Samuel Martin Kaiser

Sam was born in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1953, and in his early 20s worked as an engineer at local St. Louis radio station KSHE. After some time, he landed a job at Atlantic Records as one of their Midwest territory reps. This blossomed into a career filled with everything he dreamed it would be: debauchery and culturally definitive music.

He worked intimately with artists such as The Rolling Stones, AC/DC, Phil Collins, Van Halen, Beastie Boys, MC Hammer, Eazy-E, Guns N' Roses, Emerson, Lake & Palmer, All-4-One, Foreigner, The Who, Stevie Nicks, Twisted Sister, and Puddle of Mudd. Sam’s career in the music industry spanned for over 50 years and even in the thralls of his cancer diagnosis he was checking in on his artists to make sure they were taken care of. Sam would talk passionately about his time in the industry and commonly spoke about how lucky and fortunate he was to have the opportunities he was afforded.

Outside his passion for music, Sam was an avid St. Louis Cardinals fan and a scuba diver who cherished his time in the ocean. He also deeply loved his family, regularly visiting his daughters across the country, taking his son to MLB games, and consistently checking in with his sister, Janet, in St. Louis.

Sam also served as the Santa Barbara Pony League president for a few seasons, coached for the span of his son’s time in the league, and eventually became an umpire. During this time, Sam mentored many young players and had a tremendous impact on each ballplayer he coached or umpired for.

Sam is survived by his children, Alexa (Ben), Grace (Marisa), and Jack Kaiser; his grandchildren, Lorelei and Skyler Krupit; and his sister, Janet Campbell (Art).

Sam's memorial is set for August 26, 2026, at 11am at All Saints by the Sea in Montecito, California.

In lieu of flowers, please donate to ResQcats cat sanctuary in Sam’s honor.

https://www.resqcats.org/