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Bill Freston, Former Columbia Records Executive, Dies at 76


Bill Freston, a former Columbia Records executive, is dead at age 76. He worked with The Rolling Stones and Billy Joel and founded several ventures.

R. William “Bill” Freston, a former executive at Columbia Records who worked with superstars including The Rolling Stones and Billy Joel, died on Thursday (Feb. 20) following a “traumatic fall” on the Caribbean island of Bequia, his family announced Wednesday (Feb. 26). Freston began his career in the early 1970s after graduating from St. Michael’s College at the top of the decade, first with a job at free-form Boston radio station WNTN, where he rose to the role of GM. In 1973, Freston moved to New York, where he was hired at Columbia Records and went on to work with stars including Aerosmith, Janis Ian, Blue Oyster Cult and John McLaughlin, eventually rising to the role of senior vp.

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Bill Freston, Longtime Columbia Records Executive, Dies at 76