Charlie Hellman is Vice President and Global Head of Music Product for Spotify. We discuss the tools artists are offered, how to promote yourself, the truth about payment and… This is the guy who oversees artists’ interaction with Spotify, get it from the source.

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/charlie-hellman/id1316200737?i=1000700094057

 

 

 

https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/9ff4fb19-54d4-41ae-ae7a-8a6f8d3dafa8/episodes/dd895760-a1a7-4a81-af3c-28829a9d208d/the-bob-lefsetz-podcast-charlie-hellman

“Love Is Like a Rock” live on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@bobbo99999/video/7480666558923197742

This is who we are.

I’m not sure what the younger generations are gonna do in their old age. Are they going to sit around and rap? It’s possible. But the amazing thing about the rock generation is…THEY’RE STILL ROCKING!

Sure, you can go see the classic rock acts on the road, assuming they’re alive and in good health, but it’s deeper than that. So many of the wannabes of the sixties decades later are picking up their instruments and playing again for the pure pleasure of it. There’s an inner sensation when you pick that electric guitar, when you bang that drum, when you look in each other’s eyes and play those songs you know by heart.

Donnie Iris was in the Jaggerz.

Let me remind you…

“RAP-A-RAP-A-RAP, THEY CALL HIM THE RAPPER”

That song was all over the airwaves in the winter and spring of 1970. But no one thought this was a career band, rather the Jaggerz was seen as a one hit wonder. This was a single for AM radio, FM was never going to play the Jaggerz. And who knew they’d put out an album before this, and after?

Not me.

So the seventies play on and in 1976 there’s a band out of Ohio called Wild Cherry with a ubiquitous disco hit “Play That Funky Music.” This was not the Ohio Players, there was more, but no one cared. But on the last Wild Cherry album, Donnie Iris was a member.

But we didn’t learn this until the eighties, when Donnie Iris started to have hits. It was 1980, and you heard “Ah! Leah!” on the radio.

“Ah! Leah!

Here we go again”

The chorus was indelible. Sure, there were power chords hooking you from the outset and then a sing-songy verse, and I mean that in a good way, there was melody, and then that chorus singing “Ah! Leah!,” it was pure magic. We expected sweet voices from Southern California, but not Ohio (oh, of course there was Eric Carmen, but it was about his pristine solo voice, where on “Ah! Leah!” it was about that chorus)…

And you still hear “Ah! Leah!” sometimes today, and it always feels good, it’s a track you can never burn out on.

And with this success we learned that Donnie was the writer of “The Rapper,” that he was in the Jaggerz and Wild Cherry.

I didn’t buy the solo debut, “Back on the Streets,” but I did buy the follow-up, “King Cool.”

The joke, of course, was that Donnie Iris was anything but cool. He was a man whose music was au courant, but whose look was passé, maybe because by time he made it he was in his late thirties, whereas his contemporaries had all made it in their twenties.

Now I wasn’t looking for “King Cool,” but I found it in the promo bin and purchased it, because it had SWEET MERILEE!”

“MERILEE PLEASE DON’T GO”

The track has the same choir of voices as “Ah! Leah!,” but it doesn’t seem like a remake, doesn’t seem like a trick, it just makes you feel good, gets you high, you can’t listen to the chorus of “Sweet Merilee” without feeling it’s fantastic to be alive.

I think I own the follow-up as a promo too, “The High and the Mighty,” I’d have to check my vinyl, but I definitely purchased a promo of the album thereafter, “Fortune 410,” turned out that was the style of glasses that Donnie wore.

And Donnie specializes in straight-ahead rock, and all his records are very listenable. So I did, listen that is. I know “Stagedoor Johnny” and “Never Did I” by heart, not that you can hear them on streaming services, MCA has only deigned to release the greatest hits.

And then Donnie Iris lost his deal with MCA and disappeared. “Ah! Leah!” survived, some people remember seeing him on MTV, but there was no press, no airplay, it’s like he didn’t exist.

Turns out he became a mortgage broker.

That’s one of the great features of the internet, the ability to find anybody and everybody and learn what they’ve been up to.

Sure, Donnie continued to play music, but he needed to pay the rent, put food on the table. You’d be stunned so many of your heroes end up working straight jobs. They were ripped-off, or blew the money, or never made that much to begin with. Who owns “The Rapper” today? Does Donnie get paid?

Oh, that’s another thing the internet revealed, his real name is Dominic Ierace. And he’s been at it forever. Surviving.

