C. Winston Simone

C. Winston Simone, born in New York City, is a founder and principal of DSW Entertainment, which works in a broad spectrum of the entertainment business, including artist management, music publishing, recorded music, and television and movie production.

Simone entered the music business in 1978 when he became the manager of his friend Dean Torrence of legendary surf group Jan and Dean and set up Jan and Dean's 1978 tour with the Beach Boys. In 1980 Simone met Desmond Child and soon became Child's manager. Over the years Simone and Child worked together on over 75 Top 40 hits written and/or produced by Child, including "Livin' La Vida Loca," "Living on a Prayer," and "Dude Looks Like a Lady." Simone has also managed Michael Feinstein,[1] Carly Simon, Joe Jackson, Michael Beinhorn, Curtis Stigers,[2] and Karla DeVito, as well as comedians Emo Philips, Judy Tenuta and Gilbert Gottfried. He has put on shows with his clients at Broadway and West End theaters (such as Michael Feinstein's shows) and entertainment venues throughout the world, and produced television specials for his clients on the BBC, HBO, PBS and Cinemax.

In 1999 he teamed with David Simoné and Desmond Child to form Deston Songs.[3] After considerable success, Simone and Simoné parted ways with Child and founded DSW Entertainment in 2005. DSW immediately became a major player in music publishing, facilitating the acquisition of major publishing catalogs in partnership with Primary Wave Music, and has gone on to produce album projects from artists including Dolly Parton and The Piano Guys, manage major artists, and executive-produce television projects centering on Nik Wallenda's daredevil stunts[4] and '80s singing group Wilson Phillips's comeback effort[5] as well as several PBS concert specials.

His major recent and upcoming projects with DSW include The Piano Guys' 2016 album Uncharted (No. 15 on the Billboard 200 Chart and, like the group's four previous albums, No. 1 on the Billboard Classical Albums chart[6]); new albums from jazz singer-trumpeter Bria Skonberg (Bria, 2016, which reached No. 8 on Billboard's Jazz Albums chart, and With a Twist, May 2017); the Nik Wallenda television special Skyscraper Live, Discovery Channel's most-watched telecast of 2014;[7] and Welcome To Our Christmas Party, the album by holiday supergroup Band of Merrymakers featuring members of Lady Antebellum, Semisonic, Evanescence, Lifehouse, Sugar Ray, 311 and more.[8]

References

  1. ↑ Playbill, "Michael Feinstein in Concert: Isn't it Romantic", 1998, retrieved 2017-01-25
  2. ↑ Hits Daily Double, "Warner Music Group Acquires 50% Interest in Deston Songs", 2002-04-25, retrieved 2017-01-25
  3. ↑ Terry Barnes, "Deston Songs", 1999-11-27, retrieved 2017-01-25
  4. ↑ Brian Stelter, "Niagara Falls Tightrope Walk Is a Ratings Bonanza for ABC," The New York Times, 2012-06-16, retrieved 2017-01-30
  5. ↑ Lacey Rose, "TV Guide Network Orders 'Hollywood Moms Night,' Wilson Phillips Show to Series", Hollywood Reporter, 2011-12-19, retrieved 2017-01-25
  6. ↑ "The Piano Guys: Chart History", retrieved 2017-04-20
  7. ↑ TV by the Numbers, "'Skyscraper Live With Nik Wallenda' Delivers Discovery Channel's Most-Watched Telecast of the Year", 2014-11-03, retrieved 2017-01-25
  8. ↑ "Portrait Records Signs Holiday Supergroup Band Of Merrymakers", PRNewswire, 2015-08-26, retrieved 2017-04-21
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