Jon “Jonny Z” Zazula, the co-founder of Megaforce Records and the man who helped launch the careers of Metallica, Anthrax, Testament and Overkill, among others, has passed away at the age of 69. He died Tuesday in Florida surrounded by his family and friends, according to Variety. Zazula co-founded Megaforce Records with his wife Marsha, who passed away of cancer in January of last year.
Zazula was born in 1952, lived on the streets of the Bronx in New York City, and wound up working on Wall Street before transitioning into the music business. The Zazulas’ metal journey started in 1981 when the couple opened the independent New Jersey record store, Rock and Roll Heaven. The store became highly influential to the heavy metal movement when in addition to focusing on rare “New Wave of British Heavy Metal” records, it also served as a promotional vehicle for shows in the area.
When a demo tape from a San Francisco-based band called Metallica found its way to the couple, they mortgaged their home and created Megaforce Records to launch the group. Metallica’s 1983 debut, “Kill ‘Em All,” was pivotal in the launch of the thrash metal movement.
Megaforce remained a major metal force throughout the ’80s and ’90s. “It’s all a blessing when you work hard, stay smart and go into the game, and then eventually something comes your way and you’re ready for it, and you’re able to jump upon it and ride it,” Zazula told Variety in 2020. “We were very fortunate, Marsha and I, to choose a band that became the biggest band in the world — not to mention a bunch of other great bands that made history.”
Megaforce continues to this day, and Zazula wrote about its history in his book, “Heavy Tales: The Metal, The Music, The Madness.” “I sold metal records because metal is foreground music, not background music,” Zazula told Loudwire. “It inspires you to listen and pay attention to it. The fans of heavy metal music all came into the store with their painted jackets and denim vests and patches, which was very reminiscent to me of the late ’60s and early ’70s music scene that I was such a part of.”
