Jeff Cheen, the veteran music executive who collaborated with legends like John Lennon, Pink Floyd, Deep Purple, and Rick James—and later helped introduce American pop, reggae, and jazz to audiences across China—has died at age 80.
His wife, Chunhong, shared that he passed away peacefully on Thursday after a long battle with cancer.
Over the course of a five-decade career, Cheen made his mark in nearly every corner of the music industry. He held leadership roles at influential labels like Tetragrammaton, Mercury, Capitol, and Far Out Music before turning his sights overseas, where he became a trailblazer in bringing Western music to Asian audiences.
After producing the first Pacific Rim Festival in Los Angeles, Cheen began consulting for China’s Ministry of Culture and for Ausmusic in Australia. His company, InterStar Music, became the first Western music group to launch a joint venture with China, helping distribute American pop and rock throughout the region.
Cheen was instrumental in touring major acts through Asia, including blues great Jimmy Witherspoon and singer Helen Reddy. He also helped produce albums for pioneering Chinese metal band Tang Dynasty and even worked on recordings of Chinese country music—further proof of his boundary-pushing influence.
A New York native, Cheen’s music industry journey began early. As a teen, he worked for his uncle Leonard Chess at the iconic Chess Records in Chicago. From there, he rose through the ranks of major labels: at Tetragrammaton, he worked with Lennon, Joan Rivers, and Tiny Tim; at Mercury, he led record production and signed new artists; and at Capitol, he oversaw rock A&R, collaborating with heavy hitters like George Harrison, Steve Miller, and Pink Floyd.
Cheen later led artist management at Far Out Music, working closely with Rick James and War, before relocating to Beijing and Hong Kong for over a decade. When he returned to the U.S., he joined B.B. King’s blues clubs as vice president of business development, managing international corporate licensing.
In Charlotte, North Carolina, Cheen continued shaping the music world behind the scenes. He taught a course on the music business at Catawba College and founded the Charlotte Music Awards in 2006. He also helped launch the Hollywood Music in Media Awards and joined the Pacific Coast Group, advocating for artists to receive streaming and publishing royalties owed to them from the Far East.
Cheen married Chunhong in 2015. He is also survived by his sons, Justin and Garrett, and grandchildren Henry and Eva.
The family asks that donations in his memory be made to Autism Speaks.