Mailbag

From: Eleni Psaltis
Re: L.A. Reid

Hi Bob,

I know that you know LA Reid and his, let's say "colorful," history with sexual harassment/assault. Open up one window with this HITS story: https://bit.ly/2FzVWFG that ran today. Open up another with the google results of "LA Reid Sexual Assault." Look at it side by side and let that sit with you.

How is it that this man, a revered predator whose name ignites a shudder with most women I know in this industry, is now on the board of arguably one of the most dynamic/disrupting companies in this industry? Why would Hipgnosis align themselves with him? Is it really all for the money? Doesn't the reputation that comes along with the money taint it?

I know that the music industry has yet to have its reckoning, but why? Why are we women in the industry still waiting? Why is there nowhere to go yet? No safe space for women to divulge what's happening to us? No media stories? I posted a screenshot of the side-by-sides of those windows to my IG story today and was flooded with messages from my former colleagues about how irate they were, how they had previous bosses who exerted their power and put interns in similar uncomfortable positions, etc. My question, Bob, is why is no one speaking about this? During Charlie Walk's "takedown" (comical, as he still works closely with artists), there was a bit of a discussion, some of which you engaged in (thank you for that), and then it dissipated quickly.

What more do we as women have to endure to get attention on this? Why do we as women need to fight to be treated simply as...humans?

I know you are not the keeper of the answers. I also know that you have a large reach and can pose this question to the masses, or at least try to answer it.

Thank you for taking the time to read this email, and for being the (unfortunate!) recipient of my frustration.

All the best,

Eleni

_____________________________________

From: Larry Butler
Subject: Re: Re-Eddie

Hey, Bob -

On a forgotten tour stop on a long ago Van Halen tour, I was lucky/unlucky enough to get the hotel room just below Eddie's. After the aforementioned show, we got back to the hotel about 1am, and as I'm brushing my teeth, I can hear Eddie upstairs through the bathroom vent system working on a guitar lick, over and over. Pretty cool, I thought, and I went to bed. Later, about maybe 5am, I got up to use the facility, and Eddie was still at it, playing the same lick, over and over, until he could ostensibly do it in his sleep. And maybe he was.

Larry Butler

_____________________________________

From: William Perkins
Subject: Re: Johnny Nash

"I Can See Clearly Now": I vividly remember Allman Brothers Band manager, the late Phil Walden, hearing that song in his office and immediately sending his secretary out to buy the single on the spot.

_____________________________________

From: Lucas Keller
Subject: Re: Johnny Nash

Bob,
I very much enjoyed your walk through history. I managed Jimmy Cliff for a number of years -- Many Rivers to Cross will still go down as one of the greatest vocal takes of all time. Still however... in Jimmy's set...I Can See Clearly Now was like the parting of the red seas. I always thought Jimmy served that cover complete justice. There was nothing quite like it live, it's a real copyright... Long live Johnny Nash, and all of the greats on the island.

All the best,
Lucas Keller
President
Milk & Honey
Los Angeles New York Nashville London Amsterdam

_____________________________________

Subject: Re: Cousin Brucie-This Week's Podcast

Wow,
My high school girlfriend lived in the same apartment building as Brucie.
I met him a couple of times. WABC.
Brucie, Scott Muni, and Murray the K ruled the NY radio scene.
WINS, WMCA were the other stations.
I can't remember my passwords but I remember NY radio from 1962!

Jonathan Schneider

_____________________________________

From: Cliff Burnstein
Subject: Fwd: Declan McKenna Live Lounge cover

Hi Bob,

You're not the only one who digs this song. I really love this Declan McKenna version. Link below from Tara Richardson who manages him in the UK for us.

Cliff

Begin forwarded message:

From: Tara Richardson
Subject: Declan McKenna Live Lounge cover

Hey all

Declan covered Dua Lipa on today's Radio 1 Live Lounge.

Hope you like it. I do! X

https://youtu.be/3GoG9LJGlIw

Tara Richardson

_____________________________________

From: John Brodey
Subject: From me to you

Usually you address the passing of the great ones, you certainly don't seem to miss any. But you did miss a big one. Toots Hibbert of Toots and the Maytals died the day after 9/11 in Kingston after showing symptoms of Covid-19 and soon thereafter being placed in a medically induced coma. He was a powerhouse of a singer. I don't place any faith in Rolling Stone's credibility but they got two things right when they came up with their list of the 100 greatest singers of all time. First,they put Aretha at #1 and Toots at #71 just ahead of John Fogerty. He was a founding father of Reggae and is acknowledged by devotees as responsible for coining its' name with the song, Do The Reggay.

As an impoverished air person at WBCN/Boston, lack of money wasn't why we didn't take vacations. It was out of concern that we'd miss a great show, but management said I had better take a week off in late '72. I went to a travel agency that advertised with us and said; I've got $300 where can I go for a week and have fun. Two days later, I was on my way to Jamaica and ended up in a cheap hotel in Ocho Rios. The first day I walked down the main street, which was partially paved, and heard the some incredible sounds coming out of speakers in front of the 'Super Star Record Shack'. I was sucked through the door and was soon in deep conversation with the proprietor, Rudy MacFarland. He was the most intense and passionate music fan I had ever met. After sealing our friendship with a mind altering 'spliff' in the back office, we went through his inventory for what seemed like 24 hours.

