Neil Cooper

Neil Cooper (1930–2001) was the founder and head of independent US cassette and record label ROIR. Born in Philadelphia, Cooper attended Amherst College and graduated from Columbia Business School in 1954. Working as a booking agent for MCA Inc. and Famous Artists in the 1950s, “he wheeled and dealed for everyone from Guy Lombardo to Tito Puente.” Artists represented by Cooper included Shirley Bassey and Charles Mingus. While managing the bassist-composer, Neil Cooper got Mingus a job writing a score for a surreal short film about a motorboat. Cooper’s career includes a stint at the Royal Mint of the United Kingdom, where he had business meetings with Emperor Haile Selassie I of Ethiopia. This association would serve Cooper well in...