Kirkup on Fitzgerald

KIRKUP REMEMBERS RICH FITZGERALD: Martin Kirkup writes: “I had the absolute pleasure of working with Rich, and his great Reprise team, for about a decade, starting with his arrival at the label and the launch of the B-52's Cosmic Thing album. That album became the band's biggest, and Rich managed the sequence of hit singles like the master that he was. Watching him get excited about great music or a new idea was always a highpoint of any week. he'd start bubbling with energy, unable to sit down, laughing and gesticulating, until everyone in the room was caught up in his passion and shared that bond with Rich. I still feel that strong connection, and am saddened I won't see him again to share his laughter.” (8/17p)