Mailbag

Subject: Re: Mick Jones & Lou Gramm Do "Urgent" With Billy Joel

Hi Bob,

I was booking and sort of managing Junior Walker at the time of Urgent. Junior was probably the most fiercely independent artist I ever worked with. I remember when the band reached out about Junior doing the sax solo on Urgent. His initial response was I never heard of them and how much cash money

I told Junior we should negotiate a royalty but he said no never heard of them cash money despite the fact I told him they they were already big. So we worked something out.

A while later me and Junior were sitting in a diner in Jersey and Casey Kasem was on.
He said and now the number one song in America Foreigners Urgent featuring Junior Walker.

I said to Junior that's great and without missing a beat he said to me "I made those boys famous did nt I." Anyways one of many great Junior memories I have.

Best

Bruce Solar

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Subject: Foreigner Reunion /Billy Joel

Hi Bob , I hope all is well with you . Stewart sent me your great Foreigner/Billy Joel article which I love , and I'm a huge fan of all your writing . I just wanted to clarify a few points . I'm the producer/film maker of the upcoming Foreigner Reunion Film Release, which we produced / filmed 2 shows in Oct with both incarnations of the band together . I orchestrated and produced the entire Billy Joel scenes both in the studio and the guest live performance at MSG which I produced and directed w 12 multi cameras exclusively for this film. That was the purpose this was done . My company Rock Fuel Media is producing the film that will be released in Cinemas worldwide in Fall 2018. This will be the most elaborate film Foreigner has ever released in the bands history with Trailer coming soon .
Thanks so much
Barry Summers

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Subject: Mick Jones & Lou Gramm Do "Urgent" With Billy Joel

Bob,

Thank you for recognizing this moment. I grew up in Hicksville, NY, the town where the legendary Mr. Joel spent his youth. I also had some growing up with Foreigner. They were my first job in the entertainment business. I was an intern at ESP Management, their manager Bud Prager's office. Back then they didn't really call us interns. We were gophers--"go for this, go for that". It was a dream job, my own little "Almost Famous". I watched, listened, observed and learned. It was the foundation for an opportunity that would later change my life.

I worked for Sue Steinberg who did PR for Foreigner and later went on to be the first Executive Producer for a start-up cable channel called MTV. Sue worked with Bob Pittman and wanted to recruit me. It would mean leaving a job with a band at the top of their game to take a job at an unfounded start-up. Not thinking this fledgling network would amount to much, I used her job offer as leverage to try and cajole a bigger job out of Bud. After I told Bud I could be rejoining Sue he asked me, "so who's running this MTV thing?" I said, "Bob Pittman". Without hesitation he said "TAKE the job! If Pittman's running it, it will be a success". I later learned Bob broke Foreigner when he was PD at WLS in Chicago and Bud thought Pittman walked on water.

Those two years at ESP Management were magical. My internship started as "Head Games" (with producer Roy Thomas Baker at the helm), was on the verge of release, but I lived through the entirety of the recording of "4".

ESP's NYC offices were housed in the penthouse of 1790 Broadway. Bud had the entire penthouse floor. To get there, you took the elevator as far as it could go and then walked up one flight to the penthouse. One day I was walking down that flight and waiting outside the elevator to go to lunch. The doors opened and out stepped a guy in jeans, a short-sleeved shirt, bushy blond hair and a thick accent which I couldn't quite make out, yet I could still understand his English. I'd never heard a South African accent before. "Excuse me mate. Can you tell me where ESP Management is?" I pointed to the stairs and told him I worked there. He smiled, stuck out his hand and said "Hi, I'm Mutt Lange, very excited to be working with the band." I froze. Sure he produced AC/DC, but I was more transfixed because he had just come off producing The Boomtown Rats album, "The Fine Art of Surfacing" and though it yielded a huge hit in "I Don't Like Mondays", I was really into the sound of the entire album.

