Did you listen to James Taylor on Howard Stern?
Despite all the press about the drought, it actually rained in L.A. on Thursday and Friday. Which is really quite strange. This came a couple of weeks after summer weather. Even worse, rain is like snow in L.A. It loosens the oil in the highway and you slip and slide and people get freaked out and traffic is slow and it demands concentration and you end up in your own cocoon, listening to the radio.
And in my car I heard JT tell the story of "Carolina In My Mind."
I loved that record. The original opener on the Apple album. I bought it, actually, it was a present from my sister now that I remember, it was big up at BU, she gave it to me for my birthday. And for a month straight I'd drop the needle before school, to put me in a good mood as I got dressed.
It worked. And even though James is not enamored of that version, it's always been my favorite. And I loved his brother Livingston's "Carolina Day" from his Capricorn LP, but now I'm getting ahead of myself.
The story is "Carolina" was written during a break in recording his first album. He went with Joel Zoss (I LOVE "Too Long At The Fair"!) to Formentera and one night he went with Karen to Ibiza for a party and they missed the last boat back and while she slept on a bench he wrote the song.
Whew!
And to discover new facts about an old hand so far down the line is fascinating, but just as intriguing was putting the facts together, how JT made it.
But I'm driving in Beverly Glen, actually, I'm stuck in traffic in Beverly Glen, and I'm thinking that's how all the great work is done, on a whim, when the stars align and you're suddenly in the mood. Sure, you can get a group of writers together in Nashville and eke it out but it's not the same thing. Just the same way a prepubescent's songs don't last because they have nothing to say.
Yes, JT made it at a relatively young age, but he'd LIVED!
Met Kootch on the Vineyard.
Been to Milton Academy.
Went into the mental institution.
Got hooked on drugs.
Met the Beatles! They even signed him!
There's a lot of stories there. And that's how the best art is created, through experience. Because when you lay that experience down you can feel the humanity, and we can all connect, and that's what we're looking to do, feel so not alone in this crazy world of ours.
And it is a crazy world, but so different from the sixties.
In the sixties the Vineyard was not upscale, there were no billionaires. And you could get lost in the Balearics. Sure, you could make an ultra-expensive long distance phone call, but you couldn't e-mail or text, you were out on your own, having an experience.
And this is what the old farts can't get over, that the experience is not the same. You had to pay your dues to get a record deal, often more than one, in order to break through. You just couldn't declare yourself an artist and put your music up on YouTube. And it's this experience that informed our music, that made it great.
JT played with Kootch in the Flying Machine as the house band in the Village. Do anything long enough and you become comfortable with it and can then spread your wings and innovate. But without this time...
Not that today's world is not scintillating and invigorating, but the emphasis is on tech as opposed to music. Tech gives us tools to communicate, and we love this. But it also gives us the ability to create cheaply and insist everybody pay attention, even though we are not worthy.
James Taylor is worthy.
I saw him last summer and I cringed. He had a crack band but he'd turned into a crooner. But on Howard's show it was just him and his guitar. To say it was authentic is nearly an understatement. You're touched, tears come to your eyes, you're thrilled to be in the presence of such greatness, you remember what once was, when you first heard these records.
The Berkshires used to be covered with snow on the first of December.
But now with global warming, they rarely are.
Our world has changed.
But the songs remain.
Listen.
"The Howard Stern Show - James Taylor Full Interview (May 12, 2015)": http://bit.ly/1KU5j9U
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Saturday 16 May 2015
Friday 15 May 2015
Re-Pat Benatar
Hi Bob....Neil Giraldo here..not sure you will see this but in the event you do here you go......i read most of your email posts daily and really enjoy them....... amazed at how many you churn out!!!....every morning when i check emails there you are!!!!!.....
thx for the kind and powerful words you wrote in regards to my wonderful wife/partner Pat Benatar as well as our body of work......
you brought a glimpse of light into our day.....on a sad day... wakening up to find one of my guitar hero's BB King had passed.......as the steel bending heart surgeon of the blues ascents into the heavens.....the country mourns...guitarists everywhere mourn.. "Lucille" mourns.....
on a much happier note...here is a little something you might enjoy....for years i wanted to record a jump blues swing record....in 1989 the record company finally gave me the go ahead......i hired the Roomful of Blues horn section and their outstanding drummer John Rossi....also the great bassist Chuckie Damanico.....as i was collecting and writing songs for the record i thought Hmmm how about we cover "cost to be the boss"....i thought with a Female singing it could a fun twist...we recorded the whole album called "true love" in 12 days...and everyday during that time i would record "cost " because i wasnt getting the performance i was after....sometimes we played it too fast too slow etc...i thought we'd never get it!!!....well we finally did... on the last day of recording!!!....BB King did a radio interview some time later in that year with Bob Coburn and out of thin air he mentions our performance as one of his favorites along with a version Johnny Taylor did .....i was
shocked!!....
lastly.....in 1978 i joined Rick Derringer's band .....Patricia and i met in may of 1979...we made a deal then to be professional partners.....shortly after that meeting we recorded our first record "heat of the night" in just 28 days............then 6 months later lovers...(going on 36 years now!!!!)....crazy!!!!...
no one was to know anything about our personal AND professional arrangement except our inner circle....it had to be hidden from the public.......
i lived by the motto/mantra ....a Quote by Ronald Reagan ...politics aside......i'm paraphrasing here "you'll be surprised of what you can accomplish if you dont care about who gets the credit"....it worked beautifully.......i'd love to see more people... especially just starting out young musicians follow the same ideology because greatness is out there for all !!!!.....
thx again Bob
all the best
Neil Giraldo.....
________________________________________________
Oh, did I ever want to be Pat Benatar!! In the worst way :)
Hope you are well.
Vickie Strate
________________________________________________
I'm not going to debate who should or shouldn't be in the Hall of Fame - the induction process (to paraphrase Winston Churchill) is a "riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma" - but I thought your comment about Joan Jett was unnecessarily dismissive and way off the mark. Joan's the real deal, as an artist and as a person.
Jim Vallance
________________________________________________
Haven't read this yet, but I couldn't agree more with the first line!!!
Marc Reiter
________________________________________________
Hi Bob,
I finally got to meet Pat just last Friday night. She was performing at the Capitol Theatre In Port Chester NY. In a passing conversation a while back I mentioned to my publisher Rich Stumpf (Atlas MG) that Pat and I had never met. He was very surprised to hear this as are most people.
He emailed me asking if i could meet up with him Friday night. I knew that Pat was on tour but I had forgotten about the NY date.
We went backstage just before the show to meet Pat and Neil. They were both very gracious. I had brought along a blue vinyl 12" single of "Shadows" for her to autograph.
She actually opened the show with "Shadows"as well. It was quite a thrill!
Cheers,
D.L. Byron
(Shadows of the Night)
________________________________________________
You will appreciate this photo taken last week at Pat's performance (she
was great, BTW). The man in the middle is DL Byron, who wrote "Shadows of
the Night" for what was to be his release, but he was told by his label
that it wasn't a hit. It made its way to Pat, who made it a smash. This
pic represents the first time Pat and DL ever met. It was pretty cool to
be there!
Rich Stumpf
photo: https://twitter.com/Lefsetz/status/599359428505141249
________________________________________________
Bob: Some Canadian music trivia which I'm good at.
"Hit Me With Your Best Shot" was written for Canadian singer Charity Brown (A&M Records) by a member of her band, Eddie Schwartz. It was turned down, I believe, by her manager. Schwartz used to be in a late '60s Canadian band Icarus (later called Dixie Rump Roast) managed by Michael Cohl and Bob Ezrin. Bob was the producer, and Michael was the day-to-day manager. Dixie Rump Roast was signed by ABC-Dunhill Records. Ezrin recorded their album but the label rejected it.
Larry LeBlanc
________________________________________________
I was 9 years old when Crimes of Passion came out and it was the first album I bought with my own money and it was all because of "Treat Me Right".
Why isn't she in the HoF? That's a crime.
Bobbo
________________________________________________
Hey Bob:
Thanks for the piece on Pat Benatar. I grew up on Long Island and started working in a bar called the Iron Horse in Babylon when I was 14 where the Good Rats, Twisted Sister and other great local bands would play.
My father was close with Harry Chapin who lived in Huntington and Harry invited us to come to his first Broadway play in 1975 which featured a young singer named Pat Benatar.
Apparently Harry had a big influence on getting her to sing with a harder rock edge and helped her develop the sound that we now know as the star PAT BENATAR.
Years later when I started promoting concerts I got to present her in several shows and she was always gracious and wonderful to work with.
Here's a clip of her singing Harry's "Shooting Star": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iUx4JscN-5w
Joe Fletcher
________________________________________________
Thank you. About 10 years ago, I wrote liner notes for Sony on a never-released Pat Benatar Best Of, and was completely enthralled by her catalog, a re-appreciation that sticks with me still. And "If You Think You Know How To Love Me" is my favorite Pat Benatar song, so kudos on your good taste. But some of us wanted to be both Joan Jett AND Pat Benatar.
Margaret Moser
________________________________________________
Love this article on Pat and Neil.
We just released (Mailboat Records) the 35th Anniversary Concert Tour by Pat & Neil, on CD (Double) and a 90 minute DVD. It's really good, but people don't know it's available.
Thanks,
Harold Sulman
President, Mailboat Records
________________________________________________
and who can forget the line in Fast Times when Phoebe Cates tells Jennifer Jason Leigh how many Benatar lookalikes there were at Ridgemont High?
Ed Hannan
________________________________________________
I'm almost 50. I've been listening to pop music religiously since I was 9. My music collection is massive. Yet, somehow, inexplicably, I didn't know You Better Run was a Young Rascals song. But I'm listening to it now and it's killer. Thanks, Bob ... for your letter and for removing another blind spot in my pop music knowledge.
David Veitch
________________________________________________
If Joan Jett can be a Rock Roll Hall-of-Famer, what about Pat Benatar?
Ken Misch
Program Director
WDKB-FM
________________________________________________
Brilliant timing! Just lost my iPod and the only CD in my car for some reason is Benatar's Greatest Hits. I've been listening on repeat for a week. The songs are smart, tough, sexy, and complicated. The syncopation of the Heartbreaker chorus is almost like math rock. Her voice supple and nuanced as a female Freddie Mercury. Not easy stuff. You're completely right on about why she's not being lauded. Hope people pay attention.
-Brian King
________________________________________________
...and the world will not be right until Pat Benatar is inducted into the RRHOF
Billy Bass
________________________________________________
I enjoyed the column on Pat Benatar and agree with your main point that Pat and her husband guitarist Neil Giraldo are too often overlooked and yet are still working, putting on a very compelling live show with a ton of great songs in their set. While we are overlooking things, it might have been nice if you had mentioned some of the other songwriters who wrote hits for Pat Benatar. No mention of Holly Knight for "Shadows of the Night?" How about Australian songwriter/producer Kerryn Tolhurst for "All Fired Up?" No name drop for Eric Lowen and Dan Navarro for "We Belong?"
Full disclosure: Dan Navarro is a friend, and I know he reads your column as I have seen his comments here. My girlfriend and I are going to go see Dan live at McCabes in Santa Monica on June 6. Perhaps we will see you there. Dan usually closes with an amazing solo acoustic version of "We Belong" in remembrance of the late great Eric Lowen.
Best regards,
Bill Thomas
________________________________________________
Pat Benatar has many good songs. Joan Jett has 3, maybe 4. (My opinion) I saw Joan's show this past November in Austin, Tx. It was ok. There really isn't a comparison between the 2.
Nick Wegener
________________________________________________
Great piece on Pat, Bob! She is a powerhouse and deserves to be far more iconic. Funny, I've seen so many label pitch lists and have talked to many A&R people over the years who've referenced Pat Benatar as a template for "rock" female artists they were developing. However, whenever I've heard some of these other artists' songs and performances, they haven't even come close to Pat's fire, her natural rock and roll swagger. Instead, it just sounded like wandering corporate pop trying to be edgy - but falling short. You are right, Pat is the real deal - and that's something that can't be dreamed up during the Monday morning meeting.
Mark Nubar Donikian
________________________________________________
I have two young daughters I am always trying to musically educate and somehow I had forgotten about Benatar! She fucking rocked then and her music still does now. Will expose my girls to her on our morning drive to school. Thanks for this essential rock and roll reminder, Bob!
-Mike Barker
________________________________________________
Bob --
There is a chance the younger generations will find and fall in love with Pat Benatar's music. "We Belong" is covered in Pitch Perfect 2. It's a good entree for us 40-somethings to play good music for our teenaged kids.
As I did last night after we saw the movie. They loved the original.
There's hope!!
Robin Weinberg
________________________________________________
Yes she was and is SO hot and really a great singer....
Mick and Keith
Page and Plant
Tyler and Perry
Idol and Stevens
Benatar and Giraldo
There is something to that perfect guitar slinger star lead singer thing.
Stevie Salas
________________________________________________
I agree with everything you said about Pat Benatar, she is one of the greatest and has a voice of a goddess. What makes Pat and Neil even better they are both from Brooklyn!!!
Justin Long
________________________________________________
They seem to poke their finger in the eyes of true music fans every chance they get. 20 years for Linda to get in and it happens when she is too ill to even go. What a bunch of assholes. All you need to know about how substantial she was as a musician is contained in that great Eagles documentary. Good enough for me.
Forgot how many hits Pat had. JJett couldn't carry her brassiere. I'll take We Belong and Shadows anytime they come on Sirus.
John Brodey
________________________________________________
Great column! She's still doin' it, though! Check out this link to The Malibu Times Magazine, that features Pat and hubby, Neil, aka "Spyder" on the cover, with a great feature piece. According to the article, they went out on tour in April.
http://www.sopdigitaledition.com/malibumag/#/1/
Barbara Williams
________________________________________________
Yes, girls may have liked Pat Benetar, girls who thought it was empowering enough to have some man's attention...but women, however, liked Joan Jett, Cindy Bullens, Chrissie Hynde, Marshall Chapman...and dare I say, myself. Women who wanted change and respect, and to be seen as musicians on an equal level as men.
The screaming guitar solo...the bridge...the arrangements...and the songs you rave about were not Benetar's, but belonged to the men that surrounded her, and cobbled her persona. Because this formula challenged nothing, it was an easy sell in a male oriented business.
This is not to say that she wasn't a great singer...just that what she did was not remarkable, and did not represent the changes that were happening with women in the world at the time. Benetar, in her trademark spandex, invitingly bent over, was just more of the same; another cute chick singer who did not play or write, but more importantly did not challenge the male domain.
The rest of us who identified as musicians had trouble finding that record company niche. We were told that it did not exist....so we had to make one ourselves. Plugging in with a 1/4 inch guitar jack was seen as unacceptable and even threatening. We had to be twice as good as men in order to be taken seriously, and we found ourselves at the mercy of radio's prejudices. Two women being played in a row on a radio station was seen as "female segueing," therefore forbidden, so if some guy had a hard on for Pat, that left us plain out of luck....and unheard.
In the end, there was little room left for the rest of us that did not fit the male fantasy, or who refused to buy into it out of self respect. We may have had great tits, but we wanted to be known for our craft just as our male counterparts were.
Ironically, the reasons why Benetar rocketed to stardom became the very same reasons why her star did not remain in the sky beyond her late 30s, despite her undiminished abilities as a singer. Women are still objectified for their youth and sexuality...now it is even seen as empowering(?)...but once that has panned out, we are pretty much over as far as the industry is concerned. This is exactly the reason why some of us fought to be seen as something more than the sum of our body parts. We knew that in time our youthfulness would wither away, and we would have nothing left to be identified with. We wanted something to stand on - our musicianship.
Not much has changed for us. Not really.
Carolyne Mas
________________________________________________
Hi Bob - am headed to Texas at the moment - And Pat Benatar is playing the other stage - the main stage - at Wildflower outside Dallas tonight. Been singing her songs in my head all week. Rather go see her than hear myself again. Thanks for this tribute - she's still out there doing it!
Susan Werner
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thx for the kind and powerful words you wrote in regards to my wonderful wife/partner Pat Benatar as well as our body of work......
you brought a glimpse of light into our day.....on a sad day... wakening up to find one of my guitar hero's BB King had passed.......as the steel bending heart surgeon of the blues ascents into the heavens.....the country mourns...guitarists everywhere mourn.. "Lucille" mourns.....
on a much happier note...here is a little something you might enjoy....for years i wanted to record a jump blues swing record....in 1989 the record company finally gave me the go ahead......i hired the Roomful of Blues horn section and their outstanding drummer John Rossi....also the great bassist Chuckie Damanico.....as i was collecting and writing songs for the record i thought Hmmm how about we cover "cost to be the boss"....i thought with a Female singing it could a fun twist...we recorded the whole album called "true love" in 12 days...and everyday during that time i would record "cost " because i wasnt getting the performance i was after....sometimes we played it too fast too slow etc...i thought we'd never get it!!!....well we finally did... on the last day of recording!!!....BB King did a radio interview some time later in that year with Bob Coburn and out of thin air he mentions our performance as one of his favorites along with a version Johnny Taylor did .....i was
shocked!!....
lastly.....in 1978 i joined Rick Derringer's band .....Patricia and i met in may of 1979...we made a deal then to be professional partners.....shortly after that meeting we recorded our first record "heat of the night" in just 28 days............then 6 months later lovers...(going on 36 years now!!!!)....crazy!!!!...
no one was to know anything about our personal AND professional arrangement except our inner circle....it had to be hidden from the public.......
i lived by the motto/mantra ....a Quote by Ronald Reagan ...politics aside......i'm paraphrasing here "you'll be surprised of what you can accomplish if you dont care about who gets the credit"....it worked beautifully.......i'd love to see more people... especially just starting out young musicians follow the same ideology because greatness is out there for all !!!!.....
thx again Bob
all the best
Neil Giraldo.....
________________________________________________
Oh, did I ever want to be Pat Benatar!! In the worst way :)
Hope you are well.
Vickie Strate
________________________________________________
I'm not going to debate who should or shouldn't be in the Hall of Fame - the induction process (to paraphrase Winston Churchill) is a "riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma" - but I thought your comment about Joan Jett was unnecessarily dismissive and way off the mark. Joan's the real deal, as an artist and as a person.
Jim Vallance
________________________________________________
Haven't read this yet, but I couldn't agree more with the first line!!!
Marc Reiter
________________________________________________
Hi Bob,
I finally got to meet Pat just last Friday night. She was performing at the Capitol Theatre In Port Chester NY. In a passing conversation a while back I mentioned to my publisher Rich Stumpf (Atlas MG) that Pat and I had never met. He was very surprised to hear this as are most people.
He emailed me asking if i could meet up with him Friday night. I knew that Pat was on tour but I had forgotten about the NY date.
We went backstage just before the show to meet Pat and Neil. They were both very gracious. I had brought along a blue vinyl 12" single of "Shadows" for her to autograph.
She actually opened the show with "Shadows"as well. It was quite a thrill!
Cheers,
D.L. Byron
(Shadows of the Night)
________________________________________________
You will appreciate this photo taken last week at Pat's performance (she
was great, BTW). The man in the middle is DL Byron, who wrote "Shadows of
the Night" for what was to be his release, but he was told by his label
that it wasn't a hit. It made its way to Pat, who made it a smash. This
pic represents the first time Pat and DL ever met. It was pretty cool to
be there!
Rich Stumpf
photo: https://twitter.com/Lefsetz/status/599359428505141249
________________________________________________
Bob: Some Canadian music trivia which I'm good at.
"Hit Me With Your Best Shot" was written for Canadian singer Charity Brown (A&M Records) by a member of her band, Eddie Schwartz. It was turned down, I believe, by her manager. Schwartz used to be in a late '60s Canadian band Icarus (later called Dixie Rump Roast) managed by Michael Cohl and Bob Ezrin. Bob was the producer, and Michael was the day-to-day manager. Dixie Rump Roast was signed by ABC-Dunhill Records. Ezrin recorded their album but the label rejected it.
Larry LeBlanc
________________________________________________
I was 9 years old when Crimes of Passion came out and it was the first album I bought with my own money and it was all because of "Treat Me Right".
Why isn't she in the HoF? That's a crime.
Bobbo
________________________________________________
Hey Bob:
Thanks for the piece on Pat Benatar. I grew up on Long Island and started working in a bar called the Iron Horse in Babylon when I was 14 where the Good Rats, Twisted Sister and other great local bands would play.
My father was close with Harry Chapin who lived in Huntington and Harry invited us to come to his first Broadway play in 1975 which featured a young singer named Pat Benatar.
Apparently Harry had a big influence on getting her to sing with a harder rock edge and helped her develop the sound that we now know as the star PAT BENATAR.
Years later when I started promoting concerts I got to present her in several shows and she was always gracious and wonderful to work with.
Here's a clip of her singing Harry's "Shooting Star": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iUx4JscN-5w
Joe Fletcher
________________________________________________
Thank you. About 10 years ago, I wrote liner notes for Sony on a never-released Pat Benatar Best Of, and was completely enthralled by her catalog, a re-appreciation that sticks with me still. And "If You Think You Know How To Love Me" is my favorite Pat Benatar song, so kudos on your good taste. But some of us wanted to be both Joan Jett AND Pat Benatar.
Margaret Moser
________________________________________________
Love this article on Pat and Neil.
We just released (Mailboat Records) the 35th Anniversary Concert Tour by Pat & Neil, on CD (Double) and a 90 minute DVD. It's really good, but people don't know it's available.
Thanks,
Harold Sulman
President, Mailboat Records
________________________________________________
and who can forget the line in Fast Times when Phoebe Cates tells Jennifer Jason Leigh how many Benatar lookalikes there were at Ridgemont High?
Ed Hannan
________________________________________________
I'm almost 50. I've been listening to pop music religiously since I was 9. My music collection is massive. Yet, somehow, inexplicably, I didn't know You Better Run was a Young Rascals song. But I'm listening to it now and it's killer. Thanks, Bob ... for your letter and for removing another blind spot in my pop music knowledge.
David Veitch
________________________________________________
If Joan Jett can be a Rock Roll Hall-of-Famer, what about Pat Benatar?
Ken Misch
Program Director
WDKB-FM
________________________________________________
Brilliant timing! Just lost my iPod and the only CD in my car for some reason is Benatar's Greatest Hits. I've been listening on repeat for a week. The songs are smart, tough, sexy, and complicated. The syncopation of the Heartbreaker chorus is almost like math rock. Her voice supple and nuanced as a female Freddie Mercury. Not easy stuff. You're completely right on about why she's not being lauded. Hope people pay attention.
-Brian King
________________________________________________
...and the world will not be right until Pat Benatar is inducted into the RRHOF
Billy Bass
________________________________________________
I enjoyed the column on Pat Benatar and agree with your main point that Pat and her husband guitarist Neil Giraldo are too often overlooked and yet are still working, putting on a very compelling live show with a ton of great songs in their set. While we are overlooking things, it might have been nice if you had mentioned some of the other songwriters who wrote hits for Pat Benatar. No mention of Holly Knight for "Shadows of the Night?" How about Australian songwriter/producer Kerryn Tolhurst for "All Fired Up?" No name drop for Eric Lowen and Dan Navarro for "We Belong?"
Full disclosure: Dan Navarro is a friend, and I know he reads your column as I have seen his comments here. My girlfriend and I are going to go see Dan live at McCabes in Santa Monica on June 6. Perhaps we will see you there. Dan usually closes with an amazing solo acoustic version of "We Belong" in remembrance of the late great Eric Lowen.
Best regards,
Bill Thomas
________________________________________________
Pat Benatar has many good songs. Joan Jett has 3, maybe 4. (My opinion) I saw Joan's show this past November in Austin, Tx. It was ok. There really isn't a comparison between the 2.
