Hooray for Howiewood: Howard Rosen’s legendary career as a radio promoter covers over 50 years of classic hit making, starting in the early '70s at Bell Records with The Partridge Family, Barry Manilow and Melissa Manchester. He subsequently enjoyed successful stints at Elektra (Carly Simon, Bread), Private Stock (Frankie Valli, Walter Murphy), Casablanca (Donna Summer), Bearsville (Foghat, Todd Rundgren), Warner/Reprise (Prince, Van Halen), Motown (Lionel Richie) and A&M. Founding his own company, Howard Rosen Promotion, Inc. in 1985, he continued to specialize in AC, Hot AC and Top 40 radio promotion while expanding into artist management, most notably with Dan Hill (who had a Top Ten hit duet with Vonda Shepherd, “Can’t We Try”) and Prism.
The Blondie/Baker Grace Connection: While working as National Promotions Director at Private Stock Records in the '70s, his former Sire/Blue Horizon Records boss Richie Gottehrer (later co-founder of The Orchard) and New York Dolls manager Marty Thau introduced Rosen to a then up and coming Blondie, hoping to score them a deal at Private Stock. Immediately loving what he saw and heard, Rosen presented Blondie to label owner Larry Uttal, who immediately signed the Debbie Harry-led band. Rosen sees the same potential in his current Take Out Management client, Canadian/American singer-songwriter Baker Grace, “who I believe will be as relevant and important to music now as Blondie was in the early '70s.”
Baker’s Story: Driven by her goal to inspire others to be their most authentic selves and find strength in vulnerability, Baker Grace recorded her first album in her basement with her father at 14 under the name Bitter’s Kiss. She signed with Republic Records at 16 and developed her songwriting by collaborating with top writers and producers, including Scott Harris (Shawn Mendes, Khalid) and Dan Nigro (Olivia Rodrigo). The songs from Baker’s independently released debut EP Girl, I Know amassed a collective total of 25M+ Spotify streams. She later released the EP The Show Is Over, which was produced by Scott Effman (Miley Cyrus, Sofia Reyes) and later soundtrack songs for the film Last Survivors starring Alicia Silverstone. Baker describes her music as “what would happen if hip-hop, folk and alt-rock had a baby with pop songs.”
Baker’s New EP and “Love Song” Single: “Butterflies,” the first single from her upcoming EP It Ends With Me, won Best Pop Song at the HIMA Awards in July 2024. She wrote the collections infectious and heartfelt third lead single “Love Song” after a time of emotional upheaval that included her parents’ divorcing and a breakup after a five-year relationship. “These events forced me to reflect on my own life choices and understand why I am the way I am,” she says. “I wrote ‘Love Song’ on my first Valentine’s Day as a single woman in five years. It was an incredible learning experience and it feels good to embrace the good memories.”
Contact Howard Rosen Promotion, 805-382-2200
