Jack Rieley

Jack Rieley
Rieley circa 1974
Background information
Birth name	John Frank Rieley III
Born	(1942-11-24)November 24, 1942 Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Died	April 17, 2015(2015-04-17) (aged 72) Berlin, Germany
Occupation(s)	Musician, songwriter, disc jockey, record producer, entrepreneur
Instrument(s)	Piano
Years active	1960s–2015

John Frank Rieley III (November 24, 1942 – April 17, 2015) was an American businessman, record producer, songwriter, and disc jockey who managed the Beach Boys between mid-1970 and late 1973. He is credited with guiding them back to popular acclaim^[1] and was described by New Statesman as "a radio DJ turned career mentor."^[2]

Rieley co-wrote a total of ten songs included on the Beach Boys' albums Surf’s Up (1971), Carl and the Passions – "So Tough" (1972), and Holland (1973). He also sang lead on the Surf's Up track "A Day in the Life of a Tree" and narrated Brian Wilson's fairy tale Mount Vernon and Fairway (1972).

Following his work with The Beach Boys, Rieley made the rock book project Western Justice with Machiel Botman in 1975. He would later go on to collaborate with artists such as Kool & the Gang, Ride, and Jaye Muller (recording as "Count Jaye").

In 1995, Rieley, along with Muller, founded e-fax pioneer J2 Global, Inc., which later became Ziff Davis following its $167 million acquisition of the digital publishing company. He died in 2015 at the age of 72.