Nick Wegener
________________________________________________
Great piece on Pat, Bob! She is a powerhouse and deserves to be far more iconic. Funny, I've seen so many label pitch lists and have talked to many A&R people over the years who've referenced Pat Benatar as a template for "rock" female artists they were developing. However, whenever I've heard some of these other artists' songs and performances, they haven't even come close to Pat's fire, her natural rock and roll swagger. Instead, it just sounded like wandering corporate pop trying to be edgy - but falling short. You are right, Pat is the real deal - and that's something that can't be dreamed up during the Monday morning meeting.
Mark Nubar Donikian
________________________________________________
I have two young daughters I am always trying to musically educate and somehow I had forgotten about Benatar! She fucking rocked then and her music still does now. Will expose my girls to her on our morning drive to school. Thanks for this essential rock and roll reminder, Bob!
-Mike Barker
________________________________________________
Bob --
There is a chance the younger generations will find and fall in love with Pat Benatar's music. "We Belong" is covered in Pitch Perfect 2. It's a good entree for us 40-somethings to play good music for our teenaged kids.
As I did last night after we saw the movie. They loved the original.
There's hope!!
Robin Weinberg
________________________________________________
Yes she was and is SO hot and really a great singer....
Mick and Keith
Page and Plant
Tyler and Perry
Idol and Stevens
Benatar and Giraldo
There is something to that perfect guitar slinger star lead singer thing.
Stevie Salas
________________________________________________
I agree with everything you said about Pat Benatar, she is one of the greatest and has a voice of a goddess. What makes Pat and Neil even better they are both from Brooklyn!!!
Justin Long
________________________________________________
They seem to poke their finger in the eyes of true music fans every chance they get. 20 years for Linda to get in and it happens when she is too ill to even go. What a bunch of assholes. All you need to know about how substantial she was as a musician is contained in that great Eagles documentary. Good enough for me.
Forgot how many hits Pat had. JJett couldn't carry her brassiere. I'll take We Belong and Shadows anytime they come on Sirus.
John Brodey
________________________________________________
Great column! She's still doin' it, though! Check out this link to The Malibu Times Magazine, that features Pat and hubby, Neil, aka "Spyder" on the cover, with a great feature piece. According to the article, they went out on tour in April.
http://www.sopdigitaledition.com/malibumag/#/1/
Barbara Williams
________________________________________________
Yes, girls may have liked Pat Benetar, girls who thought it was empowering enough to have some man's attention...but women, however, liked Joan Jett, Cindy Bullens, Chrissie Hynde, Marshall Chapman...and dare I say, myself. Women who wanted change and respect, and to be seen as musicians on an equal level as men.
The screaming guitar solo...the bridge...the arrangements...and the songs you rave about were not Benetar's, but belonged to the men that surrounded her, and cobbled her persona. Because this formula challenged nothing, it was an easy sell in a male oriented business.
This is not to say that she wasn't a great singer...just that what she did was not remarkable, and did not represent the changes that were happening with women in the world at the time. Benetar, in her trademark spandex, invitingly bent over, was just more of the same; another cute chick singer who did not play or write, but more importantly did not challenge the male domain.
The rest of us who identified as musicians had trouble finding that record company niche. We were told that it did not exist....so we had to make one ourselves. Plugging in with a 1/4 inch guitar jack was seen as unacceptable and even threatening. We had to be twice as good as men in order to be taken seriously, and we found ourselves at the mercy of radio's prejudices. Two women being played in a row on a radio station was seen as "female segueing," therefore forbidden, so if some guy had a hard on for Pat, that left us plain out of luck....and unheard.
In the end, there was little room left for the rest of us that did not fit the male fantasy, or who refused to buy into it out of self respect. We may have had great tits, but we wanted to be known for our craft just as our male counterparts were.
Ironically, the reasons why Benetar rocketed to stardom became the very same reasons why her star did not remain in the sky beyond her late 30s, despite her undiminished abilities as a singer. Women are still objectified for their youth and sexuality...now it is even seen as empowering(?)...but once that has panned out, we are pretty much over as far as the industry is concerned. This is exactly the reason why some of us fought to be seen as something more than the sum of our body parts. We knew that in time our youthfulness would wither away, and we would have nothing left to be identified with. We wanted something to stand on - our musicianship.
Not much has changed for us. Not really.
Carolyne Mas
________________________________________________
Hi Bob - am headed to Texas at the moment - And Pat Benatar is playing the other stage - the main stage - at Wildflower outside Dallas tonight. Been singing her songs in my head all week. Rather go see her than hear myself again. Thanks for this tribute - she's still out there doing it!
Susan Werner
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Rhinofy-Pat Benatar Primer
Jett Schmett. Girls wanted to be PAT BENATAR!
The story is always the same, if you're good-looking you get no credit.
Now I'm not saying we need to have sympathy for the beautiful, although being good-looking is a sentence, something you think you want but don't really, but the truth is if you're an attractive female singer you get no respect from the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame. Waiting decades to induct Linda Ronstadt? And then there's Joan Jett, member of a failed band overhyped by the dearly departed Kim Fowley, who ultimately had a couple of hits, and she's lionized and Benatar's been forgotten... IT'S UNFAIR!
HIT ME WITH YOUR BEST SHOT
"Fire away!"
I start here, because it's where Pat Benatar became a star, known by EVERYBODY!
"You come on with a 'come on'
You don't fight fair
But that's okay, see if I care"
ATTITUDE! That's what Pat Benatar was delivering. Talk about girl power, forget the punks from later decades, it's Benatar who empowered young women. But she doesn't get credit because she wasn't unattractive with a bad voice singing about her plight. Rather, Benatar had power, she owned her life, and people just couldn't get enough of her.
I NEED A LOVER
It's really all about the first album, produced by Peter Coleman and Mike Chapman at MCA Whitney studios. It had so many good tracks I had to run out and buy it. And the key cut was this, a cover of a John Mellencamp song before the man from Indiana became a star.
And if you go back and listen to Cougar's version (that's what he was called back then), you'll see it has magic but Benatar's version is a triumph. The thrown-off attitude with an element of sincerity, it's the definition of "infectious."
And isn't that what we all need, A LOVER WHO WON'T DRIVE US CRAZY?!
HEARTBREAKER
"You're a heartbreaker
Dream maker, love taker
Don't you mess around with me"
With enough balls for the notoriously male-centric AOR radio to embrace, it was this that led off the album and cemented Benatar's reputation, demonstrated that she'd arrived.
"You're the right kind of sinner
To release my inner fantasy"
Males were Benatar's initial fans. They wanted more of...THIS!
WE LIVE FOR LOVE
Written by Benatar's guitar player and eventual husband Neil Giraldo, this is the track that made me buy the album. "We Live For Love" was a girl group-styled track by someone with the pipes to hit all the notes. We all have a soft spot for well-done pop, catchy songs that have us tapping our toe that make us feel good. "We Live For Love" may not have burned up the radio, but it ignited me!
IF YOU THINK YOU KNOW HOW TO LOVE ME
A hit for Smokie overseas, a band that never made it in the U.S., it's the vocal, especially in the chorus, that puts this over the top.
"So if you think you know how to love me
And you think you know what I need
And if you really, really want me to stay
You've got to lead the way"
Hey, I can learn something from this!
YOU BETTER RUN
The debut announced Benatar's arrival, it was a hit, but it was her second, "Crimes Of Passion," that made her a star.
Of course, "Hit Me With Your Best Shot" was the monster. But this cover of the Young Rascals' hit was nearly as ubiquitous.
A great song is a great song, never forget it!
HELL IS FOR CHILDREN
The press hook was child abuse, just like Little Big Town is employing lesbianism to break "Girl Crush," but the truth is both records stand on their own, the press is irrelevant. This is a dark, hypnotic track no matter what it's about.
TREAT ME RIGHT
Like its predecessor, "Crimes Of Passion" began with a killer, a tear that announced Benatar meant business.
This was a radio staple, and deservedly so.
Furthermore, Benatar's initial album was released in 1979, pre-MTV. And even though "Crimes Of Passion" came out in August 1980, a full year before the launch of the music video service, "You Better Run" was the second video MTV aired. And Benatar was all over the channel. Because Chrysalis believed in video, they had the clips, and, needless to say, Pat Benatar was photogenic.
FIRE AND ICE
There was no national radio station, not everybody had been subjected to Pat Benatar, but now that MTV was here and growing Benatar's act could be seen throughout the land and despite the albums declining in quality, a hit like "Fire And Ice" could suddenly be bigger than anything ever before.
Insiders realized this immediately. Duran Duran's expensive videos got all the press a few years later, but anybody with a clip on MTV suddenly saw record sales jump, they could play to a full house nearly everywhere, it was a new golden era.
"Ooh, you're givin' me the fever tonight"
It was the dynamics that put "Fire And Ice" over the top. It started off so quiet and intimate and meaningful and then...
"Fire and ice, you come on like a flame
Then you turn a cold shoulder
Fire and ice, I wanna give you my love
But you'll just take a little piece of my heart
You'll just tear it apart"
But it gets even better. There's a bridge!
"So you think you've got it all figured out
You're an expert in the field without a doubt
But I know your methods inside and out
And I won't be taken in by fire and ice"
And then a screaming guitar solo.
Produced by Keith Olsen and Neil Giraldo, "Fire And Ice" is a tour-de-force!
PROMISES IN THE DARK
Starting off quietly and then exploding, this Giraldo and Benatar cowrite opened up the album "Precious Time" on a high note. Benatar was playing by the rules, the rules of rock and commercialism, give us your best shot FIRST!
SHADOWS OF THE NIGHT
"We're running with the shadows of the night
So baby take my hand, it'll be all right
Surrender all your dreams to me tonight
They'll come true in the end"
Gives me chills.
With Peter Coleman back in the picture, "Shadows Of The Night" is an everything but the kitchen sink production, there's no restraint after the a cappella intro, just more, more, MORE! Listen to those pounding drums, that army of guitars!
And you remember the video, with Pat as a factory worker who ultimately flies off to save the world... It was 1982, performance clips were history, and Benatar was leading the way. "Shadows Of The Night" got incessant video play, Pat was on a victory lap nonpareil, back when all the excitement was in music, when even oldsters tuned in to MTV to see what was going on.
It was 1982, teen movies still moved the needle, "Fast Times At Ridgemont High" included a Benatar reference, Pat was a cultural icon!
LITTLE TOO LATE
Just works. Listen.
LOVE IS A BATTLEFIELD
A studio track tacked on to a live album, this was the video that proved Pat Benatar couldn't dance.
Well, it wasn't that she was bad, but just that she wasn't great, she was executing scripted choreography whilst concentrating so hard that she lost all soul.
Maybe this is where we started to go wrong, when singing was no longer enough.
But having said that, "Love Is A Battlefield" was a gigantic hit, the clip was an MTV staple, and while girls were perfecting the moves, boys couldn't get enough of Pat shaking it.
WE BELONG
The last hurrah. There were further chart records, like "Invincible," "Sex As A Weapon" and "All Fired Up," but by that point Benatar was running on fumes, she'd strayed from what she once was, a simple hit machine, the material was not as consistent, and the audience knew it and moved on...to hair bands, to Michael Jackson and ultimately rap.
But she had a good long run.
And she's still out there doing it, the female Bon Jovi. Who had help writing his hits too.
Then again, we never quite knew who Pat Benatar was. This was pre-internet, we knew about her vocal training, but she kept giving props to her husband/guitarist when she was the star and then they both kinda faded away...
And I can't say their music has radiated.
But if you were there then, if you know these tracks, you know how big Benatar was. Not only big enough to influence women's looks in "Fast Times," but so big that when you hear her music you're brought right back to then.
And isn't that what music does best? Mark our lives, remind us of who we once were and ultimately still want to be?
Spotify link: http://spoti.fi/1H4wQCk
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The story is always the same, if you're good-looking you get no credit.
Now I'm not saying we need to have sympathy for the beautiful, although being good-looking is a sentence, something you think you want but don't really, but the truth is if you're an attractive female singer you get no respect from the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame. Waiting decades to induct Linda Ronstadt? And then there's Joan Jett, member of a failed band overhyped by the dearly departed Kim Fowley, who ultimately had a couple of hits, and she's lionized and Benatar's been forgotten... IT'S UNFAIR!
HIT ME WITH YOUR BEST SHOT
"Fire away!"
I start here, because it's where Pat Benatar became a star, known by EVERYBODY!
"You come on with a 'come on'
You don't fight fair
But that's okay, see if I care"
ATTITUDE! That's what Pat Benatar was delivering. Talk about girl power, forget the punks from later decades, it's Benatar who empowered young women. But she doesn't get credit because she wasn't unattractive with a bad voice singing about her plight. Rather, Benatar had power, she owned her life, and people just couldn't get enough of her.
I NEED A LOVER
It's really all about the first album, produced by Peter Coleman and Mike Chapman at MCA Whitney studios. It had so many good tracks I had to run out and buy it. And the key cut was this, a cover of a John Mellencamp song before the man from Indiana became a star.
And if you go back and listen to Cougar's version (that's what he was called back then), you'll see it has magic but Benatar's version is a triumph. The thrown-off attitude with an element of sincerity, it's the definition of "infectious."
And isn't that what we all need, A LOVER WHO WON'T DRIVE US CRAZY?!
HEARTBREAKER
"You're a heartbreaker
Dream maker, love taker
Don't you mess around with me"
With enough balls for the notoriously male-centric AOR radio to embrace, it was this that led off the album and cemented Benatar's reputation, demonstrated that she'd arrived.
"You're the right kind of sinner
To release my inner fantasy"
Males were Benatar's initial fans. They wanted more of...THIS!
WE LIVE FOR LOVE
Written by Benatar's guitar player and eventual husband Neil Giraldo, this is the track that made me buy the album. "We Live For Love" was a girl group-styled track by someone with the pipes to hit all the notes. We all have a soft spot for well-done pop, catchy songs that have us tapping our toe that make us feel good. "We Live For Love" may not have burned up the radio, but it ignited me!
IF YOU THINK YOU KNOW HOW TO LOVE ME
A hit for Smokie overseas, a band that never made it in the U.S., it's the vocal, especially in the chorus, that puts this over the top.
"So if you think you know how to love me
And you think you know what I need
And if you really, really want me to stay
You've got to lead the way"
Hey, I can learn something from this!
YOU BETTER RUN
The debut announced Benatar's arrival, it was a hit, but it was her second, "Crimes Of Passion," that made her a star.
Of course, "Hit Me With Your Best Shot" was the monster. But this cover of the Young Rascals' hit was nearly as ubiquitous.
A great song is a great song, never forget it!
HELL IS FOR CHILDREN
The press hook was child abuse, just like Little Big Town is employing lesbianism to break "Girl Crush," but the truth is both records stand on their own, the press is irrelevant. This is a dark, hypnotic track no matter what it's about.
TREAT ME RIGHT
Like its predecessor, "Crimes Of Passion" began with a killer, a tear that announced Benatar meant business.
This was a radio staple, and deservedly so.
Furthermore, Benatar's initial album was released in 1979, pre-MTV. And even though "Crimes Of Passion" came out in August 1980, a full year before the launch of the music video service, "You Better Run" was the second video MTV aired. And Benatar was all over the channel. Because Chrysalis believed in video, they had the clips, and, needless to say, Pat Benatar was photogenic.
FIRE AND ICE
There was no national radio station, not everybody had been subjected to Pat Benatar, but now that MTV was here and growing Benatar's act could be seen throughout the land and despite the albums declining in quality, a hit like "Fire And Ice" could suddenly be bigger than anything ever before.
Insiders realized this immediately. Duran Duran's expensive videos got all the press a few years later, but anybody with a clip on MTV suddenly saw record sales jump, they could play to a full house nearly everywhere, it was a new golden era.
"Ooh, you're givin' me the fever tonight"
It was the dynamics that put "Fire And Ice" over the top. It started off so quiet and intimate and meaningful and then...
"Fire and ice, you come on like a flame
Then you turn a cold shoulder
Fire and ice, I wanna give you my love
But you'll just take a little piece of my heart
You'll just tear it apart"
But it gets even better. There's a bridge!
"So you think you've got it all figured out
You're an expert in the field without a doubt
But I know your methods inside and out
And I won't be taken in by fire and ice"
And then a screaming guitar solo.
Produced by Keith Olsen and Neil Giraldo, "Fire And Ice" is a tour-de-force!
PROMISES IN THE DARK
Starting off quietly and then exploding, this Giraldo and Benatar cowrite opened up the album "Precious Time" on a high note. Benatar was playing by the rules, the rules of rock and commercialism, give us your best shot FIRST!
SHADOWS OF THE NIGHT
"We're running with the shadows of the night
So baby take my hand, it'll be all right
Surrender all your dreams to me tonight
They'll come true in the end"
Gives me chills.
With Peter Coleman back in the picture, "Shadows Of The Night" is an everything but the kitchen sink production, there's no restraint after the a cappella intro, just more, more, MORE! Listen to those pounding drums, that army of guitars!
And you remember the video, with Pat as a factory worker who ultimately flies off to save the world... It was 1982, performance clips were history, and Benatar was leading the way. "Shadows Of The Night" got incessant video play, Pat was on a victory lap nonpareil, back when all the excitement was in music, when even oldsters tuned in to MTV to see what was going on.
It was 1982, teen movies still moved the needle, "Fast Times At Ridgemont High" included a Benatar reference, Pat was a cultural icon!
LITTLE TOO LATE
Just works. Listen.
LOVE IS A BATTLEFIELD
A studio track tacked on to a live album, this was the video that proved Pat Benatar couldn't dance.
Well, it wasn't that she was bad, but just that she wasn't great, she was executing scripted choreography whilst concentrating so hard that she lost all soul.
Maybe this is where we started to go wrong, when singing was no longer enough.
But having said that, "Love Is A Battlefield" was a gigantic hit, the clip was an MTV staple, and while girls were perfecting the moves, boys couldn't get enough of Pat shaking it.
WE BELONG
The last hurrah. There were further chart records, like "Invincible," "Sex As A Weapon" and "All Fired Up," but by that point Benatar was running on fumes, she'd strayed from what she once was, a simple hit machine, the material was not as consistent, and the audience knew it and moved on...to hair bands, to Michael Jackson and ultimately rap.
But she had a good long run.
And she's still out there doing it, the female Bon Jovi. Who had help writing his hits too.
Then again, we never quite knew who Pat Benatar was. This was pre-internet, we knew about her vocal training, but she kept giving props to her husband/guitarist when she was the star and then they both kinda faded away...
And I can't say their music has radiated.
But if you were there then, if you know these tracks, you know how big Benatar was. Not only big enough to influence women's looks in "Fast Times," but so big that when you hear her music you're brought right back to then.
And isn't that what music does best? Mark our lives, remind us of who we once were and ultimately still want to be?
Spotify link: http://spoti.fi/1H4wQCk
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Thursday 14 May 2015
Re-Stan Cornyn
My hero. Seriously. This was the guy I tried to shape my career after. To this day, whenever I go to WBR, I ask what's left of the old timers there to tell me stories from the Stan Cornyn era.
Never met him. Now I never will.
Marc Reiter
_________________________________________
great, real and true i was there
Jerry Weintraub
_________________________________________
Indeed, a multi-dimensional dogged fellow. Thanks for that Bob!
Mike Greene
_________________________________________
My bosses. My mentors. My heroes. Good for Joe! RIP Stan. I am grateful to have walked amongst giants.
Stewart Cohen
_________________________________________
Stan in his book wrote one of the great lines about the music business that I quote often..."the music business has always been one step ahead of the Amish in accepting new technology"
Michael Rosenblatt
_________________________________________
Stan was the best writer ever in music journalism.
Period.
And I kept my Warners' Circulars' from that period.
Crawdaddy's Paul Williams is also overlooked these days and without him a generation of potential writers would never have had the guts to write about music.
Larry LeBlanc
_________________________________________
Thanks for acknowledging one of the true record guys.
Scott Borchetta
_________________________________________
A legend. Invisible Hands Music's number two exec position since 2003 has been "Head of Creative Services" in recognition of Stan, and that era at Warner / Reprise. We haven't matched it, but at least we're sufficiently aware of rock n roll history to know about it and strive for it. RIP.
Charles Kennedy
_________________________________________
Cornyn's book is one of the funniest record business books ever published. Obviously those guys loved music, not just music business. One significant thing is that he didn't seem to take himself too seriously. No ego, just wits. What a guy.
aku valta
_________________________________________
Bob - I worked at Warner Bros. Records from 1973 - 1980 and worked for Stan Cornyn during that time (used to LOVE those Wednesday Black Book meetings). Everything you wrote is absolutely true (except it wasn't until the mid-70s that "3300" was where everyone wanted to be - it was "3750," Warner Studios' old machine shop that was the first home of WBR).
He WAS a very special, one-of-a-kind man - glad you wrote what you did.
Heidi Robinson-Fitzgerald
_________________________________________
In the very late sixties and early 70's. When I was on the air, if you were lucky you received "home service" from the majors.
I couldn't wait for the
W E A package to arrive.
After that was Columbia.
Neil Lasher
_________________________________________
I was a recording engineer at Warners during the 80s and before that did a lot of Warners acts and it was a very special place. It was one of the flattest companies I ever worked at. Did you have a good idea? Go to Stan or Lenny and tell him. Were you the shipping clerk? Didn't matter. Unique.
Phil Brown
_________________________________________
Yes, Bob.
Reviewed Exploding when it came out. Had to!
Cornyn seduced me, too. Words have power.
Used to adore those WB two-fers as well, which I considered an extension of Stan.
RIP to one of the greats.
http://wordsonwords.com/reviews/exploding.html
Richard Pachter
_________________________________________
with all due respect to the capitol tower, warners burbank offices to this day are the coolest offices in the history of the business. stan cornyn became my hero from the day i saw an ad on a warnersinner sleeve for a compilation record made up of warner acts that could be purchased for $2. to this day,i still hold precious in my vinyl catalogue such titles as: the 1969 warner reprise songbook, the 1969 warner reprise record show, the big ball, looney tunes merrie melodies, the whole burbank catalogue and who can forget the greatest title of all, schlagers. these were all double albums except looney tunes which was a triple box set for $3. they spotlighted tracks from all of the warners artists and had extensive liner notes. all are collectors items and a brilliant loss leader to expose multiple warner artists and their music. along with stan, carl scott and adam somers were the other geniuses in the creative services division that also devised the warner road show tours that
exposed little feat, alice cooper, captain beefheart and others in touring packages. that these marketing ideas have died on the vine are among the many reasons that our business is in decline. under the leadership of mo and joe smith followed by the in house creative team of lenny warnoker, ted templeman, and russ tittleman, and then the marketing team of the gentleman mentioned above, the warners team of the sixties through the eighties are the benchmark for what made this business great and inspired a lot of us to make it our career. stan 's death leaves us with one less visionary who knew there were no boundaries in an attempt to give an artist a career. we should all reflect on that.
LARRY MAZER
_________________________________________
Warners was where everybody wanted to be in the 70's. You're right they had the roster and stood behind talent. I believe Bonnie Raitt had 7 or 8 records that didn't sell well before her Jump to Capitol and "overnight" stardom.
In 1976 I interviewed with Russ Thyret for a promo gig. Had a great interview, he got that I loved and knew a lot about music. I thought the job was in Denver, but at the end of the interview he asked if I would be interested in working in Detroit. I said no. What an idiot I was. As I closed the door to his office and walked down the hall I realized that I had just blown my chance to work there.
The right answer? I'd gladly work in New Delhi or anywhere they wanted to send me.
Warners was that good.
William Buckley Jr.
_________________________________________
Bravo !!
Stan was the man - no doubt
Allan Steckler
_________________________________________
Bob,
As Stan said about the music biz,
"There was the Beatles and everybody else."
