Barbara Lewis
Southwest Field Promotions Manager, MCA/Universal Records
Barbara Lewis has been a mainstay, central
figure and source of motivation for women in music and entertainment
for more than twenty years. When African American women were
practically unheard of in music promotions, Barbara Lewis
was making moves and getting noticed in her native New Orleans.
A 1971 graduate of Southern University with
a degree in Psychology, Barbara Lewis has been honored six
(6) times as the promotion Person of The Year! She reigned
as "Queen of the Southwest" from 1981 to 1988 as
Promotion Manager for CBS Records (now Sony Music). As her
career continued to blossom, 1988 found Barbara Lewis being
named National Director of Promotion for CBS, a position that
would only last a year, as "big" eyes was watching
Barbara. Capitol Records saw the leadership skills possessed
by Ms. Lewis and in 1989 named her Vice President of Urban
Promotion. 1992 at Capitol brought more responsibility and
a bigger paycheck as Barbara Lewis was named Vice President/Operations
Manager, a position she would hold through 1995.
As new industry challenges evolved, Capitol
disbanded its Urban division. Not one to keep all her eggs
in one basket, Barbara returned home to New Orleans, started
up her own company, B&B Productions and Consultants. B&B
Productions provided a doorway into the music industry for
many "young labels" that had good music, but did
not know what to do with the product. B&B Productions
was the saving grace, information resource and outlet for
many Southwest artists and producers. The company has continued
to thrive and so has Barbara, today she serves as Southeast
Field Promotions Manager for MCA/Universal Records, based
in her native New Orleans! We salute Barbara Lewis… a
NABFEME Shero.
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