The great irony of Prince infamous battles with Warner Bros. Records over the ownership of his music is the fact that the company -- to which he was signed for the first 19 years of his career -- was one of the most artist-friendly major labels in history. From the late 1960s to the mid 1990s, the Burbank, California-based label fostered the careers of Jimi Hendrix, Joni Mitchell, Neil Young, Van Morrison, Fleetwood Mac, Van Halen, Randy Newman, the Grateful Dead, R.E.M., the Red Hot Chili Peppers and, of course, Prince in a free-wheeling and innovative but fiscally responsible culture that was as financially successful as it was "hip."

At the helm of that ship was Rock and Roll Hall of Fame member Mo Ostin. Hired away from Verve Records in 1960 by Frank Sinatra to run his new Reprise label, Ostin convinced his boss to let him sign rock acts -- and the first one he signed was the Kinks. Reprise was purchased by Warner in 1963, and the combined company soon became the house that Mo built -- one that he presided over, as president, then chairman/CEO, until 1994.

Prince Has Sold Nearly 3.... His Death

The Ostin era at Warner spans most of Prince’s creative peak, from his signing in 1977 to his multiplatinum Purple Rain era to his widely publicized battles with the label. Prince’s accusations against the label perplexed many artists and executives who knew Ostin’s gentlemanly nature and artist-friendly culture, and the artist’s relations with the label only grew more contentious under the subsequent Warner management, until he finally fulfilled his contract and left the label in 1996 -- only to return in 2014, when Warner was under new ownership and management.

In this rare interview, Ostin, now 89 and retired but busy as a consultant and board member of the music schools at UCLA and USC, spoke with Billboard about his long relationship with this “fearless, unbelievably talented” artist.

First of all, I’m sorry for all of us but especially for those of you who worked with him and knew him for so long.
It's a really tragic situation, and it's still unclear exactly what happened. He seemed to be in incredible physical shape in all the years that I was associated with him. He was just amazing. The range of his talent was beyond belief.

Was there anyone you worked with who you'd compare with him?
Well, Sinatra, in a different way, was incredibly prolific, and certainly his performances were exciting -- he was electric onstage. But Prince was something unique and unto himself. He was a one-of-a-kind artist.

Do you remember how you first heard about him?

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