Hi Bob:

Long term friend Stephen Budd copied me in on your recent email relating to the sad departure of Seymour Stein.  I felt compelled to respond…so here goes!

Your observations and stories about Seymour have had me reminiscing since I woke up this morning.  We go back a long, long way that’s for sure…mid to late 1960s when I was primarily working for The Decca Record Company Ltd.  My plans to launch my own record Blues label were already underway by 1964…some three and a half years later Peter Green left John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers to form Fleetwood Mac and then I had to leave the staff at Decca to become an Independent Producer. I guess that was around the time I first met Seymour…the Windsor Blues Festival that he alluded to amongst those emails that you listed. Anyway, I truly do not have the time right now to delve back into my memory ‘bank’ but I would like to say how much I enjoyed reading about those priceless memories.  He was very kind to me in those early days…flew me to New York and put me up at his apartment.  Showed me Chinatown…introduced me to Henry Glover and Bobby Robinson…and endless stories, mainly about Syd Nathan!  He could tell a story too with impersonations and sound effects…hilarious.  They were great times…never to be forgotten and never to be beaten either.

I will check my Inbox so see what I have from the man himself…we were corresponding about this and that but not sure about the content.  That was at the time when the Blue Horizon label was being resurrected…maybe three years ago?  I was in touch with both Seymour and his daughter Mandy.

Anyway, thank you again for brightening up what would have been a very sad day.  We will all be celebrating his life as he surely gave so much to us.  One of a kind…gone but never to be forgotten.  R.I.P. Seymour Steinbigle

Best to you…

MIKE VERNON MBE

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I first met Seymour in the seventies when I was in the international division at EMI. I had managed to get the USA as one of my “markets” and started licensing records that Capitol would not, or had not released in the USA. He had Sire, an indie then, and a series of compilation albums called The roots of British rock I believe. He came to see me at EMI but before he came I checked his deals to find that he had not possibly been accounting “regularly”. So I arranged with the lawyer at EMI that he would come in halfway through the meeting and threaten him for non payment as a sort of spoof. Well Seymour gave me the best line ever. He said “I have live artists. I have to pay them before I pay your dead artists.” I ended up licensing him some more records and licensed his partner at Jem an early Floyd solo record that had been out for ten years in the UK. Rupert Perry threatened to get  me fired for that but Bob Mercer stood by me. When I went in to A and R at EMI we stayed in touch and later on at Polygram I managed to give him as many records as I could including Tainted love, the deal for which we did on a napkin in some dive. He was one of the greats and enjoyed all sorts of music. I even  licensed him the great David Rudder from Trinidad who we signed to London with him taking the US. He was a regular at Carnival in Trinidad and went to the tents there where he knew all the calypsonians performing.What a great record guy.

Roger Ames

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Great piece on Seymour.

He was a wonderful character.

I would often bump into him in London, not going to shows but buying antiques and paintings.

He loved going to the auctions.

This was his great hobby.

Seymour was from the great era of finding fabulous artists and selling them to anyone who would listen.

He had amazing foresight in choosing his music.

He will be greatly missed.

Harvey Goldsmith

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BEST POSTING EVER, A COLLECTION OF SEYMOUR COMMENTS, THANKS BOB

I KNEW SEYMOUR AND LINDA IN THE 70’S WHEN THEY SIGNED MY FIRST BAND ( I WAS THE ROAD MANAGER)  STANKY BROWN GROUP TO SIRE.

EVERYTHING I HAVE READ DESCRIBING SEYMOUR IS TRUE AND THEN SOME, I’LL LEAVE MY STORIES FOR ANOTHER DAY AND TO THOSE WHO KNEW HIM BETTER

BERT HOLMAN

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Wow!
Those emails are incredible!
He was always completely charming when I met him.
One of the all time greats.
They don’t make them like him anymore.

Richard Griffiths

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Thanks for sharing your Seymour Stein stories and letters. I was fortunate to have spent some time with him when he attended a Gountty Radio.Seninar convention at the Opryland Hotel sometime in the 90s. I had met him before through our mutual friend Richard Gottehrer, at a Madonna party at the Red Parrot and several times before that in the 70s at CBGBs, but we had never had the chances to talk. He was a record man who really loved the music, and I had learned not to take that for granted. Folks who worked with him at King had told me that he could identify any record in their catalog by number  He was full of great stories as expected.  Truly one of the all time greats.

Ed Salamon

Nashville  TN

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Very sad news to wake up to this morning, I can’t count on the number of Sire Records in my collection, from a reissue of the Nuggets garage rock compilation (originally on another groundbreaking Warner acquisition, Elektra) through the Ramones and Talking Heads to the English Beat and Echo & the Bunnymen, and of course Madonna (I have nearly all of her 12” singles, right up to her dismantling of American Pie). One of the best hours of my life was spent in Seymour’s company, when he came to Halifax for the East Coast Music Awards & Conference (and also for the seafood, I’m sure), and he invited me to lunch after we’d had a particularly robust phone interview (we even talked about the Strangeloves, and Manny’s Music Store) before he came to town.

It was a fun, freewheeling chat about music and some of his other passions. Mostly I remember asking him why the Monkees weren’t in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame (“Because some people in charge say it’ll happen over their dead bodies”) and asking him if he grew up listening to the Yiddish comedy records of Mickey Katz, whereupon he told me a story about recently being at a birthday party for Jennifer Grey, daughter of Broadway legend Joel Grey, whose father was Mickey Katz, the original “Weird Al” Yankovic of parody songs. I gather they sang a few bars of The Barber of Schlemiel and Duvid Crockett, King of Delancey Street together. He asked me what some of my favourite Sire artists were, and Echo & the Bunnymen came to mind, which apparently was a signing he was very proud of, even if they didn’t get a North American hit until their fourth album with The Killing Moon, a song that’s become an indie-goth classic, and is frequently licensed for film and TV shows. I loved that Seymour played the long game, and let artists develop their talent, and believed in the power of a strong catalogue. My life would have been very different without Sire Records as its soundtrack.

 

~Stephen Cooke

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He wasn’t the average record exec indeed. He was one of a kind and I too was privileged to know him. If you had one conversation with him about music, you would immediately understand the depth of his knowledge on music: he would reference songs and artists I had never heard of, ad infinitum. It was like taking a Master Class on pre-Beatles rock and roll and music business. One time we were at a Thai restaurant and he stopped eating and paused when a random song came on the restaurant’s stereo system, he looked perplexed and confused while he was trying to place the song and then eventually he smiled that cheshire cat smile and said in that Brooklyn accent of his, ‘it’s Leiber and Stoller of course…they were just the absolute best!’.

I didn’t know him in his 80’s heyday, but through his daughter Mandy, I got to know him and spend time with him in the last 15 years of his life. He really liked a Joseph Arthur tribute record to Lou Reed I was involved with (he pointed out he and Lou were born a month apart and that he had released his ‘New York’ record) and wanted to sign it but couldn’t get his team on board. Regardless he wanted the other label interested (Vanguard) to know he was interested with hopes that it would get the advance and their enthusiasm up. I thought that was a classy move. He also once tried to put me in touch with Morrisey, who I had expressed interest in managing but forewarned ‘you do know what you’re getting yourself into, right?!”.

In 2011 he came to Montreal for the Pop Montreal Festival and I met him at the airport, brought him into the city and later at night, when I figured he would probably prefer sleeping, we met up and went around to some clubs, checking out acts. He would hobble his way up and down flights of stairs with his cane but once he was in the room and there was music being played, you could tell he was in his element. He would soak it all in and afterwards would bounce around introducing himself to these young acts saying he was ’Seymour Stein from Sire Records,’ and I would wonder if these young acts had any idea of who he was and what greatest they were standing in front of.

The last time I saw him was at the 2018 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony. I walked in and saw him sitting down so I went to say hi to him. He immediately pulled out his phone and called Mandy and handed me his phone so I could say hi to her. What an amazingly soulful man he was, and true visionary.

Peter Wark

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My best Seymour story : Apologies for brevity , am on the move…

We managed Ian McCulloch in the 90s signed to Sire/Warners.

I drove Seymour from London to Liverpool. He fell asleep so I ragged his car and did 156 mph down the M1. He then woke up and was laughing encouraging me!!! He said it was the fastest he’d ever been and it woke him up. It was 1995 and you could do it then. Not now with cameras etc. We were going up to see Electrafixion play at the lomax. Mac and Will (Echo and the Bunnymen) had just got back together and were speaking again for the first time since the Bunnymen split years earlier at their peak. I took him to the Jung Wah – best chinese rezzo ever in Liverpool, sadly no longer there. My great grandparents lived there originally (before Chinatown) when they got off the boat from Russia in the early 1900s thinking they were in NY! I explained the history and he laughed his head off again. He absolutely loved the food – traditional Cantonese. We actually saw one of his bands there – the long forgotten  Singing Ringing Tree. We then all went to the lomax for the gig. And then I drove him back to London – at a more conservative 130 mph -  after hanging out with Mac backstage. He said it was one of the best nights ever!!!

