Doc McGhee
Doc McGhee has managed and promoted some of the biggest bands in rock and roll in history including Bon Jovi, Mötley Crüe, Guns N’ Roses and most notably remains manager of the “Hottest Band in the World: KISS”. McGhee grew up in the Chicago area, but relocated to Florida to escape the cold and at 22 it was one of those times where “one thing led to another and the next thing you know I’m in the music business flying around in jets with rock stars.” Starting out as a fan and eventual manager of R&B artists like James Brown and Isaac Hayes, among others, Doc had a knack for anticipating trends, and rock and roll, specifically heavy metal, was the up-and-coming genre. During the 1980s, the height of heavy metal, McGhee landed artists like Bon Jovi, arguably one of the biggest acts of the era, Skid Row, the Scorpions and, of course, Mötley Crüe.
McGhee has described his role as manager, no matter how big the band, is to find a connection to the audience and deliver that to the masses. That connection emboldened him to wait out the KISS Unmasked decade (’83-95) when after multiple contacts, Gene Simmons relented to Doc’s demands as the band “put the makeup back on.” His tremendous success in the industry allowed him the clout to wait out Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley until the time was right for collaboration. And, that collaboration has proved to me a match made at the bank as KISS and McGhee are virtually synonymous and the spoils continue to mount. According to Doc, “there’s no limit to what you can do and what you can be” and KISS is living proof as they have built a $300-million empire, between Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley.
Doc McGhee currently has a stable of artists that include Skid Row and Night Ranger as well as solo artists like Ted Nugent, Richie Sambora and Darius Rucker. It was artists like Rucker, country music stars that drew McGhee to relocate to Nashville, as country musicians are the new rock stars according to Doc.
McGhee has described his role as manager, no matter how big the band, is to find a connection to the audience and deliver that to the masses. That connection emboldened him to wait out the KISS Unmasked decade (’83-95) when after multiple contacts, Gene Simmons relented to Doc’s demands as the band “put the makeup back on.” His tremendous success in the industry allowed him the clout to wait out Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley until the time was right for collaboration. And, that collaboration has proved to me a match made at the bank as KISS and McGhee are virtually synonymous and the spoils continue to mount. According to Doc, “there’s no limit to what you can do and what you can be” and KISS is living proof as they have built a $300-million empire, between Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley.
Doc McGhee currently has a stable of artists that include Skid Row and Night Ranger as well as solo artists like Ted Nugent, Richie Sambora and Darius Rucker. It was artists like Rucker, country music stars that drew McGhee to relocate to Nashville, as country musicians are the new rock stars according to Doc.