tied to Carole King, Gerry Goffin, Jerry Leiber, Mike Stoller, Paul Simon, and producers in the orbit of Phil Spector and Berry Gordy. Kornfeld's songwriting credits and production work placed him alongside session musicians from the Wrecking Crew and arrangers who had scored projects for Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, and crossover acts in the pop rock and folk rock charts.

Woodstock and festival production

Kornfeld is best known for co-creating and co-producing the 1969 Woodstock Music & Art Fair alongside prominent promoters and entrepreneurs who operated in the festival circuit including associates from Macon, Georgia and the San Francisco scene. His organizational role connected him to contemporaries who promoted events at Monterey Pop Festival, Isle of Wight Festival, and Newport Folk Festival. Personnel and logistical coordination involved interactions with booking agents, management connected to acts such as Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, The Who, Santana (band), and Grateful Dead, and facilitation with local authorities in Bethel, New York and Woodstock, New York. The Woodstock event had cascading influence on later festivals like Altamont Free Concert and inspired promoters who later organized large-scale events across Europe and North America, while impacting media coverage in outlets such as Rolling Stone, Billboard (magazine), and Life (magazine).

Business ventures and broadcasting

Following festival production, Kornfeld engaged in executive roles with record labels and publishing firms, aligning with organizations similar to Warner Bros. Records, Epic Records, RCA Records, and independents shaped by executives who had backgrounds at Decca Records and Sun Records. He developed television and radio projects that intersected with syndicated programs on networks comparable to NBC, CBS, and ABC, and collaborated with broadcasters from WNEW (AM), WABC (AM), and stations influential in the Top 40 format. His business activities included music publishing, rights management touching on catalogs akin to those controlled by Broadcast Music, Inc. and ASCAP, and ventures in nostalgic programming engaging audiences of classic rock and oldies formats. Kornfeld's broadcasting work brought him into the orbit of media personalities associated with Howard Stern, Wolfman Jack, and DJs who transitioned to syndicated formats.

Personal life and legacy

Kornfeld's personal network encompasses musicians, executives, and cultural figures from the 1960s counterculture and the subsequent decades of commercial music enterprise. He has been profiled and interviewed by journalists from The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, and music historians who document events like the Summer of Love and the evolution of the record industry. His legacy includes influence on festival production practices, songwriting craft linked to the Brill Building tradition, and contributions to radio and television programming formats preserving popular music heritage. Kornfeld's career is cited in retrospective analyses alongside producers and promoters whose work reshaped live music presentation and mass-media distribution in the late 20th century.

Category:American record producers Category:Music promoters Category:Songwriters from New York (state)