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- Publicist Joe Dera attended Clifton High School before settling in Montclair. He represented Paul McCartney, David Bowie, Billy Joel, Elton John and others.
Publicist Joe Dera, who spent his career shaping the careers of music legends like Paul McCartney, David Bowie, Billy Joel, Elton John and others, died on Oct. 10 at 74.
Dera and his family were Dutch immigrants who moved to Clifton in 1956. He attended Clifton High School and Morris County Community College, where he started his journey in the music industry as he wrote for the school newspaper, and landed an interview with songwriter Robert Palmer. He eventually became Palmer’s press agent.
He climbed the industry’s ladder from hand-delivering singles to radio stations when he worked for the record label Track Records to forming his own public relations company Dera & Associates.
The New Jersey native’s list of celebrity clients runs long. He was Paul McCartney’s spokesperson for 20 years and started working with David Bowie in 1983.
Dera, described his proudest moment in an interview with the Mississippi newspaper, the Clarion Ledger. He orchestrated a plan that created pandemonium at Bowie’s Madison Square Garden performance in 1983. He convinced Bowie to cancel the phone-in ticket service, causing fans to wrap around the New York City streets for a chance to get tickets to see the iconic singer.
Before creating his own firm, Dera worked for the talent agency Wartoke Concern and then the prestigious PR firm Rogers & Cowan. He spent his time working in the rumbling streets of New York City, but when he finished his day, he would return home to his Montclair house where he lived for about 20 years, said Chris Roslan, who was a partner with Dera at his PR Firm.
Dera’s company was a magnet for music stars. To name a few, Dera represented Queen, Elton John, ZZ Top, Billy Joel, Pink Floyd, Duran Duran, Ray Davies, Les Paul, Rick Springfield and many more.
His clients were not only musicians. His firm represented the National Geographic Society, PBS, Hard Rock Cafe, The History Channel, BBC along with other famous institutions.
At the end of his illustrious career, he named employees Roslan and Eileen Campion as partners, renaming the company Dera, Roslan & Campion, Inc. The company today is now called Roslan & Associates Public Relations.
“He was a brilliant thinker, a great PR man and a great mentor to many people,” said Roslan, who began working with Dera in 1994. “He inspired confidence and creativity in me that I still carry with me today.”
Dera rubbed shoulders with some of the most famous people in the world, but he knew to keep his relationship with his clients to only a professional basis. He once told photographer Bill Bernstein: “No matter how close you get (to celebrities), they’re not your friends.”
He took a different approach with his employees as Roslan described an intimate setting at his firm. Roslan said Dera kept in touch with many of his co-workers from nearly two decades ago.
“(Dera) fostered a real family relationship with his company,” said Roslan.
The New Jersey native retired in 2016 and then moved to historic Bradshaw House in Yazoo County in Mississippi. He is survived by is survived by his wife Suzanne Case, son Samuel Mulford Dera and his sister Yvonne Dera Edwards.
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.northjersey.com ’
