Rock & Roll High School is an interview series that spotlights some of the most important figures in the history of contemporary music. Interviews by Pete Ganbarg, President of A&R at Atlantic Records.
About Pete Ganbarg:
Pete Ganbarg is President of A&R for Atlantic Records as well as President of ATCO Records, a division of Atlantic. He joined the Atlantic Records Group as Executive Vice President of A&R in late 2008. A 30+ year A&R veteran and member of the board of directors of the Songwriters Hall of Fame, Ganbarg has also held senior A&R positions at Arista, Epic, and SBK/EMI. As a publisher, Ganbarg operates Songs With A Pure Tone and Margetts Road Music, joint ventures currently in partnership with Warner Chappell Music. Songs published by Ganbarg include hits by Miley Cyrus, Justin Bieber, Maroon 5, Katy Perry, OneRepublic, Lewis Capaldi, Ed Sheeran, Andy Grammer, Lizzo, Beyoncé, and more.
Ganbarg is the recipient of two GRAMMY Awards for his role as producer on the Original Broadway Cast Recording of Dear Evan Hansen and the Original Broadway Cast Recording of Jagged Little Pill. At Atlantic, among the artists and projects that Ganbarg has overseen are GAYLE, twenty one pilots, Halestorm, Jason Mraz, Christina Perri, Melanie Martinez, Skillet, Brett Eldredge, Matchbox Twenty & Rob Thomas, Theory Of A Deadman, and Icona Pop; as well as the Original Broadway Cast Recordings of Hamilton, Mean Girls, Jagged Little Pill, Dear Evan Hansen, and the multi-platinum Billboard No. 1 soundtrack album The Greatest Showman, the latter two of which he also co-produced. Ganbarg began his A&R career in 1989 at SBK Records. In 1997, he joined Clive Davis at Arista Records, where, as Senior Director of A&R, he conceived and A&R’d Santana’s 30x platinum worldwide, nine-time GRAMMY-winning album, Supernatural.
Additionally, he was recently named International Music Person Of The Year for 2023 by the music industry organization MUSEXPO.
Kathy Valentine has been a working musician and songwriter for over 40 years, ever since she started her first band at age 16 in her hometown of Austin, Texas. After moving to Los Angeles, Kathy joined a band that would go on to make music history: The Go-Go’s. In the group, Kathy wrote or co-wrote some of the bands most renowned tunes, including the hits “Vacation” and “Head Over Heels.” The music of Kathy and The Go-Go’s has inspired a generation of musicians and continues to be part of the cultural fabric of our times. In 2018, The Go-Go’s music was featured as the soundtrack for the Broadway jukebox musical Head Over Heels, and in 2020, Allison Ellwood’s documentary, The Go-Go’s, explored the band’s significance, encouraging the members to reunite and record their first song together in 19 years, “Club Zero.” 2020 also marked the release of Kathy’s memoir, “All I Ever Wanted.” In October of 2021, The Go-Go's will be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
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