Contributor

Ramon Hervey II

President, Hervey & Company, Entertainment Management

HERVEY & COMPANY…A PROFILE In the turbulent and unpredictable world of entertainment, superstars and their managers come and go with meteoric velocity. However, over the past two decades, Hervey & Company has been a model of resiliency, while maintaining a reputation as one of the top boutique personal management firms in the country. Hervey & Company has represented a diverse and impressive roster of entertainers that have encompassed a wide spectrum of contemporary music genres, ranging from pop/rock, rhythm & blues, hip-hop, jazz, and gospel. The company has also managed several actors/singers, served as management consultants for a list of independent record labels, produced live events and special recording projects, and served in various capacities on a number of film and television projects. The firm’s current roster includes Grammy nominated a cappella ensemble, Sweet Honey In The Rock, and up and coming UK based soul/pop singer/songwriter Glen Scott and a few developing artists as well. In the past several years he also served as Music Supervisor of the documentary film, “FREE ANGELA,” (2012-13) a political crime thriller that chronicled the life and times of pop culture icon and activist Angela Davis, which premiered at the Toronto Film Festival in September 2012. It won the 2014 Image Award for BEST DOCUMENTARY, was theatrically released by Codeblack Entertainment/Lionsgate and was broadcast on BET during Black History Month. He fulfilled the same role for the documentary, “HOT FLASH HAVOC,” the first film of its’ kind to deal with menopause, which was broadcast nationally in over 30 major markets by PBS-TV earlier this year. He served as a Music Consultant for the romantic comedy, “Should’ve Been Romeo,” starring Ed Asner, Paul Ben Victor, Michael Rappaport, and others that premiered at the Newport Film Festival a few years ago as well. In 2014, he served as a Management Consultant for Harry Belafonte's artist driven social justice non-profit organization, SANKOFA.Org. In addition, he worked as a Management/Marketing Consultant for the hit Broadway production, A TRIP TO BOUNTIFUL that starred Tony-Award winning actress Cicely Tyson, Vanessa Williams, Cuba Gooding Jr., and Condola Rashad. Over the past decade, Hervey & Company has strategically transitioned its reach beyond management and into film, television, event development and production. Hervey served as an Executive Producer of the critically acclaimed documentary, “Chisholm 72: Unbought & Unbossed,” which premiered and competed at the Sundance Film Festival in 2004. The film was featured in several other major festivals including The Los Angeles Film Festival, The Harlem Film Festival, and was broadcast as part of the Point Of View series on PBS-TV. It received two Spirit Award Nominations, and was released on DVD by Fox Home Video in March 2005. In 2006, the film was also honored with a prestigious Peabody Award. Hervey helped to enlist major celebrity contributors for the film including Oprah Winfrey, Bill & Camille Cosby, Bette Midler and Halle Berry. In 2004, he also co-produced the annual gala benefit concert for the Jazz Foundation of America. The evening, “A Great Night In Harlem,” at the Apollo Theater featured many jazz greats including among others; Brian Blades, Barry Harris, The Arturo O’Farrill Afro-Cuban Jazz Orchestra, the Harlem Blues & Jazz All Stars. A special tribute to the late Ray Charles was also presented by “Ray” film director Taylor Hackford. The Tribute featured performances of Ray Charles’ most notable hits by; Chris Thomas King, original Raelette Angela Workman, Kenny Barron, Regina Carter and Sweet Georgia Brown. Starting in 2006, (for three years) Hervey served as a Management Consultant for the 30th International Cairo Film Festival and arranged for actors Danny Glover and Gabrielle Union to serve as special Honorary Guests of the Festival that was held in Cairo, Egypt. He also arranged for legendary singer Dionne Warwick to perform at the prestigious wedding for the Monsour family, one of Egypt’s most influential powerful familie. In 2007, he served as a Consultant for the Prime Minister of Egypt and arranged for singer/actress Vanessa Williams to perform at his son’s wedding. He later arranged for Samuel Jackson, Salma Hayek, Lucy Liu, Goldie Hawn, Kurt Russell, and Priscilla Presley to serve as Honorary Guests of the Cairo International Film Festival. In 2008, he also served as Executive Producer of, “Andrae Crouch and Friends,” a one- hour television special featuring Andrae Crouch and special guests Natalie Cole, Yolanda Adams, and Walter Hawkins. The special was produced by, and in support of the worldwide hunger and famine relief efforts of the Feed The Children charitable organization, and was televised nationally on several major cable television networks and affiliates. Hervey launched his personal management company in 1985, while simultaneously operating his public relations company. Rock n’ roll icon Little Richard was his first management client. As a publicist, Hervey was credited for successfully revitalizing the rocker’s career with his best-selling and controversial biography, “Little Richard, The Quasar of Rock n’ Roll.” While managing Little Richard, Hervey secured him the role of a feisty Beverly Hills neighbor in Paul Mazursky’s hit comedy, “Down And Out In Beverly Hills,” which starred Bette Midler, Nick Nolte and