Last Wednesday we said goodbye to a dear friend and colleague, Sam Kaiser, who’d spent the last year bravely and privately battling cancer. Born in St. Louis, Sam was a lifelong Cardinals fan. He loved music. In his 20’s he worked as an engineer at the one and only KSHE- 95, before moving into the record business with Atlantic Records. Sam’s stories of debauchery and Rock n Roll were legendary. Of course, I guess that’s what you’d expect when one worked closely with the likes of Van Halen, AC/DC, The Rolling Stones, ELP, Guns N Roses and more! Sam loved his family dearly. Some of Sam’s other loves included, scuba diving, mentoring boys through baseball, as The President of the Santa Barbara Pony league, and cats! He loved cats!
Sam was a smart guy who shared a lot of experience and wisdom with me. He had a wicked sense of humor and the hearty laugh of a man who had clearly played hard back in the day. I will miss our talks. Rest In Peace My Friend.
If you’d like to do something nice to honor Sam, you can make a donation to resQcats cat sanctuary in Santa Barbara.
Obituary for Samuel Martin Kaiser
Samuel Martin Kaiser, 72, died peacefully at home in the early morning of July 25th, 2026, surrounded by family.
Sam was born in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1953, and in his early 20s worked as an engineer at loca1 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, PhiI Collins, Van Halen, Beastie Boys, MC Hammer, Eazy-E, Guns N' Roses, Emerson, Lake & Palmer, A11-4-One, Foreigner, The \4lho, 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, Grace, and lack Kaiser; his grandchildren, Lorelei and Skyler Krupi, and his sister, Janet Campbell.