The next night he said we had to see a movie at the theater in town. This place was a bit different. There was a box office, the sloped floor, fixed fold down seats and lights along walls on either side, a big ass sound system but it had no roof. It was in pretty decent shape for a place that got soaked by rain on a regular basis. It had to be a really good movie to keep you in your seat while taking a shower. As it turns out, the movie was the Harder They Come.

I couldn't understand a fucking word but the music just possessed me and it wasn't hard to follow the plot. It was magical. Something from another world. Two things struck me; it was a movie that had to be seen and maybe the Maytals weren't on screen but they blew the soundtrack up. Pressure Drop put them on the map and became their second hit in the U.K. Toots was reggae royalty and justifiably so. If Bob Marley was the Marvin Gaye of reggae, Toots was the Otis Redding. I met him and we became friendly as I returned to Ocho Rios every year thereafter for the next five years. He was an amazing soul...warm and generous, he just consumed you. I went home a believer and once Chris Blackwell obtained the rights to the film etc. and added the subtitles during the next year, I talked the local art house theater, the Orson Wells Cinema, to get a copy and give it a weekend midnight screening. That began the longest running streak (6 years) in Boston for any movie including Rock Horror.

With the success of the film it wasn't long before the station had to bring Toots to Boston. It took some doing (passports out of Jamaica required paperwork attesting it was for work) but they got off the plane in January wearing short sleeve shirts and flip flops. They had no coats and had nor any idea of where the hell Boston was let alone how cold it got. A couple of us put them up in our apartments. But boy, put them in front of an audience and they were incendiary. They killed and the Maytals went on to do a few subsequent tours of the east coast. Toots was a rare talent. One of a kind but you had to see him to really understand the scope of his talent. I will forever be a schmuck for taking a trip that coincided with a gig they had set in S.F. the end of last year while telling myself I would see him the next time he was in town. His was a voice that could not be limited to any time or place. He deserves a send off. RIP indeed.

I've got a Spotify playlist but I've had limited internet since we were evacuated from the fires last week. But in addition to the better known tracks, One-Eye Enos is one of my favorite tracks, period.

thought you might get something out of this.

_____________________________________

From: Jason Miles
Subject: Re: Cousin Brucie-This Week's Podcast

Hey Bob
When I was 16 years old in the summer of 1967 my band was playing our 2nd summer at a Borscht Belt resort in Ellenville,NY called the Fallsview. Next door was another resort called the Nevele. We were a really good band. Played all the hits plus songs by the Blues Project and Paul Butterfield,Beatles etc. As we were playing one night the owner of the hotel came down to where we were playing in the small club at the hotel.

He came up to us and wanted to know if we had any plans for tomorrow afternoon. Except for going out and hanging out at the pool and mixing with the other teenagers we have nothing going on. He wanted to know if we would be interested in playing a show at the Neville the next afternoon with Cousin Bruce from WABC radio as he was Going to do a show there and he was bringing up the Tokens and another band . Well of course we wanted to do it and the next day they helped us bring our gear over to the Neville and we set up outside at the small stage they had there and we ended up playing six songs and Cousin Brucie was there..He warmly greeted us at the end of the set and came up to us and said he really loved our band. He asked us our names and said tonight at 8 o'clock listen to WABC. We watched the Tokens play And took a really great picture with cousin Brucie that I still have framed in my house.

That night at 8 pm we were sitting in my room listening to my transistor radio and Cousin Bruce came on. He started to talk about the show at the Nevele and said..and I want to thank Jay,Kenny,Barry and John the Plus Four for playing a great set for us...
At that point that was one of the highlights of my life! A number of years later a friend of mine worked at one of his radio stations and he was there and I went up to say hello and he absolutely remembered that day. He's a very special guy and has been part of our fabric for probably almost 60 years. A real treasure

So glad you're going to do a podcast with him!
Peace,Jason

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From: Ben Sussman
Subject: Re: Covid-19
Date: July 15, 2020 at 9:35:02 PM PDT

Bob,

Both my parents retired years ago to Arizona to escape the "liberal stupidity" of California. Two weeks ago, both of them got COVID after attending a Father's Day celebration held under barely-there state safety guidelines. Last week, my father - who was a proud Trump supporter a Fox News-loving conservative - went into the hospital with a 104 degree temperature and trouble breathing. He's now on a bypass breathing machine because he can't breathe on his own, and the outlook is not positive.

Did Trump, his lackey AZ Governor Ducey and all their right-wing minions kill him? Fuck yes they did.

But he bought into their bullshit gladly. He's paying for it, most likely, with his life.

You are right that this will now start happening to people we know.

I hate to to be the first among my friends, but I for sure I won't be the last.

Fight on,
Ben

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From: Ben Sussman
Subject: Re: Pffttt...
Date: October 6, 2020 at 10:07:50 PM PDT

I'm with you

My dad died of COVID in July. He was an ardent Trump supporter. So was his pulmonologist who told him that only people in nursing homes get it and when his temp spiked to 104 he still wasn't "in the danger zone." He was dead 9 days later. Corona might still take Trump - like many, I think he is so pumped full of experimental drugs and steroids that they're the only thing powering him.

Thank you, Bob. I appreciate your newsletter and the moments of zen head nodding that go along with it.

Stay safe

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