I worked for Planet Records from 1978-1981 and was very involved in the release of the Cretones’ records. They were produced by the band’s bass player, Peter Bernstein, son of legendary film composer, Elmer Bernstein. I loved Goldenberg so much as an artist that when I left Planet, at its demise, I became Mark’s manager. I also took on another Ronstadt favorite writer named Karla Bonoff. I worked out a deal with their former manager, Norman Epstein. He worked out of Peter Asher’s old offices on Doheny, hence the proximity to Ronstadt. The artists lesser known than Peter’s major clients (Ronstadt and James Taylor) but hovering in the sphere were people like Peter Bernstein, Andrew Gold, Wendy Waldman, etc. Norman got out of management to become a high-ranking executive at UMG, essentially the right hand man to President Zach Hororwitz and one of the smartest people I ever knew.

After the Cretones, Mark formed a new band called Our Town, which I promptly got signed to MCA Records under the leadership of A&R guys Steve Moir and Thom Trumbo. We made the record with Michael Shipley, engineer/producer extraordinaire, who had been Mutt Lange’s engineer on many of the albums of his that you write about. Needless to say, the album (am I dating myself
enough by calling music records and albums?) was never released. It was ahead of it’s time, in my humble opinion. I continued to manage both great artist/writers for a number of years. Mark produced a few records with Karla for Danny Goldberg’s Gold Mountain Records and he went on to write a number of songs that got covered, the most well known of these being "Automatic" for The Pointer Sisters, co-written with Brock Walsh, and produced by Planet Records owner Richard Perry, who also loved Mark’s writing.

My love of great songwriters lead me to help contribute in a small way to the career of Billy Steinberg, whose hits, like True Colors and Like A Virgin, are too numerous to list here. While at Planet, we signed another truly talented writer named Mark Safan. He put out a wonderful record on our label that did nothing. His recording of Burt Bacharach/Hal David’s classic, My Little Red Book, is still sounding pretty good to me. Safan called me one day to say he had a friend from Thermal, CA (out near Palm Springs, where his family had a very large grape vineyard). He said that this guy worte amazing songs and would I meet with him and listen. I was in the middle of co-producing (with ace Planet A&R man Michael Barackman) a quirky little compilation album of ten unsigned American bands called Sharp Cuts. I talked Richard Perry into giving me $20,000 dollars to produce the whole thing, including travel to record the different artists. Billy came to see me and played me some of the most out-there and hip songs I had ever heard. I immediately asked him to record one called "I’m Gonna Follow You" for inclusion on my compilation. That song was heard by Pat Benetar, who promptly recorded it and gave Billy tremendous exposure. Michael Barackman and I signed him at Planet and he released a record under the name Billy Thermal that also went nowhere.

Speaking of Pousette-Dart, I got my start in the music business in 1972 when an old college friend who was managing a club in Bryn Mawr, PA called The Main Point offered me a job at $1.00 per hour sweeping the floors (I would regularly find more money on those floors than I was being paid). I had been busted in Denver with 30 pounds of pot, eventually got probation but had to find a new career. It was worth everything to see Bruce Springsteen, on tour behind his debut Greetings From Asbury Park, without a single paying customer in the 100 seat club. Bruce played a three hour show for just us working in the club that night. From that point on, the club was entirely sold out based on our word-of-mouth. I was doing sound and lights by then and had the honor of doing a number of shows with Bruce, who was from my home state and the same age as me. The single best concert I have ever seen.

Pousette-Dart, Orleans, Tom Waits, Roland Kirk, Andy Kulberg, David Bromberg, Bonnie Raitt, John Prine, Steve Goodman, Chris Smither, John Hammond, JR., Doc and Merle Watson, Pete Seeger, McCoy Tyner, Eric Anderson, Jimmie Spheeris, Sonny Terry and Brownie McGee, Chick Corea, Flora Purim, Phil Ochs, Jay Leno, Ed Begley, JR, were just a few who played regularly at this unbelieveable venue.

The last band I worked with before exiting the management business was another unknown gem, Wild Colonials, whom I got signed to Geffen Records by the always ultra-hip A&R man/producer Tony Berg.

I am a big fan of your writing and I’m sure this stuff happens to you all the time-you jog someone’s memory and they write their entire life story to you in return.

Michael Solomon

For those of us who picked up a guitar early on and found it led us on a journey to span a whole life, it is truly rewarding to hear words such as yours. When a song finds a home and stays in the picture, it makes all the twists and turns and hard times worthwhile. I would be more than happy to get you a good version of the early stuff. I have currently hooked up with an old record guy that I have wanted to work with for years. We are putting together several releases of the early Capitol years with good packaging. I also am making the best music of my life and and a new CD and Video are forthcoming. Keep in touch and I’ll make sure you find it. The early stuff is now out of issue, but I can get you a copy of most of it. Give me an address. Checkout my label mate Darrell Scott. We write together and he’s one of the major artists currently flying under the radar.
Have a good summer.

Jon Pousette-Dart
http://www.pousette-dart.com