Darren Michaelson

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Thank u for this stunning ‘from-the-horses-mouth’ view of Seymour Stein.

He traversed the world continually seeking the very best in music – so we were lucky to meet him even here in South Africa. He had success with Johnny Clegg and Juluka from Johannesburg – and continued to scour our musical landscape.

In Cape Town and Joburg we had lunches and dinners of epic proportions – with all the stories in your article – and many more.

The best was when Seymour would fearlessly sing all these songs of yesteryears with great love and joy – in his shaky but beautiful voice – lyric perfect. He would do this in the middle of restaurants. He would astound us by ordering double main courses!

I loved him. The only disagreement we ever had was whether Chubby Checker should be in the Rock Hall of Fame. His opinion was an emphatic ‘no’ – whilst I thought he should be. Not sure who ultimately prevailed …

He was a mensch. He made our music business a place of true magic.

Salutations, Seymour

Patric van Blerk

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This really hit me hard.

I was always amazed that you would see Seymour at all the showcase events around the world. Checking the bands out. Cane in hand. I saw him everywhere. We spoke about China and India often. He always had time to say hello.

The conferences then started having him do the “this is your life” keynotes/panels – and then the book tour – but it was always the shows that blew my mind. This guy – out in the clubs – doing what I was doing and doing what none of his peers were. Hell – you didn’t even see the A+R’s out, but there he was. My youth was shaped by Sire.

I hate to see a true music man go. Really one of the last label heads that you can name and that you care about – that was out there.

I was trying to think of Sire releases that were not good. There were not many! When I worked in retail as a kid  – there were not a lot of Sire releases in the cut out bin. Lot’s of MCA and Atlantic!

I did get to have dinner with Seymour. Chinese of course. You are so right about his eating. What a production!

I will really miss seeing him out there.

Adam Lewis

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Excellent salute to Seymour Stein, Bob. His encyclopedic knowledge of music never ceased to astonish, and extended to Chinese pop hits of the 40’s and 50’s. I was up in his office once and mentioned I had an album out of Chinese pop classics from that era—and he proceeded to sing a famous Chinese song, “Megui, Megui”, a/k/a “Rose, Rose, I Love You”,  in the original Mandarin. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_-vv-tgoab0 Not only that, but he informed me that the song’s singer Yao Lee was still alive and in her 90’s living in Hong Kong—and that her song had been re-recorded with totally different lyrics in English by Frankie Laine, where it made #3 on the Billboard pop charts in 1953. Another time I ran into him at Pop Montreal and over tea lobbied him for inclusion of Captain Beefheart in the Rock ’n Roll Hall of Fame, telling him that most of the artists he’d signed during the Punk era would agree with me. He looked at me and with a straight face said, “Gary, my friend Neil Sedaka’s not in there! How do you think I feel about that??” Total legend!

Gary Lucas

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My old group Morcheeba was signed by Seymour to Sire after Jac Holzman had our first couple of albums on Discovery.

Seymour loved us. We couldn’t believe our luck we had no ambitions to break the States, we were doing great Worldwide but to be signed by two of the greatest golden eared moguls of all time was all I needed. Talk about a pat on the back.

Whenever we were in the same city Seymour would take us to the best restaurants and tell us great stories. We were sitting at a swanky eatery in Manhattan and Michael Caine walked in. Life was never dull when Seymour was in town. Our song “Rome wasn’t built in a day” was one of his all time favourites and he used to croak the melody to us. We were so happy hanging. They said he used to collect British bands and Antiques from West London, and he had great taste for both. He lasted much longer than I imagined given his lifestyle but he always had that great smile and those sparkling blue eyes so I guess he had other plans. Rest in Peace Seymour! You gave a young British man validation beyond his imagination. Thank you.

Paul Godfrey

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I was incredibly fortunate to work for two absolute legends in my record label days – and Seymour was one of them.  Sire Records was a bit of a mess by the time I got there in the late 90’s, but working in the West Coast A&R Dept with Bud Scoppa and Andy Paley was definitely a career highlight.  If you were courting a band and you were able to get Seymour to a dinner with them – he was magic.  He had an incredible ear and was responsible for so many of my favorite bands and records; it was both and honor and a thrill to work for and get to know him.

-Gregg Bell

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Seymour called me out of the blue about ten years ago because he wanted to get his memoirs out before it was too late.  My friend Ivo Watts-Russell referred him to me.  He didn’t have a literary agent but had heard through grapevine I could help him get a writer and a book deal with an editor at a major house with no agent fees.  He was right, and I got him superb music writer Gareth Murphy, plus SMP editor extraordinaire, Elizabeth Beier.  Even though extracting the right stories from Seymour was painful, Siren Song was a damn good book.  Some stories pissed people which attested to the accuracy. Mo Ostin was not pleased.

But it was just fun hanging out with Seymour, him stopping mid sentence in a story to call Andy Paley to make the details were right.

And there was always food, messy but delicious.  And too much wine.

He lived big, a true character.

Jeff Capshew

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Beautiful tribute Bob.

Seymour Stein was cut from a different cloth.  Nobody knew music like he did.

I just went back to listen to your interview from 2018.

I loved this interview too from 4 years ago in Please Kill Me.

‘SHELLAC IN HIS VEINS’: AN INTERVIEW WITH SEYMOUR STEIN

I had the pleasure of hanging with him a couple times.

It was in foreign countries as you said, where he actually spent time chatting with me.   The times we bonded the most was Tel Aviv. A music conference called Tune-In Tel Aviv.  I remember he came out to all the shows and stayed almost to the end.  Walking up stairs with his cane probably in pain but you would never have known.   He was a trooper and a music fan through and through!

I don’t think I ever heard him laugh but he definitely smiled the few times I saw him.

I saw him many times at MIDEM too but that was earlier on in my career and he never seemed to remember me.

The first great convo I had with Seymour was about the British Invasion.

I was able to tell him The Zombies had a record deal and he was ecstatic to hear about that and very keen to hear the new album.   He loved The Zombies. He said they’ll get inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame one day! That was in 2015. Then I saw him in NYC at the Polar Music Prize Polar Talks which I helped produce. That was up in Harlem.

The last convo we had was right after the 2019 Inductees were announced!  I had told him about a new artist I was repping called AJ Smith and had asked if he had received his material.   He wrote this below.

“Glad about the Zombies.   Big representation from UK this year,  including Sire band the Cure.

FYI, I’m not working at present time. Hopefully, soon.

OK to resend A.J. Material.

Best,

Seymour

I’m forever grateful and honored to have had that time with an industry giant!  It really feels like the end of an era!

Fiona Bloom

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This was a wonderful read.

When I was working with Ted Templeman on his autobiography he told me many times that Seymour had an encyclopedic knowledge of 20th c. music of all genres. Exact quote from a few years back from Ted: “Seymour worked for King Records. That label was one of my first inspirations. He’s a historian. He knows everything. Early rock and roll? Ruth Brown. Wynonie Harris. Seymour knows that stuff cold.  James Brown — Seymour told me that Tammi Terrell was James Brown’s girlfriend. Seymour told me Elvis was blonde! A blonde guy. He said he naturally had hair like mine. I didn’t know any of that! He’s the most fascinating, greatest guy in the world.”

I loved reading Seymour’s emails and your tribute to him. Thank you.

Greg Renoff

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Best meeting I ever had with a record executive was with Seymour. Danny Fields was managing a new, young artist that Seymour wanted to sign, so Danny arranged for me to go up to meet with Seymour.  We met in his office and after some niceties, he took a business card and wrote the deal points for my client’s contract on the back of the card … then sent me down to business affairs to give it to them and tell them to do that  deal with me for the artist.

Wallace Collins

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Seymour called my band mate and I in 2018 regarding one of our singles. We knew nobody would believe us so we actually recorded the conversation. He loved the song and wanted to hear more. Unfortunately nothing ever happened but it was a pretty cool moment to have a legend in the biz call you. RIP.

