Dan Einstein, a Grammy-winning independent record producer who championed the careers of John Prine and Steve Goodman, died Jan. 15 in Nashville. He was 61.

He made his mark in the record business in the 1980s and ‘90s with two labels: Oh Boy Records and Red Pajamas Records, both Grammy winners. The labels were not the only independents, but the marketing was unique, relying on mail-order sales, grass-roots publicity, and innovative consumer engagement.

In a second-career move, most people in Nashville knew Mr. Einstein as the proprietor, with his wife, of Sweet 16th, the award-winning bakery they opened in 2004. Referring to themselves as “your East Nashville sugar dealer,” the Einstein’s earned accolades for their baked goods as well as their generosity to hungry neighbors and to those who had lost homes when tornadoes ravaged Nashville in 2020.