Today, I can sit in review and say,
"There was Stan Cornyn and everybody else."
Don WHITTEMORE
_________________________________________
Other than Lenny Waronker, no name showed up more often on the covers and inner sleeves of my high school and college record collections, than that of Stan Cornyn. His loss leader campaign, double albums of artists that Warner Brothers distributed was groundbreaking. And giving away Randy Newman's "Creates Something New Under The Sun" certainly raised some eyebrows. His sense of humor was so subtle. Identifying the songwriter, Paul Simon, in the liner notes of Harpers Bizarre's debut album as being, "of and Garfunkel" still cracks me up. The other labels of the time were certainly well represented during rock's heyday, but I always thought, unless you were on Warner Brothers, Elektra or Atlantic, you probably wished you were.
Dan Daly
_________________________________________
Loved this book Bob! Read it years ago when it first came out. It has a high place on my shelf. I was in the biz late in the game and I thirst for the stories from the beginning. It was great to hear that things were done with more of a purpose to the music than business. Fun read...
Brant Botterman
_________________________________________
Hi Bob
They're all here. The Loss Leaders. Every single one!
http://www.willardswormholes.com/archives/28018
Paul C. Rapp, Esq.
_________________________________________
Hi Bob: I managed America on WBR for many albums and a lot of hits. Stan was the man, Joe made it go, and Mo was the perfect host. Having an act on Warner Bros. in the sixties and seventies was a unique experience. Stan was reserved, dignified, creative, and always a gentleman. He is one of the reasons, those were the good old days. Hartmann.
_________________________________________
Great piece. Thanks Bob.
Kind regards
Swindel
_________________________________________
I remember those brilliant double promo albums you could buy for two bucks mail order...Loss Leaders WB called 'em....the Big Ball (still have it!) Schalgers, etc. Turned me on to so many acts...everyone from Zappa and the Mothers, Joni Mitchell, Capt. Beefheart, James Taylor, Dion (the wonderful acoustic guitar folkie version), Randy Newman, the hilarious "Illliad" by former Fug Ed Sanders. Not to mention not to mention...Wild Man Fischer...a man who'd never get a record deal today!) Too many great acts to name. The 1971 one, Non-Dairy Creamer, turned me on to Little Feat's Snakes on Everything and I became a Feat fanatic for life! Those LPs were wonderful and wonderfully cheap bargains full of amazing music. You filled out a coupon, mailed it in with your two bucks, and a few weeks later it came in the mail and within a week or two I was at Sam Goody's buying those great records. Later when I read his book, I realized what an amazing contribution Stan Cornyn made during what was a
golden age in rock and pop music.
Chip Lovitt
_________________________________________
Bob, thank you very much for this piece. Warner/Reprise was a major slice of the soundtrack of my life! Not only did those records put bread on my table, but they filled my ears and heart. This is a real nice piece about something that many of us "old farts" find to be indispensable, playing no small part in having making us what we are today. My ears would be much much smaller if it wasn't for the work of Stan Cornyn & Warner/Reprise.
Lavon Pagan
_________________________________________
Stan Cornyn was a great guy, a great music man and a unique creative genius. He was also a lucky guy because he landed at Warner, where his talents were appreciated and flourished. His liner notes will long survive the current illiterates who cannot string two complete sentences together. Yes, the "good old days" were really good.
Jason Berman
_________________________________________
The man was a master of creative writing. He gave Warner's a voice. In the '70s as a buyer for a small chain of record stores, I looked forward to reading the Warner's solicitation book for new releases. It was was hip, funny, and irreverent. It was like reading Peter Egan's "Side Glances" in Road & Track - it was something to look forward to every month. Maybe that's why I used to find so many of them in the stores' bathrooms (this is no slight - anything left in the men's room was well-read). Even without hearing the music I took bought in every W/B release - that's brand power.
And Warner's trade and consumer print ads were the pinnacle of advertising copy.
But the ones I remember most were the Warners' inner sleeves that advertised their "Lost Leader" vinyl compilations for less that 3.00. They even made The Mystic Moods sound hip.
Stan probably could have been a super star for any ad agency on Madison Ave.
We were lucky to have in our business.
Tom Cartwright
_________________________________________
Bob:
Stan hired me in 1973 to work in their Merchandising Dept. It was a dream to work at Warner Bros. then, two years out of college, and the music business growing in leaps and bounds. Stan's insight was 'spot on'; was never hack, but made you think... From Circular to the Loss Leaders--it was all about the music--with class and style...and some irreverence. Check out his speech from NARM-"The Day Radio Died"..still relevant today. He will be missed.
Robin Rothman
_________________________________________
Stan Cornyn was, unquestionably, the crown jewel of Warners.
Jim Morey
_________________________________________
If he was the man responsible for the Warner Brothers "Loss Leaders" LP's
featured for $3.00 (or thereabouts) on the inner sleeves of Warner releases,
then he's also responsible, in a large part, for nurturing my love of music.
Thank you, thank you, thank you.
Tom Ennis
_________________________________________
Here here.
As a distant admirer from Warners Australian operation (I was the Creative Services man there during the late 70's and into the 80's) Stan was a mentor and an inspiration.
He set the artist friendly blueprint for Warner worldwide. And unlike so many others in the biz he was not a grandstander. 'Exploding' is essential reading, not just to learn about the good old days but to be reminded of the balance required between art and commerce.
Thanks
philip mortlock
_________________________________________
As a teen I actually get a chance to know first hand just how great they were. Back around 1971, Russ Shaw, the Artist Relations Coordinator for Warner was a client of my dad's. He dropped by the office one day and threw a small catalog on my desk. "Pick out what ever you want and I'll get it for you". Oh my God. Everything from Black Sabbath to Joni Mitchell was in there. I couldn't just pick a couple, and I believe I ended up with 20 albums, all classics.What a great label they were back then.
Bruce Greenberg
_________________________________________
And Stan was a very nice cat, too. Not your street wise or hustler type that often populated the echelons of the record biz streets in that period.
Very well educated and literate, (a top grad of a Middlebury type progressive small liberal arts Cali college---Pomona/Claremont) he brought a level of sophisticated cultural insight to the emerging youth rebellion in music that fit perfectly tly with the zeitgeist of the times.
He was always kind and gracious in his demeanor---with a wry sense of humor, which he wore lightly while engaging you in spirited exchanges.
Enormously likeable.
An Unsung Hero.
Don Mizell
_________________________________________
For those of us who grew up on the west coast, we had major college radio stations (like the one I was with KUCR from UC Riverside 1966-70) pulling down ratings of second in our market even if we only had 10 watts because we were at the forefront of progressive rock, before the commercial stations climbed on board. We also had KFWB-AM drawing B. Mitchell Reed BACK from WABC so he could play key album cuts in 1966 before he had the opportunity to start KPPC-FM with Tom Donahue.
You never give the West Coast credit of how far ahead we were in the 60's of what finally became cool on the East Coast, and then the rest of the nation. And at the forefront of that was Stan Cornyn, the man who turned Warner/Reprise into the hippest label in the universe through his use of words AND his unique understanding of the youth culture of California, and how he could spread that to break his artists as well as hip the rest of the country to what was happening in California in the late 60's.
No one, and I repeat no one, was more effect in doing this than Stan Cornyn. His press releases, liner notes and creativity truly set the standard for the evolving music business of the late 60's. Although the label group had a formidable promotion staff, and it would be silly to deny the brilliance of Mo Ostin or Joe Smith, without Stan their vision may have never reached the masses in the same way. We lost a giant, and I have to say no one has come along to fill his shoes.
Rich Fazekas
_________________________________________
I had the honor of working with Stan Cornyn for almost a decade, one of
the most creative people I?ve ever had the privilege to know.
In 1982, while I was in the Artist Development department, he called me
into his office & asked me to join a New Media work group that was being
set up with Atari to explore the possibilities that computers & digital
media would offer the music industry. He was looking beyond the gold mine
that the CD, coming out a year later in ?83, would provide the industry &
wanted to explore the opportunities that the disruption would provide.
In that group, led by Stan and Alan Kay of Atari(formerly of Xerox PARC
fame), the creator of the concept of the graphic interface, we talked
about 90% of the current innovations we enjoy today. It was exhilarating,
challenging & it changed my life.
Concurrently, I worked for Bob Regehr, another WB original, who taught me
to be willing to put my job on the line to support the artist.
Add in Mo & Joe, Templeman, Thyret, Rosenblatt and many others & you
realized you truly worked for the Knights of the Roundtable in Camelot.
If you never worked there during those days, you really can?t understand.
You can appreciate it from a distance, but trust me, it?s not the same.
ted cohen
_________________________________________
My first paying job in the music business was for Billboard Magazine.
I was sent to my first NARM convention (St. Louis? Miami?) and heard Stan Cornyn speak.
I realized, as he captivated a very jaded record biz crowd, that
THIS WAS THE GUY THAT CREATED THE ALBUM SAMPLERS FOR WARNER REPRISE! HOLY SH*(!
Those albums were part of the path I manifested to get me to LA to be in the music business.
I approached Stan afterwards asked him if I could make an appointment to visit him in his office when we were back in
Los Angeles. I told him I could use his advice as I wanted what he had - fearless creativity with a sense of humor.
He gave me his card, told me to call him and we would arrange a time for me to come over.
He came through. That's right, he kept his word. Go figure.
I sat in his office and thought he'd give me a few minutes. He gave me an hour. He wanted to know why I loved music. What did I
do at Billboard? Who were my favorite bands? What concerts had I been to? What did I want to do next? Did I like LA?
I told him about those promo albums he created and what they meant to me. The inner sleeves! Hours reading the inner sleeves.
I remember him laughing and telling me they cost the company money. I told him with wide-eyed wonder that I couldn't imagine how that could
be the case as I would buy almost every album featured
on those promos. Captain Beefheart! Little Feet! Joni! Tower of Power! The spoof of the Whole Earth Catalogue! He laughed again.
Stan walked me through Warner's offices and introduced me to anyone who had their door open.
He loaded me up with vinyl and told me to come back any time. He asked if there was anything else I wanted.
I asked him for his autograph as to me, Stan was the real deal and a brighter star than anyone who had a gold record in the hallways
of Warner Bros.
He declined.
Janie Hoffman
_________________________________________
Stan truly sculpted the face of the company. The first time I ever heard about Captain Beefheart was in an ad in RollingStone. It was written with such flair and honest and irreveverance, I had to buy it - just to see what it was all about.
It was an honor to have worked on the Beefheart box set last year, and send one off to Stan with a note of thanks for turning me on to Beefheart in the first place, as well as so many other artists. The entire "Lost Leaders" campaign was Stan's. These were two-disc albums of all-new music from new artists. You would send in $2 to Warner Bros. and they would send you a "Loss Leader." I purchased at least ten of them, and "discovered" Maria Mulduar, Tir' Na Nog, Marc Jordan, Pentangle, David Blue, Pearls Before Swine, and so many more.
I had sent him an email just last week. I obviously checked with him before giving out his email or phone number, and Billboard was writing about Joni Mitchell and wanted to interview him.
I didn't hear back, so I put a call into him. That was on Friday. Obviously, he didn't get back to me.
There were some who didn't like him – he could be condescending. There was no one who didn't respect him. I liked and respected him. Hale Milgrim and I took him to lunch or dinner when I went up to see music in Santa Barbara. I played Scrabble with him a number of times in Santa Barbara. The first time I beat him is one of my fondest memories. He just looked at me and smiled. "Do you have time for another game?"
Best,
Charlie Springer
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Never met him. Now I never will.
Marc Reiter
_________________________________________
great, real and true i was there
Jerry Weintraub
_________________________________________
Indeed, a multi-dimensional dogged fellow. Thanks for that Bob!
Mike Greene
_________________________________________
My bosses. My mentors. My heroes. Good for Joe! RIP Stan. I am grateful to have walked amongst giants.
Stewart Cohen
_________________________________________
Stan in his book wrote one of the great lines about the music business that I quote often..."the music business has always been one step ahead of the Amish in accepting new technology"
Michael Rosenblatt
_________________________________________
Stan was the best writer ever in music journalism.
Period.
And I kept my Warners' Circulars' from that period.
Crawdaddy's Paul Williams is also overlooked these days and without him a generation of potential writers would never have had the guts to write about music.
Larry LeBlanc
_________________________________________
Thanks for acknowledging one of the true record guys.
Scott Borchetta
_________________________________________
A legend. Invisible Hands Music's number two exec position since 2003 has been "Head of Creative Services" in recognition of Stan, and that era at Warner / Reprise. We haven't matched it, but at least we're sufficiently aware of rock n roll history to know about it and strive for it. RIP.
Charles Kennedy
_________________________________________
Cornyn's book is one of the funniest record business books ever published. Obviously those guys loved music, not just music business. One significant thing is that he didn't seem to take himself too seriously. No ego, just wits. What a guy.
aku valta
_________________________________________
Bob - I worked at Warner Bros. Records from 1973 - 1980 and worked for Stan Cornyn during that time (used to LOVE those Wednesday Black Book meetings). Everything you wrote is absolutely true (except it wasn't until the mid-70s that "3300" was where everyone wanted to be - it was "3750," Warner Studios' old machine shop that was the first home of WBR).
He WAS a very special, one-of-a-kind man - glad you wrote what you did.
Heidi Robinson-Fitzgerald
_________________________________________
In the very late sixties and early 70's. When I was on the air, if you were lucky you received "home service" from the majors.
I couldn't wait for the
W E A package to arrive.
After that was Columbia.
Neil Lasher
_________________________________________
I was a recording engineer at Warners during the 80s and before that did a lot of Warners acts and it was a very special place. It was one of the flattest companies I ever worked at. Did you have a good idea? Go to Stan or Lenny and tell him. Were you the shipping clerk? Didn't matter. Unique.
Phil Brown
_________________________________________
Yes, Bob.
Reviewed Exploding when it came out. Had to!
Cornyn seduced me, too. Words have power.
Used to adore those WB two-fers as well, which I considered an extension of Stan.
RIP to one of the greats.
http://wordsonwords.com/reviews/exploding.html
Richard Pachter
_________________________________________
with all due respect to the capitol tower, warners burbank offices to this day are the coolest offices in the history of the business. stan cornyn became my hero from the day i saw an ad on a warnersinner sleeve for a compilation record made up of warner acts that could be purchased for $2. to this day,i still hold precious in my vinyl catalogue such titles as: the 1969 warner reprise songbook, the 1969 warner reprise record show, the big ball, looney tunes merrie melodies, the whole burbank catalogue and who can forget the greatest title of all, schlagers. these were all double albums except looney tunes which was a triple box set for $3. they spotlighted tracks from all of the warners artists and had extensive liner notes. all are collectors items and a brilliant loss leader to expose multiple warner artists and their music. along with stan, carl scott and adam somers were the other geniuses in the creative services division that also devised the warner road show tours that
exposed little feat, alice cooper, captain beefheart and others in touring packages. that these marketing ideas have died on the vine are among the many reasons that our business is in decline. under the leadership of mo and joe smith followed by the in house creative team of lenny warnoker, ted templeman, and russ tittleman, and then the marketing team of the gentleman mentioned above, the warners team of the sixties through the eighties are the benchmark for what made this business great and inspired a lot of us to make it our career. stan 's death leaves us with one less visionary who knew there were no boundaries in an attempt to give an artist a career. we should all reflect on that.
LARRY MAZER
_________________________________________
Warners was where everybody wanted to be in the 70's. You're right they had the roster and stood behind talent. I believe Bonnie Raitt had 7 or 8 records that didn't sell well before her Jump to Capitol and "overnight" stardom.
In 1976 I interviewed with Russ Thyret for a promo gig. Had a great interview, he got that I loved and knew a lot about music. I thought the job was in Denver, but at the end of the interview he asked if I would be interested in working in Detroit. I said no. What an idiot I was. As I closed the door to his office and walked down the hall I realized that I had just blown my chance to work there.
The right answer? I'd gladly work in New Delhi or anywhere they wanted to send me.
Warners was that good.
William Buckley Jr.
_________________________________________
Bravo !!
Stan was the man - no doubt
Allan Steckler
_________________________________________
Bob,
As Stan said about the music biz,
"There was the Beatles and everybody else."
Today, I can sit in review and say,
"There was Stan Cornyn and everybody else."
Don WHITTEMORE
_________________________________________
Other than Lenny Waronker, no name showed up more often on the covers and inner sleeves of my high school and college record collections, than that of Stan Cornyn. His loss leader campaign, double albums of artists that Warner Brothers distributed was groundbreaking. And giving away Randy Newman's "Creates Something New Under The Sun" certainly raised some eyebrows. His sense of humor was so subtle. Identifying the songwriter, Paul Simon, in the liner notes of Harpers Bizarre's debut album as being, "of and Garfunkel" still cracks me up. The other labels of the time were certainly well represented during rock's heyday, but I always thought, unless you were on Warner Brothers, Elektra or Atlantic, you probably wished you were.
Dan Daly
_________________________________________
Loved this book Bob! Read it years ago when it first came out. It has a high place on my shelf. I was in the biz late in the game and I thirst for the stories from the beginning. It was great to hear that things were done with more of a purpose to the music than business. Fun read...
Brant Botterman
_________________________________________
Hi Bob
They're all here. The Loss Leaders. Every single one!
http://www.willardswormholes.com/archives/28018
Paul C. Rapp, Esq.
_________________________________________
Hi Bob: I managed America on WBR for many albums and a lot of hits. Stan was the man, Joe made it go, and Mo was the perfect host. Having an act on Warner Bros. in the sixties and seventies was a unique experience. Stan was reserved, dignified, creative, and always a gentleman. He is one of the reasons, those were the good old days. Hartmann.
_________________________________________
Great piece. Thanks Bob.
Kind regards
Swindel
_________________________________________
I remember those brilliant double promo albums you could buy for two bucks mail order...Loss Leaders WB called 'em....the Big Ball (still have it!) Schalgers, etc. Turned me on to so many acts...everyone from Zappa and the Mothers, Joni Mitchell, Capt. Beefheart, James Taylor, Dion (the wonderful acoustic guitar folkie version), Randy Newman, the hilarious "Illliad" by former Fug Ed Sanders. Not to mention not to mention...Wild Man Fischer...a man who'd never get a record deal today!) Too many great acts to name. The 1971 one, Non-Dairy Creamer, turned me on to Little Feat's Snakes on Everything and I became a Feat fanatic for life! Those LPs were wonderful and wonderfully cheap bargains full of amazing music. You filled out a coupon, mailed it in with your two bucks, and a few weeks later it came in the mail and within a week or two I was at Sam Goody's buying those great records. Later when I read his book, I realized what an amazing contribution Stan Cornyn made during what was a
golden age in rock and pop music.
Chip Lovitt
_________________________________________
Bob, thank you very much for this piece. Warner/Reprise was a major slice of the soundtrack of my life! Not only did those records put bread on my table, but they filled my ears and heart. This is a real nice piece about something that many of us "old farts" find to be indispensable, playing no small part in having making us what we are today. My ears would be much much smaller if it wasn't for the work of Stan Cornyn & Warner/Reprise.
Lavon Pagan
_________________________________________
Stan Cornyn was a great guy, a great music man and a unique creative genius. He was also a lucky guy because he landed at Warner, where his talents were appreciated and flourished. His liner notes will long survive the current illiterates who cannot string two complete sentences together. Yes, the "good old days" were really good.
Jason Berman
_________________________________________
The man was a master of creative writing. He gave Warner's a voice. In the '70s as a buyer for a small chain of record stores, I looked forward to reading the Warner's solicitation book for new releases. It was was hip, funny, and irreverent. It was like reading Peter Egan's "Side Glances" in Road & Track - it was something to look forward to every month. Maybe that's why I used to find so many of them in the stores' bathrooms (this is no slight - anything left in the men's room was well-read). Even without hearing the music I took bought in every W/B release - that's brand power.
And Warner's trade and consumer print ads were the pinnacle of advertising copy.
But the ones I remember most were the Warners' inner sleeves that advertised their "Lost Leader" vinyl compilations for less that 3.00. They even made The Mystic Moods sound hip.
Stan probably could have been a super star for any ad agency on Madison Ave.
We were lucky to have in our business.
Tom Cartwright
_________________________________________
Bob:
Stan hired me in 1973 to work in their Merchandising Dept. It was a dream to work at Warner Bros. then, two years out of college, and the music business growing in leaps and bounds. Stan's insight was 'spot on'; was never hack, but made you think... From Circular to the Loss Leaders--it was all about the music--with class and style...and some irreverence. Check out his speech from NARM-"The Day Radio Died"..still relevant today. He will be missed.
Robin Rothman
_________________________________________
Stan Cornyn was, unquestionably, the crown jewel of Warners.
Jim Morey
_________________________________________
If he was the man responsible for the Warner Brothers "Loss Leaders" LP's
featured for $3.00 (or thereabouts) on the inner sleeves of Warner releases,
then he's also responsible, in a large part, for nurturing my love of music.
Thank you, thank you, thank you.
Tom Ennis
_________________________________________
Here here.
As a distant admirer from Warners Australian operation (I was the Creative Services man there during the late 70's and into the 80's) Stan was a mentor and an inspiration.
He set the artist friendly blueprint for Warner worldwide. And unlike so many others in the biz he was not a grandstander. 'Exploding' is essential reading, not just to learn about the good old days but to be reminded of the balance required between art and commerce.
Thanks
philip mortlock
_________________________________________
As a teen I actually get a chance to know first hand just how great they were. Back around 1971, Russ Shaw, the Artist Relations Coordinator for Warner was a client of my dad's. He dropped by the office one day and threw a small catalog on my desk. "Pick out what ever you want and I'll get it for you". Oh my God. Everything from Black Sabbath to Joni Mitchell was in there. I couldn't just pick a couple, and I believe I ended up with 20 albums, all classics.What a great label they were back then.
Bruce Greenberg
_________________________________________
And Stan was a very nice cat, too. Not your street wise or hustler type that often populated the echelons of the record biz streets in that period.
Very well educated and literate, (a top grad of a Middlebury type progressive small liberal arts Cali college---Pomona/Claremont) he brought a level of sophisticated cultural insight to the emerging youth rebellion in music that fit perfectly tly with the zeitgeist of the times.
He was always kind and gracious in his demeanor---with a wry sense of humor, which he wore lightly while engaging you in spirited exchanges.
Enormously likeable.
An Unsung Hero.
Don Mizell
_________________________________________
For those of us who grew up on the west coast, we had major college radio stations (like the one I was with KUCR from UC Riverside 1966-70) pulling down ratings of second in our market even if we only had 10 watts because we were at the forefront of progressive rock, before the commercial stations climbed on board. We also had KFWB-AM drawing B. Mitchell Reed BACK from WABC so he could play key album cuts in 1966 before he had the opportunity to start KPPC-FM with Tom Donahue.
You never give the West Coast credit of how far ahead we were in the 60's of what finally became cool on the East Coast, and then the rest of the nation. And at the forefront of that was Stan Cornyn, the man who turned Warner/Reprise into the hippest label in the universe through his use of words AND his unique understanding of the youth culture of California, and how he could spread that to break his artists as well as hip the rest of the country to what was happening in California in the late 60's.
No one, and I repeat no one, was more effect in doing this than Stan Cornyn. His press releases, liner notes and creativity truly set the standard for the evolving music business of the late 60's. Although the label group had a formidable promotion staff, and it would be silly to deny the brilliance of Mo Ostin or Joe Smith, without Stan their vision may have never reached the masses in the same way. We lost a giant, and I have to say no one has come along to fill his shoes.
Rich Fazekas
_________________________________________
I had the honor of working with Stan Cornyn for almost a decade, one of
the most creative people I?ve ever had the privilege to know.
