When headlines blared that businessman José Menendez had been shot 15 times along with his wife Kitty while watching TV in their Beverly Hills home on the evening of August 20, 1989, it registered as just another murder victim for most people, but those in the record industry instantly recognized the name.

Not long before, José Menendez had held a top post at RCA Records — home to Diana Ross, Kenny Rogers and Hall & Oates, among other artists, at the time — where he was tasked with turning around the label’s sagging revenue. He also signed Puerto Rican boy band Menudo, featuring a young Ricky Martin, while there and oversaw hit records by Mr. Mister, Starship and Eurythmics.

Indeed, he was such a known entity in the biz, and the story of his murder at 45, and subsequent arrests of sons Lyle and Erik Menendez (21 and 18 at the time), fascinated so many, that even irreverent...