WILLIAM MORRIS AGENCY
Hartmann entered the agent trainee program at the Morris office in early 1961. He was assigned to serve on the staff of “The Colonel” at the height of Elvis’ movie career. John was promoted to agent in January of 1963. Assigned to the Variety Television Department, he represented the William Morris client roster to various studios, broadcast networks and production companies. He was responsible for signing many musical and comedy attractions to the agency, including: CHAD & JEREMY, SONNY & CHER, BUFFALO SPRINGFIELD, RICH LITTLE, THE SHINDOGS and THE SEEDS.
THE KALIDOSCOPE
In January of 1967 Hartmann and WMA colleague Skip Taylor joined UCLA instructor Gary Essert to found L.A. concert promotion company The Kaleidoscope. Their first event, in April of 1967, introduced Jefferson Airplane and Grateful Dead to Los Angeles. Kaleidoscope management client Canned Heat opened the show.
Two thousand fans packed the main ballroom of The Ambassador Hotel. Eventually,
The Kaleidoscope found a permanent home in the Earl Carroll Theater on Sunset Blvd, in Hollywood. Hartmann and team presented many top artists in their Los Angeles concerts including: JEFFERSON AIRPLANE, GRATEFUL DEAD, THE DOORS, BUFFALO SPRINGFIELD, JANIS JOPLIN, CANNED HEAT, SLY & THE FAMILY STONE, QUICKSILVER MESSENGER SERVICE, MOBY GRAPE, SPIRIT & THEM
THE GEFFEN ROBERTS COMPANY
As general manager of this premier entertainment company, Hartmann joined music industry legends David Geffen and Elliot Roberts in providing personal management service to an extensive roster of the era’s most formidable artists. Hartmann supervised the diurnal management activity for the entire founding roster of Asylum Records. As the manager of headline artists and baby bands Hartmann parlayed the power of their stars to launch the careers of early Asylum artists EAGLES and JACKSON BROWNE. Other artists on the roster included: NEIL YOUNG, JONI MITCHELL, CROSBY, STILLS & NASH, AMERICA & POCO.
HARTMANN & GOODMAN
Hartmann and GRC associate Harlan Goodman formed this prominent management enterprise around country rock originals Poco. H&G took a band shattered by the loss of lead singer Richie Furay and marched them to the top of the charts and platinum record sales. Their subsequent campaign for folk rockers America produced a string of top ten hits over the course of nine platinum albums.
After signing music icons Crosby & Nash, Hartmann engineered the reunion of Crosby, Stills & Nash and later performed the same service for folk singing legends Peter, Paul & Mary. In 1980, Hartmann & Goodman packaged the Universal Pictures feature film “Hard Country” based on client Michael Murphy’s song. The 1981 release introduced Kim Basinger and country music superstar Tanya Tucker in their feature film debuts. Cast included Jan Michael Vincent & new comer Daryl Hannah.
The list of attractions managed by Hartmann & Goodman includes among others: PETER, PAUL & MARY, POCO, AMERICA, CROSBY & NASH, CROSBY, STILLS & NASH, THE FIRESIGN THEATER, MICHAEL MURPHY & DWIGHT TWILLEY.
AGENCY FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS
After a yearlong sabbatical to explore film production and writing, Hartmann completed three screenplays before returning to the talent agency business. At APA, he represented the music roster to various concert promotion companies. Among the clients he signed to the agency are: RINGO STARR, SONNY BONO, GRAHAM NASH, POCO, CHAD & JEREMY & JOHN DAVID SOUTHER
HARTMANN & McINTYRE
Entrepreneur Marc McIntyre joined Hartmann in a career consulting firm that provided personal management and career direction services to a wide range of artists, managers and companies. A partial list of clients includes: RINGO STARR, CHAD & JEREMY, BILLY & THE BEATERS & B MOVIE.
ALIVE ENTERPRISES
Hartmann joined this full service entertainment company chaired by music manager and film producer Shep Gordon. As part of the Alive team, John managed artists and coordinated the music for Alive Films. Some of the clients represented by Alive include: ALICE COOPER, LUTHER VANDROSS & RINGO STARR.
LOOKOUT MANAGEMENT
Hartmann joined ex-partner Elliot Roberts when he returned to Lookout Management where he managed artists and pursued TV and film projects with a focus on comedy. The roster included: NEIL YOUNG, CSNY, TRACY CHAPMAN, FISHBONE, TIM HUTTON, KIM COLES & BOBBY COLLINS.
JAKE RECORDS
Legendary Steely Dan producer Gary Katz and Hartmann joined forces with media expert Gary Stromberg to form Jake Records. This Interscope distributed label presented an eclectic catalog of albums from Jazz, Swing, R&B, Rock and Hip Hop artists. Some of those artists are: LES BROWN & THE BAND OF RENOWN, DIGITAL UNDERGROUND, CHARLIE WILSON & J.T. TAYLOR.
ACADEMIA
Hartmann began his teaching career in 2003 at Musicians Institute in Hollywood. He lectured on Entertainment Industry studies at Loyola Marymount University for ten years, and was voted Professor of the Year three times. He also teaches “The Insiders Guide to Music Management” at UCLA. Hartmann is the author of “ROCK – Building Bands in the Digital Age,” a do-it-yourself guidebook for musicians, performers and entrepreneurs seeking to create careers in the music renaissance.
In May of 2015 the Talent Managers Association presented Mr. Hartmann with its prestigious Heller Award For Lifetime Achievement In Management. John has managed more than 100 bands in his career. The crystal trophy was presented by Hartmann’s first client Jeremy Clyde, of folk rock duo Chad and Jeremy, some fifty years after the British invasion.
THE HOLODIGM FOUNDATION
In 2008 Hartmann created The Holodigm Foundation a non-profit consortium of musicians and educators dedicated to ensuring that the next generation of music belongs to those who create it.