Danny Jay

Shytown

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Don’t forget he signed Ice T.  The first “rapper” signed to a major record company on the west coast- and maybe in the United States

Eric Greenspan

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Bob: Seymour moment: Although acquired by WB in 1978, Sire/WB released “Reel To Reel ” by Climax Blues Band in 1979 (and “Shine On” in 1978).  First band to record at AIR Studios in Montserrat, West Indies (now abandoned after epic island volcano eruption).  Major artistic departure for the band to go “mainstream” with major rotation on AOR and formatted radio in the States at the time.  I played the elpee non-stop and thus spread the word throughout various U.S. industry channels.  Soon thereafter, Seymour called my office to express his appreciation.  We never met prior. We spoke for over half an hour.  From Frank and Nancy Sinatra (see producer Lee Hazlewood) to artists of the day. 

Very sad day indeed.

Scott Hazlewood

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The Great Seymour.

You’re so right about his music from the 30s and 40s.

One time we were driving up PCH in Malibu. I asked him what his favorite song was. (An impossible question…I know, I know.)

He said, “Little Yellow Bird.” (The song performed by a 20-year-young Angela Lansbury in the 1945 film “The Picture Of Dorian Gray.”)

Then, he sang the whole song from memory. I thought he was going to cry. Maybe he did.

Goodbye, Little Yellow Bird
I’d rather brave the cold
On a leafless tree
Than a prisoner be
In a cage of gold

Seymour. He sure LOVED his music.

Bobby Woods

He wasn’t the average record exec.

Although I first met Seymour at the Troubadour, when he approached me about something I wrote and then went into a story about Syd Nathan, it wasn’t until 2004, when I went to Tony Wilson’s In The City conference in Manchester, that we began to hang, began to bond.

Tony left us over a decade ago. Talk about being cut down before your time, he was still in his fifties. Now that was an atypical record exec. Tony was the most educated man I knew, he could opine about seemingly anything, with a gleam in his eye, I was privileged to know him.

And I was privileged to know Seymour too.

First and foremost Seymour would go to In the City. Other conferences. No one else with his status and success would. But you’d see Seymour all over the world, always soaking up the flavor, looking for new acts and looking for good food. Seymour loved not only Chinese, but other cuisines. He’d put that napkin in his collar and… If you ever ate with him you know what I’m talking about. Well, let me just say his manners were not the best, as in food dripped and splattered, but if Seymour were still here he wouldn’t be offended, he’d double-down, and make an excuse.

You see Seymour was a hypochondriac, he was always complaining about something. He was in the hospital when he signed Madonna. He couldn’t come out for Evelyn Ostin’s funeral because there was a problem with his leg… He’d shuffle along, ultimately with a cane, but that was Seymour, he was a fixture, you thought he’d be here forever. But he was pissed when Warner took the Sire name from him. How could anybody else run Sire?

So if you knew Seymour long enough you got his history. About going to Ohio for the summer to work for Syd Nathan. Most people in the music business this successful are thousand watt hustlers. Seymour’s light was turned down quite a bit. He was not a ranter and a raver, not that he couldn’t raise his voice, but he was more like that guy you knew in high school, who you talked to but seemed to be invisible to not only the girls, but the popular people.

Of course Seymour was gay. But it was a different era. I’ll leave it at that.

So, you’ve heard the stories about “Billboard,” etc., but the thing about Seymour is I’d hear from him on a regular basis, usually about songs I was completely unfamiliar with. They’d been hits in the forties, or fifties, even the thirties. He was inspired by something I wrote. This is not the kind of e-mail I get from most record execs. They might send you an album or a track they’re promoting, but to discuss music, during business hours…that’s for business.

With Seymour music came first.

And he was a fan.

Yes, he started licensing records from England. Did have success with Focus and “Hocus Pocus” and Fleetwood Mac, but… The best stories Seymour would tell were about signing English acts. It’s hard to believe, even long after the Beatles, but there were still English acts that went unnoticed in the U.S. Seymour wanted to get there first. So one day he read about an act in one of the English music papers, might have been the NME or “MelodyMaker,” and immediately went to the airport and took the Concorde to see them and sign them that night. He didn’t pack a suitcase, he didn’t bring any clothes. I think it was the Psychedelic Furs, don’t hold me to it.

And Seymour signed a lot of acts. And when money was short… He’d employ shenanigans to make sure he got the band.

He’d go to some publisher and say that really they should be in the record business. And if this publisher or other music business person would put up the money, they could be 50/50 partners with Seymour. He did this more than once. And ultimately, after selling Sire to Warner, they’d continually tell him he couldn’t get any more money, couldn’t sign any more acts, but that didn’t stop him, it was a passion, he had no time for the bean counters.

Not that he didn’t know how to make a deal. That’s how you get rich in the business, owning copyrights to your advantage.

And Seymour’s legend preceded him. With the CBGB scene if nothing else.

Believe me, unless you were living in NYC you didn’t know about CBGB’s. And the Ramones… Even aficionados didn’t know the band had released records until the second, “Leave Home.” It was only by time the third, “Rocket to Russia” with “Rockaway Beach,” was released, that people realized this was a real act, committed to success, much more talented than they’d originally perceived. You see the Ramones were seen as a novelty, a curio, a one and done. I mean when were they gonna give up on the joke? And just to be clear, you may see their t-shirts everywhere, but they never ever had a hit, and they toured in vans long after others had graduated to jets, which preceded the ubiquity of buses. And I wonder what was in the air in those vans that all four original members are now deceased.

And the Talking Heads couldn’t be more different from the Ramones. The only thing they really had in common was they both played CBGB’s. And were from a new, younger generation, not born in the forties, but the fifties. As for CBGB’s… Hilly Kristal pivoted from his original concept and hosted all these new acts when his original paradigm didn’t work. Politicians may not change their mind, but to succeed in art you must be ready to pivot, and it’s those with nothing, or very little, willing to put it all on the line, who succeed.

Not that Seymour was a complete anomaly. There were tons of New York music men who were younger than the fifties legends, who knew each other, who worked together, like Gary Kurfirst, who started as a promoter, managed Mountain and then the Talking Heads and more. It was a club. And the music came first. As much money as the Beatles made, big money for most acts didn’t come until Peter Grant flipped the script and demanded almost all of the cash from live shows go to the acts, in his case Led Zeppelin, which was a guaranteed sellout.

But then came the eighties, with the twin verticals of MTV and CDs and money rained down in heretofore unfathomable numbers. Before that you were a musical act, after that you were a brand. And then Kurt Cobain came along and once again upset the apple cart, by hearkening back to the days of punk. It might sound raw and edgy, but that does not mean it can’t have melody. The Ramones knew that.

As for Madonna… Seymour could see something.

Seymour was neither too big nor moving too fast to stop and talk to you, to call you, to spend time with you. And if you were with him one on one, in person, he’d start to smile and it made you feel good, makes me feel good just thinking about it now.

But there were the stories. Always the stories. There are plenty of people who can testify about post-Beatles music, but Seymour’s knowledge went way back, like I said, music came first. Mo Ostin fell into music. Clive Davis was a lawyer. Walter Yetnikoff? Even Bhaskar Menon… Seymour was sui generis, one of a kind.

And then when I got pemphigus foliaceus back in 2016… Seymour reached out and asked for my Jewish name, I had to call my mother to get it, I didn’t remember it, and then had a rabbi in Europe pray for me.

There’s humanity right there.

Seymour’s records are a legacy few can equal.

But if you knew Seymour… He wasn’t like anybody else, he was anything but aloof, you’d see him in some foreign country and he’d come up to you like you saw him yesterday. There was a lot of tragedy in his life, but he also touched a lot of people.

Including me.

P.S. I’m gonna print some e-mails I received over the years from Seymour to amplify my above points.

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Savoy Brown were one of the best of several British Blues bands produced by Mike Vernon.Another great Blues band Mike produced at Decca was Ten Years After.

Mike was at Decca, back in the mid-60’s.Like most staff producers, Mike could do just about anything.He produced David Bowie’s first recordings, released under his real name David Jones.

Perhaps best known for producing John Mayall’s Blues Breakerswhich provided launching pad for Eric Clapton. Other members included Peter Green,Mick Fleetwood and John McVie. The Blues Breakers we’re responsible for starting the British Blues movement in the UK. When any members asked Mayal for more money he would promptly fire them; seems there wasalways someone new ready to fill their shoes.

When Peter, Mick and John all confronted Mayall for a raise, thinking there might be strength in numbers, he fired them all. Mike Vernon suggested they start their own band and launched Blue Horizon Records, as home to Peter Green’s Fleetwood Mac, and the rest is history.

On Blue Horizon,Fleetwood Mac’s early hits included, “Albatross,” “Black Magic Woman” and “Need Your Love So Bad.”

Soon after, Mike signed Chicken Shack, fronted by Stan Webb with Christine (McVie) Perfect, on keyboards.Christine had her first hit, “I’d Rather Go Blind” on Blue Horizon, before leaving the band and eventually joining Fleetwood Mac.

