Record promotor who gained fame for breaking “Tea for the Tillerman” by Cat Stevens (A&M), and “Year of the Cat” by Al Stewart (Janus). Janus Records was headed by former Baltimore / Washington promo man Ed DeJoy, and was owned by GRT.
Mason was one of Barry Levinson’s ‘Diner’ guys, and was the partial basis for the record collecting character in the film “Diner.” Mason has continued to work as one of music’s most prolific record collectors and archivists, and has served as music coordinator for many of Levinson’s films.
After working as A&R for Janus and A&M labels, along with Matthew Kaufman – also of A&M, they founded Beserkley Records in San Francisco. Artists in their stable included Earth Quake, Johnathan Richman (with and without) The Modern Lovers, Greg Kihn, and others.
In 2024 Allan was presented with the Legacy Award for his work as Music Supervisor/Coordinator/Consultant for dozens of movie soundtracks including Diner, Good Morning Viet Nam, 1969, Rain Man, Avalon, Bugsy, Father of the Bride, Untamed Heart, Benny & Joon, The Parent Trap, Liberty Heights, Man of the Year, and many others.
His soundtrack song choices have resulted in numerous songs experiencing a resurgence in popularity and/or second life on the national charts. The Proclaimers song “I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles)” from the film Benny and Joon reached #3 on Billboard’s Hot 100. “At Last” by Etta James featured in Rain Man has become a standard. Also, from Rain Man the cover of The Belle Stars hit “Iko Iko” reached #14 nationally. Louis Armstrong’s “What a Wonderful World” went to #32 nationally after inclusion in Good Morning, Viet Nam, twenty years after the song first charted.
Here’s a shout out to Allan’s faithful companion Benny.