And that’s what Donnie Iris just did, survive, he beat bladder cancer, he thought he was on his way out, but he’s still here, and in the clip above he’s playing live.

Donnie Iris is 82. He just had his birthday in February. Did your grandpa rock? I don’t think so.

“You guys ready to rock?”

That’s what Donnie says at the beginning of this TikTok clip, as he smiles…sans plastic surgery, sans much hair. It’s still him, the essence.

But what is truly stunning is when he starts picking that Fender… Like it’s a high school in New Castle, Pennsylvania and it’s another night in the sixties.

And he’s not only picking, HE’S INTO IT!

His jeans have holes in the knees. He’s wearing a Penguins jersey. You see back in the day it was anathema to dress up, you wanted the music to shine, you wore the same clothing on stage as you wore off it.

Now the audio of this clip is not the best, it doesn’t come from the soundboard, but a phone in the audience. But still…YOU GET THE ESSENCE!

Donnie isn’t showing off, he’s just doing what he does, AT 82!

It put a smile on my face, made me feel good not only about Donnie Iris, but rock and roll.

It’s here to stay!

“Gliders Over Hollywood: Airships, Airplay, And The Art Of Rock Promotion”: https://rb.gy/l4m82v

This is the best book about how it used to be.

And it certainly ain’t that way anymore.

Sometime early in this century everybody started to say the record business was no longer fun.

This book tells the story of when it was fun. When there was seemingly unlimited money and the bands that were broken were household names.

Rap grows up in the burbs of Southern California and is bitten by the music bug, he gets a guitar, he plays in a band… WE ALL DID! We saw the Beatles on TV and said THIS IS IT!

Actually, we started before that, with nylon-stringed acoustic guitars, to be part of the folk scene. All anybody seems to remember from that era is Bob Dylan, but there were a plethora of acts telling stories about life in this world and the music was so popular that there even was a TV show, “Hootenanny.” The Beatles killed all that, that’s what Dylan at Newport was all about. Bob crawled from the wreckage into a brand new car, everybody else shook their fist and was left in the dust. Actually, it’s akin to Napster and Spotify. Either you got on board or you were left behind. And those whose cheese was moved are still bitter.

Anyway, kids weren’t at home on their computers, they were outside, playing sports, playing music, going to dances. And Rap was there, on stage. Every community had bands, even battles of the bands, now there are robot wars.

So at UCLA Rap is a prankster at the fraternity and a friend comes up and tells him he should be the college rep for Columbia Records.

Rap is fearful of selling out to the  man, but he takes the job and ultimately becomes a full time employee of the company and 33 1/3 years ensue and tales are told.

Now if you’re of a certain vintage, if you were in the business, you’ll recognize a ton of names. Not only the bands, but the players, people like Harvey Leeds and Jim McKeon…this list goes on and on. Actually, it’s interesting to see the transition from the old days, the unknowns who pre-dated the Beatles and then moved on so that the boomers could build up this business. These new employees lived for the music, it was everything to them.

But they were handsomely paid and had the time of their lives in the process.

Yes, all the stars and their stories are included.

Yes, we get Springsteen, at the Roxy and elsewhere.

Bob Geldof singling out radio and paying the price in return. Also pissed that his band was competing with the Fabulous Poodles.

You get characters like Bruce Allen, and the breaking of Loverboy.

You get a spat between Scott Muni and Bill Curbishley, the former won’t play one of Bill’s acts on WNEW because Bill threw him out of a party…and Bill says justifiably!

All the inside dope on Pink Floyd. Even stories about Paul McCartney himself. And the Stones too!

And Rap is not just an observer, he’s a participant. Doing the coke, staying up all night, involved in the food fights…

Yes, everybody seems kind of adolescent. Or as Harvey Leeds said when he won a Pollstar award…you can grow up, but you can be immature forever! And the bands are mercurial. And one thing is for sure, the labels make the bands successful, and it’s all done via radio.

And Rap comes up with one innovative promotion after another. Whether it be a laser cannon for Blue Öyster Cult or a blimp for Pink Floyd.

There’s reference to the pressure to deliver, a report card every Tuesday, that was the pain that came with the gig, that kept you up at night. It was all about the numbers in “Radio & Records”…do young ‘uns even know what that was?

And it’s definitely different today. Terrestrial radio comes last. The labels still have radio promotion staffs, because they don’t know what else to do. The public, via internet platforms, is in charge of creating hits. Maybe the label can amplify them, maybe it can’t.