Richard Dryfuss. Hervey also engineered recording star/actress Vanessa William’s multi-faceted rise to stardom (1984 – 1996), and managed multiple Grammy Award winning songwriter/producer and recording artist Babyface (1994 – 1996 and 1998 – 2003), which included his double-platinum album, “For The Cool In You,” and his debut U.S. solo Co-Headlining tour with Boyz II Men, which drew SRO crowds across the nation. Over the years, Hervey has also managed actress/singer Gloria Reuben (former Emmy nominated actress from the hit series “ER”), Tony-award nominated actress/recording star Daphne Rubin-Vega, comedian A.J. Jamal, rap/hip hop star and founder of Arrested Development, Speech, multi-platinum selling r & b/pop duo, Zhane, Grammy award winning songwriter/producer Barry Eastmond, to name just a few. An entrepreneur in the truest sense of the word, Hervey also helmed the Los Angeles based music production/club entity, R & B LIVE productions, which he created in 1991 with partner Bill Hammond. During the four-year span of the live club venture, Hervey produced over 160 shows featuring the industry’s most celebrated R & B, contemporary jazz, gospel and rap/hip hop artists and musicians including among others; Stevie Wonder, Prince, Lenny Kravitz, Chaka Khan, The O’Jays, The Ohio Players, Natalie Cole, Herbie Hancock, George Benson, Earth Wind & Fire, Lisa Stansfield, Grand Master Flash, Heavy D, Brian McKnight, Be Be and Ce Ce Winans, Andrae Crouch, Mick Hucknull, Joe Sample, Al Jarreau, and Marcus Miller. R & B LIVE also produced music for several major entertainment events, including a concert for the Super Bowl, the premiere after party of Eddie Murphy’s box office hit, “Coming To America,” a birthday party for Quincy Jones, concert tours in association with the USO for servicemen based throughout Europe, Japan and the Caribbean, and a gala event for the music industry’s top charity, the T.J. Martell Foundation. In 1996, Hervey came up with the genesis for a star-studded rhythm & blues/pop music tribute to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of the NBA. He served as Executive Producer of the tribute album, which featured classic pop songs from 1946 – 1996, that were re-recorded by current artists. The CD, “NBA at 50,” featured original songs by hit-makers Babyface and Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, and performances by David Sanborn, Vanessa Williams, Crystal Waters, Brian McKnight, Take 6, Eddie & Gerald LeVert, Bobby Womack, Waymon Tisdale, and others. The project also marked the NBA’s first collaborative licensing and recording agreement with a major record distributor. “NBA at 50” was released by Krasnow Entertainment and Mercury/Polygram Records. Prior to developing his personal management company, Hervey had successfully helmed his own entertainment public relations company, was a partner in The Group (with veteran PR icon Bob Gibson), and served as Vice-President Of Talent at Rogers & Cowan, one of the entertainment industry’s oldest and most prestigious public relations companies. Throughout his tenure as a well-respected public relations practitioner, Hervey represented a virtual “Who’s Who” list of entertainers including among others: Bette Midler, Richard Pryor, Natalie Cole, George Benson, Herb Alpert, James Caan, Al Jarreau, Joe Sample, Lenny Kravitz, The Bee Gees, Nick Nolte, Daryl Hall & John Oates, Peter Frampton, Heart, Priscilla Presley, The Jacksons (with Michael Jackson), Commodores (with Lionel Richie), Paul McCartney, Fleetwood Mac, Crosby, Stills & Nash, and The Carpenters. In addition to his celebrity clientele, Hervey also represented major corporate clients and motion picture and television events such as; A & M Records, Motown Records, Chrysalis Records, ICM, “The Rose,” starring Bette Midler, the first “Richard Pryor Live In Concert,” film, “The Tenth Anniversary Rolling Stones Special, the long-running Midnight Special music series on NBC-TV, Soul Train, and The Soul Train Music Awards. His public relations background also includes representation of several world-class athletes and sports stars including among others; Muhammad Ali, former light heavyweight champion Matthew Saad Muhammad, former All Star MVP, two-time National League batting champion and Pittsburgh Pirate slugger Dave Parker, former St. Louis Cardinal and Hall of Fame inductee Lou Brock, former All Stars, Cincinnati Reds outfielder, George Foster, New York Yankee third baseman Craig Nettles, former All Pro running back for the Los Angeles Rams, Lawrence McCutcheon, and former Olympic decathlon champion Bruce Jenner. In addition to Hervey & Company’s diverse business interests, the company has also contributed and lent support to many charitable organizations over the years, including among others, Athletes and Entertainers for Kids, TransAfrica Forum, which successfully lobbied for the 1983 economic sanctions against South Africa and its’ system of Apartheid, The T. J. Martell Foundation, St. Elmo’s Village, a community arts & crafts center for inner-city youth in Los Angeles, Green Chimney’s, a highly regarded home for inner-city youth and wildlife preservation based in upstate New York, The Jazz Foundation of America, the R & B Music Foundation, and Keep A Child Alive, a Brooklyn based organization that assists and provides generic drugs/treatment for HIV/Aids children and orphans throughout Africa. Hervey Company is based New York, NY. For further information go to: www. herveyandcompany.com