Longtime music manager and entertainment lawyer Michael Lippman, whose clients included George Michael, David Bowie and Matchbox Twenty, died at his home on Monday. He was 79.
“Dad was a relentless advocate for his clients, his friends and his family,” Lippman’s son Josh said in a statement to Rolling Stone Tuesday. “He was the person you wanted in your corner in any situation. He transitioned from bulldog to effortless charmer on a dime, often multiple times in a conversation, and never met a challenge he couldn’t solve.”
Lippman is best known for managing Michael twice: during the “Faith” era in the late 1980s, and again starting in the mid-2000s. He also served as Bowie’s attorney and manager from 1971 to 1975, during the “Ziggy Stardust” era. Bowie then lived at Lippman’s home during the “Station to Station” period before the two split. In addition to well-known onstage acts, Lippman managed Elton John’s longtime lyricist Bernie Taupin for 37 years, starting in 1980.
Later, the manager launched Lippmann Entertainment in 2004 with his son, Nick.
“I believe I’m the luckiest guy in the world to have been able to work with my two sons and my brother in the same business,” Michael said in a 2016 Billboard profile. “At the same time, I wasn’t the greatest father because I was always on the road. So now that I have the opportunity to see them every day and work side by side, it’s been incredible. Nicholas is my best friend today.”
Of his father’s passing, Nick added Tuesday: “Michael was my mentor and the greatest teacher. For over twenty years, we travelled the world and shared a bond that grew deeper with time. We spoke every day and often finished each other’s sentences. Our relationship was shaped by the work we did side by side, and a bond of love, trust, and mutual respect.”
Michael Lippman is survived by his wife Nancy and two sons, Nick and Josh.
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