Placido Domingo pays tribute to his late pop promoter
mainA mover and shaker in the 60s and 70s, Milt Okun was a classical pianist who propelled Peter, Paul and Mary to brief stardom. He then hitched another client, John Denver, to the operatic tenor, Placido Domingo, making their fortune with ‘Perhaps Love’.
Placido has posted: ‘Milt Okun, my dear friend, great producer and musician left us yesterday November 15th, 2016 at the age of 92 after a long life of innumerable successes and happiness. To the man with great vision that firmly believed in me and gave me my breakthrough role in the world of pop music through our collaboration with John Denver and Lee Holdridge in the unforgettable and very successful “Perhaps Love” duet , I thank you dearly Milt.
You will be missed. My condolences to his surviving widow and also dear friend Rosemary and their family.’
Among Milt’s other acts were Harry Belafonte and Shlomo Carlebach, ‘the singing rabbi’.
I do not know why you refer to the “brief stardom” of Peter, Paul and Mary. They were overwhelmingly around for about a decade and toured intermittently, despite a brief cessation as a group, ever after, until the death of Mary Travers. The other two still appear both together and solo from time to time.
Several of their songs are classics of modern folk, and will be played forever. And their harmonic versions of several American classics ensure that theirs is often the version chosen for one purpose or another.
They were still very popular in the early 2000s. They were billed to appear at one concert in a 7,000 seat venue in Hong Kong. So great was the demand for tickets two additional concerts had to be added.
Mr. Okun was my jr high school music teacher and he imbued me with a love of music which has lasted a lifetime. A kind and gentle man, who never forgot his students.