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David Haley Passes
May 3, 2014 at 11:00 AM (PT)
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ALL ACCESS is sad to report the passing of longtime and well-loved promotion vet DAVID HALEY today (5/3) in OXFORD, MS, following a stroke earlier this week (NET NEWS 4/29).
HALEY started in radio before segueing to record promotion; his stops included MCA, WARNER BROS., EQUITY, TENACITY and INSTIGATOR. During his career in promotion, HALEY helped obtain more than one million spins for his artists and was responsible for 150 #1 singles.
In addition to his label credentials, HALEY was a longtime COUNTRY RADIO SEMINAR (CRS) Board Member, serving the organization from 1999- 2013.
HALEY officially retired from the music business last year (NET NEWS 7/24/13), and relocated to JACKSON, MS.
Services are pending.
ALL ACCESS heard from several of HALEY’s friends and colleagues who offered these thoughts on his passing:
REBA MCENTIRE:
“Our thoughts and prayers go out to the family of DAVID HALEY. He was a joy to work with; so much fun to be around and he knew how to get your song on the radio. I'll miss his wonderful personality and his infectious laugh.”
UMG NASHVILE SVP/Promotion ROYCE RISSER:
I’m absolutely heartbroken over the news. DAVID was really the first person to take me under his wing when I started at UNIVERSAL. I sat directly across from his office while answering phones and the rapport that we built in the old MCA building endured and grew over the next 22 years. I honestly don’t ever remember him being sad. Ever. I have been with him during some very difficult and trying times, but he was always happy and optimistic and positive and even encouraging to me…when it should’ve been the other way around. His philosophy on promotion and taking care of people and artists have shaped me dramatically and certainly altered the way I do my job today. I can’t believe he’s gone. I really can’t. I know this may sound cliché….but the music industry just lost one of its brightest lights. To DAVID…… “Never Punk Your Daddy!”
BIG MACHINE President/CEO SCOTT BORCHETTA
“DAVID HALEY was my brother in arms during one of the most important parts of my career - the MCA years (’91-’97). I came into the company like a bull in a china shop and DAVID was the one who helped me navigate through the company politics and showed me the way home. He had more personality than any three people I know, was one of the funniest human beings I’d ever met as well as one of the most caring - a true southern gentleman. And, nobody could ‘do’ BEN FARRELL better than ‘HALEY’… even BEN! When I was elevated to SVP/Promotion in ’94, DAVID was my National and we DOMN8’d …. It was Label of the Decade. Literally nobody could touch us. Thanks for the memories, the laughs, and all the hits. Godspeed my friend.”
Former MCA and DECCA NASHVILLE Label Exec SHELIA SHIPLEY BIDDY:
DAVID HALEY and I worked together at MCA for ten years. After I moved to DECCA, he almost became my VP/Promotion before MCA pulled him back under their wing. DAVID had a unique skill set. He never met a stranger and made each person feel as if they were the most important person in his life. He treated the mail clerk and the CEO the very same way and I loved him for it. His life is a testament to what our lives should be. Not just career achievements. Achievements are mentioned in the trades and in the history of music but the out pouring of love and tears from friends, family, coworkers, and radio is overwhelming. DAVID brought light and laughter to so many of us. To watch this industry grieve and laugh when they recall DAVID is a testimony to him. When each of us reach our end, I hope and pray we have left such a mark on others. That is the legacy we should ALL hope to attain. As long as one of us has a DAVID HALEY story to tell, he will live on forever.
CRS Executive Dir. BILL MAYNE:
"DAVID was a dear friend to all and served over a decade as an active CRB Board member. He was extremely passionate about the Country Radio Hall of Fame and served on the committee for our event for many years as well."
Please add your thoughts and memories about DAVID in the comments section below, or on a "Friends Of DAVID HALEY" FACEBOOK page which has been created on his honor.

