Eddie Gilreath was born in Maryland in 1943 and raised in the town of Chester outside of Philadelphia, where he learned to play bass as a teenager. After serving in the Army, he continued to perform while attending college. At the encouragement of his mentor, Weldon McDougall III, Gilreath began his illustrious music industry career at Chips Distributing in Philadelphia, promoting Motown releases, and in 1967 became Motown's National Promotion Director, where he worked with artists such as Marvin Gaye, Supremes, Jackson 5, Smokey Robinson, Temptations and Stevie Wonder.

In 1971, Warner Bros. recruited Gilreath to become their Southeast Regional Marketing Manager in Atlanta, where he directed marketing activities for pop, jazz and R&B artists. From 1975 to 1982, Gilreath served as the first African American National Sales VP for Warner Bros. in Los Angeles, directing the Black Music Division and hiring a team he called the "Warner Bros. Rhythm Section" to exclusively promote Black artists. He was also selected to assist Alex Haley with marketing and promotional tours for his book, Roots. In 1982, Gilreath was commissioned by the major labels to conduct the first industry study on the buying habits of Black consumers which resulted in his report, "Black Music is Green," presented at the National Association of Recording Merchandisers (NARM) trade show.

After leaving Warner Bros., Gilreath served as VP of Sales and Marketing for Island Records and Elektra Entertainment in New York, orchestrating sales activities for a roster of talent including Linda Ronstadt, Motley Crue, Anita Baker, Metallica, Simply Red, and Midnight Star while simultaneously directing activities for the label's Nonesuch classical music division. In 1986, Gilreath returned to Los Angeles to assist David Geffen and Eddie Rosenblatt with the launch of Geffen Records, a new division of Warner Bros. As VP of Sales, Gilreath worked with Geffen's superstar acts like John Lennon, Nirvana, Cher, Guns N' Roses, Don Henley, Aerosmith, and Elton John; and oversaw sales of Broadway show product for Dreamgirls, Miss Saigon, Les Miserables and Cats as well as the debut album from The Simpsons animated comedy series.

Gilreath then spent four years at MCA/Universal as Senior VP of Marketing, promoting artists such as Trisha Yearwood, Meatloaf, jazzier Dave Grusin, George Strait and Wynonna. In 1995 he briefly returned to Motown as Senior VP of Marketing, and in 1998 as Managing Director of Domo Records he elevated the career of Japanese New Age artist Kitaro. In 2000, Gilreath and four industry luminaries formed the E-nate Music Group and signed artists such as Kool & Gang, JT Taylor, Ray Charles, the Gap Band's Charlie Wilson and Dionne Warwick.

Gilreath's other career highlights include serving as a board member of the Black Music Association; serving as the first African American chairman of the Manufacturer's Advisory Committee following his election to the post by the six major entertainment corporations; and at the invitation of the Jamaican government, conducting seminars with Bob Marley's widow, Rita Marley, to assist their citizens in becoming more professional in the worldwide music industry.