From that day forward, I didn't see Mutt a lot. He was sequestered downtown in the bowels of Electric Lady making the record, but I used to go to the studio every other week to drop things off to the band. I was a gopher after all. I'd go into the control room and quietly stand in the back trying to blend into the woodwork. One time when I went down there and took my usual position in the back, Mutt turned and addressed me. I guess he felt my stare of awe watching the master at work. He turned, smiled and with a hand motion waved me towards him. With his South African accent he said, "Brian, come over here, sit down next to me. Ask me questions, anything you want". It was brief, but valuable exchange at the mile long sound board. I was pinching myself. He didn't have to do that. I never forgot it and it taught me a valuable lesson that it you have knowledge-- teach and pass it on.

As we all know Foreigner's "4" came out and was huge. For the remainder of my internship I was organizing press clippings. running the band's fan club, running for sandwiches and everything in-between. When the internship was over, they kept me on and I worked my way up to a full-time gig. Amongst my duties, I was being trained to be an assistant tour manager. As part of my training, Rick Nelson, the band's tour manager recruited me on short notice to take the band from NYC to Edmonton for a festival. Rick didn't want to fly from his home in L.A. to bring the band all the way back to northwestern Canada. I was a kid and scared shitless, but somehow through Rick's guidance, I pulled it off. Over the two years, I went through the usual good-natured ribbing and abuse from the band, but overall, Mick Jones, Lou Gramm, Rick Wills, Dennis Elliot, Al Greenwood, Ian MacDonald and later Mark Rivera and the late Bob Mayo were always very good to me. Some days I really did feel like William Miller.

I haven't seen anyone in Foreigner in quite some time. The last person in the group I saw was Mick Jones at my cousin's wedding over 20 years ago. Though much time had passed, it was a warm and welcoming reunion.

Thanks to Billy Joel for paying homage to Mick and Lou (leave it to a guy from Hicksville for making it happen :-) and thanks Bob for recognizing this great moment with Misters Jones and Gramm and for bringing me back to a great time in my life. My two years with Foreigner were many decades ago, but they will always hold a special place. Respect, Brian Diamond.

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Subject: Foreigner

Nice piece on Foreigner. In my days as a critic they were a true supergroup, much more fun than Toto and more durable than Asia. Live they could tear it up. Still no Journey though.

I will share one anecdote that relates. A baker's dozen years ago I went on a "mission" to Israel with members of my shul. A decent group and a relatively enjoyable mix of dinners, learning and touring. Every night the rabbi running the deal would bring a guest up to the hotel for some scotch and a little reflection. One night I was introduced to a Rabbi "Yaakov Sinclair" a greying gent with a very clipped London accent. My rabbi said, "You should know this guy". Wha? I hadn't been in Israel in over 30 years and I certainly didn't have him in my collection of Rabbi trading cards.

As it turns out Rav Sinclair used to be one John Sinclair who was once extremely goyishe and was an actor in the London production of Hair with one Richard O'Brien. They became friends and O'Brien asked Sinclair to help out with a weird little rock musical he was working on. In exchange he would let Sinclair administer the publising. That weird little musical was The Rocky Horror Show and, needless to say, Sinclair made out very nicely and built London's Sarm Studios with his sister the renowned Jill, the now deceased wife of one Trevor Horn. It was there that they took the first pass at the Foreigner debut which was eventually remixed at Atlantic. Sarm is still held by Horn's holding company. Sinclair remains the producer of record.

As for Sinclair's personal journey he had a revelation shortly thereafter, converted to Judaism and eventully became a rabbi with a Jerusalem Yeshiva known for this kind of thing - Ohr Sameach.

That night we had a brief conversation about the band and the session. Sinclair now had loftier things to talk about but I was a paying customer so he had briefly tolerate my musings. It was an unorthodox experience to say the least.

Life is a trip.

