PERSONALITIES
Rock Lawbster
Columbus lawyer’s memoir documents brushes with stars, Rock Hall involvement
Alex Wightman (left) with Dion
EARLY IN ALEC Wightman’s memoir, Music in My Life: Notes from a Longtime Fan, he lays out his two guiding principles: great music and nice people. It’s perhaps a little too simple for understanding Wightman, a truly multidimensional person. A longtime executive partner at BakerHostetler, Wightman has been listed in The Best Lawyers in America since 1995. Yet, simultaneously, he’s lived a double life promoting shows for artists such as Art Garfunkel and members of Buffalo Springfield and Jefferson Airplane. Wightman has also served on the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame board for more than 15 years and completed a stint as its chair. Though he’s never been a musician, music has been much more than just a side interest for Wightman. “One of the lines I probably say and I hear people say is, ‘Music speaks to me,’” he says. “The honest to goodness truth is, at least for me, music often spoke for me.” His memoir documents catalysts for a lifelong passion, including early interests in Dion and The Animals; remarkable moments of fandom, such as seeing Neil Young perform his iconic album Tonight’s the Night at Mershon Auditorium two years before its release; and an impressive side career as a promoter for singer-songwriter acts touring through the Columbus area.
The long and winding road Wightman came to music in the late 1950s at the end of rock ‘n’ roll’s formative years. He followed the genre avidly, even taking to reading the industry in6
cityscenecolumbus.com | November/December 2021
Photos courtesy of Alec Wightman
By Cameron Carr