Othergreat Blue Horizon artists were Duster Bennett and Johnny Almond.

Mike also brought Fleetwood Mac to Chess studios in Chicago and co- produced with Marshall Chess, an amazing set of recordings with blues greats Otis Spann,Willie Dixon and many of the other Chess blues players.

Mike Vernon is very much responsible for the British Blues movement in the UK.

In addition, Mike produced Sire’s first million selling single, “Hocus Pocus” and Gold album “Moving Waves” both by Dutch band, Focus, I signed to Sire.

Mike also produced an amazing album with Sire artist, Martha Velez, “Fiends and Angels,” which featured Eric Clapton, Stan Webb and Paul Kosoff, all on guitar,Christine Mc Vie on piano, Jack Bruce on bass, Brian Auger on organ, one of two fabulous albums Martha released on Sire.The other was “Escape From Babylon” produced in Jamaica by Bob Marley, early on in his career.Her version of “Get Up, Stand Up” was I believe, first recording of the song.

In my opinion, British Blues do not get enough credit for their contribution to music in the late 1960’s and beyond and most certainly Mike Vernon was greatly responsible for this.

All the best,

Seymour

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Ron Delsener was legendary in the live end of the business,when it was real struggle and and not always appreciated.

You had Bill Graham and Chet Helms in San Fransisco and Ronnie on the east coast.The role these men played in live end of Rock & Roll was monumental.I cherished the collection of 45’s I started amassing as a kid,but nothing matched those live events, which for me, as a kid, began with Alan Freed, first in Ohio and later in Brooklyn and Manhattan,which was my first mass exposure to live music,as a preteen kid beginning in Brooklyn at the Paramount and Fox Theatre’s during the Christmas and Easter breaks.and also R&B Jocks like WOV’s Jocko Henderson,Hal Jackson on WBLS others at the Apollo year round.

There were also similar radio shows in Chicago, hosted by E. Rodney Jones on great station, WVON, owned by the Chess brothers and live shows at the Regal,Jerry Blavat, Hot Rod, Fat Daddy and many others in Philadelphia, Baltimore and DC in Theatre’s like the Uptown. Royal and Howard.

One of my jobs, when I worked for King Records, still in my teens was going on the road with James Brown, when he headlined those shows.Only one who could compete on that level of performance was Jackie Wilson, a great athlete who could do many splits continuously on stage.

Marshall Chess, Leonard’s son and Ron Alexenberg would be good people to interview if you want top notch coverage of this live scene.

Only, just back in New York.Rough flight back.My bags missed the connection at Heathrow and only arrived 30 minutes ago.

All the best,

Seymour

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Mentoring taught and helped me achieve what I accomplished at Sire.Had many great mentors; Ahmet Ertegun, Jerry Wexler, Ahmet’s brother Nesuhi, Paul Ackerman and Tom Noonan at Billboard,George Goldner at Red Bird and others.

That said,Syd Nathan was most important mentor in my career.That is why book is dedicated to him

Just arrived in Mumbai, India, last night to attend two Music conferences.

I like Porter Wagoner, but if you want to hear best version of “A Satisfied Mind,” you should listen to the version by Jean Shepherd.With the exception of Kitty Wells, Jean was the best female country singer in the early 1950’s.

Jean also is great on “A Dear John Letter,” a duet with Ferlin Husky.

Kitty was amazing and her best recordings were answer songs, most famously “It Wasn’t G-d Who Made Honky Tonk Angels” in answer to Hank Thompson’s “Wild Side of Life” and also “Paying for That Back Street Affair,” in answer to “Back Street Affair” by Webb Pierce.Check them out.

Loving your Connecticut journals.Your mother sounds fabulous. You’re so lucky to have each other.

All the best,

Seymour

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With music it’s never the same, even if some of the new music bears more than slight resemblance to what might have preceded it, if not immediately, sometimes further back.

Yes, the Beatles helped bring rock into the LP business. Nat King Cole, Frank Sinatra, and others sold millions of albums before the Beatles.Johnny Mathis’ Greatest Hits stayed on charts for almost 20 years or more.

There were a lot of Broadway musicals like “My Fair Lady” and numeroussoundtracks that sold millions as well.

Most best selling rock albums, pre Beatles were singles compilations.The Beatles created Rock albums from scratch.There’s a difference.

Music in many ways mirrors the times in which we live.Sometimes history repeats itself.

One day we should have dinner and discuss this all.Might have some time next week in between book signings and getting my Grammy.

Let’s talk about the podcast.Would enjoy that.

All the best,

Seymour

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“Prior to the Beatles, the music business was a backwater.”I beg to differ.Music was Never a backwater.

You refer to record companies, but there was a music business in the United States, before there were gramophones and records.

It all started with Tin Pan Alley in New Yorkand the emergence of great American songwriters.Almost every middle class family had a piano in their parlor and songs like “After the Ball” sold as many as five million copies or more back in the 1890’s when the population of USA was 63;000,000.

Music was greatly enhanced by the introduction and popularity of the phonograph, but suffered setbacks duringtheGreat Depression,temporarily with the advent of radio, which eventually turned out to be a great benefactor.

Talking pictures, both helped and somewhat hampered.The first talkie was a musical, “The Jazz Singer,” starring Al Jolson.Many of the most successful early talkies were musicals.Most earlyposters from that era have three bands on the bottom that proclaim in both size and order “All singing,” “All dancing” “AllTalking”.

You make think that info from almost 100 years ago is irrelevant, but I would like to think that the Beatles, Rolling Stones, Frank Sinatra, Bing Crosby, Tommy Dorsey and others, perhaps even some on Sire like the Ramones, Talking Heads, Madonna, Pretenders, Depeche Mode, Replacements, Smith’s, Cure, Cult, k.d.lang, And artists I picked up late in the game like Lou Reed, Cyndi Lauper and Brian Wilson,will still be remembered and cherished.

The music business goes back hundreds of years and superstars like Beethoven,Bach, Tchaikovsky, Mozart and many others.Their fans were royalty and the elite, a relatively small market and yet their music survives.

I’m a huge fan of the Beatles, but without the music they heard from the United States, and their initial A&R man, German composer, producer, Bert Kaempfert, who produced their earliest recordings during their days in Hamburg.

Kaempfert had his own #1 in us with “Wonderland By Night” and also wrote “Strangers in the Night,” for Sinatra,“Spanish Eyes,” “Wooden Heart,” “Danke Schoen” and others.

Please don’t get me wrong.I love, love, lovethe Beatles. Knew and met them all. John Lennon and his then, girlfriend, May Pang, visited my apartment, where Elton John was staying with me and my wife Linda on the Thanksgiving Day, just before John and Elton performed “Whatever Gets You Through the Night.” I’ve also taught at RADA, Paul McCartney’s University in Liverpool. Was just in Liverpool last month,which remains one of the greatest music cities in the world.

I researched and see you were born in 1953, probably nine or ten when you first heard the Beatles,a time when lasting memories begin and are held forever.

When I was a lad, I heard Hank Williams, Fats Domino,doo-wop like “Gee” by the Crows, “Sh-Boom” by the Chords and “Hearts of Stone” by Otis Williams and the Charms and early Elvis on Sun. Years later, I was fortunate enough to work with some of the men behind those records, like Syd Nathan at King Records, Ahmet Ertegun at Atlantic and George Goldner, then at Red Bird; all later became mentors of mine. The music and memories stick with me to this day.

The years in which we were born, to a large extent,shape our taste in music and will continue to do so in future.

Much of what you say is correct,Most of all, “The music will change, that we know for sure, it always does”.

Please let me have your thoughts when you can.Really value your input.

Hope you are feeling and doing well.

All the best,

Seymour

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Barry McGuire??? You’ve got to be kidding. “Eve of Destruction” was an incredible song, but give credit where is credit is due; to the writers, P.F. Sloan, Steve Barri, and Lou Adler.

 

The real pioneering artists of that period were, of course, The Weavers, and in particular, Pete Seeger, but also Lee Hays, Ronnie Gilbert, and Fred Hellerman; and of course Joan Baez, an early supporter and believer in Bob Dylan, who helped nurture his career early on.

 

Tim Hardin was another great writer; “Reason To Believe,” “The Lady Came from Baltimore,” “If I Were A Carpenter,” “Misty Roses,” and others. One can only imagine how many more important songs he would’ve penned had he not died so young.

 

All the best,

 

Seymour Stein

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As far as I recall, the term reggae was not used until around 1968.

“The Tide is High” is more Rocksteady and a hit first for it’s writer, John Holt and his band, the Paragons in 1966

They are notto be confused with 1950’sdoo-wop group, The Paragons, from Brooklyn, who had great success with “Florence” and “Let’s Start Over Again” on the Winley label;also home to the Jesters.

