Christine Farnon

Decades before Deborah Dugan became the Recording Academy’s first female president/CEO in 2019, Farnon was the top executive at the organization — and while she never held the big title, there was no question of who was in charge.

Farnon started as a volunteer in May 1957 when the academy was in its formative stages and rose to become executive vp. From 1957 through 1987, she worked alongside a succession of 18 elected, volunteer presidents. These men — and yes, they were all men — served their terms and moved on, while she provided continuity and stability. In 1988, Michael Greene became the academy’s first paid president. Farnon stayed on through 1992 to ensure a smooth transition.

Farnon received a trustees award from the academy upon her retirement. A tribute to her in that year’s Grammy program book was fittingly titled “The Recording Academy’s Guiding Light.”