In 1982, while I was in the Artist Development department, he called me
into his office & asked me to join a New Media work group that was being
set up with Atari to explore the possibilities that computers & digital
media would offer the music industry. He was looking beyond the gold mine
that the CD, coming out a year later in ?83, would provide the industry &
wanted to explore the opportunities that the disruption would provide.
In that group, led by Stan and Alan Kay of Atari(formerly of Xerox PARC
fame), the creator of the concept of the graphic interface, we talked
about 90% of the current innovations we enjoy today. It was exhilarating,
challenging & it changed my life.
Concurrently, I worked for Bob Regehr, another WB original, who taught me
to be willing to put my job on the line to support the artist.
Add in Mo & Joe, Templeman, Thyret, Rosenblatt and many others & you
realized you truly worked for the Knights of the Roundtable in Camelot.
If you never worked there during those days, you really can?t understand.
You can appreciate it from a distance, but trust me, it?s not the same.
ted cohen
_________________________________________
My first paying job in the music business was for Billboard Magazine.
I was sent to my first NARM convention (St. Louis? Miami?) and heard Stan Cornyn speak.
I realized, as he captivated a very jaded record biz crowd, that
THIS WAS THE GUY THAT CREATED THE ALBUM SAMPLERS FOR WARNER REPRISE! HOLY SH*(!
Those albums were part of the path I manifested to get me to LA to be in the music business.
I approached Stan afterwards asked him if I could make an appointment to visit him in his office when we were back in
Los Angeles. I told him I could use his advice as I wanted what he had - fearless creativity with a sense of humor.
He gave me his card, told me to call him and we would arrange a time for me to come over.
He came through. That's right, he kept his word. Go figure.
I sat in his office and thought he'd give me a few minutes. He gave me an hour. He wanted to know why I loved music. What did I
do at Billboard? Who were my favorite bands? What concerts had I been to? What did I want to do next? Did I like LA?
I told him about those promo albums he created and what they meant to me. The inner sleeves! Hours reading the inner sleeves.
I remember him laughing and telling me they cost the company money. I told him with wide-eyed wonder that I couldn't imagine how that could
be the case as I would buy almost every album featured
on those promos. Captain Beefheart! Little Feet! Joni! Tower of Power! The spoof of the Whole Earth Catalogue! He laughed again.
Stan walked me through Warner's offices and introduced me to anyone who had their door open.
He loaded me up with vinyl and told me to come back any time. He asked if there was anything else I wanted.
I asked him for his autograph as to me, Stan was the real deal and a brighter star than anyone who had a gold record in the hallways
of Warner Bros.
He declined.
Janie Hoffman
_________________________________________
Stan truly sculpted the face of the company. The first time I ever heard about Captain Beefheart was in an ad in RollingStone. It was written with such flair and honest and irreveverance, I had to buy it - just to see what it was all about.
It was an honor to have worked on the Beefheart box set last year, and send one off to Stan with a note of thanks for turning me on to Beefheart in the first place, as well as so many other artists. The entire "Lost Leaders" campaign was Stan's. These were two-disc albums of all-new music from new artists. You would send in $2 to Warner Bros. and they would send you a "Loss Leader." I purchased at least ten of them, and "discovered" Maria Mulduar, Tir' Na Nog, Marc Jordan, Pentangle, David Blue, Pearls Before Swine, and so many more.
I had sent him an email just last week. I obviously checked with him before giving out his email or phone number, and Billboard was writing about Joni Mitchell and wanted to interview him.
I didn't hear back, so I put a call into him. That was on Friday. Obviously, he didn't get back to me.
There were some who didn't like him – he could be condescending. There was no one who didn't respect him. I liked and respected him. Hale Milgrim and I took him to lunch or dinner when I went up to see music in Santa Barbara. I played Scrabble with him a number of times in Santa Barbara. The first time I beat him is one of my fondest memories. He just looked at me and smiled. "Do you have time for another game?"
Best,
Charlie Springer
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$3.99 A Month
WTF is Rdio?
No one even knew what Spotify was until Tay-Tay decided to dump on it. But now this also-ran streaming service executes a publicity campaign to get insiders to write about their discount service and somebody thinks this is gonna move the needle? HILARIOUS!
Let's start with tech. You're either a winner or you're not, a player or you're not. Either everybody knows about you or they don't. There's one Facebook. One Google. One Amazon. And one Spotify. And if you think Apple's gonna enter the sphere and decimate the Swedish streaming company overnight, you probably still subscribe to Beats, a failed service if there ever was one. Come on, Dr. Dre and his cronies could get everybody to buy crappy headphones for hundreds of dollars but couldn't get these same people to lay down ten bucks a month?
OF COURSE NOT! Because you're competing with free. And YouTube is free, never mind piracy, and you've got to convince people streaming is worth paying for. And you don't do this by saying so.
Apple has everybody's credit card number and a blue chip brand, but believe me, if Sprint were free, nobody would subscribe to Verizon, no matter how much better it might be. Jimmy failed already, the brass at Apple is clueless, otherwise how to explain the U2 debacle, and just because Iovine got everybody in the biz to sign an NDA and keeps telling them he'll promote their records, this means NOTHING to the end consumer.
As for exclusives... I won't waste my time talking about Tidal.
So what exactly is the Rdio offer?
I get Pandora and downloads for more?
But I already don't pay for Pandora. And what do you mean by "downloads?" What you really mean is streams can live on my handset until I stop paying. But people don't know that. Hell, they don't even know streams can download/live on handsets whatsoever. My inbox is filled with people bitching that they can't afford the data charges for a streaming service, not knowing that you can sync via wi-fi and it's just like ownership, assuming you pay every month.
So you've got an incomprehensible offer to people who don't care. That's a winner, right there.
And speaking of incomprehensible, the bozos in the music business don't realize Spotify's free tier is crippled on mobile. You can't just pick and choose what you want to hear. But they don't know this because they don't do the research, they just knee-jerk react against free. The reason Daniel Ek says free mobile converts people to pay is because they want the shackles removed. Try it out, sign up for free Spotify mobile and tell me how much you love the service. As for mobile, we just endured days of stories about how mobile is king, explaining the Verizon/AOL deal, how the switch is happening so fast, yet the music business is still worried about the desktop, and CDs and iTunes downloads. Drives me crazy.
What we've learned in the internet era is the consumer is king. People decide what they want, they're not dictated to by purveyors.
Second, comprehensibility is everything. If I can't understand it, I don't want it. Even Apple is dealing with this issue with the Watch, people want to know what it's FOR, and the Cupertino company has had a hard time explaining this. Sure, early adopters are lining up to buy it, but after that...
Streaming has already won. YouTube has proven this.
Spotify has put a dent in piracy wherever it operates. And this is a good thing.
Jimmy Iovine would like to do an end run around reality by forcing free to go away. Even the government is not gonna let that happen, never mind Steven Cooper. And the reason Jimmy wants that is not to please Lucian Grainge or other execs, but because it's good for HIS business. If there's no free, suddenly Apple competes with Spotify on a nearly equal level. Everybody's fighting for that same ten bucks a month. Most people still don't pay for streaming music, and if Apple can move the starting line to where Spotify is it has a better chance of winning.
Price does matter. But if you think price is everything, you're probably buying an Android watch, which they're giving away.
You've got to sell what people want.
And so far, the music industry has done a lousy job of convincing people they need to pay for a subscription to a streaming music service. First and foremost they'd like them to buy an album on CD, because they make the most money that way, even though CD drives have gone the way of cassette players. Then they'd like people to buy downloads as if everybody had a handset with 128 gigs of storage, as if the MP3/AAC was forever. Streaming is an afterthought. Meanwhile, everybody in the biz keeps bitching about streaming revenues. Do you want people to pay for something that you keep saying sucks?
And is this really the big issue, how much record companies and artists get paid for recorded music? Haven't we moved to a more holistic view, where you get revenue from multiple sources and the come-on is the music?
Don't get me wrong, I want people to pay for music, I want revenues to grow. I think streaming music is fantastic, I'm a big user. But if you want everybody else to come along and grow revenues you've got to have a united front promoting a properly-priced, well-rounded, comprehensible offer.
And Rdio at $3.99 is certainly not it.
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No one even knew what Spotify was until Tay-Tay decided to dump on it. But now this also-ran streaming service executes a publicity campaign to get insiders to write about their discount service and somebody thinks this is gonna move the needle? HILARIOUS!
Let's start with tech. You're either a winner or you're not, a player or you're not. Either everybody knows about you or they don't. There's one Facebook. One Google. One Amazon. And one Spotify. And if you think Apple's gonna enter the sphere and decimate the Swedish streaming company overnight, you probably still subscribe to Beats, a failed service if there ever was one. Come on, Dr. Dre and his cronies could get everybody to buy crappy headphones for hundreds of dollars but couldn't get these same people to lay down ten bucks a month?
OF COURSE NOT! Because you're competing with free. And YouTube is free, never mind piracy, and you've got to convince people streaming is worth paying for. And you don't do this by saying so.
Apple has everybody's credit card number and a blue chip brand, but believe me, if Sprint were free, nobody would subscribe to Verizon, no matter how much better it might be. Jimmy failed already, the brass at Apple is clueless, otherwise how to explain the U2 debacle, and just because Iovine got everybody in the biz to sign an NDA and keeps telling them he'll promote their records, this means NOTHING to the end consumer.
As for exclusives... I won't waste my time talking about Tidal.
So what exactly is the Rdio offer?
I get Pandora and downloads for more?
But I already don't pay for Pandora. And what do you mean by "downloads?" What you really mean is streams can live on my handset until I stop paying. But people don't know that. Hell, they don't even know streams can download/live on handsets whatsoever. My inbox is filled with people bitching that they can't afford the data charges for a streaming service, not knowing that you can sync via wi-fi and it's just like ownership, assuming you pay every month.
So you've got an incomprehensible offer to people who don't care. That's a winner, right there.
And speaking of incomprehensible, the bozos in the music business don't realize Spotify's free tier is crippled on mobile. You can't just pick and choose what you want to hear. But they don't know this because they don't do the research, they just knee-jerk react against free. The reason Daniel Ek says free mobile converts people to pay is because they want the shackles removed. Try it out, sign up for free Spotify mobile and tell me how much you love the service. As for mobile, we just endured days of stories about how mobile is king, explaining the Verizon/AOL deal, how the switch is happening so fast, yet the music business is still worried about the desktop, and CDs and iTunes downloads. Drives me crazy.
What we've learned in the internet era is the consumer is king. People decide what they want, they're not dictated to by purveyors.
Second, comprehensibility is everything. If I can't understand it, I don't want it. Even Apple is dealing with this issue with the Watch, people want to know what it's FOR, and the Cupertino company has had a hard time explaining this. Sure, early adopters are lining up to buy it, but after that...
Streaming has already won. YouTube has proven this.
Spotify has put a dent in piracy wherever it operates. And this is a good thing.
Jimmy Iovine would like to do an end run around reality by forcing free to go away. Even the government is not gonna let that happen, never mind Steven Cooper. And the reason Jimmy wants that is not to please Lucian Grainge or other execs, but because it's good for HIS business. If there's no free, suddenly Apple competes with Spotify on a nearly equal level. Everybody's fighting for that same ten bucks a month. Most people still don't pay for streaming music, and if Apple can move the starting line to where Spotify is it has a better chance of winning.
Price does matter. But if you think price is everything, you're probably buying an Android watch, which they're giving away.
You've got to sell what people want.
And so far, the music industry has done a lousy job of convincing people they need to pay for a subscription to a streaming music service. First and foremost they'd like them to buy an album on CD, because they make the most money that way, even though CD drives have gone the way of cassette players. Then they'd like people to buy downloads as if everybody had a handset with 128 gigs of storage, as if the MP3/AAC was forever. Streaming is an afterthought. Meanwhile, everybody in the biz keeps bitching about streaming revenues. Do you want people to pay for something that you keep saying sucks?
And is this really the big issue, how much record companies and artists get paid for recorded music? Haven't we moved to a more holistic view, where you get revenue from multiple sources and the come-on is the music?
Don't get me wrong, I want people to pay for music, I want revenues to grow. I think streaming music is fantastic, I'm a big user. But if you want everybody else to come along and grow revenues you've got to have a united front promoting a properly-priced, well-rounded, comprehensible offer.
And Rdio at $3.99 is certainly not it.
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Wednesday 13 May 2015
Stan Cornyn
The greatest record company in the history of the music business was Warner/Reprise.
Don't confuse today's enterprise with yesteryear's.
And as great as Ahmet Ertegun was, Atlantic was no match for its west coast counterpart.
Warner/Reprise had SOUL!
Let me take you back, to an era when music drove the culture, when young 'uns were addicted to the radio and could sing every song on the hit parade, whether they liked it or not. This lasted until about 1968, when underground FM got started, and that's where Warner/Reprise thrived.
It was Jimi Hendrix. It was the Grateful Dead.
It was Joni Mitchell and Neil Young when he was a nobody from up north from a failed band.
Warner let you do what you wanted, it was all about the bands and their music.
But the image came from Stan Cornyn.
He wrote a book, but today everything lives online, and there's no shrine to the man...who made Warner/Reprise hip, who made youngsters all over this great country of ours believers. We wanted to go to 3300 Warner Boulevard not because of Mo and Joe so much as the culture, we wanted to be where the irreverent people who knew no rules were changing our society day by day.
That's what Stan Cornyn did.
I remember running into his trade publication "Circular" at a record store. I wrote a note to the company asking to be put on the distribution list. I was for a while. It was like getting a note from the Pope, after all, music was my religion.
Not that Cornyn was famous. Other than the occasional credit. It was all done in service of the company, of the artists.
And now Stan Cornyn is dead.
He lived to 81, that's a good long life.
And if he were here, I don't think he'd be asking for either praise or remembrance, but my inbox is filling up with testimonials from those who knew him.
Warner/Reprise stood for something. And we knew it because Stan Cornyn said so. He was head of "creative services," whatever that was, he was the person who rallied the like-minded troops into changing our country.
You can read his book:
"Exploding: The Highs, Hits, Hype, Heroes, and Hustlers of the Warner Music Group": http://amzn.to/1cygSZ9
Or you can just know that people make a difference. That life is a team effort. And that it's our wackiest, outside the box thinkers, those who prod tradition, who take risks, who change the world.
Stan did.
_______________________________________
Bob
One of your "Old Farts" died this week. Stan Cornyn had an enormous impact on Warner Bros/Reprise Records during the years when we became a powerhouse regarded as Super Hip.
He changed some of the old fashioned marketing, advertising presentations and we became the envy of much of the industry.
Contrary to your oft repeated indictments of the above mentioned Old Farts we had a group of people who loved the music, went with our own tastes and methods.
In fact it was the Erteguns, Clive, Mo and myself and a few others who shook off the Corporations and went our way and built a business. While we all did well financially no billionaires arrived.
You should recognize Stan in some way. He was the ultimate image maker and no one came close to his style, content and approach
Joe Smith
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Don't confuse today's enterprise with yesteryear's.
And as great as Ahmet Ertegun was, Atlantic was no match for its west coast counterpart.
Warner/Reprise had SOUL!
Let me take you back, to an era when music drove the culture, when young 'uns were addicted to the radio and could sing every song on the hit parade, whether they liked it or not. This lasted until about 1968, when underground FM got started, and that's where Warner/Reprise thrived.
It was Jimi Hendrix. It was the Grateful Dead.
It was Joni Mitchell and Neil Young when he was a nobody from up north from a failed band.
Warner let you do what you wanted, it was all about the bands and their music.
But the image came from Stan Cornyn.
He wrote a book, but today everything lives online, and there's no shrine to the man...who made Warner/Reprise hip, who made youngsters all over this great country of ours believers. We wanted to go to 3300 Warner Boulevard not because of Mo and Joe so much as the culture, we wanted to be where the irreverent people who knew no rules were changing our society day by day.
That's what Stan Cornyn did.
I remember running into his trade publication "Circular" at a record store. I wrote a note to the company asking to be put on the distribution list. I was for a while. It was like getting a note from the Pope, after all, music was my religion.
Not that Cornyn was famous. Other than the occasional credit. It was all done in service of the company, of the artists.
And now Stan Cornyn is dead.
He lived to 81, that's a good long life.
And if he were here, I don't think he'd be asking for either praise or remembrance, but my inbox is filling up with testimonials from those who knew him.
Warner/Reprise stood for something. And we knew it because Stan Cornyn said so. He was head of "creative services," whatever that was, he was the person who rallied the like-minded troops into changing our country.
You can read his book:
"Exploding: The Highs, Hits, Hype, Heroes, and Hustlers of the Warner Music Group": http://amzn.to/1cygSZ9
Or you can just know that people make a difference. That life is a team effort. And that it's our wackiest, outside the box thinkers, those who prod tradition, who take risks, who change the world.
Stan did.
_______________________________________
Bob
One of your "Old Farts" died this week. Stan Cornyn had an enormous impact on Warner Bros/Reprise Records during the years when we became a powerhouse regarded as Super Hip.
He changed some of the old fashioned marketing, advertising presentations and we became the envy of much of the industry.
Contrary to your oft repeated indictments of the above mentioned Old Farts we had a group of people who loved the music, went with our own tastes and methods.
In fact it was the Erteguns, Clive, Mo and myself and a few others who shook off the Corporations and went our way and built a business. While we all did well financially no billionaires arrived.
You should recognize Stan in some way. He was the ultimate image maker and no one came close to his style, content and approach
Joe Smith
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Today At The Tower
"Sticks and stones may break your bones
But words can break your heart"
So I'm driving to Capitol thinking about who's in my rearview mirror. Not literally, although traffic was squirrely, with the Vine exit closed, but figuratively, as in Hale Milgrim, Gary Gersh, Andy Slater, Roy Lott... Decades have gone by and what once was isn't. The music train keeps rolling along, but the most interesting thing I read this week was Tad Friend's article about Marc Andreesen in the "New Yorker." Silicon Valley wants to change the world, Hollywood just wants to get rich.
And after parking my car in the back lot, it's all about parking in Los Angeles, I take the elevator up to the top where Toni escorts me into Steve Barnett's office where he and Ambrosia are listening to a record, not a word being said, Steve staring rapturously at the wall.
This obviously wasn't done for me, I caught them in a moment. And what was playing over the speakers was...SPECTACULAR!
So I go from caring not a whit about the music business to being totally riveted, feeling that I'm back to where I once belonged.
And when the track finishes Steve tells me it's the album of the year, which sounds reasonable to me, since this is the guy who built Sam Smith in the U.S., and he's going to do his best to deliver this 67 year old another hit.
Huh?
Now I'm completely confused. So I ask "Who is this?"
DON HENLEY!
I was completely flummoxed. I'm a fan, you'd figure I'd know his voice anywhere. But the room was vast, with the B&W speakers against the far wall and very little sound-absorbing material, and I figured it had to be someone new.
But it wasn't.
Henley told me years ago that he was working on a new album. At this point I figured it'd never come out. After all, even Paul McCartney can't have a hit. Tom Petty ramps up publicity but after a week, no one cares. But one listen through this track and I was hooked. It was the lyrics above, sung in a plaintive voice Henley owns the patent on, I couldn't get them out of my head.
Ain't that the truth, especially as you get older. When you leave the schoolyard behind. It's what people say that you can't get over.
Not that this was the agenda for our lunch. But as we walked to Katsuya, as Steve told me about the new Capitol Records, I couldn't get the Henley track out of my mind.
First of all, how did Steve get it?
From Irving.
But how does Steve know Irving?
Steve called him when AC/DC were doing their Wal-Mart deal. Irving was supportive of him getting the Capitol gig.
And that's when Steve launched into his rap about it all being about people. That he learned that from his dad, that that's what separated the great teams from the also-rans. It was key that he assemble the best team at Capitol, and he believes he has.
And it's also about the plan. You've got to have all the pieces put together and execute flawlessly. It starts with great music, of course, but being tied up with Pittman and iHeart, SNL, the promoter, you've got to have it all lined up to succeed today. Because there's so much noise, it's hard to break through the clutter.
Not that Steve has all the answers. He told me he changes his mind all the time, when his people confront him and give him new insight, show him another way of doing things.
And A&R is a thing of the past. Sure, you need scouts. Yes, it's great if they can help make the records. But today it's about the audience and your gut. If the audience embraces something, go for it. Even if others say no. Hell, 11 out of 12 people at Columbia said no to One Direction. Steve went with the act anyway, based on his long relationship with Richard Griffiths, and as they say...the rest is history.
Furthermore, having had success, most prominently with the aforementioned Sam Smith, talent now calls him. Because people want to be with a winner. And a team succeeds on momentum. One success begets another, players believe they can win, no matter what anybody else says.
And we talked about the streaming wars and the concert wars. Steve said physical and downloads have another 2-3 years, that they're not dead yet. And that even though Neil Diamond's new album may not have set sales records, the ensuing promotion ended up moving over a million units of catalog.
And Steve is thinking of new ways to skin the cat. I can't reveal them all, but I will tell you that an audience of a few hundred thousand, paying five bucks a month, gives you MILLIONS at the end of the year. How do you find acts with loyal fanbases, how do you tap into those fanbases... It doesn't matter what everybody else thinks, only what you do!
And Katy Perry is gonna go back into the studio soon. She's eager to hold on to her cap as the teen queen dream.
But I couldn't stop thinking of that Henley song.
How could it be a baby boomer could write a song encapsulating truth in a way no one younger seems to be able to, all the while singing mellifluously with changes that resonate?
We went back to the building and I sampled the rest of the record.
This is the Eagles album you've been waiting for.
But is anybody waiting for an Eagles LP?
The truth is we're waiting for music that speaks to our hearts, about the human condition, that makes us feel connected as opposed to alone, that we hum in our head as we're elated and depressed, that rides shotgun in this crazy adventure we call life. That's how the Eagles got so damn big to begin with.
And the album's not coming out for months. And I can't predict radio success.
But I do know someone who cares, who knows it's all about what's in the grooves as opposed to the sponsorship deal, dug down deep in an effort to get it right and he did!
And with Steve Barnett's help you'll become aware of it.
And you'll be glad you did.
P.S. All you Eagles and Henley haters can hold your breath, put your fingertips away, because the truth is in the modern world hate is irrelevant, it's all about love. No one cares that you pooh-pooh this or that, all we care is that someone loves something. And if enough people do, you have success.
"Tomorrow's Advance Man, Marc Andreesen's plan to win the future": http://nyr.kr/1FYJkPx
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But words can break your heart"
So I'm driving to Capitol thinking about who's in my rearview mirror. Not literally, although traffic was squirrely, with the Vine exit closed, but figuratively, as in Hale Milgrim, Gary Gersh, Andy Slater, Roy Lott... Decades have gone by and what once was isn't. The music train keeps rolling along, but the most interesting thing I read this week was Tad Friend's article about Marc Andreesen in the "New Yorker." Silicon Valley wants to change the world, Hollywood just wants to get rich.
And after parking my car in the back lot, it's all about parking in Los Angeles, I take the elevator up to the top where Toni escorts me into Steve Barnett's office where he and Ambrosia are listening to a record, not a word being said, Steve staring rapturously at the wall.
This obviously wasn't done for me, I caught them in a moment. And what was playing over the speakers was...SPECTACULAR!
So I go from caring not a whit about the music business to being totally riveted, feeling that I'm back to where I once belonged.
And when the track finishes Steve tells me it's the album of the year, which sounds reasonable to me, since this is the guy who built Sam Smith in the U.S., and he's going to do his best to deliver this 67 year old another hit.
Huh?
Now I'm completely confused. So I ask "Who is this?"
DON HENLEY!
I was completely flummoxed. I'm a fan, you'd figure I'd know his voice anywhere. But the room was vast, with the B&W speakers against the far wall and very little sound-absorbing material, and I figured it had to be someone new.