No need to print this,

Best,

Seymour

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You’re right about Bill Haley, one listen to original “Shake, Rattle & Roll” by Joe Turner says it all.Bill Haley & the Comets owe their limited success to “Blackboard Jungle” using “Rock Around the Clock” the film and to one of the greatest, A&R men and producers, Milt Gabler at Decca.

Chuck Berry was great, perhaps the greatest.He wrote great POP songs in the early days of Rock & Roll.His only rival in that respect was Otis Blackwell, ” Don’t Be Cruel,” “All Shook Up,” “Return to Sender,” for Elvis;”Fever” for Little Willie John,”Great Balls of Fire” and “Breathless”, for Jerry Lee Lewis, “Handy Man for Jimmy James,”Hey Little Girl” for Dee Clark and more.

As a performer few could come close to Chuck.But,Little Richard was incredible liveand for all his 250 pounds, Fats Domino could move and pump that piano across stage with amazing grace.Jerry Lee Lewis; also amazing.They’re about all of the great ones from those early days, still alive and hopefully kicking.

Sam Cooke, James Brown, Clyde McPhatter, Jackie Wilson, Ray Charles, Bo Diddley, Hank Ballard, Tony Williams of the Platters and one, not yet inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, Ivory Joe Hunter, who I regard as the missing link between Country and R&B with songs he wrote and recorded like, “I Almost Lost My Mind” and “Since I Met You Baby”.

Also, lest not forget Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, who together wrote and often produced some of the greatest early Rock & Roll records ever.

“Hail, Hail, Rock & Roll

Deliver me from the days of old

Long live Rock & Roll

The best of the drum is loud and bold” b

Seymour Stein

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Believe Sly also produced “C’mon and Swim” by Bobby Freeman on Autumn. Sly was an amazing talent.

Donahue had a partner in Autumn, Bob Mitchell, also a disk-jockey.

The Fleetwoods were an amazing group, from Washington state, who like the Beau Brummels were two-hit wonders,but what hits, “Come Softly to Me” and even better in my opinion, “Mr. Blue” only difference is that both were number 1’s.They also scored with a revival of Thomas Wayne’s, “Tragedy,” and then faded away.

All the best,

Seymour

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Roger Miller was most of all a great songwriter. One of his earliest and I believe his first hit was “When Two Worlds Collide” on RCA Victor.

Two of his great early compositions were “Invitation to the Blues,” a major hit for Ray Price  on Columbia and “Billy Bayou,” an early hit for Jim Reeves on RCA Victor.

Roger had been around for several years.It was Mercury/Smash A&R man Shelby Singleton’s belief in Miller that really helped his career take off.Singleton sadly is not given all the credit he deserves and was an incredible Music Man and even more incredible character.

It was Shelby who introduced me to Roger Miller, who I met just once in NY, when we all had dinner at Trader Vic’s, around the corner from the old Mercury offices on 5th Avenue.

Thanks for bringing back those memories.Try to listen to those Roger Miller songs.”When Two Worlds Collide” and “Invitation to the Blues” both show a more serious side to his writing

talents.

All the best,

Seymour.

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Wow! Two Sire acts mentioned and both favorably.Thanks for that!After three days and nights at Great Escape in Brighton, I’m on my way to Music Matters in Singapore. Really looking forward to it. Missed it last year and really regretted it. Madonna and Talking Heads were so great. Ramones, Pretenders, and so many others.Thanks for reminding me how lucky I’ve been.

Yes, BOOK OF MORMON is wonderful.But, the real ground breaking Rock musical was HAIR.The powers that be at the time, the Shubert’s and others wouldn’t even let in on Broadway. I’m told that when Joe Papp put in on at his Theatre, they pressured him to close it. Don’t know how accurate that is.

I got an invite to uptown opening of HAIR, when I was working for George Goldner, the legendary Rock indie.They couldn’t get it into a theatre, so it played at discotheque across from the Brill Building, The Cheetah. Went there with Ellie Greenwich, Shadow Morton and legendary groupie, my dear friend Roberta Goldstein. We all loved it. It had five hit singles come out of it. That hadn’t happened since the Gershwin’s, Irving Berlin, Cole Porter and Rodger,s and Hart (and Hammerstein) were there back in the 30’s through early 50’s.

Those Brill Building days, working at Red Bird Records, just before starting Sire with Richard Gottehrer were among the happiest of my life.

If you’re still in London check out new Helen Mirren play,it’s Brilliant.If by chance, you’re back at MusicMatters again this year, look forward to seeing you.

All the best,

Seymour

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Try to make it out to MOSCA’S, in Avondale, just over the Mississippi Bridge.

Best food in the area.Legend has it that when Al Capone was arrested back in the ’40’s, his chef, MOSCA was kidnapped for his own protection and brought down to New Orleans.The local Mafia had him cook for them.

When Capone died about three years later, they helped the chef open his own place.The food is a combination, New Orleans/Sicilian.Oysters Mosca and Shrimps Mosca the best, also the spaghetti.All guaranteed to please.Today, the restaurant is run by his son and daughter, who closely guard the old recipes.

Other favorites Clancy’s, Commander’s Palace and for quick lunch in quarter, Le Bon Ton Cafe.

If you have extra time, check out the music and food up in Lafayette, Zydeco  capital of the world and restaurants, Prejean’s and also Don’s, both Cajun style. Musically, there’s usually something always going on, on the weekend.

We all owe New Orleans a great debt for it’s contribution to Rhythm & Blues and Rock & Roll and of course Jazz.Back in the early 50’s and earlier all the r & b indies, Atlantic, Specialty, King, Imperial, Chess, Aladdin, Modern had scouts in  New Orleans mining the area for talent.

I’m in Liverpool at the moment, at Liverpool Sound City.

All the best

Seymour

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Just read yesterday’s blog.Bought back a distant memory from the past.

Jack Pearl was one of those 1950/1960’s era music lawyers who
represented my great mentor Syd Nathan of King Record’s, but also
represented James Brown, Kings biggest artist and Ben Bart, James
Brown’s manager.In addition, Jack was married to Ben Bart’s sister.
He was very smart but quite nasty and mean.When anyone spoke about
being poor, he would say, “being poor is nothing to be ashamed of, but that doesn’t mean you should go around bragging about it”.

By the way, really enjoyed your blog about old, top 40 hit singles.I
really like “Down in the boondocks” by Billy Joe Royal, quite a good
singer.The real star there was Joe South who wrote the song and lots
of the other great ones like “You’re the reason”, “Games People Play”
and “I never promised you a rose garden”.

Both Billy Joe Royal and Joe South were mentored by Bill Lowrey of
Lowrey Music publishing; the company that first put Atlanta on the map
musically back in the late 50’s and early 1960’s.

Good seeing you in Toronto

All the Best

Seymour

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Back in (58 or 59) when I was still in my teens, a group The Fleetwoods
who I believe came out of Seattle, at least that’s where their label
Dolton was headquartered they had only two real hits “Come Softly To Me” and “Mr. Blue” both # 1’s.They also had a top ten “Tragedy” a
re-record of Thomas Wayne’s original a few years before.

Many years later, an A&R man at Warner Bros. played me “I Melt With You” by Modern English on 4AD. I said, “If it’s available grab it and put it
out. “He replied, “Why don’t you pick it up, that was the only thing I
heard that was any good of theirs.”

I did exactly that, licensing it from Martin Mills and like the French
auctioneer says before he slams the hammer down Pas de regret.My
answer an emphatic, NO!” I Melt With You” was the band’s only hit, but
it’s a classic!

“He who hesitates is lost.”

All the best,
Seymour

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Discovering that Candi Staton’s “He Called Me Baby” is a song rooted in country should not come as a surprise.Country and Western and Rhythm and Blues are much closer than people realize.When you consider the roots both lie in the South, it’s really no surprise.King Records where I got my education was in Cincinnati, on the Kentucky border and very much influenced by both genres.Syd Nathan would often take songs recorded by his country acts and record them by R&B acts.Two that come to mind are “Blood Shot Eyes” by Hank Penny also massively successful in R&B by Wynonie Harris and”Signed, Sealed and Delivered” a number one
country smash for Cowboy Copas, was later done successfully by James
Brown.

Paul Ackerman, the legendary music editor of Billboard and Rock & Roll
Hall Of Fame inductee gave Jerry Wexler the country song “Just Out Of
Reach”which was Solomon Burke’s debut after he left Apollo Records to
join Atlantic.The original country and western version was on the Four
Star label.I forget the group.

