Phil Walden (January 11, 1940 – April 23, 2006) was a co-founder of the Macon, Georgia-based Capricorn Records, along with former Atlantic Records executive Frank Fenter. Biography Walden received his undergraduate degree in economics from Macon's Mercer University (where he was a member of Phi Delta Theta and a ROTC cadet) in 1962. He served as Otis Redding's manager from 1959 until Redding's death in 1967. While a college student, he began his career as a booking agent and manager for R&B acts, hosting one of Redding's first shows at the University's Phi Delta Theta lodge in the early 1960s. As he continued to build his business, Walden was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the United States Army through a deferred service program in the summer of 1963. He recruited his younger brother, Alan (then a sophomore at Mercer), to run Phil Walden Artists and Promotions and served in Germany as a personnel officer before returning to the company following the completion of his service in 1965. That year, Redding and Phil Walden co-founded the Redwal Music publishing company. Walden's management of Redding and dozens of notable R&B acts in the 1960s (including Al Green, Sam & Dave and Percy Sledge) led to his early affiliation with Atlantic Records co-founder/producer Jerry Wexler, who specialized in the genre. Working with Wexler, Walden and Frank Fenter, who had run Atlantic Records' European offices in London, established Capricorn, an independent production outlet distributed by Atlantic/Atco Records and named for Wexler and Walden's astrological sign in Macon in 1969. Walden met guitarist Duane Allman (then under contract to Rick Hall, owner of FAME Studios) through Wexler and set about making him a star in his own right, precipitating the formation of The Allman Brothers Band. The Allman Brothers Band were not an instant success, selling just 33,000 copies of their debut album, which stalled at #188. However, the breakthrough of 1970's Idlewild South (which peaked at #38) and the 1971 live double set At Fillmore East (which peaked at #13 and ultimately attained a RIAA platinum certification) convinced Walden to end Capricorn's affiliation with Atlantic and move to Warner Bros. Records. The success of the Allmans led Capricorn to become the crucible of the blues-, soul- and country-based "Southern rock" subgenre that permeated the epoch; at its peak, the label's roster also featured Allman Brothers Band spinoff group Sea Level, The Marshall Tucker