Wood was born in New York City, and started work in a record store in Manhattan before serving in the US Merchant Marine.
After his friend Frankie Valli played him a demo of "Sherry" by the Four Seasons, he signed the band to Vee-Jay, leading to great success for the group and the record company.
At the time, in 1963 and early 1964, Vee-Jay was in "near chaos",[2] being involved in contractual disputes both over the Four Seasons' contracts and with Capitol over the rights to issue Beatles records.
[3] Wood left Vee-Jay in 1965, and founded several small labels in Los Angeles, including Mira, Mirwood, Surrey and Crestview.
[1] He died in 1980 after a short illness, aged 50, and was buried in Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Hollywood Hills.