Perhaps, the greatest of all examples was Ray Charles classic album
Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music and brought the artist to the mainstream.The hit single, “I Can’t Stop Loving You” was written by
Don Gibson for Kitty Wells and was a hit in both fields.Other songs of
note on the album were “Born To Lose” and two Floyd Tillman tunes “It
Makes No Difference Now” and “I Love You So Much It Hurts” as well as
three Hank William’s classics “Hey Goodlookin'””You Win Again,” and
“Half As Much.”

Pop A&R men like Mitch Miller at Columbia and Hugo Winterhalter were
also quick to spot country classics and record them by pop acts in the
days just before the beginning of Rock & Roll.Miller had great success
with “Cold Cold Heart” by Tony Bennett.”You Belong To Me” by Joe
Stafford.”Half As Much” by Rosemary Clooney and later in the early
days of rock with Guy Mitchell’s “Singin’ The Blues” and “Heartaches By
The Number” originally introduced in country by Marty Robbins and Ray
Price respectively.Winterhalter produced Eddie Fisher with Eddy
Arnold’s massive country hit “Anytime”and also Slim Willet’s “Don’t
Let The Stars Get In Your Eyes” a number one for Perry Como.

Perhaps the best example of pop goes country is Patti Pages’ “Tennessee
Waltz” written by Pee Wee King and Redd Stewart produced by either her
manager Jack Rael or Mercury exec Art Talmadge, I can’t recall.First a
hit in country in versions by Cowboy Copas and Pee Wee King.Patti
Pages’, one of the first “multi-track” recordings spent over three
months at the top of the pop charts.

Listened to Candi Staton’s”He Called Me Baby” and like it a lot.If
you’re not familiar with Little Esther Phillips version of “Release Me,”
I think you’ll enjoy it.Originally a country hit both for Kitty Wells
and Ray Price.Any of these three versions far superior to Englebert
Humperdinck in 1967.All this just goes to prove is a great song is a
great song; back in the 50’s and 60’s and still true today.

Good to hear you’ll be in Toronto.Look forward to seeing you at
Canadian Music Week.

Best Regards,
Seymour

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Back in the day before Chrysalis Records there was the Ellis-Wright
Organization with a small office, I believe at 123 Regents St. with just
Chris and Terry and their secretary Rose.I knew them through Mike
Vernon, my partner and founder of Blue Horizon Records original home to Peter Greene’s Fleetwood Mac and Chicken Shack which featured Christine Perfect (later McVie) on Piano.Mike was also a star producer at
British Decca where he produced John Mayall’s Blues Breakers, Eric
Clapton, Keef Hartley, Aynsley Dunbar Retaliation, and two bands looked
after by Ellis Wright: Ten Years After and also Savoy Brown Blues Band.
Mike also produced David Bowie’s first album for Decca.

Back then, I always had a complex about the fact that I couldn’t play an
instrument.I was in the music business since age 14 working at
Billboard while in school and later for Syd Nathan at King Records and
finally for George Goldner at Redbird Records and his partners Leiber &
Stoller in the Brill Building.I was in the business, but couldn’t
play.It really bothered me.It was in the Brill Building that I met
Richard Gottehrer who was to become my partner and close friend in Sire
Records.Richard’s company FGG Productions was on the 10th Floor and
Redbird was on the 9th Floor of this fabled building.Richard was a
great and gifted musician (as well as songwriter/producer/artist) When
we started Sire my complex about not being a musician grew even greater.

One day in London I went with Mike Vernon and his then engineer Gus
Dudgeon, (later Elton John’s producer) to the Windsor Pop and Jazz
Festival where some of our Blue Horizon artists were playing.There was
this one new band managed by Chris and Terry.They took the stage and
stole the show.I couldn’t believe how great they were. The minute
their set was over I turned to Mike and said, “We ought to sign this
band to Blue Horizon, you know they are looked after by Chris and
Terry.”Mike turned to me and said, “Seymour, I don’t want to work with
a band fronted by a flautist.”My heart sank!

I turned to Gus Dudgeon and said “Gus, please help me. Tell Mike we
should try to sign this band.”Gus turned to me and said, “Seymour,
obviously you don’t play a musical instrument.If you did you would
have heard all the bad notes the band hit.”I couldn’t believe what I
was hearing.The band was of course Jethro Tull.Jethro Tull launched
the Chrysalis label which along with Island and Virgin were the three
great English Indie labels that emerged in the early 1970’s.

I am happy that Warner Music Group played a major role in the launch of
these labels in the United States.I am also happy that about two years
later when I found and signed the Dutch band Focus featuring Thijs van
Leer on flute and Jan Akkermann on guitar. I took the demos to Mike
Vernon and said, “I don’t care if you like flautists or not you’re
producing this record.”That album “Moving Ways” was Sire’s first
platinum record and helped keep our doors open ’til I discovered CBGB’s
and along with it The Ramones and Talking Heads.By that time Richard
Gottehrer had left Sire, but found and produced Blondie so we were both
well on our way.

Perhaps most important of all, after that incident at the Windsor Pop &
Jazz Festival, I was never again bothered that I couldn’t play an
instrument.Finding and signing the artists, hearing hit songs are more
than enough for me and have served me well over the years.Had I
followed Gus Dudgeon’s rules I would have never signed The Ramones, the
band that opened up all the doors and along with Talking Heads landed
Sire the deal with Mo and Lenny at Warner’s.

Thank you Chris, thank you Terry.

-Seymour Stein

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Last night, 13th January, I journeyed up to United House of Prayer in Harlem to attend the funeral and pay tribute to a true industry giant, record producer Bobby Robinson. His hit R&B productions included “Kansas City” by Wilbert Harrison, “Every Beat Of My Heart” the record that launched the career of Gladys Knight and the Pips.The amazing New Orleans smash “Ya Ya” by Lee Dorsey.“Soul Twist”by King Curtis and the iconic “Fannie May” by Buster Brown – that song surely must have inspired Brian Wilson when composing “Help Me Rhonda” for the Beach Boys.Robinson also produced some of Elmore James’ best recordings including “The Sun Is Crying” and some of the greatest ever doo-wop like “I’m So Happy” and  “Honey Honey” by Lewis Lyman and the Teenchords (Frankie’s brother).“Oh Gee, Oh Gosh” by the Kodoks and numerous hits by The Velvets, The Channels, and The Scarlets.

 

A pioneer in hip-hop, later on in his career Bobby produced early recordings by Grandmaster Flash and The Furious Five.The Funky Four Plus One More, Kool Moe Dee to name a few.

 

Bobby’s career in music began in 1946 when he opened Bobby’s Record Shop, the first black owned business on West 125th St., a favorite hang out for r&b stars appearing down the street at the Apollo.Back during my days at King Records in the early 1960’s I went up to Bobby’s with Hank Ballard and James Brown.My boss Syd Nathan thought Bobby was the best r&b producer at that time.Bobby had a great audio system blasting the music out on to the street attracting huge crowds.He called it his radio station, W-BOBBY.

 

Bobby’s various labels over 60 years in the business included Fire, Fury, Everlast, Enjoy, Whirlin’ Disc.He was 93 and still active.Sadly turnout from the music community was minimal, Tom Silverman of Tommy Boy, writer Andy Schwartz and a few others.Paul Winley of Winley Records home to 1950’s doo-woppers The Paragons and the Jesters made a touching tribute, Congressman Charlie Rangel made the opening remarks.

 

Bobby Robinson, a true legend and hopefully a future Rock & Roll Hall of Famer.

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I could not agree more that Linda Ronstadt belongs in the Rock and Roll of Fame.I do believe her admission is inevitable, too bad it’s so long
overdue.

Feel the same about the Moody Blues, Chuck Willis, Joe Tex, The
Searchers, Carly Simon, Chicago and many others.

Thanks for your mention of “Tainted Love”.So proud to have had Soft
Cell on Sire.Thought it was a natural, took so long to work its way up
the chart and it spent a total of 43 weeks on the hot 100 as it broke
from city to city.”Tainted Love” was written by Ed Cobb, leader of the
1950’s group, the Four Preps; most famous for hits “Twenty Six Miles”
and “Big Man”.I loved their spoof on groups “More Money for You and
Me”, not quite as big a hit but memorable.

In your discussion of songwriters who are also artists.Please remember
that Bobby Darin wrote “Early in the Morning”, recorded under the name
the Rinkidinks on ATCO which was also a hit for Buddy Holly.

Hall of Famer, Gene Pitney actually started as a songwriter, writing
hits like “Hello Mary Lou” for Ricky Nelson, “Rubber Ball” for Bobby Vee
and “He’s a Rebel” for the Crystals.All this came before his first
solo hit, “The Man who Shot Liberty Valance”.Gene is best remembered
for “Only Love can Breaka Heart” and “It Hurts to be in Love”.

