American producer, arranger, conductor, musician and founder of Cherry Lane Music Publishing Company Inc.
Born December 23, 1923, Brooklyn, New York, USA - Died November 15, 2016, Beverly Hills, California, USA.
Okun transformed the careers of over a dozen major U.S. artists who under hi tutelage became some of the most successful musical acts of the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s. His career lasted over 50 years, from the folk revival to the twenty-first century.
He also charted three times as a songwriter: his highest charted song in the U.S. was Stewball by Peter, Paul & Mary, which hit #35 in 1963 (co-written by Mary Travers, Paul Stookey [as Noel Stookey] & Elaina Mezzetti). He charted higher in the U.K. with The Son of Mary by Harry Belafonte--it landed at #18 in 1958 (co-written by Gene Corman) with Charles Carl Carter doing the arrangement.
Cherry Lane Music is the publisher of Dreamworks, Paramount and Marvel, Elvis, Quincy Jones, the Black Eyed Peas and many, many other well-known properties.
Okun spent decades shaping and influencing the careers of artists like Harry Belafonte, Peter, Paul and Mary, the Chad Mitchell Trio, an alum of that group named John Denver, Tom Paxton, Laura Nyro, The Brothers Four, opera superstar Placido Domingo, and many, many more. Okun was a jack-of-all-trades for the artists, by turns producing their recordings, arranging their music, influencing their artistic choices and musical directions, and providing them with rehearsal space and a place to lay their heads to sleep.