Legendary Atlanta concert promoter Alex Cooley has died.

The Atlanta music scene would not be what it is today without Cooley, beginning with the Atlanta International Pop Festival in 1969 and continuing up until his death earlier today in Florida at age 74.

Cooley, a graduate of Grady High School graduate, was born and raised in Atlanta.

In the mid-1970s, he established Alex Cooley’s Electric Ballroom, which hosted Fleetwood Mac, Rush, Kiss, Bruce Springsteen and many more. Later, he was the primary talent booker at the Great Southeast Music Hall. In 1978, he brought the Sex Pistols to that venue. It was an ill-fated tour that drew protests, gawkers and press from around the world.

Cooley was probably best known for his years as a partner in Alex Cooley/Peter Conlon Presents, along with fellow Atlanta promoter Conlon.

“We didn’t even have a contract for years until the lawyers told us we had to. We were working on handshakes,” Conlon said Tuesday afternoon as he emotionally recalled his longtime working relationship and friendship with Cooley. “We used to laugh and say our relationship was more of a marriage than a business partnership.”

In addition to bringing some of the biggest names to town and running venues such as the Roxy and the Cotton Club, the pair dreamed up Music Midtown, which debuted in 1994.

They sold their joint company in 1997, years after being established as the largest concert promoters in the southeast.

Cooley was inducted into the Georgia Music Hall of Fame in 1987.

In 2011, Cooley purchased Eddie's Attic, which had expanded and diversified its music offerings under his guidance.