Country great Don Gibson wrote “I Can’t Stop Loving You” and stuck it on
the b side of his country/pop smash “Oh Lonesome Me”.He actually wrote
it for Kitty Wells, “Queen of country music” who took it to number three
on the country charts in 1958.Other versions in country included Faron
Young in 1956, Patsy Cline in 1963 and Emmy Lou Harris in 1976.

“Oh Lonesome Me” was recorded by Neil Young on “After the Goldrush” LP.

“I Can’t Stop Loving You” changed the life and career of Ray Charles as
it was the prime track on his “Modern Sounds” in Country and Western
music.The single was Ray Charles biggest ever, same with the album.

Joe South, country singer songwriter most famous for “Games People Play”
back in 1969 is also the writer of “Down in the Boondocks” by Billie Joe
Royal.”Hush” by Deep Purple and Billie Joe Royal, “I never Promised
You a Rose Garden” by Lynn Anderson and “Birds of a feather” by Paul
Revere and the Raiders.

The great Ivory Joe Hunter who surely belongs in the Rock and Roll hall
of Fame is perhaps best known for “Since I Met You Baby” which he wrote
and recorded for Atlantic back in 1956. The song became a number one
country hit years later by Sonny James.Hunter also wrote, “Out of
Sight, Out of Mind” for doo wop group, the 5 Keys and three Elvis
Presley songs “Ain’t that loving you Baby”, “My Wish Came True” and “I
Need You So”.

When I first heard Tim Hardin, I thought he would have an incredible
career as singer songwriter.Tragically, his life was cut short but not
before writing some of the great songs of the 1960’s and 70’s including,
“Reasons to Believe”, “If I Were a Carpenter”, “The Lady Came from
Baltimore”, “Misty Roses”, “Don’t Make Promises” and also “How Nice we
Hang on to a Dream”, recorded by Echo and the Bunnymen on Sire.

The songwriter is the key to everything.So great you spent so much
time outlining this in your recent blog post.

Glad you made mention of Hank Williams, my all-time favorite.I’m sure
you’re familiar with songs he wrote and recorded under the name Luke the
Drifter like “Pictures from Life’s other Side” and “Be Careful of the
Stones That you Throw”, a hit years later for Dion (DiMucci)

Pat Boone who I feel is somewhat underrated because of his pop cover
versions of songs by Fats Domino, Little Richard and others recorded “I
Almost Lost My Mind”, in my opinion Hunter’s best ever song and Boones
best ever recording.Was not technically a cover because Hunter’s
recording was from 1950, Boones from 1956 when it spent four weeks at
number one. . . . . . same year Elvis was at number 1 with “Heartbreak
Hotel”, “I Want You, I Need You, I Love You”, “Don’t be Cruel”/”Hound
Dog” and “Love Me Tender”.

Dion, who gave up his seat to Buddy Holly on that an ill-fated plane.
Buddy was anxious to get back to his bride, Maria Elena.

Finally, can’t leave out of the list J.D Souther, whose songs like “New
Kid in Town” and “Best of my Love” are classics, but was a damn good
artist as well.

All the best,

Seymour

P.S Hardly ever write responses although I am an avid reader.Feeling
quite sentimental this past week.The passing of several friends, some
unexpected like Pete Bennett and Mickey ‘Guitar’ Baker.Others who have
been sick for a very long time like legendary live agent Frank Barsalona
and Broadway producer, Marty Richards.

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“Keith and I trolled the Brill Building for songs in the summer of ‘ 64. Nobody would see us except Seymour. He was at Red Bird Records doing promo for Lieber & Stoller. He gave us ‘Down Home Girl’ by Alvin Robinson. We cut it with the Stones. Seymour had the ears of an angel and vinyl blood.”

Andrew Loog Oldham

We were the generation that thought we were going to live forever.

Everything they say is true, it goes by in the blink of an eye. However I can’t say that either my high school or college days were the best of my life. I never want to go back to school. I like not being anxious on Sunday nights. I like not worrying about grades. And I especially like the lack of competition over meaningless data. Like grade-grubbing in college. I mean what difference does it make? Oh, high grades might get you into a better graduate school. Meanwhile, everybody who seems to change the world dropped out of college. Or certainly didn’t go to graduate school. Of course there are exceptions, but being good at school is like being a professional athlete. Your career is time-stamped, and when it’s over, you’ve still got a lot of living to do.

Forever if you’re a baby boomer, like I said above.

Come on, we all know we’re going to die, but we don’t feel it. It’s something abstract, off in the future. While we’re growing up someone we know falls through the ice, or dies in a car crash, but we see those as anomalies. And maybe someone else dies of cancer, maybe even in their twenties. But not us, we’re bulletproof, we’re made to last.

Only we’re not.

We are the generation that refused to get old. Wearing our kids’ jeans as well as getting plastic surgery. Because image is everything. If you look young, you are. Fifty is the new forty. What a bunch of hogwash that is. You may feel young, but tell that to your body, it knows no different, fifty is really fifty. Never mind that we were brought up on a diet of fast food and most of us don’t exercise.

I didn’t think I was going to die until I got cancer, back in 2009. I was the first in my group to get it, woe is me. But since then…I know many more people who’ve gotten it much worse. Some have passed. Others survive, but they’re members of the club too, the ones who’ve been hipped to the fact that we’re all gonna pass.

But hopefully later rather than sooner.

We keep hearing about our progeny, the Millennials. How they’re not going to do as well financially as we did. Sorry, but most of us didn’t do so well. There used to be a middle class. Now that’s gone. Either you’re upper middle class or richer, or you struggle. Or will when your money runs out in old age. Everybody expects to live to a hundred, but it never occurred to them how to pay for it. Just like with politics, writers are out of touch. They think since they’re doing well financially, the rest of their generation is, just like they  missed the Trump voter, primarily working class, abandoned by the Democrats.

That’s another change from our parents’ generation. Today it’s everybody for themselves. The richer you are, the less you give to charity, it’s the poor who are laying down their dough. Of course I’m speaking percentage-wise, but so many who made it did so based on ripping off the public, overcharging people, using sleight-of-hand, they’re not about to change now. Money is status.

But as you get older you realize this is untrue. We revert to our high school identities. We’re all retired, we’re all in it together. We focus on gossip, the petty. Of course there are those who continue to work. But most interestingly, the financially-challenged don’t realize that it’s nearly impossible to get a job as you get older. No one is hiring ninety-year-olds. So when you run out of money…

That’s gonna happen a lot with boomers.

Who complain about physical ailments, but somehow their hearts and arteries are immune. They’re good, they’re standing here, aren’t they?

Especially men, going to doctors is anathema. If you don’t think about it, don’t acknowledge it, it doesn’t exist. But rust never sleeps, neither does the attrition of old age. Go for a full battery of tests, you’d be surprised how you’re compromised. As for that belief that you should take no drugs… Take them, as many as the doctor prescribes. I know a fiftysomething who was externally fit who was told she had high blood pressure and should take medication, she refused, chose the homeopathic path and had a stroke. Yup, ignore the doctor’s advice at your peril.

Now I’m detecting a bit of anger in this screed. I guess because I’m doing everything right and it may not even matter. So much is DNA. My father went to the doctor, took the advice, got multiple myeloma and died at 70. Meanwhile, our close family friend went to the doctor sporadically, delayed surgery, and lived to 92. Just like you hear about people who smoked like a chimney and lived to be a hundred. But they’re the exception. And I look around and see all the people who are cavalier regarding their health. I want to wake them, shake them, before it’s over. But the joke could be on me. I could drop dead tomorrow. It happens.

I met Michael Leon in 1990. He invited me to a show at the A&M soundstage. Which is not A&M anymore. That company was gobbled up by a conglomerate, who’s heard of Alain Levy recently? Even Edgar Bronfman, Jr. is lost to the sands of music business history. As for Edgar…bad financial choices. But somehow, my generation believes its money is forever, that someone else loses out, that everybody wins, kind of Lake Wobegon, where every student is above-average.

And Michael was warm and intelligent. Which not everybody in the music business is. There are a lot of uneducated hustlers, who can sell, but can’t have a deep conversation about anything other than music.

This was not Michael.

Who sent me some money when I needed it, out of his payout from the sale of A&M. By today’s standards it wouldn’t even buy a business lunch, but it meant everything to me back then.

And we went skiing together in the year 2000. He invited me to sleep in his giant room at the Goldener Hirsch in Deer Valley.

He worked for SBK. He worked for Hybrid. He worked with the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

I remember him telling me after he fell off the board that he never cared if he flew on a private jet again. Which is the goal of the hoi polloi. Forget the rich who fly private on a regular basis, might even have their own plane, there are those a level below who get to fly on the small planes where you never have to wait and get hooked by the convenience. But Michael realized it was ultimately all b.s. He knew.

