Editing David Geffen (section)

=== Asylum Records ===
Geffen co-founded Asylum Records in 1971 with [[Elliot Roberts]] after Geffen was unable to get [[Jackson Browne]] a record deal anywhere else. The name Asylum was chosen because of the owners' reputations for signing artists who would struggle to find a record company that would contract with them. The label was distributed by Atlantic Records at this time. Asylum became a generator of the Southern California folk-rock sound and signed artists such as [[Eagles (band)|Eagles]], [[Joni Mitchell]], [[Bob Dylan]], [[Tom Waits]], [[Linda Ronstadt]], [[Warren Zevon]], [[Judee Sill]], and [[JD Souther]]. Later in the 1970s Geffen left Asylum, which was later acquired by Atlantic's parent company, [[Warner Communications]], and merged with [[Elektra Records]] in 1982 to become Elektra/Asylum Records. The label was revived in 2004 as an urban music operation, signing hip-hop artists such as [[Waka Flocka Flame]], [[Cam’ron]], [[Gucci Mane]], [[Paul Wall]], [[Mike Jones (rapper)|Mike Jones]] and [[Bun B]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=https://variety.com/2017/biz/news/warner-music-group-to-relaunch-asylum-label-founded-by-david-geffen-1202603122/|title=Warner Music Group to Relaunch Asylum, Label Founded by David Geffen|first=Jem|last=Aswad|website=Variety|date=October 31, 2017|access-date=September 3, 2021}}</ref>

Geffen remained in charge until December 1975, when he went to work as vice chairman of [[Warner Bros.]] film studios.<ref>Tom King, ''The Operator: David Geffen Builds, Buys, and Sells the New Hollywood'', pp. 261-262, Broadway Books (New York 2001).</ref> He then retired and in 1977 was informed (erroneously) that he had cancer.<ref>Tom King, ''The Operator: David Geffen Builds, Buys, and Sells the New Hollywood'', p. 282, Broadway Books (New York 2001).</ref> During his retirement period he spent a short time (the fall of 1978 and spring of 1979) teaching a noncredit seminar on the music industry and arts management at [[Yale University]], where he featured classroom guests Jackson Browne and [[Paul Simon]].<ref>Tom King, ''The Operator: David Geffen Builds, Buys, and Sells the New Hollywood'', p. 294, Broadway Books (New York 2001).</ref> In 1980 a new medical diagnosis revealed the error in the original diagnosis<ref>Tom King, ''The Operator: David Geffen Builds, Buys, and Sells the New Hollywood'', pp. 296-297, Broadway Books (New York 2001).</ref> and Geffen was given a clean bill of health, whereupon he decided to return to working in the entertainment industry.