But it wasn't.
Henley told me years ago that he was working on a new album. At this point I figured it'd never come out. After all, even Paul McCartney can't have a hit. Tom Petty ramps up publicity but after a week, no one cares. But one listen through this track and I was hooked. It was the lyrics above, sung in a plaintive voice Henley owns the patent on, I couldn't get them out of my head.
Ain't that the truth, especially as you get older. When you leave the schoolyard behind. It's what people say that you can't get over.
Not that this was the agenda for our lunch. But as we walked to Katsuya, as Steve told me about the new Capitol Records, I couldn't get the Henley track out of my mind.
First of all, how did Steve get it?
From Irving.
But how does Steve know Irving?
Steve called him when AC/DC were doing their Wal-Mart deal. Irving was supportive of him getting the Capitol gig.
And that's when Steve launched into his rap about it all being about people. That he learned that from his dad, that that's what separated the great teams from the also-rans. It was key that he assemble the best team at Capitol, and he believes he has.
And it's also about the plan. You've got to have all the pieces put together and execute flawlessly. It starts with great music, of course, but being tied up with Pittman and iHeart, SNL, the promoter, you've got to have it all lined up to succeed today. Because there's so much noise, it's hard to break through the clutter.
Not that Steve has all the answers. He told me he changes his mind all the time, when his people confront him and give him new insight, show him another way of doing things.
And A&R is a thing of the past. Sure, you need scouts. Yes, it's great if they can help make the records. But today it's about the audience and your gut. If the audience embraces something, go for it. Even if others say no. Hell, 11 out of 12 people at Columbia said no to One Direction. Steve went with the act anyway, based on his long relationship with Richard Griffiths, and as they say...the rest is history.
Furthermore, having had success, most prominently with the aforementioned Sam Smith, talent now calls him. Because people want to be with a winner. And a team succeeds on momentum. One success begets another, players believe they can win, no matter what anybody else says.
And we talked about the streaming wars and the concert wars. Steve said physical and downloads have another 2-3 years, that they're not dead yet. And that even though Neil Diamond's new album may not have set sales records, the ensuing promotion ended up moving over a million units of catalog.
And Steve is thinking of new ways to skin the cat. I can't reveal them all, but I will tell you that an audience of a few hundred thousand, paying five bucks a month, gives you MILLIONS at the end of the year. How do you find acts with loyal fanbases, how do you tap into those fanbases... It doesn't matter what everybody else thinks, only what you do!
And Katy Perry is gonna go back into the studio soon. She's eager to hold on to her cap as the teen queen dream.
But I couldn't stop thinking of that Henley song.
How could it be a baby boomer could write a song encapsulating truth in a way no one younger seems to be able to, all the while singing mellifluously with changes that resonate?
We went back to the building and I sampled the rest of the record.
This is the Eagles album you've been waiting for.
But is anybody waiting for an Eagles LP?
The truth is we're waiting for music that speaks to our hearts, about the human condition, that makes us feel connected as opposed to alone, that we hum in our head as we're elated and depressed, that rides shotgun in this crazy adventure we call life. That's how the Eagles got so damn big to begin with.
And the album's not coming out for months. And I can't predict radio success.
But I do know someone who cares, who knows it's all about what's in the grooves as opposed to the sponsorship deal, dug down deep in an effort to get it right and he did!
And with Steve Barnett's help you'll become aware of it.
And you'll be glad you did.
P.S. All you Eagles and Henley haters can hold your breath, put your fingertips away, because the truth is in the modern world hate is irrelevant, it's all about love. No one cares that you pooh-pooh this or that, all we care is that someone loves something. And if enough people do, you have success.
"Tomorrow's Advance Man, Marc Andreesen's plan to win the future": http://nyr.kr/1FYJkPx
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Tuesday 12 May 2015
American Idol
Broke the mold.
It posited that there was unheralded talent that the usual suspects, the major labels and their A&R teams, were unjustly ignoring, and that by scooping up singers the public could decide who was best and a star could be born.
It worked.
And everybody making music the old way HATED IT!
That's the story of "Idol," how someone, in this case Simon Fuller, decided to turn the model on its head. It's the story of the twenty first century, with Napster and now Spotify, those willing to think different to the point where those continuing to think the same are scratching their heads, not only wondering where their cheese went, but worrying if they'll ever eat again.
Innovation, it's where it's at.
Smart people embrace streaming and figure out how to utilize it to get ahead.
Dumb people rail against payouts, as if constantly complaining that landlines deliver better fidelity will wipe out mobile.
So we must look to the future, not the past.
What else did "Idol" teach us?
That stars matter. And you can mint them overnight. And the main criterion of success is honesty.
That's your explanation for Simon Cowell, an unknown Brit who became a household name and incredibly wealthy just by speaking the truth. Because, everybody knows it, and they want to hear it.
But no one involved in "Idol" could see that it was time-stamped, that it wasn't forever, that it broke the mold but something else would break the mold after it.
Cowell thought it was about singing shows, that if you just messed with the formula just a bit you could make even more money. But "X Factor" failed in America, because everyone had already seen the trick. It was like Mariah Carey singing the same old songs but in a different key. Been there, done that, the public is not interested, the public wants NEW!
And despite being a ratings juggernaut, the "Voice" has not minted any stars. Because it's about resuscitating the careers of old ones. Bitchiness ruled, competition was heavy while on "Idol" niceness prevailed, the judges were famous, but they were nonentities.
And now we've got Harry Connick, Jr. on "Idol," even Scott Borchetta, believing if people see you you're successful. But in the modern world everybody has a home, everybody has a presence, everybody's available, and we're only interested if you're new and exciting, if you're doing something different. And these guys are following the formula, through and through.
So what happens now?
The next revolution in music is coming, online.
It's already happened in visual entertainment, YouTube stars are huge, bankable and rich.
And Justin Bieber was discovered online. Credit Scooter Braun with figuring out the new paradigm. He moved in when "Idol" was dying. The story isn't so much about Bieber but Braun, as it always is. The star is just the face.
But Braun didn't realize we're living in an age where you've got to erase your past as you move ever forward. Not only the cassette and the CD, but the old game of finding nascent talent and faking hysteria to riches. All Braun did was raise money on his past efforts, now those people want their money back.
So it's about revolution and stars and money.
Let's start with the last. The culture has changed. People choose professions for cash. If your charge isn't willing to do anything to make it, to become rich, find someone else.
As for stars... There's a fascinating story circulating online about the decline of one hit wonders. Turns out there's no room for them, everybody wants history, an imprimatur of success.
"The Death of the One-Hit Wonder": http://bit.ly/1AVgXfi
As for revolution...
Same as it ever was.
The Beatles, Bob Dylan, they turned the past on its head.
Even Boy George and Culture Club, almost openly gay and dressing in caftans all while singing modern English music filtered through the blues.
And then there's prog rock... If we know how to play, what can we do with our chops?
And then rap. If we speak the truth the public will resonate, and everybody loves a beat.
And now we're in the twenty first century, in a lost era for music. Because everyone's complaining and no one's innovating.
The public mints winners, especially in the modern era, middlemen are toast.
And the public only lays down a lot of cash when something is new and different.
What is new and different?
Well, someone who yields comprehension from chaos. We're ready for an online tastemaker, who will have so much power he can monetize it, but we're living in the old paradigm where everything is great and everything deserves a listen, while the public is overwhelmed.
The labels act like venture capital firms to a degree. They want to see evidence of success and a plan. Their only problem is they refuse to fund revolution, for fear of losing what they've got. Incubator, schmincubator, Universal is clueless.
Today it's not about promotion but virality, assuming something is truly revolutionary. If it's that good, people will spread the word.
The last thing that good was the aforementioned Napster. It might have been free, but at least people WANTED the music!
Music, when done right, scales.
Stop listening to the old fogeys. Stop learning how it used to be done. Know that in order to succeed you've got to turn the world on its head.
Let's make it simple... How about finding ugly people who write their own songs? That's changing everything everyone in power believes in.
How about putting music in BuzzFeed movies?
How about a music site that is all about the customer as opposed to shoveling the same information on the dungheap. That's right, a place where the biggest fans are categorized, a giant competition to anoint the greatest music fan in America! You send in a video why you should be chosen. You score points by going to shows and not only streaming music, but gaining followers. Why in music don't we make the fan the star, as they do on Facebook, Instagram and...
Because we're clueless and wedded to the past.
Put your thinking cap on.
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It posited that there was unheralded talent that the usual suspects, the major labels and their A&R teams, were unjustly ignoring, and that by scooping up singers the public could decide who was best and a star could be born.
It worked.
And everybody making music the old way HATED IT!
That's the story of "Idol," how someone, in this case Simon Fuller, decided to turn the model on its head. It's the story of the twenty first century, with Napster and now Spotify, those willing to think different to the point where those continuing to think the same are scratching their heads, not only wondering where their cheese went, but worrying if they'll ever eat again.
Innovation, it's where it's at.
Smart people embrace streaming and figure out how to utilize it to get ahead.
Dumb people rail against payouts, as if constantly complaining that landlines deliver better fidelity will wipe out mobile.
So we must look to the future, not the past.
What else did "Idol" teach us?
That stars matter. And you can mint them overnight. And the main criterion of success is honesty.
That's your explanation for Simon Cowell, an unknown Brit who became a household name and incredibly wealthy just by speaking the truth. Because, everybody knows it, and they want to hear it.
But no one involved in "Idol" could see that it was time-stamped, that it wasn't forever, that it broke the mold but something else would break the mold after it.
Cowell thought it was about singing shows, that if you just messed with the formula just a bit you could make even more money. But "X Factor" failed in America, because everyone had already seen the trick. It was like Mariah Carey singing the same old songs but in a different key. Been there, done that, the public is not interested, the public wants NEW!
And despite being a ratings juggernaut, the "Voice" has not minted any stars. Because it's about resuscitating the careers of old ones. Bitchiness ruled, competition was heavy while on "Idol" niceness prevailed, the judges were famous, but they were nonentities.
And now we've got Harry Connick, Jr. on "Idol," even Scott Borchetta, believing if people see you you're successful. But in the modern world everybody has a home, everybody has a presence, everybody's available, and we're only interested if you're new and exciting, if you're doing something different. And these guys are following the formula, through and through.
So what happens now?
The next revolution in music is coming, online.
It's already happened in visual entertainment, YouTube stars are huge, bankable and rich.
And Justin Bieber was discovered online. Credit Scooter Braun with figuring out the new paradigm. He moved in when "Idol" was dying. The story isn't so much about Bieber but Braun, as it always is. The star is just the face.
But Braun didn't realize we're living in an age where you've got to erase your past as you move ever forward. Not only the cassette and the CD, but the old game of finding nascent talent and faking hysteria to riches. All Braun did was raise money on his past efforts, now those people want their money back.
So it's about revolution and stars and money.
Let's start with the last. The culture has changed. People choose professions for cash. If your charge isn't willing to do anything to make it, to become rich, find someone else.
As for stars... There's a fascinating story circulating online about the decline of one hit wonders. Turns out there's no room for them, everybody wants history, an imprimatur of success.
"The Death of the One-Hit Wonder": http://bit.ly/1AVgXfi
As for revolution...
Same as it ever was.
The Beatles, Bob Dylan, they turned the past on its head.
Even Boy George and Culture Club, almost openly gay and dressing in caftans all while singing modern English music filtered through the blues.
And then there's prog rock... If we know how to play, what can we do with our chops?
And then rap. If we speak the truth the public will resonate, and everybody loves a beat.
And now we're in the twenty first century, in a lost era for music. Because everyone's complaining and no one's innovating.
The public mints winners, especially in the modern era, middlemen are toast.
And the public only lays down a lot of cash when something is new and different.
What is new and different?
Well, someone who yields comprehension from chaos. We're ready for an online tastemaker, who will have so much power he can monetize it, but we're living in the old paradigm where everything is great and everything deserves a listen, while the public is overwhelmed.
The labels act like venture capital firms to a degree. They want to see evidence of success and a plan. Their only problem is they refuse to fund revolution, for fear of losing what they've got. Incubator, schmincubator, Universal is clueless.
Today it's not about promotion but virality, assuming something is truly revolutionary. If it's that good, people will spread the word.
The last thing that good was the aforementioned Napster. It might have been free, but at least people WANTED the music!
Music, when done right, scales.
Stop listening to the old fogeys. Stop learning how it used to be done. Know that in order to succeed you've got to turn the world on its head.
Let's make it simple... How about finding ugly people who write their own songs? That's changing everything everyone in power believes in.
How about putting music in BuzzFeed movies?
How about a music site that is all about the customer as opposed to shoveling the same information on the dungheap. That's right, a place where the biggest fans are categorized, a giant competition to anoint the greatest music fan in America! You send in a video why you should be chosen. You score points by going to shows and not only streaming music, but gaining followers. Why in music don't we make the fan the star, as they do on Facebook, Instagram and...
Because we're clueless and wedded to the past.
Put your thinking cap on.
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Verizon/AOL
The song remains the same. Clueless old farts make deals for legacy companies that are vastly overpriced, believing brands have meaning in the fast-moving internet world.
That's right, while Microsoft buys Nokia, Facebook purchases Instagram and WhatsApp. Because Mark Zuckerberg actually uses the internet and whoever really made the decision at Microsoft does not. And how come we never hear about Redmond's purchase of Skype? It's kind of like Garth Brooks's download site and album sales, if anything good happened he would have told us, but he didn't.
The old CEO of Verizon knew what he was doing. That it was all about NETWORK! That's why I overpay for the red company, because not only did I used to want to know that they heard me now, today I want LTE coverage in the hinterlands, which I get. But while this new bozo was shifting towards content he let speeds decline, AT&T is actually faster in some areas (don't switch, you still can't get a connection, LTE is nonexistent in too many places and you can get text messages days late) and T-Mobile is eating his lunch by providing power-users data access overseas. Want to increase your market share? Start with the influencers, those who get others to follow. Once they go somewhere else, you're toast.
So what Verizon is buying here is an ad network.
But it could have bought the same service from a third party for much less. To overpay for AOL and its content is nuts.
As for entering a new sphere, I'm reminded of HP and Palm.
Palm is an also-ran with new technology that fails in the marketplace and is then laid off on HP which buries it. AOL is an also-ran whose prominence is in the distant past, like Palm's was, and it cannot be resuscitated. As for Tim Armstrong, he's a SALESMAN! Better to invest in a techie who can actually build something worthwhile than a guy who specializes in smoke and mirrors. Buying AOL is like buying BlackBerry. Something that once was that is dying a slow death, something with legacy adherents who are nearly meaningless. Acquiring dialup customers is like rolling up stick shift users, and even FERRARI has gone automatic!
As for the content play...
Speculators say that the Huffington Post may be spun off. As for TechCrunch, it was decimated when its star employees left eons ago. Because they couldn't work for Mr. Armstrong. Who strong-armed them. As for Ms. Huffington, she's got a nearly worthless site that has been trumped by BuzzFeed. That's right, the HuffPo is all about link-bait, the lefties who supported Arianna left the building long ago. Once again, you've got an oldster who doesn't understand the landscape who keeps saying she's wining when she isn't. Furthermore, BuzzFeed proves it's all about original content, and Vice knows that he who has boots on the ground wins in the coming news wars. The HuffPo has nearly neither.
But the truth is Verizon's Lowell McAdam and Tim Armstrong bonded in Sun Valley, that's where it happened, at the Allen & Company confab. Proving once again it's who you hang out with, who you know, that access trumps content.
So the game is over. AOL is finally dead. Subsumed into a larger company such that we can not assess its decline.
As for Verizon, which famously rebuffed Steve Jobs and the iPhone just like XM rebuffed Howard Stern, forays into content are a huge, money-wasting effort. Did you know that Verizon had a deal with the NFL? Nobody does. Verizon could have put a stake in the heart of AT&T the same way XM could have put a stake in the heart of Sirius, but instead, while it's trying to figure out the future T-Mobile is putting a stake in its heart, because Americans are cheap and Verizon has got no cheap offering. T-Mobile is killing Sprint and Verizon is leaking too. But McAdam spends money on AOL? Isn't it about the NETWORK?
Furthermore, the television/movie wars tell us if you want to expand into new territories it's all about the content. That's what Netflix, Hulu and Amazon are in a war over. Want to go into the content business Verizon, then feature exclusive content we want to watch!
What if you bought an ad platform and you had nothing anybody wanted to see.
Then you'd be Verizon.
Ass-backwards, if the strategy has any merit at all.
Call a spade a spade, this deal is nearly ridiculous.
But you don't have to hear it from me, just read Twitter: http://on.mash.to/1RAsriS
These are the people you have to convince before the Street.
But Lowell McAdam doesn't know that...
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That's right, while Microsoft buys Nokia, Facebook purchases Instagram and WhatsApp. Because Mark Zuckerberg actually uses the internet and whoever really made the decision at Microsoft does not. And how come we never hear about Redmond's purchase of Skype? It's kind of like Garth Brooks's download site and album sales, if anything good happened he would have told us, but he didn't.
The old CEO of Verizon knew what he was doing. That it was all about NETWORK! That's why I overpay for the red company, because not only did I used to want to know that they heard me now, today I want LTE coverage in the hinterlands, which I get. But while this new bozo was shifting towards content he let speeds decline, AT&T is actually faster in some areas (don't switch, you still can't get a connection, LTE is nonexistent in too many places and you can get text messages days late) and T-Mobile is eating his lunch by providing power-users data access overseas. Want to increase your market share? Start with the influencers, those who get others to follow. Once they go somewhere else, you're toast.
So what Verizon is buying here is an ad network.
But it could have bought the same service from a third party for much less. To overpay for AOL and its content is nuts.
As for entering a new sphere, I'm reminded of HP and Palm.
Palm is an also-ran with new technology that fails in the marketplace and is then laid off on HP which buries it. AOL is an also-ran whose prominence is in the distant past, like Palm's was, and it cannot be resuscitated. As for Tim Armstrong, he's a SALESMAN! Better to invest in a techie who can actually build something worthwhile than a guy who specializes in smoke and mirrors. Buying AOL is like buying BlackBerry. Something that once was that is dying a slow death, something with legacy adherents who are nearly meaningless. Acquiring dialup customers is like rolling up stick shift users, and even FERRARI has gone automatic!
As for the content play...
Speculators say that the Huffington Post may be spun off. As for TechCrunch, it was decimated when its star employees left eons ago. Because they couldn't work for Mr. Armstrong. Who strong-armed them. As for Ms. Huffington, she's got a nearly worthless site that has been trumped by BuzzFeed. That's right, the HuffPo is all about link-bait, the lefties who supported Arianna left the building long ago. Once again, you've got an oldster who doesn't understand the landscape who keeps saying she's wining when she isn't. Furthermore, BuzzFeed proves it's all about original content, and Vice knows that he who has boots on the ground wins in the coming news wars. The HuffPo has nearly neither.
But the truth is Verizon's Lowell McAdam and Tim Armstrong bonded in Sun Valley, that's where it happened, at the Allen & Company confab. Proving once again it's who you hang out with, who you know, that access trumps content.
So the game is over. AOL is finally dead. Subsumed into a larger company such that we can not assess its decline.
As for Verizon, which famously rebuffed Steve Jobs and the iPhone just like XM rebuffed Howard Stern, forays into content are a huge, money-wasting effort. Did you know that Verizon had a deal with the NFL? Nobody does. Verizon could have put a stake in the heart of AT&T the same way XM could have put a stake in the heart of Sirius, but instead, while it's trying to figure out the future T-Mobile is putting a stake in its heart, because Americans are cheap and Verizon has got no cheap offering. T-Mobile is killing Sprint and Verizon is leaking too. But McAdam spends money on AOL? Isn't it about the NETWORK?
Furthermore, the television/movie wars tell us if you want to expand into new territories it's all about the content. That's what Netflix, Hulu and Amazon are in a war over. Want to go into the content business Verizon, then feature exclusive content we want to watch!
What if you bought an ad platform and you had nothing anybody wanted to see.
Then you'd be Verizon.
Ass-backwards, if the strategy has any merit at all.
Call a spade a spade, this deal is nearly ridiculous.
But you don't have to hear it from me, just read Twitter: http://on.mash.to/1RAsriS
These are the people you have to convince before the Street.
But Lowell McAdam doesn't know that...
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Monday 11 May 2015
Re-Jethro Tull-R&RHOF
Bob, don't you think that in this day and age, being excluded from the
Hall of Fame is a bigger honor than being inducted?
Chris Beytes
_________________________________________
I could argue that the inability to be replicated (by other groups) is a strong argument for greatness in a band, not the converse. It doesn't escape my attention that when a modern group cites a past band as an influence, it's often someone like the Velvet Underground. How many times do you hear a group refer to Steely Dan as inspiration? See, you can't begin to replicate brilliant players and writers without being able to, well, play and write.
"Influential" is a rock critic adjective. When I was a kid listening to Clapton, I got a kick out of the fact I could hear some Albert King in his playing, but it certainly wasn't the reason I loved the solo. Dylan was unutterably influential on rock music. Who would bother to bring that up when discussing his greatness? When some artist has big success in today's marketplace we experience the predictable wave of people trying to sound like them in order to have their own success. That's "influence": so what, if the music stinks?
Next time someone refers to one of those hip/arty/New York types as influential, ask the speaker to name three songs by he/she/they that "influenced" us. Jethro Tull were great. Ian Anderson was great. Rich, varied, smart, tuneful, rocking music. Lengthy career, beloved. If only they had inspired or influenced someone.
Berton Averre
_________________________________________
Bob,
Just an extraordinary case summary for a ground breaking band while at the same time summing up the RRHOF in one sentence. (Committee can only embrace personal favorites that no one else liked, that "influenced" others.)
I was on the loading dock at the Forum recently where they have now painted the date and name of every artist that has headlined that fabled arena. I couldn't help but being struck by the number of times Jethro Tull's (and Deep Purple) name was painted up on that wall. One thing that was missing, most of the Rock 'n Roll Hall of Fame class of 2015.
Thanks
John Dittmar
_________________________________________
No Tull, no Chrysalis.
A direct quote from Chris Wright, Chrysalis founder.
Mike Bone
_________________________________________
AMEN!
Chriss4198
_________________________________________
Spot on.
Rik Shafer
_________________________________________
I've been a fan since "This Was". When the folkier elements of the band emerged with "Stand Up", I was completely knocked out. To this day, it's my all-time favorite album. I saw them for the first time, leaning on the stage, in 1970, at Plattsburgh State. "Benefit" had just been released. John Evan was on keyboards and Glenn Cornick had not yet departed. A very strong lineup. They opened with "Nothing is Easy". A tight, hard rock band. That Grammy they were awarded in 1989 was simply long overdue. And you're correct in stating that they'll never be honored by the Hall of Fame. My personal list of who should and should not be in, is irrelevant. I just hope someday Anderson brings out a great group and performs some of his early albums like he did with "Thick as a Brick". Peace.
Dan Daly
_________________________________________
I want Tull left out. More of a statement position. They are TOO good to go in like cole slaw.
Tull, Moody's, Deep purple. These bands will remain timeless over the eons - because they could play
Denisara
_________________________________________
Absolutely Bob.
My first concert ever was Jethro Tull at Madison Square Garden. Opening act was Uriah Heep.
Ian Anderson was a true showman with unique talents,as was every player in that band. Martin Barre's guitar solo on Aqualung is my all time favorite and I have no shame to air guitar that one in public every time I hear it.
Classic live moment on Bursting Out, recorded in France. Anderson introduces a song to a weak smattering of applause. He says "yes, no, maybe, alright don't strain yourselves". Haha. Loved it.
Rock on,
Rob Max
Executive Director
Sweet Relief Musicians Fund
_________________________________________
Thanks, Bob!
