Mark Pucci, a veteran music industry publicist and passionate blues advocate who worked with artists ranging from The Allman Brothers Band to Kenny Chesney over a five-decade career, has died at age 79.
During two separate stints at Capricorn Records, Pucci helped lead PR efforts for a who’s-who of Southern rock legends including The Allman Brothers Band, The Marshall Tucker Band and Lynyrd Skynyrd. He later founded the Atlanta-based firm Mark Pucci Media, where he represented stars like Johnny Cash, Roy Orbison and Carl Perkins, while simultaneously working to sustain and preserve the legacy of the blues music he loved. For his efforts on the latter front, in 2008, he was honored with the Keeping Blues Alive Award from the Blues Foundation in Memphis, Tenn.
Pucci began working at Capricorn — which was at the forefront of the Southern rock explosion of the mid-1970s — as publicity director before later moving up to vp of publicity and general manager. During those years, he was also hired to work on Jimmy Carter’s 1976 presidential campaign, handling PR and promoting benefit concerts designed to bolster Carter’s national profile and fill his campaign coffers.
As founder and owner of Mark Pucci Media, his client list was stacked with music icons. In addition to Cash, Orbison and Perkins, he represented such names as John Mayall, Taj Mahal, Gordon Lightfoot, Derek Trucks, The Fabulous Thunderbirds, Charlie Musselwhite and Delbert McClinton.
Pucci was predeceased by his wife Patricia Powers Pucci; parents Anna and James Pucci; brothers Joseph and James Pucci; sisters Dolores Kenna and Carol Dinkowitz; brother-in-law Pete Dinkowitz; and niece Susan Iversen. He is survived by sister-in-law Gertrude Pucci, niece Diana Nunno (John), niece Tina Hulsman (Chris), nephew Peter Dinkowitze (Wendy) and several more nieces and nephews. He also left behind office assistant and friend Karin Johnson, The Renteral family, “his Blues family,” “the lunch bunch crew” and his cat, Elvis.
Memorial services will be hold on Oct. 28 from 10am to noon and 6 pm to 9 pm at South Care Cremation & Funeral Society in Alpharetta, Ga. Gifts in honor of Pucci can be made to Lifeline Animal Project at www.lifelineanimal.org.
