Our Board of Advisors

Jonathan Demme
Director of the films "Silence of the Lambs," "Married to the Mob," "Something Wild" and "Stop Making Sense," among others.

Ellie Greenwich
Prolific composer, producer and performer, who co-wrote dozens of hits in the 1960s, including "Da Do Ron Ron" (The Crystals), "Be My Baby" (The Ronettes) and "Leader of the Pack" (The Shangri-Las).

John "Jellybean" Benitez
Top producer and disc jockey who brought Madonna to the attention of the world.

Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller
Songwriters and producers best known for their work with Elvis and the Coasters; popularized R&B, creating pop classics transcending musical and racial categories; hits include "Hound Dog" and "Under the Boardwalk."

Lou Reed
Influential singer, songwriter and guitarist who founded The Velvet Underground and is considered by many the quintessential urban singer/songwriter; his best known works include "Sweet Jane" and "Walk on the Wild Side."

Keith Richards
Legendary guitarist for The Rolling Stones who co-wrote most of the bands many hits, including "Satisfaction," "Paint It Black," and "Jumpin' Jack Flash," has a love for the blues and R&B and believes that this history must be preserved.

Nile Rodgers
Founding member of the highly successful dance band Chic, whose hits included "Le Freak," "I Want Your Love" and "Good Times". Nile is a Grammy winning producer of albums by Madonna, David Bowie, Diana Ross and Mick Jagger.

Todd Rundgren
Singer, songwriter, producer and multi-instrumentalist; founding member of the Nazz and Utopia.

Fred Schneider
Songwriter, vocalist and founding member of the Grammy-winning B-52's, whose hits include "Love Shack," "Roam" and "Rock Lobster."

Martin Scorsese
Director of the films "Mean Streets," "Cape Fear," "GoodFellas," "Raging Bull," "Taxi Driver" and "The Last Waltz," among others, in addition to Michael Jackson's "Bad" video.

Paul Simon
One of America's most prolific writers of folk, rock, and pop, whose hits include "The Sound of Silence" and "Still Crazy After All These Years." More recently, he has explored world music with his best-selling LPs "Graceland" and "Rhythm of the Saints."

Jerry Wexler
Pioneering producers of R&B and rock at Atlantic Records; responsible for many hits by Ray Charles & Aretha Franklin, including "Respect" and "In The Midnight Hour."