On 3 May 2004 18:14:43 GMT, (R. Rafson) wrote:

Does anyone know what the A and the R stand for in A & R Men? My son is
doing a research project about the early days of the recording industry and
they refer to the early producers as A & R Men. Any help you can provide would
be welcome.

As has already been noted, A&R stands for "Artists and Repetoire."

One of the most famous A&R men ever was John Hammond, Jr. He worked
for many, many years with Columbia Records and is credited with
"discovering" Billie Holiday, Aretha Franklin, Bob Dylan, Bruce
Springsteen and Stevie Ray Vaughn. Other famous A&R men include Ahmet
Ertegun, Sam Phillips and Mitch Miller:

http://www.findarticles.com/g1epc/to.../article.jhtml