Of course, the list is too long, but....Chicago, The Turtles, the Steve Miller Band, Toto, Spirit, Yes, The Moody Blues, Todd Rundgren and, absolutely, Tull. How does Todd's bassist Kaz Sultan get in, with Joan Jett & The Blackhearts, and TR is still sucking air out here?? (With all due respect, how does Joanie get in at all, ahead of these folks, by doing cover tunes?) Never mind. Again, too long a list, to list.
cheers
John P. Katsantonis
_________________________________________
I could not agree more-----agree on "don't need no Cleveland coronation"----but it is beyond absurd they were not in 10-20 years ago
Michael Rulle
_________________________________________
And Yes and Cheap Trick and Deep Purple.
Andrew Paciocco
_________________________________________
Tull isn't popular any more??
Hmm, I've never raised my head from the turntable since 1969 (where I keep rotating their incredible catalog of great albums) long enough to notice.
There's a world full of folks missing out these days, I guess.
Your loss!
Nelson Duffle
Washington, D.C.
_________________________________________
Plus he stood on one leg!
Fachtna o Ceallaigh
_________________________________________
Totally agree, and white they're at it, put Terry Ellis and Chris Wright in there too.... just saying'
Jethro Tull music was a building block of FM underground rock radio.
Billy Bass
(formerly Sr. VP of Promotion and Creative Services for Chrysalis...and PD of WMMS ....back in the day.)
_________________________________________
Spot on. I had "For a thousand mothers" off of Stand Up come on shuffle this morning and it sounded new. Original.
Tom Shpetner
_________________________________________
Jethro Tull had a hit song in 5/4 that was half instrumental with a flute as the lead instrument. All you need to know about how open and free radio was in the 70's, when you'd hear Zappa following Joni following Yes. Sigh…I guess I'm living in the past. Well not really, now I'm addicted to Spotify playlists. Only difference is the lack of a collective energy..now it's an individual journey.
CJ Vanston
_________________________________________
What is this "Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame" you speak of Bob?
I think I may have purged that from my memory banks?
Mark Strickland
_________________________________________
Dear Bob,
it`s all correct, but something went wrong!
"Because Ian Anderson is not a warm dude"
All I can say is that Mr. Anderson is a very warm and nice person!
He has very british Humor and he is a Gentleman!
It was a big pleasure meeting him!!!
All the best from Germany ;-)
Jethro Tull's Ian Anderson interviews himself on the subject of the new album Thick As A Brick
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XFO6Z0HqMaA
Was Hotel California based on a Jethro Tull song?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xny0Uj4--tk
Enjoy ;-)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LMh0FS3rcnA
Kindest regards and take care,
T O M
Thomas Glagow
C.A.R.E. Music Group GmbH
_________________________________________
Dear Bob,
Ian Anderson standing on one leg singing along with the lines he played on that flute, looking like he stepped out from under an Elizabethan mushroom, was a phenomenal showman and an excellent composer/songwriter. With Martin Barre, John Evan, Clive Bunker and others, the band broke a lot of ground.
But one aspect of their work I would like to add to your assessment was the philosophical commentary on religion on Aqualung.
My God and Wind Up were incredible songs and show-stoppers. Ian would walk out alone with his acoustic and begin singing, "People what have you done: locked Him in His golden cage. Made Him bend to your religion Him resurrected from the grave."
When the band kicked in, the dynamics were exhilarating and, well, frighteningly awesome. The bookend at the end of the show was Anderson again standing by himself with his acoustic guitar, just like the opening of the show, only wrapping up with, "He's not the kind you have to wind up...on Sunday." Then he'd give it his trademark chuckle, "Eh heh," and walk off.
In their prime, the band was incomparable. Thanks for saying so.
Dale McCoy
_________________________________________
OH FUCK YEAH!!!
And yes, even the Rolling Stones recognized their presents as I'm sure you remember.
Chris Johnson
_________________________________________
Bob
Completely agree on Jethro Tull
I purchased the first UK album mainly because of the way they looked on the cover
Best
Jim McElwee
_________________________________________
I dig Jethro Tull!
Don Mizell
_________________________________________
Why spend so much energy on a hall that doesn?t care about the vanguard?
They put in fucking Ringo Starr as a solo artist? No hits??? What do you
call Bungle in The Jungle and Cross Eyed Mary???? Face it - Aqualung,
Thick As A Brick as albums surpass Joan Jett?s and even the "I died early
so I getin the Hall" Stevie Ray Vaughn?s catalogs.
George Sulmer
_________________________________________
Great article on Tull Mate.
The fact that they (and Deep Purple) aren't in the HOF shows what a bullshit exercise the whole thing is.
Tull (and Anderson) where one of the best live acts I've ever seen, and even now I get chills up my spine listening to live cuts of Thick as a Brick, or the fabulous opening intro to Locomotive Breath.
Tull had some of the best bass/ drummer combos in rock and roll history, who could go from a whisper to a full frontal assault at the drop of a hat.
Such a shame so many youngsters are missing out.
Tony M
Sydney, Australia
_________________________________________
Well said Bob....also wanted to add in after decades Ian and Martin did that little album Minstel in The Gallery which is an incredible masterpiece. Body of work , innovation, talent, composers, performers, I don't know what else to say. What are the qualifications?
Chris Apostle
_________________________________________
That Deep Purple + Jethro Tull have both been passed over by the R&RHOF is ludicrous. Both were huge FM rock staples. Both enjoyed long runs selling records and tickets and were both loaded with talent. DP was the first band to be paid One Million Dollars for a U.S. gig (California Jam if I recall). Bands like Steve Miller and Quicksilver Messenger Service are more worthy than many of the rock lite groups being inducted. It's sad indeed.
-Ricky Schultz
_________________________________________
Right on! The coolest thing about being Director of A&R at Chrysalis Music Publishing from 1990 - 1993 was that on brief occasions I got to speak to my music idol, Ian Anderson. (He was pretty warm and friendly, btw). I saw them on every tour from 1976 - 1981 at the Phila Spectrum, and each felt like the most perfect music moment (I never got high at a Tull show because I wanted it to last as long as possible!). I bought a flute that I never mastered, and would listen to my albums as I poured over every bit of the artwork like a detective. (Don't forget that A Passion Play came with a theater playbill and that Living in the Past came in a bound 78rpm style book album with pages!). The great thing about loving Tull was that you didn't really worry about sharing them because you knew that almost all of your friends (especially girls) hated them…but then when you showed up at the concert there were thousands there like you!
Jethro Tull were always the outsiders. That's why they got the name Jethro Tull…because they had to keep making up new ones to get booked again. Chris Wright and Terry Ellis didn't initially intend to start the label, but since no one wanted to sign the band, they paid for the masters and when their licensing deal ended…voila, they had a gold selling artist to start their label.
I love Tull. (just typing that makes me wince in anticipation of the haters telling me how much they don't like them)
Gary Helsinger
_________________________________________
I couldn't agree more!
I came in at "Benefit" and I've always been a pop song guy. "In days of peace, sweet smelling summer nights" still takes me back to a perfect summer evening in high school (just as "Jet" reminds me of jumping over the trunk into the back seat of Ruth Buford's convertible white Mustang with red leather upholstery on a beautiful Spring day after school).
And "Thick As A Brick"? An under-appreciated masterpiece! As I have aged I have become more versed in classical music and TAAB stands up as a formidable composition.
BTW, have you listened to the TAAB interview on Spotify? Amazing insight into a band that bled for their success.
By the way, yesterday was Brahms' birthday and I listened to his symphonies all day. No better music has ever been created than those symphonies.
At the end of the day, what could we ever expect from the oxymoron that is the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame?
Chuck Mackie
_________________________________________
I agree...Jethro Tull: imaginative rock - very underrated.
Art Velordi
_________________________________________
All of the above PLUS they were an exceptional live band. As good as any
of their era.
They played and they really entertained. NO ONE was as fun to watch or
listen to as Ian Anderson and Clive Bunker and Martin Barre were great
musicians. Never saw the Mick Abrahams version live but completely agree
re: This Was.
"Ian Anderson is not a warm dude"
I met him once ironically AT the R&R HOF+M and he was an "elbow shaker."
He would not shake hands due to some overzealous fan who crushed his hand
once but would offer his elbow. That was a new one to me but I had no
problem with it.
William Nollman
_________________________________________
Hi Bob,
Good write up on Jethro Tull.
Interesting story as to why Ian Anderson took up the flute.
He explains that his choice of instrument back in 1966 was completely arbitrary. Originally lead guitarist in the blues group that became Tull, Anderson became disheartened when he heard Eric Clapton playing with John Mayall's Bluesbreakers.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/music-news/10127254/Ian-Anderson-I-swapped-Lemmys-30000-guitar-for-30-pound-flute..html
I gave up on the RHOF when I saw what Elton John went through to get Leon Russell in. Music lovers should boycott the RHOF instead of pleading or starting a petition to foundation committee members on behalf of their favorite artist.
Gary Robey
_________________________________________
amen.
Gary Calamar
_________________________________________
And......they were terrific LIVE!!!!!!
Tom Ennis
_________________________________________
Any band of greatness (such as Tull) belongs in something better than the R&RHOF…
Bill Fitzhugh
_________________________________________
Long Tull fan. As all loyal Tull fans know. As far as awards. As far as approvals. Jethro Tull will never receive them. But still touring. 25 albums. Very strong fan base.
Who needs the Rock & Roll Hall of fame?
Plus Ian wouldn't show up anyway!
Yet as a fan I have met him several times!
The Press maligns him. Yet the fans adore him!
Bill Stevens
_________________________________________
Couldn't agree more Bob.
When I interviewed Ian Anderson in 2006 and asked him about the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, this is what he had to say:
"The Rock And Roll Hall of Fame is an American institution that's set up to primarily celebrate American music and the derivative spin-offs of American music. In that regard, while I can see there's a place in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for a lot British acts that are truly kind of rock and roll in the sense that their music is deriving very strongly from the tradition of blues and rock music — I think Jethro Tull, or for that matter, Emerson, Lake And Palmer or perhaps Yes or some other band — we're seen as being a little too peculiarly European or British.
"I was recently given an Ivor Novello Award for International Achievement. I'm told by my peers and the world of the British music industry that it's the highest honor for a songwriter to be given this award, that it's not sleazy and tacky like the Brit Awards or as showbizzy as the Grammy Awards. It's a nice thing if you're going to hand out an award. It's nice to have. You're happy to get it. I was very pleased to be awarded a Grammy, even under some slightly suspect and controversial circumstances. I'm happy to receive anything, whether it's a free drink in the bar or a bus pass (laughs)."
Cheers,
Shawn Perry
VintageRock.com
_________________________________________
Spot on! Jethro Tull, Yes, Steve Miller Band, Deep Purple, what's the freakin deal that these bands are not in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame? I don't even want to check and see if T Rex, Mott the Hoople & Tommy James and the Shondells are in there, because if they aren't I may just pull my hair out.
Lavon Pagan
_________________________________________
I saw Tull a bunch at the Old Boston Tea Party on Berkley Street and one of things they did that impressed me was how they used Dynamics. They would play at a whisper and then hit you over the head like a hammer. Watching Ian, sing and play flute standing on one leg wearing moccasins was right out of some leprechaun fairy tale. It was very original, especially from my point of view, a young boy from Boston.
Andrew Kastner
_________________________________________
Joan Jett is in the Rock Hall. I respect her and all, but she plays dumbed down rock, simple, cro-magnon and punchy. But it's pop music, "listenable" and never challenging.
Jethro Tull is much more musical, much more adventurous.
I don't believe in a fucking rock hall anyway. But, like Jett, Tull is FAMOUS. So I guess that means they should be in too.
Glen Burtnik
_________________________________________
Congratulations once again,
One sentence sums up this whole issue,
"Then again, Deep Purple isn't in the Hall Of Fame either..."
There isn't a rock guitarist alive who can't play THAT riff, yet no recognition from the supposed temple of rock. Maybe it should be called 'we want more tail hall of not really famous'
Rgds
Wil Burston
_________________________________________
Thank you for this. Ian's the Shakespeare of rock, equipped with one of the greatest rock voices of all time, and a successful salmon farmer so there's that too. People bastardize Tull by describing it as some iteration of medieval prog, but the music has it all.
Marc Pellegrino
_________________________________________
If being a pivotal connector in the history of music counts for anything, then surely Jethro Tull deserves it!
Straight line from JS Bach to Iron Maiden through Jethro Tull is just one of many obscure musical connections if you like to play the "two degrees of tull" game.
(JS Bach Bourrée in E Minor 1708-1717 - Bouree/Stand Up 1969; Cross-Eyed Mary/Aqualung 1971 - covered by Maiden/1983 Trooper B-side)
I guess like many I discovered that in reverse: from pimply kid getting sucked in by Iron Maiden's quirky B-side cover of "Cross-Eyed Mary"; wanting to find out more about this thing called Jethro Tull and picking up a few albums. Then years later while learning/playing Bach's Bourrée in E Minor on classical guitar I'm struck with déjà vu and rush off to hunt down aqualung again.
I still can't play Bach's Bourrée in E Minor without at least wanting to swing the tempo ever-so towards Tull.
And yes, the flute. Especially when much of the time it's being used more like a "mechanical vocoder". That's sonic innovation.
Paul Gallagher
_________________________________________
Bravo!!!
Dave Polemeni
_________________________________________
If only for the fact that an episode from The Sopranos began with Tony coming down the stairs in his white bathrobe singing "sitting on a park bench!", Tull should be in the R&RHOF. Otherwise, their albums had their moments (the first 7 minutes or so of Brick) but overall were just ok. Anderson was the whole act, really - he wrote all the relatively complex tunes / arrangements, looked cool with that stance, was funny sort of like a British Zappa and played flute AND acoustic guitar very well...
The rock n roll hall of fame is ridiculous already.
Rob Wolfson
_________________________________________
And they've also made one of the best(or perhaps THE best) Christmas albums of any rock artist. Which makes sense, their music is perfect for it.
Thomas Moore
_________________________________________
Abso-fucking-flutely!
Thanks, Bob!
Kevin Ritchie
_________________________________________
Tull rocks. They are everything you say. The "Hall" is self-serving, meaningless bullshit, and everyone will eventually be in it anyway.
marktownsmail
_________________________________________
Thanks for the very accurate analysis on Jethro Tull. I indeed remember the pop up sleeve and the fold out one on Thick as a brick. Great to read about it again!
Michael Wijnen-Paris Fr
_________________________________________
Amen brother. I still remember checking "Heavy Horses" out of the library in 1979 and it blew my 10 year old mind. I feel Tull is a guilty pleasure for many like Dungeons and Dragons used to be. Why is Rush lionized but not Tull? Both were weird, completely original and unashamed to pursue their aesthetic visions. They have my vote...and my dollars.
Peter Cole
_________________________________________
I enjoy some articles more than others, but when you hit it on the head, you use a sledgehammer! Your observations on Jethro Tull are so on point. Comparing This Was w/ Zeppelin's first album is a perfect comparison. I'll admit I pretty much jumped off with thick as a brick but the earlier albums were the soundtrack to my youth. Laid up with a removed appendix in high school, I learned and used Cat's Squirrel as a measure if I should make the guitar my life. I'll always have a special place for Tull.
Paul Sanchez
_________________________________________
......Dear Bob L.
...Couldn't agree with you more....
Larry Litz
_________________________________________
Well, Bob, you nail it. Again.
Tull is unquestionably deserving. For all the reasons you cite.
HOWEVER - as complete and enlightening as your playlists usually are, you
left out a world of Tull jewels, from albums like Minstrel In The Gallery,
Too Old To Rock & Roll/Too Young To Die, Warchild (well, just a couple
from there. But, no points taken off because you?re so very right about
the key issue.
And - you bring up a great point in your piece today - Deep Purple is not
in the R&RHOF. Goodness. And, Springsteen?s in there TWICE?
Sigh.
Keep up the good work, Bob. One day I?m going to have to ask Christy
Haubbegger to figure out how we can finally meet next time I?m in LA.
Best to you, always,
Alex Lopez Negrete
_________________________________________
Thank you for this. Jethro Tull was such an amazing and important part of my life. I gave up the idea of them being in Jann Wenner's hall of fame
Rene Lessard
_________________________________________
Dump on Brady. Tull in the hall. Keep smokin Bob
Tom Ryan
_________________________________________
Right on, Bob!
My friends and I played Tull records over-and-over-and-over until the grooves wore down to scratches. Then I bought the CDs -- and I was happy to do so.
I saw them on their "Thick as a Brick" tour (1972?) at the Nassau Coliseum (when it first opened) where Ian Anderson refused to start until the crowd of thousands was silent, "I want to hear pins dropping," he insisted ... and he got it. Then he did his trick with the loop playing Bach fugues with a single flute. Has anybody ever done that with a flute before or since? Sure, guitarists do it now, but, as you say, Anderson was an ORIGINAL!
Thanks for this gem.
Peter W. Van Ness
_________________________________________
Bob you forgot that they were also one of the best live bands ever. I wasn't even a fan when i saw them in Las Vegas in the late seventies. I remember at one point they were rocking hard, full stage lights, one legged flute solo that morphed into a Martin Barre guitar solo. Without anyone noticing Ian Anderson had left the stage and all of a sudden they cut all the lights and Ian re-emerged on the very far right wing of the stage playing a simple solo acoustic guitar part with just a tiny pin spot illuminating him. Those are the kind of things you remember 30 some years later.
Ron Mancuso
_________________________________________
Well said Bob!
Let's hope the Committee one day finds it in the goodness of their hearts to recognize Jethro Tull and the King of Rock Flute, Ian Anderson.
Regards,
Paul Irvine
_________________________________________
Tull was in that sweet spot where rock ruled airplay and sales but there was so much quantity of quality that the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame couldn't keep up with all the deserving when their time came around.
That's why the RHOF needs a catch up/asterisk year to give all the quality artists their due...
Unless of course they need to keep a slot open for Miley Cyrus...
Marty Bender
_________________________________________
Great Tull piece Bob!
I adore Tull. My all-time fave Tull moment is "To Cry You A Song". Fucking AMAZING. A killer riff that they beat to death and thankfully so. I can never tire of it.
But the best part of the song is the vocal effect courtesy of running the vocals through a Leslie guitar cabinet and then sending the whole track through a spinning speaker contraption (like a centrifuge) and then miking it from above. I think I am remembering that right - I once read the whole story behind it (maybe in the last reissue's liner notes?).
Play it in headphones loud. I swear it almost makes me cry - that's how good it is and how sad and desolate that vocal feels. When that first verse hits, I just turn into mush.
WOW. Just wow.
Monte Conner
_________________________________________
Right on Bob. ; )
Tull is an original. Like The Police, if a band can be original with quality songs , they might have a chance today. I am still searching .
Alan Childs
_________________________________________
Hi Bob
Thanks for your piece about Jethro Tull.
As a fan since the beginning I wholeheartedly agree with your 'review' of the band's career and that they were original and unique for their time.
I was not only a big fan of Tull's recorded music but also went to every concert they played in Australia, especially during the height of their powers during the 70s and 80's. The band's theatrics were amazing and ahead of their time. And their musicianship was on a level rarely witnessed in this part of the world during that era.
Thanks for shining the spotlight on a band that by rights should receive 'Hall of Fame' recognition and one day will be rediscovered by a future generation of young music lovers.
Regards
Jeff Chandler
Australia
_________________________________________
Great column!!!
Richard-YTMusic1
_________________________________________
Amen, Bob.
Jethro Tull and Ian Anderson were true originals and musical virtuosos, whose craft sounds as fresh today as when it was first created, dating back to the late 60's and early 70's. As were Deep Purple, for that matter.
Personally, I have not yet had a chance to visit the RRHOF. But frankly, given their predominant criteria for induction (evidently, popularity and/or connections), I feel hardly compelled to do so, despite being a lifelong fan of rock 'n roll. A sorry statement indeed.
Thanks for your blog, and keep up the good writing.
Miguel Castellanos
_________________________________________
Hi Bob,
To further illustrate the points you made, here is the journey that Jethro TULL took ME on..... The Ellis-Wright Agency booked its acts into the UK's then extensive network of blues clubs, many of which I visited regularly in the late 60's. It was in these clubs that Tull paid its dues, 'This Was' was supposedly recorded for under US$2,000 without a record company's involvement, following a residency at The Marquee. When the group took to the stage at The 8th Jazz and Blues Festival on August 11th '68, I recall its hard built fan base rising in collective unison to herald the UK national breakthrough, prior to the release of This Was in October. I bought my (autographed) copy on the day of release. Chrysalis was formed in time for 'Stand Up' .
Jethro Tull undoubtedly belong in the HOF.
Stuart Watson (fan)
Phuket, Thailand
_________________________________________
In my somewhat humble opinion, the most over rated artist of that era is Jethro Tull.
Rush, is the most underrated act of all time.
Rush belongs in every music hall of fame for inventing a sound unique to them and them only. Jethro Tull's sound was unique as well...but mostly due to the single instrument introduced on top of the rock.
I never need to hear "aqua lung" again as long a I live. Nothing personal against the artist or the musicians...but as I said...hugely overrated. Boston before Jetro Tull for goodness sake.
Allan Levy
_________________________________________
Spot on regarding Tull. It boggles my mind that a band that has played such an integral part in creating the legacy of rock music is not in the RRHOF. There are so many other artists and bands that deserve the same recognition and have been woefully passed over. If any of the folks who vote on the committee had ever attended a Tull show, or had ever seen Yes, or Deep Purple back in the day with the tens of thousands of us who did, these bands would have already been voted in. Why isn't there any discussion about Ten Years After, Humble Pie, Wishbone Ash, Procol Harum, and so many other bands that filled our record collections growing up? They all have contributed to the rich fabric of rock music and I hope that someday they are inducted. Please don't let these bands be forgotten.
Greg Park
_________________________________________
Thank you. They are so unique, influential and marginalized. I grew up on these albums. I remember playing along with the LP version of "Cross Eyed Mary" passionately on my dad's green living room carpet with skateboard rails as drumsticks mornings before class in 6th grade. Beautiful words.
Kaveh Rastegar
(bassist w John Legend, Kneebody, De La Soul, and musical director for Sia)
_________________________________________
Thanks Bob!
I like Joan Jett, but really now. Jethro Tull, Chicago, The Doobie Brothers.....the whole thing is a joke!
And RINGO???? He should have been in on the first vote. He's RINGO for God's sake!!!!!
The list of inductees is half "who's who" and half "who the hell are they???"
Just vote Jann in and get it over with!!
Rich Madow
_________________________________________
To this day people ( now senior citizens lol) talk about Jethro Tull at The Rockpile (Toronto's Fillmore circa 68-69). Timeless music and people are just that: Timeless. That's the real power of art. Thanks for remembering.
John Brower
_________________________________________
Amen to that - all of it!
Mike Allen
_________________________________________
Hear hear! Way overdue, along with other acts from that era. Lester Bangs has it in for Ian and others. When I see acts like the Beastie Boys inducted it reinforces what a joke the RRHAOF truly is.
Chris Wraight
_________________________________________
And..... A great live band. They played the Fillmore east many times. Bill Graham didn't have u back if you couldn't cut it.
Plus....... Two great and unique guitarists in Mick Abrahams and Martin Barre.
Mitchell Manasse
_________________________________________
As someone who had the extreme pleasure of seeing Jethro Tull five or six times during what I consider his heyday, late 60's early 70's in small venues like the Grande Ballroom, I was never able to listen to his albums. Nothing translated. His music, I feel, had to be experienced live. As such his shows and the tickets were as difficult to get as any other touring band. It could be argued that his one legged, flute playing minstrel entrance was second to none. His flute and the action that went with it had to be seen to be understood.
