The producer of such legendary musical acts as Lynryd Skynyrd and Otis Redding has died.
Alan Walden was 83 years old.
His family said he died after a battle with cancer, WMAZ reported.
He was in hospice care and passed away on July 16, his wife told WGXA.
Walden and his brother helped launch the careers of the Allman Brothers Band, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Otis Redding, Sam and Dave, Percy Sledge, Etta James and Al Green, among countless others.
The brothers founded Redwal Music, Capricorn Records and Hustler’s Inc.
“Otis Redding became my best friend in life, and when we moved to Round Oak, Georgia, I moved right next to him,” Walden told WGXA in 2021.
As WMAZ explained, he broke down racial and cultural barriers in the industry by representing more than 40 Black artists in the 1960s.
“I had 55 African American recording artists. Black artists were treated unfairly, and my brother and I brought a lot of respect to those artists, to that industry,” he told WGXA.
When Redding died, they went from R&B music management to a record label and studio under the Capricorn Records name.
Capricorn Studios is part of the Mercer University music program, “offering artists the rare opportunity to create in a space where legends once stood,” according to WMAZ.
The Outlaws posted a tribute to Walden on Facebook, noting that he helped secure their first recording contract with Arista Records.
He leaves behind his wife, three children, a grandson, and several nieces and nephews.
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