Former industry executive Steve Popovich is being honored by the city of Cleveland, Ohio with his own official day, July 6.
Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb declared the special day “Steve Popovich/Cleveland International Records Day” in honor of the legacy of Popovich, whose work helped boost the careers of Michael Jackson, Bruce Springsteen, Johnny Cash, Cheap Trick, Miles Davis, Ronnie Spector, Meat Loaf and many others.
Popovich, who passed away in 2011, founded Cleveland International Records, the indie label behind Meat Loaf’s smash album Bat Out of Hell, which became one of the best-selling albums of all time, selling 45 million records worldwide. Popovich moved to Cleveland in the late 1950s and first got into music as bassist for local band the Twilighters.
His label career began at Columbia Records, where he worked his way up through the promotions department. In the early 1970s, Popovich was named Vice President of Columbia Records, where he led promotion efforts for everyone from Springsteen and Bob Dylan to Santana and Earth, Wind & Fire. Popovich later headed Polygram Records in Nashville, signing Cash, Kris Kristofferson, and Johnny Paycheck, among others.
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