On this day in 1960, "Cathy's Clown" by the Everly Brothers started a five week run at #1 on the US singles chart. The single ran for another 2 weeks, becoming their biggest and final hit single. Here they are performing "Cathy's Clown":
Every Tuesday and Thursday, former Warner Bros. Records executive and industry insider Stan Cornyn ruminates on the past, present, and future of the music business.
7 Arts’ executive in charge of deals – Eliot Hyman -- having met with the heads of Warner Bros. Records, left his first meeting at the record label feeling his next step in making money out of this, was more of this “records” business, if such a step made sense. In a meeting at the label, Hyman had asked Mike Maitland if 7Arts buying a company like Atlantic Records, for instance, would that be “a good buy.” Maitland just had to say “yes,” because recently Atlantic looked like it was burning up the charts.
Hyman had also heard “yes, good idea,” from Frank Sinatra’s money man, Mickey Rudin.
With “yes” twice, feeling cozy, Hyman flew back to New York, to once again meet with Ertegun-Wexler-Ertegun about making a buy out, so he’d have two hot labels to offer in his next move: which was to sell his whole stake in Warner-Seven, including its labels, to...who knows?
Wishing a happy birthday to Jewel! Here is her video for "Foolish Games," you can also find the remastered track on her latest GREATEST HITS release here.
Happy 53rd birthday to Morrissey! A couple of months back the singer played an intimate gig at Hollywood High School. We didn't make it in (but fortunately someone with a camera did), and Morrissey performed a few Smiths songs, including “Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want.”
Have we got the songs? Is a frog’s ass watertight?!? Yes and yes. Gather round the ol’ listenin’ post and hear Judy Collins, Joy Division, Emmylou Harris, Frank Sinatra and a few words from the late, great Ray Manzarek.
Every Tuesday and Thursday, former Warner Bros. Records executive and industry insider Stan Cornyn ruminates on the past, present, and future of the music business.
Mo Ostin kept at his job as head of Warner Bros. Records. His job: keep open to emerging acts, no matter how-where-what-which-huh? He’d experienced much. Then, in 1977, he heard the weirdest of all. All the way from London.
Over there, a thrown-together “group” (really just four street lads) got named “The Sex Pistols.” The group kept showing up in the trade papers. They’d get a label contract half-signed, then fully rejected. No real album had so far come out, and no real deal for North America ever existed, either. And the news coverage made the group sound, as they say in Burbank, fairly fart-y.
For instance, the Sex Pistols’ album title was going to be titled “Never Mind the Bollocks.” Well, in Burbank, the word “bollocks” meant nothing. Not so in England.
The Sex Pistols had been assembled and named by a London entrepreneur named Malcolm McLaren, who’d opened a clothing store based on astonishing attitudes. For him, the music meant little, the publicity meant all. “Bollocks” had gotten attention right off.