Patrick Neid
_________________________________________
I am a gen-Xer who believes "Thick As A Brick" is one of the crowning achievements of music in the 20th century. A one-song prog album with flute, no radio singles, that not only made it to Billboard #1 but needed The Rolling Stones to kick it out of that spot. Realistically Tull should be inducted for that record alone. Yet in addition to that magnum opus they were able to crank out dozens of wonderful records, never compromising their baroque-rock/blues flavor, never bowing to the pop machine, always inscrutably Tull.
Good point about changing the lineup. On a recent tour, many fans didn't like Anderson passing off half the live vocals to Ryan O'Donnell, but I thought it was an inspiring choice; not so much about passing the torch as sharing in the wealth, and doing it in the slyly British tone that Anderson is known for. Change or die!
Peter Zachos
_________________________________________
You forgot one thing: Ian was a great showman. By the time I saw them live, Thick as a Brick, Ian had already started to slow down from his hyper pace. Still, he knew how to engage the audience and always put on a great show.
Bruce Greenberg
_________________________________________
Saw Tull and Robin Trower at the LA Coliseum In 1976 when I was 16. Rory Gallagher opened. First use of Tullivision (big screens) behind the band so people in the sticks could see. Good show. I remember when KROQ was an AM station (1973 maybe?) and they actually played Thick as a Brick in it's entirety. You could hear the DJ flipping the record over. I sat in my mom's car and listened to the whole thing. Epic. Never happen today, even on FM. And I still have the vinyl.
Alan fenton
_________________________________________
Agreed!
Bill Powell
_________________________________________
You are now forgiven for all of the Rhinofy reviews that completely missed the mark with my infancy. Being in the skateboarder scene in the 90's meant that I had hundreds upon hundreds of older brothers through the professional skate video medium, and that's where I first found Tull. I became obsessed.
You and your generation are also forgiven for the "you wouldn't understand" exclusivity of the past more distant than I that you snuggle with like an old quilt. Hey geniuses. YOU RECORDED IT. The whole point was for it to last and for me to find it. Like Bilbo's ring.
I know that I'm listening to it through ear buds or my cheap but effective sony's, while it runs through spotify on my coffee table sized iPhone 6 plus. Let's see Ian make a fairytale ballad with THAT jargon. But you know, that raspy voice + sweet flute + driving baseline in Cross Eyed Mary still reaches me. Still makes me want to uncontrollably bang my fist through the driver's side window, in the tiny shell of my Dodge zipping down the BQE. That has to count for SOMETHING! Look dad, no hands!!
If I get a vote for the next time capsule, it is one more "yea" to keep Tull in for the next round.
Frank Poe
_________________________________________
That first album was fabulous. The rhythm section of Clive Bunker(drums) and Glen Cornick(bass) were unstoppable and Mick Abrahams on guitar! Whew! And Ian Anderson played harmonica as well on that first one.
And if it wasn't for Tull, we would have no Blodwyn Pig!
Kevin Kiley
_________________________________________
I am in total agreement...I remember Tull opening up for Zeppelin on two
occasions in Seattle back in the day.
Joe Fiala
_________________________________________
I will never forget that night at The Fillmore East when I saw Jethro Tull's first US appearance. It was magic. The place went crazy and Ian Anderson became a bonafide rock star.
The music had an original vibe that combined,Rock,Jazz,Celtic,Folk. I saw them a number of times and they made it to headliners. When I went to college there were very few times that I was at some ones house that Aqualung wasn't on. They toured under the radar so many times over the last few decades but always delivered quality. to think that Ian Anderson isn't in the RRHOF just shows the political nature of the whole thing. They like Chicago are an Iconic act and have been overlooked way too long. What this would bring them is maybe for younger generations to experience the uniqueness and
great musicality of a band led by a truly great musician who deserves the recognition. I do have to say I was totally shocked The Butterfield band got in this year-so maybe there is hope after all
Peace, jason miles
_________________________________________
Bravo, Bob. I couldn't agree more on the need to honor Tull. The only thing I would add is that there is a lot of deserving music by this band that you didn't include.
While "Thick as a Brick" was groundbreaking and awesome, I actually preferred their other single song album, Passion Play. Amazing writing, arranging, playing, etc.
As for radio hits, Aqualung produced the FM staple "Locomotive Breath", and was a great album from start to finish. Warchild also produced both "Bungle In The Jungle" (admittedly commercial) and brilliantly catchy "Skating Away on the Thin Ice of a New Day". "Minstrel in the Gallery" shouldn't be overlooked either.
Anyway... thanks again. Rock on.
Charlie Imes
_________________________________________
I concur…..
Mark Felsot
_________________________________________
Bob,
Loved almost everything about this missive. And though I doubt Ian Anderson could ultimately give a rat's ass about being inducted into the Hall of Fame, I must take exception to your comment, "Because Ian Anderson is not a warm dude".
I produced concerts at an 800 seater in Tarrytown, NY for 22 years. Near the end of my run I had started presenting some big names playing small halls. One of these was a show called "Rubbing Elbows With Ian Anderson", it was part concert, part live on stage radio interview. It was pure magic !
I confess, Jethro Tull is 'god' to me, their music literally changed my life as a freshman in a seminary school.
A couple months before my presentation of Ian, I presented another classic rock act, who to put it bluntly, was a bit of an ass. Despite my show with him being one of the best selling gigs on his tour, with 400 seats sold (outselling NYC's Town Hall show), he was not the pleasant person you'd think he was. Could've been a bad day, which is why I won't bad-mouth him publicly (an 'honor' reserved only for Don McLean - but that's another story).
So, when Ian Anderson and his crew arrived that day, I asked my production staff, "NEVER tell me anything bad about Ian Anderson. Get him what he wants, and don't tell me anything bad." I simply went back to greet he and his lovely wife when they arrived, then after the show, I went to say goodbye.
I had learned during the evening that Ian and his wife followed the tour bus in a car. I knew what a huge Blues fan he is, and I'd like to say I was doing my job as a manager, but I really just wanted to give my musical hero a gift. So when I said goodbye, I gave them a CD of my management client, acoustic Blues artist Guy Davis and told them that they might enjoy it on their drive. I did not tell them that I managed Guy, that really wasn't my point.
A couple weeks later I received an email that read in part:
"My name is Ian Anderson, I have a band in England called Jethro Tull. A few weeks ago...I received a copy of Guy Davis' CD...Would Guy be interested in any opening act slots with Jethro Tull next year?
Enjoyed Guy's record immensely. Almost makes me want to play harmonica again - Almost. Folk Blues (Sonny Terry, J.B. Lenoir) is where I started. Hearing Guy is like coming home again."
Well, he did play harmonica again, sitting in with Guy's opening act set each night, as well as on flute. He was childlike in the joy he was having playing music.
Ian and his crew could not have been nicer to us, making certain that Guy got a proper sound check, even cordoning off a part of the Green Room as Guy's dressing room in a venue that wasn't quite finished in Wisconsin.
In short, he was as warm a dude as could be, and a breath of fresh air in this otherwise jaded business. I'm most grateful to the fun we had and joy we shared.
Cheers,
Thom Wolke
_________________________________________
Hi Bob,
All too true. Jethro Tull has some truly amazing music in their catalog and is well deserving of a Rock And Roll Hall of Fame induction. Their music is unique, intricate, and often rocks in ways that seem to be forgotten today.
What you didn't mention is that "back in the day" they were also one of the best LIVE acts out there. Back in the '70s and '80s, there were four rock bands that we'd never miss when their tours would bring them through Southern California: Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band, Southside Johnny & The Asbury Jukes, The Moody Blues and Jethro Tull. (Only one of which is in the R&RHoF.) We knew that we'd get an OUTSTANDING performance any time we saw these bands. As you know, nothing quite has the impact of a live rock and roll concert. This was something in which Jethro Tull truly excelled.
One of my all-time favorite concerts was seeing Paul McCartney & Wings during the "Wings Over America" tour at The Forum in Inglewood. But years later we saw both Paul McCartney and Jethro Tull in the same week -- and Tull easily put on the better of the two shows. They never disappointed.
Their early blues rock was exceptional ("This Was" and "Stand Up"); they could rock with best ("Benefit" and "Aqualung"); they helped forge the way for progressive rock ("Thick As A Brick," "A Passion Play" and "War Child"); and their foray into folk rock ("Songs From The Wood" and "Heavy Horses") has always been enormously under-appreciated -- "Songs From The Wood" remains an exceptional album. Their hard rock years ("Crest of a Knave" and "Rock Island") deservedly won them a Grammy for best Hard Rock performance -- and it isn't their fault that the Grammy's had stupidly lumped rock and Metal into the same category that year (which famously left Metallica on the outs). That Grammy win/snub seems to be what Jethro Tull is best known for! (How sad is that?)
I'd put up this song list from their first decade favorably against 75% of the bands that have been inducted into the R&RHoF over the past decade:
1. A Song For Jeffrey This Was 3:24 1968
2. A New Day Yesterday Stand Up 4:12 1969
3. Bouree Stand Up 3:46 1969
4. Teacher Benefit 4:01 1970
5. Aqualung Aqualung 6:37 1971
6. Hymn 43 Aqualung 3:19 1971
7. Locomotive Breath Aqualung 4:23 1971
8. Living In The Past Living In The Past 3:23 1972
9. Witches Promise Living In The Past 3:49 1972
10. Life Is A Long Song Living In The Past 3:22 1972
11. Thick As A Brick (Extract)Thick As a Brick 3:02 1972
12. A Passion Play Edit #8 A Passion Play 3:30 1973
13. Skating Away WarChild 3:58 1974
14. Bungle In The Jungle WarChild 3:36 1974
15. Minstrel In The Gallery Minstrel in the Gallery 6:10 1975
16. Too Old To Rock 'N' Roll Too Old To Rock 'N' Roll 5:43 1976
17. Songs From The Wood Songs From The Wood 4:56 1977
18. The Whistler Songs From The Wood 3:33 1977
19. Fire At Midnight Songs From The Wood 2:28 1977
And these are just the "hits" that got airplay, which is just the surface of this band. They have lots of great songs in the deeper cuts.
Everyone has their favorites that have been snubbed by the R&RHoF committee for one reason or another. There is way too much politics involved for the R&RHoF to have much credibility. I would be curious to see your list of TIERS from those who have already been inducted. Beatles and Stones in the "FIRST" tier. Who is in the "second" group and "third" tier... and who really doesn't belong at all?
Hope you are doing well.
Russ Paris
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Hall of Fame is a bigger honor than being inducted?
Chris Beytes
_________________________________________
I could argue that the inability to be replicated (by other groups) is a strong argument for greatness in a band, not the converse. It doesn't escape my attention that when a modern group cites a past band as an influence, it's often someone like the Velvet Underground. How many times do you hear a group refer to Steely Dan as inspiration? See, you can't begin to replicate brilliant players and writers without being able to, well, play and write.
"Influential" is a rock critic adjective. When I was a kid listening to Clapton, I got a kick out of the fact I could hear some Albert King in his playing, but it certainly wasn't the reason I loved the solo. Dylan was unutterably influential on rock music. Who would bother to bring that up when discussing his greatness? When some artist has big success in today's marketplace we experience the predictable wave of people trying to sound like them in order to have their own success. That's "influence": so what, if the music stinks?
Next time someone refers to one of those hip/arty/New York types as influential, ask the speaker to name three songs by he/she/they that "influenced" us. Jethro Tull were great. Ian Anderson was great. Rich, varied, smart, tuneful, rocking music. Lengthy career, beloved. If only they had inspired or influenced someone.
Berton Averre
_________________________________________
Bob,
Just an extraordinary case summary for a ground breaking band while at the same time summing up the RRHOF in one sentence. (Committee can only embrace personal favorites that no one else liked, that "influenced" others.)
I was on the loading dock at the Forum recently where they have now painted the date and name of every artist that has headlined that fabled arena. I couldn't help but being struck by the number of times Jethro Tull's (and Deep Purple) name was painted up on that wall. One thing that was missing, most of the Rock 'n Roll Hall of Fame class of 2015.
Thanks
John Dittmar
_________________________________________
No Tull, no Chrysalis.
A direct quote from Chris Wright, Chrysalis founder.
Mike Bone
_________________________________________
AMEN!
Chriss4198
_________________________________________
Spot on.
Rik Shafer
_________________________________________
I've been a fan since "This Was". When the folkier elements of the band emerged with "Stand Up", I was completely knocked out. To this day, it's my all-time favorite album. I saw them for the first time, leaning on the stage, in 1970, at Plattsburgh State. "Benefit" had just been released. John Evan was on keyboards and Glenn Cornick had not yet departed. A very strong lineup. They opened with "Nothing is Easy". A tight, hard rock band. That Grammy they were awarded in 1989 was simply long overdue. And you're correct in stating that they'll never be honored by the Hall of Fame. My personal list of who should and should not be in, is irrelevant. I just hope someday Anderson brings out a great group and performs some of his early albums like he did with "Thick as a Brick". Peace.
Dan Daly
_________________________________________
I want Tull left out. More of a statement position. They are TOO good to go in like cole slaw.
Tull, Moody's, Deep purple. These bands will remain timeless over the eons - because they could play
Denisara
_________________________________________
Absolutely Bob.
My first concert ever was Jethro Tull at Madison Square Garden. Opening act was Uriah Heep.
Ian Anderson was a true showman with unique talents,as was every player in that band. Martin Barre's guitar solo on Aqualung is my all time favorite and I have no shame to air guitar that one in public every time I hear it.
Classic live moment on Bursting Out, recorded in France. Anderson introduces a song to a weak smattering of applause. He says "yes, no, maybe, alright don't strain yourselves". Haha. Loved it.
Rock on,
Rob Max
Executive Director
Sweet Relief Musicians Fund
_________________________________________
Thanks, Bob!
Of course, the list is too long, but....Chicago, The Turtles, the Steve Miller Band, Toto, Spirit, Yes, The Moody Blues, Todd Rundgren and, absolutely, Tull. How does Todd's bassist Kaz Sultan get in, with Joan Jett & The Blackhearts, and TR is still sucking air out here?? (With all due respect, how does Joanie get in at all, ahead of these folks, by doing cover tunes?) Never mind. Again, too long a list, to list.
cheers
John P. Katsantonis
_________________________________________
I could not agree more-----agree on "don't need no Cleveland coronation"----but it is beyond absurd they were not in 10-20 years ago
Michael Rulle
_________________________________________
And Yes and Cheap Trick and Deep Purple.
Andrew Paciocco
_________________________________________
Tull isn't popular any more??
Hmm, I've never raised my head from the turntable since 1969 (where I keep rotating their incredible catalog of great albums) long enough to notice.
There's a world full of folks missing out these days, I guess.
Your loss!
Nelson Duffle
Washington, D.C.
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Plus he stood on one leg!
Fachtna o Ceallaigh
_________________________________________
Totally agree, and white they're at it, put Terry Ellis and Chris Wright in there too.... just saying'
Jethro Tull music was a building block of FM underground rock radio.
Billy Bass
(formerly Sr. VP of Promotion and Creative Services for Chrysalis...and PD of WMMS ....back in the day.)
_________________________________________
Spot on. I had "For a thousand mothers" off of Stand Up come on shuffle this morning and it sounded new. Original.
Tom Shpetner
_________________________________________
Jethro Tull had a hit song in 5/4 that was half instrumental with a flute as the lead instrument. All you need to know about how open and free radio was in the 70's, when you'd hear Zappa following Joni following Yes. Sigh…I guess I'm living in the past. Well not really, now I'm addicted to Spotify playlists. Only difference is the lack of a collective energy..now it's an individual journey.
CJ Vanston
_________________________________________
What is this "Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame" you speak of Bob?
I think I may have purged that from my memory banks?
Mark Strickland
_________________________________________
Dear Bob,
it`s all correct, but something went wrong!
"Because Ian Anderson is not a warm dude"
All I can say is that Mr. Anderson is a very warm and nice person!
He has very british Humor and he is a Gentleman!
It was a big pleasure meeting him!!!
All the best from Germany ;-)
Jethro Tull's Ian Anderson interviews himself on the subject of the new album Thick As A Brick
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XFO6Z0HqMaA
Was Hotel California based on a Jethro Tull song?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xny0Uj4--tk
Enjoy ;-)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LMh0FS3rcnA
Kindest regards and take care,
T O M
Thomas Glagow
C.A.R.E. Music Group GmbH
_________________________________________
Dear Bob,
Ian Anderson standing on one leg singing along with the lines he played on that flute, looking like he stepped out from under an Elizabethan mushroom, was a phenomenal showman and an excellent composer/songwriter. With Martin Barre, John Evan, Clive Bunker and others, the band broke a lot of ground.
But one aspect of their work I would like to add to your assessment was the philosophical commentary on religion on Aqualung.
My God and Wind Up were incredible songs and show-stoppers. Ian would walk out alone with his acoustic and begin singing, "People what have you done: locked Him in His golden cage. Made Him bend to your religion Him resurrected from the grave."
When the band kicked in, the dynamics were exhilarating and, well, frighteningly awesome. The bookend at the end of the show was Anderson again standing by himself with his acoustic guitar, just like the opening of the show, only wrapping up with, "He's not the kind you have to wind up...on Sunday." Then he'd give it his trademark chuckle, "Eh heh," and walk off.
In their prime, the band was incomparable. Thanks for saying so.
Dale McCoy
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OH FUCK YEAH!!!
And yes, even the Rolling Stones recognized their presents as I'm sure you remember.
Chris Johnson
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Bob
Completely agree on Jethro Tull
I purchased the first UK album mainly because of the way they looked on the cover
Best
Jim McElwee
_________________________________________
I dig Jethro Tull!
Don Mizell
_________________________________________
Why spend so much energy on a hall that doesn?t care about the vanguard?
They put in fucking Ringo Starr as a solo artist? No hits??? What do you
call Bungle in The Jungle and Cross Eyed Mary???? Face it - Aqualung,
Thick As A Brick as albums surpass Joan Jett?s and even the "I died early
so I getin the Hall" Stevie Ray Vaughn?s catalogs.
George Sulmer
_________________________________________
Great article on Tull Mate.
The fact that they (and Deep Purple) aren't in the HOF shows what a bullshit exercise the whole thing is.
Tull (and Anderson) where one of the best live acts I've ever seen, and even now I get chills up my spine listening to live cuts of Thick as a Brick, or the fabulous opening intro to Locomotive Breath.
Tull had some of the best bass/ drummer combos in rock and roll history, who could go from a whisper to a full frontal assault at the drop of a hat.
Such a shame so many youngsters are missing out.
Tony M
Sydney, Australia
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Well said Bob....also wanted to add in after decades Ian and Martin did that little album Minstel in The Gallery which is an incredible masterpiece. Body of work , innovation, talent, composers, performers, I don't know what else to say. What are the qualifications?
Chris Apostle
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That Deep Purple + Jethro Tull have both been passed over by the R&RHOF is ludicrous. Both were huge FM rock staples. Both enjoyed long runs selling records and tickets and were both loaded with talent. DP was the first band to be paid One Million Dollars for a U.S. gig (California Jam if I recall). Bands like Steve Miller and Quicksilver Messenger Service are more worthy than many of the rock lite groups being inducted. It's sad indeed.
-Ricky Schultz
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Right on! The coolest thing about being Director of A&R at Chrysalis Music Publishing from 1990 - 1993 was that on brief occasions I got to speak to my music idol, Ian Anderson. (He was pretty warm and friendly, btw). I saw them on every tour from 1976 - 1981 at the Phila Spectrum, and each felt like the most perfect music moment (I never got high at a Tull show because I wanted it to last as long as possible!). I bought a flute that I never mastered, and would listen to my albums as I poured over every bit of the artwork like a detective. (Don't forget that A Passion Play came with a theater playbill and that Living in the Past came in a bound 78rpm style book album with pages!). The great thing about loving Tull was that you didn't really worry about sharing them because you knew that almost all of your friends (especially girls) hated them…but then when you showed up at the concert there were thousands there like you!
Jethro Tull were always the outsiders. That's why they got the name Jethro Tull…because they had to keep making up new ones to get booked again. Chris Wright and Terry Ellis didn't initially intend to start the label, but since no one wanted to sign the band, they paid for the masters and when their licensing deal ended…voila, they had a gold selling artist to start their label.
I love Tull. (just typing that makes me wince in anticipation of the haters telling me how much they don't like them)
Gary Helsinger
_________________________________________
I couldn't agree more!
I came in at "Benefit" and I've always been a pop song guy. "In days of peace, sweet smelling summer nights" still takes me back to a perfect summer evening in high school (just as "Jet" reminds me of jumping over the trunk into the back seat of Ruth Buford's convertible white Mustang with red leather upholstery on a beautiful Spring day after school).
And "Thick As A Brick"? An under-appreciated masterpiece! As I have aged I have become more versed in classical music and TAAB stands up as a formidable composition.
BTW, have you listened to the TAAB interview on Spotify? Amazing insight into a band that bled for their success.
By the way, yesterday was Brahms' birthday and I listened to his symphonies all day. No better music has ever been created than those symphonies.
At the end of the day, what could we ever expect from the oxymoron that is the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame?
Chuck Mackie
_________________________________________
I agree...Jethro Tull: imaginative rock - very underrated.
Art Velordi
_________________________________________
All of the above PLUS they were an exceptional live band. As good as any
of their era.
They played and they really entertained. NO ONE was as fun to watch or
listen to as Ian Anderson and Clive Bunker and Martin Barre were great
musicians. Never saw the Mick Abrahams version live but completely agree
re: This Was.
"Ian Anderson is not a warm dude"
I met him once ironically AT the R&R HOF+M and he was an "elbow shaker."
He would not shake hands due to some overzealous fan who crushed his hand
once but would offer his elbow. That was a new one to me but I had no
problem with it.
William Nollman
_________________________________________
Hi Bob,
Good write up on Jethro Tull.
Interesting story as to why Ian Anderson took up the flute.
He explains that his choice of instrument back in 1966 was completely arbitrary. Originally lead guitarist in the blues group that became Tull, Anderson became disheartened when he heard Eric Clapton playing with John Mayall's Bluesbreakers.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/music-news/10127254/Ian-Anderson-I-swapped-Lemmys-30000-guitar-for-30-pound-flute..html
I gave up on the RHOF when I saw what Elton John went through to get Leon Russell in. Music lovers should boycott the RHOF instead of pleading or starting a petition to foundation committee members on behalf of their favorite artist.
Gary Robey
_________________________________________
amen.
Gary Calamar
_________________________________________
And......they were terrific LIVE!!!!!!
Tom Ennis
_________________________________________
Any band of greatness (such as Tull) belongs in something better than the R&RHOF…
Bill Fitzhugh
_________________________________________
Long Tull fan. As all loyal Tull fans know. As far as awards. As far as approvals. Jethro Tull will never receive them. But still touring. 25 albums. Very strong fan base.
Who needs the Rock & Roll Hall of fame?
Plus Ian wouldn't show up anyway!
Yet as a fan I have met him several times!
The Press maligns him. Yet the fans adore him!
Bill Stevens
_________________________________________
Couldn't agree more Bob.
When I interviewed Ian Anderson in 2006 and asked him about the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, this is what he had to say:
"The Rock And Roll Hall of Fame is an American institution that's set up to primarily celebrate American music and the derivative spin-offs of American music. In that regard, while I can see there's a place in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for a lot British acts that are truly kind of rock and roll in the sense that their music is deriving very strongly from the tradition of blues and rock music — I think Jethro Tull, or for that matter, Emerson, Lake And Palmer or perhaps Yes or some other band — we're seen as being a little too peculiarly European or British.
