LINDA ALTER REMEMBERED

Beloved promotion executive Linda Alter lost her three-year battle with cancer in Atlanta on June 15. She was 58. Linda worked at Shelter Records, Bang Records and Motown before moving to Arista, where she spent most of her career.

“She was an amazing and inspiring person, and a best friend to the many she chose as her family,” RMG’s Richard Palmese told HITS. “I will forever treasure every moment we shared. Now, God has someone to answer to.”

Said Island's Steve Bartels: “I had the unique good fortune of spending years in the music business getting to spend quality time and working with Linda. When I was a new local in Atlanta in the ’80s, Linda welcomed me into a market that was a very tight-knit community. Her passion for what she did and her belief in seeing the best in people was wonderful.”

“At Arista, Linda was the first one in the office every morning, and my very first call without fail,” Promo Squad’s Rick Bisceglia remembered. “When things got tough, it was always Linda who was right there with her trademark positive, can-do attitude to get us motivated. Her passion for her records, her stations, and her fellow staff members and friends was without equal. I will carry the inspiration and spirit of Linda Alter with me always.”

“To be accepted by Linda was the highest compliment a baby promo person could get,” says Nan Fisher. “We went from her scaring the hell out of me a lifetime ago at the MCA branch to referring to me as stepchild and throwing my going-away party before I moved to L.A. Linda was one of a kind—there will never be another one like her.”

“Linda was one of the first people who mentored me back in the days when I was at Record World magazine and she was at Poplar Tunes in Memphis,” recalled HITS Editor in Chief Lenny Beer. “She was always knowledgeable, compassionate and truly caring about the health of our industry. She will be missed.”

“I have known Linda since 1971,” Just West Entertainment’s Lanny West explains, “and through all those years I came admire and respect all that she did in and for the music industry and those individuals who were a part of it all. In recent years, as our friendship grew to that of love that a brother has for a sister, I came to admire and respect her strength and zeal for life and love, which has helped me learn how to better cope with the tragedies that life throws in our paths.”

Says 99X OM Leslie Fram, “You know what makes a true friend? The one who remembers the little things. Linda not only remembered birthdays and anniversaries but what perfume your mother loved. When I first moved to Atlanta in 1990, she took me under her wing to make sure I could handle the big city. Saturday was our day to shop all day, and Linda was always buying for her friends. One day we will be doing that together again in that big Neiman’s in the sky.”

West reports that Linda’s last audible words were “‘I love you guys.’ She was not just addressing those who were at her bedside. It was for all the people in her life—those she worked for and with, those who were her neighbors and friends, those who were family and those she had never met. Linda loved well…until the very end. We will all miss you, Linda. You threw one hell of a party.”

A memorial service will be held July 9 at 3 p.m. at H.M. Patterson & Sons Spring Hill Chapel, in Atlanta. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the T.J. Martell Foundation, 555 Madison Ave., 9th Floor, New York, NY 10022; attn.: Elayne Periharos.