Best

Jonathan Gross

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Subject: Re: Mick Jones & Lou Gramm Do "Urgent" With Billy Joel

I worked with Mick when we both played in Leslie West's band and he would knock on the door late at night to talk songwriting. Mick was ready to make records and did he ever!
Bud Prager believed. Mick and Lou's talent and sound, with Bud's determination was a rock bulldozer to number 1s that last.
2 Funny Facts:..."Waiting For A Girl Like You" held the Billboard record for longest time at #2!!! on the singles chart. Number 1 those weeks?..."Let's Get Physical"...
And for the Grammy best new artist in 1978 (Foreigner didn't win)... that went to Taste of Honey's "Boogie Oogie Oogie"....so much for songwriting in the Disco age.
RRHOF ....is still an obstacle and a petty one from the rumours. Thanks for celebrating great stuff Bob and keeping your eyes on these moments.

Marty Simon
Toronto

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Subject: RE: Don't Bring Me Down

Hi Bob -

You probably got at least couple dozen of the same responses but to my mind the first example of fuzz guitar on a record was Johnny Burnett Trios "Train Kept a Rolling" - courtesy of a loose tube on Paul Burlison's amp.

Bruce Berenson

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From: William Nollman
Subject: Re: Mailbag

No mention by A.L. Oldham of Jeff Beck's fuzz tone on The Yardbirds Heart
Full of Soul?
Recorded and released at virtually the same time as Satisfaction.
For CT garage bands, both songs were on everyone?s set lists in 1965.

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From: Bob Merlis
Subject: Fuzz? This one was at least a year before the Eddie Hodges 45 that ALO sites

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q2WBBcH6OPU

That's Grady Martin backing Marty Robbins in '61.. and, of course, there's Link Wray's "Rumble" that dates to '58 but not sure it qualifies because the definition of fuzz is, yup.. fuzzy!

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From: Rick Sanjek
Subject: Grady Martin created fuzz tone in 1961

Bob –
It is common knowledge in Nashville that studio legend A-Teamer Grady Martin utilized a new fuzzy tone caused by a faulty preamplifier that distorted his guitar playing on the instrumental break on the 1961 Marty Robbins hit "Don't Worry". https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q2WBBcH6OPU

Later that year he recorded an instrumental tune under his own name, using the same faulty preamp, "The Fuzz" On Decca records. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aL6MNGHeEuI

Martin also played the acoustic guitar accompaniment to Robbins' vocals on "El Paso". https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-zBzZJd-nfw

A video montage of Grady's picking from vintage TV clips: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WfKfo6mpD-Q

He finished his over-50-year career on the road with Willie Nelson.

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From: Mitchell Sussman
Subject: ALO alluded to the first record with fuzz tone by Eddie Hodges in 1962. Here it is. Terry Melcher and Jack Nitzsche

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qpBcdiADZqY

P.S. Little Stevie (Van Zandt of the E Street Band etc) has mentioned that Eddie Hodges record may be the 2nd true instance of 'fuzztone" being used. The first was on Marty Robbins "Dont Worry" song, when a tube in their recording console blew and the bass played through it - creating that sound. Of all things, I've heard an early Ann Margaret (1961) song "I Just Don't Understand" also has fuzz, created by Red Rhodes with his new guitar pedal (inspired by the Robbins song) and played by Billy Strange. ?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q2WBBcH6OPU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nCSmwvJKMPQ

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From: Ron Farber
Subject: Note from Andrew Oldman about 'fuzz tone'

Actually, perhaps the first instances of the so-called 'fuzz-tone' effect used in recordings were:

1. Paul Burlison - Rock & Roll Trio
"Train Kept A Rollin" 1956

2. Delta Cats on "Rocket 88" 1951
Both were mistakes not planned.

and

3, on purpose in the top 5 Billboard Hot 100 country crossover of
"Don't Worry" by Marty Robbins in 1961.

All of these predated the songs that Mr. Oldham mentioned.

Thank you.

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