"I was recently given an Ivor Novello Award for International Achievement. I'm told by my peers and the world of the British music industry that it's the highest honor for a songwriter to be given this award, that it's not sleazy and tacky like the Brit Awards or as showbizzy as the Grammy Awards. It's a nice thing if you're going to hand out an award. It's nice to have. You're happy to get it. I was very pleased to be awarded a Grammy, even under some slightly suspect and controversial circumstances. I'm happy to receive anything, whether it's a free drink in the bar or a bus pass (laughs)."
Cheers,
Shawn Perry
VintageRock.com
_________________________________________
Spot on! Jethro Tull, Yes, Steve Miller Band, Deep Purple, what's the freakin deal that these bands are not in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame? I don't even want to check and see if T Rex, Mott the Hoople & Tommy James and the Shondells are in there, because if they aren't I may just pull my hair out.
Lavon Pagan
_________________________________________
I saw Tull a bunch at the Old Boston Tea Party on Berkley Street and one of things they did that impressed me was how they used Dynamics. They would play at a whisper and then hit you over the head like a hammer. Watching Ian, sing and play flute standing on one leg wearing moccasins was right out of some leprechaun fairy tale. It was very original, especially from my point of view, a young boy from Boston.
Andrew Kastner
_________________________________________
Joan Jett is in the Rock Hall. I respect her and all, but she plays dumbed down rock, simple, cro-magnon and punchy. But it's pop music, "listenable" and never challenging.
Jethro Tull is much more musical, much more adventurous.
I don't believe in a fucking rock hall anyway. But, like Jett, Tull is FAMOUS. So I guess that means they should be in too.
Glen Burtnik
_________________________________________
Congratulations once again,
One sentence sums up this whole issue,
"Then again, Deep Purple isn't in the Hall Of Fame either..."
There isn't a rock guitarist alive who can't play THAT riff, yet no recognition from the supposed temple of rock. Maybe it should be called 'we want more tail hall of not really famous'
Rgds
Wil Burston
_________________________________________
Thank you for this. Ian's the Shakespeare of rock, equipped with one of the greatest rock voices of all time, and a successful salmon farmer so there's that too. People bastardize Tull by describing it as some iteration of medieval prog, but the music has it all.
Marc Pellegrino
_________________________________________
If being a pivotal connector in the history of music counts for anything, then surely Jethro Tull deserves it!
Straight line from JS Bach to Iron Maiden through Jethro Tull is just one of many obscure musical connections if you like to play the "two degrees of tull" game.
(JS Bach Bourrée in E Minor 1708-1717 - Bouree/Stand Up 1969; Cross-Eyed Mary/Aqualung 1971 - covered by Maiden/1983 Trooper B-side)
I guess like many I discovered that in reverse: from pimply kid getting sucked in by Iron Maiden's quirky B-side cover of "Cross-Eyed Mary"; wanting to find out more about this thing called Jethro Tull and picking up a few albums. Then years later while learning/playing Bach's Bourrée in E Minor on classical guitar I'm struck with déjà vu and rush off to hunt down aqualung again.
I still can't play Bach's Bourrée in E Minor without at least wanting to swing the tempo ever-so towards Tull.
And yes, the flute. Especially when much of the time it's being used more like a "mechanical vocoder". That's sonic innovation.
Paul Gallagher
_________________________________________
Bravo!!!
Dave Polemeni
_________________________________________
If only for the fact that an episode from The Sopranos began with Tony coming down the stairs in his white bathrobe singing "sitting on a park bench!", Tull should be in the R&RHOF. Otherwise, their albums had their moments (the first 7 minutes or so of Brick) but overall were just ok. Anderson was the whole act, really - he wrote all the relatively complex tunes / arrangements, looked cool with that stance, was funny sort of like a British Zappa and played flute AND acoustic guitar very well...
The rock n roll hall of fame is ridiculous already.
Rob Wolfson
_________________________________________
And they've also made one of the best(or perhaps THE best) Christmas albums of any rock artist. Which makes sense, their music is perfect for it.
Thomas Moore
_________________________________________
Abso-fucking-flutely!
Thanks, Bob!
Kevin Ritchie
_________________________________________
Tull rocks. They are everything you say. The "Hall" is self-serving, meaningless bullshit, and everyone will eventually be in it anyway.
marktownsmail
_________________________________________
Thanks for the very accurate analysis on Jethro Tull. I indeed remember the pop up sleeve and the fold out one on Thick as a brick. Great to read about it again!
Michael Wijnen-Paris Fr
_________________________________________
Amen brother. I still remember checking "Heavy Horses" out of the library in 1979 and it blew my 10 year old mind. I feel Tull is a guilty pleasure for many like Dungeons and Dragons used to be. Why is Rush lionized but not Tull? Both were weird, completely original and unashamed to pursue their aesthetic visions. They have my vote...and my dollars.
Peter Cole
_________________________________________
I enjoy some articles more than others, but when you hit it on the head, you use a sledgehammer! Your observations on Jethro Tull are so on point. Comparing This Was w/ Zeppelin's first album is a perfect comparison. I'll admit I pretty much jumped off with thick as a brick but the earlier albums were the soundtrack to my youth. Laid up with a removed appendix in high school, I learned and used Cat's Squirrel as a measure if I should make the guitar my life. I'll always have a special place for Tull.
Paul Sanchez
_________________________________________
......Dear Bob L.
...Couldn't agree with you more....
Larry Litz
_________________________________________
Well, Bob, you nail it. Again.
Tull is unquestionably deserving. For all the reasons you cite.
HOWEVER - as complete and enlightening as your playlists usually are, you
left out a world of Tull jewels, from albums like Minstrel In The Gallery,
Too Old To Rock & Roll/Too Young To Die, Warchild (well, just a couple
from there. But, no points taken off because you?re so very right about
the key issue.
And - you bring up a great point in your piece today - Deep Purple is not
in the R&RHOF. Goodness. And, Springsteen?s in there TWICE?
Sigh.
Keep up the good work, Bob. One day I?m going to have to ask Christy
Haubbegger to figure out how we can finally meet next time I?m in LA.
Best to you, always,
Alex Lopez Negrete
_________________________________________
Thank you for this. Jethro Tull was such an amazing and important part of my life. I gave up the idea of them being in Jann Wenner's hall of fame
Rene Lessard
_________________________________________
Dump on Brady. Tull in the hall. Keep smokin Bob
Tom Ryan
_________________________________________
Right on, Bob!
My friends and I played Tull records over-and-over-and-over until the grooves wore down to scratches. Then I bought the CDs -- and I was happy to do so.
I saw them on their "Thick as a Brick" tour (1972?) at the Nassau Coliseum (when it first opened) where Ian Anderson refused to start until the crowd of thousands was silent, "I want to hear pins dropping," he insisted ... and he got it. Then he did his trick with the loop playing Bach fugues with a single flute. Has anybody ever done that with a flute before or since? Sure, guitarists do it now, but, as you say, Anderson was an ORIGINAL!
Thanks for this gem.
Peter W. Van Ness
_________________________________________
Bob you forgot that they were also one of the best live bands ever. I wasn't even a fan when i saw them in Las Vegas in the late seventies. I remember at one point they were rocking hard, full stage lights, one legged flute solo that morphed into a Martin Barre guitar solo. Without anyone noticing Ian Anderson had left the stage and all of a sudden they cut all the lights and Ian re-emerged on the very far right wing of the stage playing a simple solo acoustic guitar part with just a tiny pin spot illuminating him. Those are the kind of things you remember 30 some years later.
Ron Mancuso
_________________________________________
Well said Bob!
Let's hope the Committee one day finds it in the goodness of their hearts to recognize Jethro Tull and the King of Rock Flute, Ian Anderson.
Regards,
Paul Irvine
_________________________________________
Tull was in that sweet spot where rock ruled airplay and sales but there was so much quantity of quality that the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame couldn't keep up with all the deserving when their time came around.
That's why the RHOF needs a catch up/asterisk year to give all the quality artists their due...
Unless of course they need to keep a slot open for Miley Cyrus...
Marty Bender
_________________________________________
Great Tull piece Bob!
I adore Tull. My all-time fave Tull moment is "To Cry You A Song". Fucking AMAZING. A killer riff that they beat to death and thankfully so. I can never tire of it.
But the best part of the song is the vocal effect courtesy of running the vocals through a Leslie guitar cabinet and then sending the whole track through a spinning speaker contraption (like a centrifuge) and then miking it from above. I think I am remembering that right - I once read the whole story behind it (maybe in the last reissue's liner notes?).
Play it in headphones loud. I swear it almost makes me cry - that's how good it is and how sad and desolate that vocal feels. When that first verse hits, I just turn into mush.
WOW. Just wow.
Monte Conner
_________________________________________
Right on Bob. ; )
Tull is an original. Like The Police, if a band can be original with quality songs , they might have a chance today. I am still searching .
Alan Childs
_________________________________________
Hi Bob
Thanks for your piece about Jethro Tull.
As a fan since the beginning I wholeheartedly agree with your 'review' of the band's career and that they were original and unique for their time.
I was not only a big fan of Tull's recorded music but also went to every concert they played in Australia, especially during the height of their powers during the 70s and 80's. The band's theatrics were amazing and ahead of their time. And their musicianship was on a level rarely witnessed in this part of the world during that era.
Thanks for shining the spotlight on a band that by rights should receive 'Hall of Fame' recognition and one day will be rediscovered by a future generation of young music lovers.
Regards
Jeff Chandler
Australia
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Great column!!!
Richard-YTMusic1
_________________________________________
Amen, Bob.
Jethro Tull and Ian Anderson were true originals and musical virtuosos, whose craft sounds as fresh today as when it was first created, dating back to the late 60's and early 70's. As were Deep Purple, for that matter.
Personally, I have not yet had a chance to visit the RRHOF. But frankly, given their predominant criteria for induction (evidently, popularity and/or connections), I feel hardly compelled to do so, despite being a lifelong fan of rock 'n roll. A sorry statement indeed.
Thanks for your blog, and keep up the good writing.
Miguel Castellanos
_________________________________________
Hi Bob,
To further illustrate the points you made, here is the journey that Jethro TULL took ME on..... The Ellis-Wright Agency booked its acts into the UK's then extensive network of blues clubs, many of which I visited regularly in the late 60's. It was in these clubs that Tull paid its dues, 'This Was' was supposedly recorded for under US$2,000 without a record company's involvement, following a residency at The Marquee. When the group took to the stage at The 8th Jazz and Blues Festival on August 11th '68, I recall its hard built fan base rising in collective unison to herald the UK national breakthrough, prior to the release of This Was in October. I bought my (autographed) copy on the day of release. Chrysalis was formed in time for 'Stand Up' .
Jethro Tull undoubtedly belong in the HOF.
Stuart Watson (fan)
Phuket, Thailand
_________________________________________
In my somewhat humble opinion, the most over rated artist of that era is Jethro Tull.
Rush, is the most underrated act of all time.
Rush belongs in every music hall of fame for inventing a sound unique to them and them only. Jethro Tull's sound was unique as well...but mostly due to the single instrument introduced on top of the rock.
I never need to hear "aqua lung" again as long a I live. Nothing personal against the artist or the musicians...but as I said...hugely overrated. Boston before Jetro Tull for goodness sake.
Allan Levy
_________________________________________
Spot on regarding Tull. It boggles my mind that a band that has played such an integral part in creating the legacy of rock music is not in the RRHOF. There are so many other artists and bands that deserve the same recognition and have been woefully passed over. If any of the folks who vote on the committee had ever attended a Tull show, or had ever seen Yes, or Deep Purple back in the day with the tens of thousands of us who did, these bands would have already been voted in. Why isn't there any discussion about Ten Years After, Humble Pie, Wishbone Ash, Procol Harum, and so many other bands that filled our record collections growing up? They all have contributed to the rich fabric of rock music and I hope that someday they are inducted. Please don't let these bands be forgotten.
Greg Park
_________________________________________
Thank you. They are so unique, influential and marginalized. I grew up on these albums. I remember playing along with the LP version of "Cross Eyed Mary" passionately on my dad's green living room carpet with skateboard rails as drumsticks mornings before class in 6th grade. Beautiful words.
Kaveh Rastegar
(bassist w John Legend, Kneebody, De La Soul, and musical director for Sia)
_________________________________________
Thanks Bob!
I like Joan Jett, but really now. Jethro Tull, Chicago, The Doobie Brothers.....the whole thing is a joke!
And RINGO???? He should have been in on the first vote. He's RINGO for God's sake!!!!!
The list of inductees is half "who's who" and half "who the hell are they???"
Just vote Jann in and get it over with!!
Rich Madow
_________________________________________
To this day people ( now senior citizens lol) talk about Jethro Tull at The Rockpile (Toronto's Fillmore circa 68-69). Timeless music and people are just that: Timeless. That's the real power of art. Thanks for remembering.
John Brower
_________________________________________
Amen to that - all of it!
Mike Allen
_________________________________________
Hear hear! Way overdue, along with other acts from that era. Lester Bangs has it in for Ian and others. When I see acts like the Beastie Boys inducted it reinforces what a joke the RRHAOF truly is.
Chris Wraight
_________________________________________
And..... A great live band. They played the Fillmore east many times. Bill Graham didn't have u back if you couldn't cut it.
Plus....... Two great and unique guitarists in Mick Abrahams and Martin Barre.
Mitchell Manasse
_________________________________________
As someone who had the extreme pleasure of seeing Jethro Tull five or six times during what I consider his heyday, late 60's early 70's in small venues like the Grande Ballroom, I was never able to listen to his albums. Nothing translated. His music, I feel, had to be experienced live. As such his shows and the tickets were as difficult to get as any other touring band. It could be argued that his one legged, flute playing minstrel entrance was second to none. His flute and the action that went with it had to be seen to be understood.
Patrick Neid
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I am a gen-Xer who believes "Thick As A Brick" is one of the crowning achievements of music in the 20th century. A one-song prog album with flute, no radio singles, that not only made it to Billboard #1 but needed The Rolling Stones to kick it out of that spot. Realistically Tull should be inducted for that record alone. Yet in addition to that magnum opus they were able to crank out dozens of wonderful records, never compromising their baroque-rock/blues flavor, never bowing to the pop machine, always inscrutably Tull.
Good point about changing the lineup. On a recent tour, many fans didn't like Anderson passing off half the live vocals to Ryan O'Donnell, but I thought it was an inspiring choice; not so much about passing the torch as sharing in the wealth, and doing it in the slyly British tone that Anderson is known for. Change or die!
Peter Zachos
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You forgot one thing: Ian was a great showman. By the time I saw them live, Thick as a Brick, Ian had already started to slow down from his hyper pace. Still, he knew how to engage the audience and always put on a great show.
Bruce Greenberg
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Saw Tull and Robin Trower at the LA Coliseum In 1976 when I was 16. Rory Gallagher opened. First use of Tullivision (big screens) behind the band so people in the sticks could see. Good show. I remember when KROQ was an AM station (1973 maybe?) and they actually played Thick as a Brick in it's entirety. You could hear the DJ flipping the record over. I sat in my mom's car and listened to the whole thing. Epic. Never happen today, even on FM. And I still have the vinyl.
Alan fenton
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Agreed!
Bill Powell
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You are now forgiven for all of the Rhinofy reviews that completely missed the mark with my infancy. Being in the skateboarder scene in the 90's meant that I had hundreds upon hundreds of older brothers through the professional skate video medium, and that's where I first found Tull. I became obsessed.
You and your generation are also forgiven for the "you wouldn't understand" exclusivity of the past more distant than I that you snuggle with like an old quilt. Hey geniuses. YOU RECORDED IT. The whole point was for it to last and for me to find it. Like Bilbo's ring.
I know that I'm listening to it through ear buds or my cheap but effective sony's, while it runs through spotify on my coffee table sized iPhone 6 plus. Let's see Ian make a fairytale ballad with THAT jargon. But you know, that raspy voice + sweet flute + driving baseline in Cross Eyed Mary still reaches me. Still makes me want to uncontrollably bang my fist through the driver's side window, in the tiny shell of my Dodge zipping down the BQE. That has to count for SOMETHING! Look dad, no hands!!
If I get a vote for the next time capsule, it is one more "yea" to keep Tull in for the next round.
Frank Poe
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That first album was fabulous. The rhythm section of Clive Bunker(drums) and Glen Cornick(bass) were unstoppable and Mick Abrahams on guitar! Whew! And Ian Anderson played harmonica as well on that first one.
And if it wasn't for Tull, we would have no Blodwyn Pig!
Kevin Kiley
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I am in total agreement...I remember Tull opening up for Zeppelin on two
occasions in Seattle back in the day.
Joe Fiala
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I will never forget that night at The Fillmore East when I saw Jethro Tull's first US appearance. It was magic. The place went crazy and Ian Anderson became a bonafide rock star.
The music had an original vibe that combined,Rock,Jazz,Celtic,Folk. I saw them a number of times and they made it to headliners. When I went to college there were very few times that I was at some ones house that Aqualung wasn't on. They toured under the radar so many times over the last few decades but always delivered quality. to think that Ian Anderson isn't in the RRHOF just shows the political nature of the whole thing. They like Chicago are an Iconic act and have been overlooked way too long. What this would bring them is maybe for younger generations to experience the uniqueness and
great musicality of a band led by a truly great musician who deserves the recognition. I do have to say I was totally shocked The Butterfield band got in this year-so maybe there is hope after all
Peace, jason miles
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Bravo, Bob. I couldn't agree more on the need to honor Tull. The only thing I would add is that there is a lot of deserving music by this band that you didn't include.
While "Thick as a Brick" was groundbreaking and awesome, I actually preferred their other single song album, Passion Play. Amazing writing, arranging, playing, etc.
As for radio hits, Aqualung produced the FM staple "Locomotive Breath", and was a great album from start to finish. Warchild also produced both "Bungle In The Jungle" (admittedly commercial) and brilliantly catchy "Skating Away on the Thin Ice of a New Day". "Minstrel in the Gallery" shouldn't be overlooked either.
Anyway... thanks again. Rock on.
Charlie Imes
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I concur…..
Mark Felsot
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Bob,
Loved almost everything about this missive. And though I doubt Ian Anderson could ultimately give a rat's ass about being inducted into the Hall of Fame, I must take exception to your comment, "Because Ian Anderson is not a warm dude".
I produced concerts at an 800 seater in Tarrytown, NY for 22 years. Near the end of my run I had started presenting some big names playing small halls. One of these was a show called "Rubbing Elbows With Ian Anderson", it was part concert, part live on stage radio interview. It was pure magic !
I confess, Jethro Tull is 'god' to me, their music literally changed my life as a freshman in a seminary school.
A couple months before my presentation of Ian, I presented another classic rock act, who to put it bluntly, was a bit of an ass. Despite my show with him being one of the best selling gigs on his tour, with 400 seats sold (outselling NYC's Town Hall show), he was not the pleasant person you'd think he was. Could've been a bad day, which is why I won't bad-mouth him publicly (an 'honor' reserved only for Don McLean - but that's another story).
So, when Ian Anderson and his crew arrived that day, I asked my production staff, "NEVER tell me anything bad about Ian Anderson. Get him what he wants, and don't tell me anything bad." I simply went back to greet he and his lovely wife when they arrived, then after the show, I went to say goodbye.
I had learned during the evening that Ian and his wife followed the tour bus in a car. I knew what a huge Blues fan he is, and I'd like to say I was doing my job as a manager, but I really just wanted to give my musical hero a gift. So when I said goodbye, I gave them a CD of my management client, acoustic Blues artist Guy Davis and told them that they might enjoy it on their drive. I did not tell them that I managed Guy, that really wasn't my point.
A couple weeks later I received an email that read in part:
"My name is Ian Anderson, I have a band in England called Jethro Tull. A few weeks ago...I received a copy of Guy Davis' CD...Would Guy be interested in any opening act slots with Jethro Tull next year?
Enjoyed Guy's record immensely. Almost makes me want to play harmonica again - Almost. Folk Blues (Sonny Terry, J.B. Lenoir) is where I started. Hearing Guy is like coming home again."
Well, he did play harmonica again, sitting in with Guy's opening act set each night, as well as on flute. He was childlike in the joy he was having playing music.
Ian and his crew could not have been nicer to us, making certain that Guy got a proper sound check, even cordoning off a part of the Green Room as Guy's dressing room in a venue that wasn't quite finished in Wisconsin.
In short, he was as warm a dude as could be, and a breath of fresh air in this otherwise jaded business. I'm most grateful to the fun we had and joy we shared.
Cheers,
Thom Wolke
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Hi Bob,
All too true. Jethro Tull has some truly amazing music in their catalog and is well deserving of a Rock And Roll Hall of Fame induction. Their music is unique, intricate, and often rocks in ways that seem to be forgotten today.
What you didn't mention is that "back in the day" they were also one of the best LIVE acts out there. Back in the '70s and '80s, there were four rock bands that we'd never miss when their tours would bring them through Southern California: Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band, Southside Johnny & The Asbury Jukes, The Moody Blues and Jethro Tull. (Only one of which is in the R&RHoF.) We knew that we'd get an OUTSTANDING performance any time we saw these bands. As you know, nothing quite has the impact of a live rock and roll concert. This was something in which Jethro Tull truly excelled.
One of my all-time favorite concerts was seeing Paul McCartney & Wings during the "Wings Over America" tour at The Forum in Inglewood. But years later we saw both Paul McCartney and Jethro Tull in the same week -- and Tull easily put on the better of the two shows. They never disappointed.
Their early blues rock was exceptional ("This Was" and "Stand Up"); they could rock with best ("Benefit" and "Aqualung"); they helped forge the way for progressive rock ("Thick As A Brick," "A Passion Play" and "War Child"); and their foray into folk rock ("Songs From The Wood" and "Heavy Horses") has always been enormously under-appreciated -- "Songs From The Wood" remains an exceptional album. Their hard rock years ("Crest of a Knave" and "Rock Island") deservedly won them a Grammy for best Hard Rock performance -- and it isn't their fault that the Grammy's had stupidly lumped rock and Metal into the same category that year (which famously left Metallica on the outs). That Grammy win/snub seems to be what Jethro Tull is best known for! (How sad is that?)
I'd put up this song list from their first decade favorably against 75% of the bands that have been inducted into the R&RHoF over the past decade:
1. A Song For Jeffrey This Was 3:24 1968
2. A New Day Yesterday Stand Up 4:12 1969
3. Bouree Stand Up 3:46 1969
4. Teacher Benefit 4:01 1970
5. Aqualung Aqualung 6:37 1971
6. Hymn 43 Aqualung 3:19 1971
7. Locomotive Breath Aqualung 4:23 1971
8. Living In The Past Living In The Past 3:23 1972
9. Witches Promise Living In The Past 3:49 1972
10. Life Is A Long Song Living In The Past 3:22 1972
11. Thick As A Brick (Extract)Thick As a Brick 3:02 1972
12. A Passion Play Edit #8 A Passion Play 3:30 1973
13. Skating Away WarChild 3:58 1974
14. Bungle In The Jungle WarChild 3:36 1974
15. Minstrel In The Gallery Minstrel in the Gallery 6:10 1975
16. Too Old To Rock 'N' Roll Too Old To Rock 'N' Roll 5:43 1976
17. Songs From The Wood Songs From The Wood 4:56 1977
18. The Whistler Songs From The Wood 3:33 1977
19. Fire At Midnight Songs From The Wood 2:28 1977
And these are just the "hits" that got airplay, which is just the surface of this band. They have lots of great songs in the deeper cuts.
Everyone has their favorites that have been snubbed by the R&RHoF committee for one reason or another. There is way too much politics involved for the R&RHoF to have much credibility. I would be curious to see your list of TIERS from those who have already been inducted. Beatles and Stones in the "FIRST" tier. Who is in the "second" group and "third" tier... and who really doesn't belong at all?
Hope you are doing well.
Russ Paris
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