ALAN W. LIVINGSTON

I don't like to leave anything unfinished. I have an absolute need to see that every phone call is returned, every letter answered.

I've always been very attentive to detail. It's a characteristic that drives some people crazy. But on the other hand, when people around me are sloppy, that drives me crazy.

I decided to combine my musical background, business education and creative abilities - and go into the record business.

I read somewhere once that you could be whatever you wanted. As long as I could remember, I was determined to make my way in the big world. And that meant New York.

My father was placid and easygoing. He owned a small shoe store where I helped out on Saturdays. I think he'd have been pleased if I'd made a career of working in the shoe store. But my mother was ambitious. She encouraged us to read books, and she pushed us toward a musical education.

I've always been very attentive to detail. It's a characteristic that drives some people crazy. But on the other hand, when people around me are sloppy, that drives me crazy.

I decided to combine my musical background, business education and creative abilities - and go into the record business.

My father was placid and easygoing. He owned a small shoe store where I helped out on Saturdays. I think he'd have been pleased if I'd made a career of working in the shoe store. But my mother was ambitious. She encouraged us to read books, and she pushed us toward a musical education.

I read somewhere once that you could be whatever you wanted. As long as I could remember, I was determined to make my way in the big world. And that meant New York.

I don't like to leave anything unfinished. I have an absolute need to see that every phone call is returned, every letter answered.