Donald K. Tarlton, better known as Donald K. Donald, has died. He was 82. Tarlton spent 40 years bringing some of the world’s top musical artists to Montreal.

From humble beginnings, he became one of Canada’s most successful impresarios, bringing many big-name acts like The Rolling Stones to Montreal. Former longtime Montreal broadcaster Terry DiMonte says everyone who attended a concert from the 60s to the 2000s did so because of Donald K. Donald Productions, so it’s a big loss for the city and for him personally.

“I haven’t seen Donald in a number of years … his health wasn’t the best. He was a trooper and if you ever knew or met Donald you knew besides the fact that he always let you know that ‘there were plenty of great seats still available’ he was just a bundle of energy both in business and his personal life,” DiMonte told CTV News on Monday: “I got to know him on a personal level, which was an absolute treat. He and his wife, Annie, are just the most wonderful people and it’s another one from the era gone.”In the late 1960s, Tarlton started out booking local bands as Donald K. Productions. Radio personality Marc Denis still has the flyers. “It ended up being a hugely successful career as a rock promoter and impresario when he was booking local bands at places like Snoopy’s Discotheque,” he recalled in an interview on Tuesday.

As fame grew for many artists, they kept coming back to Tarlton, who had a friendship with them.

His beloved wife, Annie, has New Brunswick roots, and Tarlton always brought big acts to eastern Canada, like The Rolling Stones. With 600 concerts a year, it meant Tarlton asked a lot of his team and trusted them. Along the way, he launched many bands and thousands of careers, like Leisa Lee.

He is also being remembered for his contributions to the community outside of music. Donald K. Tarlton, professionally known as Donald K. Donald, has been a concert promoter and record label executive for over 40 years, working with giants like The Jimi Hendrix Experience (the first show he promoted), The Rolling Stones, Celine Dion, Rod Stewart, Pink Floyd, Kiss, U2 and, of course, John Lennon.

In 1969, unable to gain entrance into the United States, John Lennon and Yoko Ono set up camp in room #1742 of The Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal and staged a “Bed-In” for almost 7 days, charmingly holding a press conference and innocently asking for World Peace, on their bed, in their pajamas. It caught the eyes of the world and eventually the ears of the world when he wrote and recorded Give Peace A Chance during his stay. Tarlton was not only present for the song’s germination but was there when it was finally recorded.

John was doing an interview with a Boston radio station and he kept saying, “All we’re trying to do, man, is give peace a chance. All we are saying is give peace a chance.” Then there was a whole bunch of people talking, and then he said, “Let’s do a record.”

All of a sudden it was who knows this and who knows that and on and on. John was writing with a marking pen the lyrics to the song. It was a process that happened over a 24-hour period of time.

A few months later in Toronto, Lennon and Tarlton’s paths crossed again at the Toronto Rock ‘N’ Roll Revival festival with Little Richard, Jerry Lee Lewis, The Doors, and the world debut for the Plastic Ono Band featuring Lennon, Ono and Eric Clapton. Donald decided to press his luck and ask the Plastic Ono Band to play the next night where he was promoting The Doors at The Montreal Forum: John said he’d love to do it but Alan Klein vetoed it right away. They had to leave first thing in the morning back for London.

Donald said: “John Lennon was a very gentle and spectacular person. He was one of those guys that said never give up. Just pick your message and bring it home and don’t worry what they say about you. It’s been 35 years, but you know what? Never has John Lennon’s message been more important than it is today.”