I’m learning.

And then he started to winter in Palm Springs. Michael is a dyed-in-the-wool New Yorker. At least he was, I’m still speaking in the present tense. And he spoke about getting together. But it was Covid and the vaccine didn’t work for me…

Which no one could understand. Of course it worked for them. But I was taking a medication for my pemphigus that wiped out all my B cells.

That’s another thing, boomers don’t want to hear about your problems, they just want to soldier on, until it happens to them.

And I’ve been wondering recently why Michael hasn’t contacted me. Now I’m vaccinated, now I’m going out.

And then today I read he died, at 76.

At least Seymour Stein made it to 80.

76. Tell a baby boomer they only have a few years left. They’re never going to believe it, not them. Even though they took Social Security early because they believed it was their money, and they were worried about the program crapping out. What are you going to do when you’re old? The government is not going to take pity on you, it’s not going to give you any more. Maybe you can stay with your kids. Assuming you’ve got kids.

Or you can commit suicide, a death of despair. Honestly, I’ve contemplated that. If I run out of money. I’ve got no children. What else am I going to do?

And we keep putting things off, trips, seeing old friends.

And then we’re infirm and can’t travel, and our old friends die.

I’m not going to tell you how to live your life, what to do, other than to go to the doctor and listen to what they have to say. And while I’m at it, get a supplemental Medicare policy and be sure to sign up for a drug plan, if you don’t, you’re going to pay a penalty. Because if you can find an old person who doesn’t take medication…I can’t.

That’s something you learn as you get older. You’re in charge, you make the choices. And you bear the consequences. And there are no do-overs. Employ all the excuses you want. But at some point you have to stop blaming your parents, your upbringing, and bear the burden yourself.

But responsibility did not fit in with the hippie ethos. Which transformed into the ethos of greed, once it was legitimized by Reagan. Mine for me, that’s what it’s all about. So why should you expect others to take care of you when you need it?

I guess I’m pissed. That I won’t see Michael Leon again. That so many in my generation are unprepared for what’s coming down. And the fact that I’m going to die.

I’m going to let you in on a little secret. Assuming you’re sick, you ultimately make peace with the fact you’re going to pass. Like all this b.s. about fighting cancer mentally, that’s just what it is, b.s. My cancer lowered my hemoglobin to the point where climbing a flight of stairs was challenging, not only physically, but mentally. Walking cross town in NYC the roads have a hump in the middle, that strained me. Ultimately I found tolerable iron pills which alleviated the problem to a great degree, but it’s still there, just less, my hemoglobin never returned to normal.

All this is to say your friend with terminal cancer usually accepts their death when it comes near. It’s those that are left who can’t accept it.

I’m having a hard time accepting all the people who are passing. The rock stars. Classic rock records may still be around, but the people who made the music…

And the people I know. Or knew.

No one here gets out alive. Remember that.

Ticketmaster is committed. All dates that play after January 1st will be all-in. This will end customer confusion. They will only see one price. The main reason Live Nation is doing this is to cut the FTC off at the pass. Michael Rapino learned this from Daniel Ek. You get ahead of the customer, that’s the only way to win. Rapino offered Ek a board seat, but Daniel refused it, he’s fighting his own battles of misinformation.

As for Robert Smith… Like a typical artist, he doesn’t know his own business. Acts can always negotiate the fees, not down to zero, but if you can sell tickets, you have negotiating power. Why he and his manager didn’t know this is beyond me. But this is what happened with Springsteen, he tours infrequently and he and Jon Landau were not up to speed on managing ticket prices and they got caught with their pants down. However, the Boss seems to have dodged a bullet, his fans are going to the show and are happy.

As for Cure tickets for $20. In the big city that’s how much it costs to go to a movie, and if you want to pick your seat it’s even more. Kick back, should you be entitled to see the Cure for twenty bucks? What next, a pastrami sandwich for $1.95? That’s the seventies man, and concert tickets were twenty bucks in the eighties. But rationality…how can we get it in ticketing when we can’t even get it in politics? What we need are ticketing schools. Or maybe even a ticketing Zoom, which will live online forever, informing the public how ticketing really works. Congress can watch too!

Not that Congress is really a factor here. It investigates, the elected officials grandstand and do nothing. But the FTC, led by activist Lina Khan, that’s a worry to Live Nation, which of course owns Ticketmaster. Like I said above, Ticketmaster wants to get ahead of the game.

Right now it’s about public image. Because image is more important than reality in today’s market. So Daniel Ek may not have taken a seat on the board, but Robert Smith was offered a chair and he has taken it. As for the rumor there’s also going to be a public citizen on the board…this is a good idea, but it was nixed by Greg Maffei, chairman of Live Nation.

So how is this going to work?

Well, the window is shortened too. Ticketmaster will not sell tickets for any dates that play more than six months out. So fans won’t complain about the interest on their money. And this shortened time period is a benefit to them, because there are better odds they will know their schedule.

As for pricing ceiling… No ticket outside the first ten rows will sell for more than $500 for five years. I know that sounds high, but think of those Springsteen tickets that were listed for thousands. Maffei got this idea from SiriusXM, where he is also chairman. During his tenure running the satellite radio company Mel Karmazin guaranteed there would never ever be commercials on the music channels, so the ticketing plan was based on this. As for scalpers…

Five percent of tickets for every show will be sold directly to scalpers. They will be numbered and easily identifiable. There will always be people who want to overpay just to be in the building and they must be satisfied. The scalpers will do this. They also take the risk of ending up with worthless tickets, but that’s the game they’re in. If the scalpers sell any ticket that is not connected directly to them, they will be kicked out of the system. Yes, every scalper will be licensed, and their books audited by PricewaterhouseCoopers.

As for the rest of the public… All tickets will now be digital, attached to your phone. And you can resell them on the Ticketmaster site for the exact same price. No fees will be attached to resale, Ticketmaster gave in to the acts on this.

The acts are not happy with all-in ticketing. But Live Nation keeps them alive, it pays much more than record companies, so the promotion company has leverage. The acts like fees. The acts take essentially all of the ticket’s face value, the promoter making his money up on the fees, and everybody blames Ticketmaster. That’s now history.

As for AEG… If you noticed, AEG didn’t sign on to the Fair Ticketing Act. And AEG is not going all-in right now either. AEG is having such success with the Zach Bryan tour ticketing that it is going to continue down that path.

As for Verified Fan, that goes by the wayside. Ticketmaster has partnered with TikTok to verify the address and phone number of each and every potential concertgoer in the United States, the data will be crunched and it will be known exactly who ticket purchasers are. You will not have a chip under your skin to get in, but Jim Dolan’s facial recognition software will be employed at tight gigs. If it can keep lawyers out of Madison Square Garden, it can keep out bad acting concertgoers using illegal tickets too.

So how can you break up Live Nation and Ticketmaster when the company is the only one being proactive and actually trying to solve the problems in the ticketing world?

But enough is never enough. For every sold-out show there will be a lottery, enter your name and you might win a free ticket to the gig. This is kind of like the fan vote in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. People are constantly bitching they can’t get in the building, never mind at a fair price. This solves that. And the seats will always be good, because they will be made up of artist holds. As for how many tickets will be given away… Negotiations between Live Nation and the acts has resulted in the guaranteed number of four. But you’d be surprised, shows that are supposed to be sold out are not, and this will be a way to paper the show if in truth all tickets have not been sold. Of course you’re going to have to cough up your data to participate in the lottery, you pay for everything in the digital world, and if it’s not cash, it’s with your personal information. Everybody’s going to sign up for the lottery and the phone numbers and addresses as well as photographs will ultimately allow Live Nation to cut down on ticketing shenanigans.

But to truly satiate fans, Garth Brooks has convinced Rapino to lean on his clients to do residencies, until demand is satiated in every market. Superstars are biting, because they hate the travel. Although it is a lot of work.

So what else do you want? Scalping is limited, and works for those who want to overpay, and not only are hidden fees eliminated, but you even have a chance of getting in free! Even the most vocal superfan can’t complain, and it’s always a few nuts making the most noise anyway.

So hate on Ticketmaster no more. Ticketmaster is your friend, Ticketmaster is making change, to your benefit. The acts can no longer blame the ticketing company. Hallelujah!

Maybe… Because there is the issue of Ticketmaster paying buildings for exclusives. Competitors don’t like this. But it looks like a deal is being brokered. Wherein Ticketmaster will have exclusives, but there will be no guarantees and limited fees. The numbers haven’t been revealed, but they’re coming.

All on a Friday night no less.