Jerry Heller rose to prominence as a music manager when he brought Elton John and Pink Floyd to the United States for their first American tours. He also represented popular rock acts, such as The Who, Grand Funk Railroad, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Black Sabbath, as well as many others.

In the eighties, he involved himself with east coast rap and hip hop music, most notably as the cofounder of Ruthless Records with Eazy-E. The group discovered and signed N.W.A., The D.O.C., The Black Eyed Peas, Above the Law, and Bone Thugs-N-Harmony.

Rappers Ice Cube and Dr. Dre fell left N.W.A. in 1991. The two blamed Jerry's management of the group drove the rappers apart. They would go on to make albums independent of Jerry, writing diss tracks aimed at the manager.

Jerry Heller's name returned to prominence in the public eye after the release of Straight Outta Compton, a biopic chronicling the rise and fall of N.W.A. Heller was played by acclaimed actor Paul Giamatti, and the portrayal is notably unflattering, particularly in the way he manages the finances of artists he signed. The real Jerry filed a lawsuit against against several members of N.W.A., NBCUniversal, and several others who worked on the movie, for defamation. The producers, including Dr. Dre and Ice Cube, filed a countersuit. Most of the charges were thrown out by the judge.

The music producer passed away following a heart attack which resulted in a car crash. The date of passing was 2 September in Thousand Oaks, California. According to his attorney, Mickey Shapiro, it was the film that killed him, leaving him heart broken. Whether on not this is true, Heller had a history of heart problems.