And there is not a constant juggernaut of superstars. The labels have slimmed down both their employee and artist rosters. It’s not an endless money machine. The labels used to dominate the business, now they can’t even afford more than a handful of tickets to the show, where they’re treated as second-class citizens by the promoter.

I’ve known Rap for decades. First met him at a radio conference. Yes, that used to be a thing. Labels had suites in the hotel and you didn’t walk out the front door until the sun was up.

He was there. For all the shenanigans, for the high life.

This book is extremely readable, unlike the plethora of tomes written by those who can no longer work about the old days they lived through. You’ll have a hard time putting it down. But as you approach the end…

You’ll get depressed. Because all of this is in the rearview mirror. And you are too. Rap was born in ’48, he’s in his late seventies. And if you were around to experience all this you’re probably a septuagenarian too, or close.

This is the only book I can remember that truly details what it was like inside the star factory. What it was like to be a worker bee, a well-compensated worker bee who was working around the clock because it was both fun and what was expected.

If you were around back then, you definitely want to read it.

If you weren’t…READ IT AND WEEP!

Hi Bob, nice to see you write about Supertramp. Growing up in Glendale I played in high school with drummer Bob Siebenberg a number of times. Straight out of high school Bob moved to London followed by his brother-in-law Scott Gorham (Thin Lizzy) the following year. In 1978 I was frequenting a club called Jason’s in Toluca Lake and those two guys walked in. I couldn’t believe it. All of us Glendale guys knew that they were in these successful bands and we were all in awe that they were able to do that.

They kept coming into the club, and one evening Bob brought a cassette of Breakfast in America straight from the mix sessions. A bunch of us piled into cars went to someone’s house at 2 AM and listened to that album with our jaws on the floor.

Over the next few years Bob and I wrote songs and in the early 80s Scott and I started a band actually. Nearly signed by Atlantic but alas, it didn’t happen. As I was working with Bob and Scott, I got to know all of the Supertramp guys and when Roger left the band, because I was a known session guitarist in LA at the time, Rick Davies asked me to come and play with the band which I did and then he hired me as the guitarist on the subsequent two albums that they did, “Brother Where You Bound” and Free As A Bird”. I went on those tours and I must say the response was phenomenal. The band, even without Roger, was really popular especially overseas.

I don’t know if their work would ever get them into the Hall of Fame but those initial albums that you mentioned were of course top of the sonic heap at the time

Marty Walsh

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Ask any Canadian stoner kid who grew up in the mid 70’s the theme albums of their youth and it’s Crime of the Century, Dark Side of the Moon and Led Zeppelin 4. Crime of the Century is still in my top 3 all these years later. Their performance of the title track at the old Empire Stadium in 1979 is still my favourite live moment. The album went platinum here in Canada.

Rob Schlyecher

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What’s so fascinating are all the Canadians who are sharing memories of Supertramp..

I loved Supertramp and owned Crime of the Century and Even in the Quietest Moments, which might be one of my desert island pics. I doubt I was old enough to see them live, but I recently downloaded both to Spotify (on my “Roadtrip” playlist). Listening to Quietest Moments and the memories of growing up in Toronto just flooded over me – the good and the bad..

I think Canadians always had an affinity to Supertramp..

Simma Levine

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I remember reading the liner notes of BREAKFAST IN AMERICA and loving that there was a guy not credited for saxophone and or clarinet… but WOODWINDS! Dude was a whole family of instruments! Somehow they rocked with clarinet… that alone puts SUPERTRAMP up there with anyone who’s ever attempted the rock and the roll. Thanks as always for another great read.

Adam Dalton

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All I had to see was the subject line Re-Supertramp and knew your readers would nail the historical significance of Supertramp coming out with “Crime of the Century” at the time they did. I was 16 yo and I remember being kind of pissed that this band getting a lot of attention, that*I* had never heard of (and I was the guy in high school who was supposed to have heard of everybody).  And, to boot, they had a stupid name (by 1975 standards). They were out of the mainstream for 1975. Almost  a little “throwbacky”. But the confidence and verve percolating through the opening track “School” communicated that these guys had arrived, no matter what art “school” they belonged to … or no art school at all, .. whether they were late…  or early …they were just sui generis.

 

Emmett McAuliffe Esq.

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In 1977 I opened for Supertramp with my then band – The Hometown Band at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto. They were a class act – both musically and to their opening act which wasn’t always the norm in those times.They were such a signature sound of that era. Great band and a highlight in a 52 yr career.

Shari Ulrich

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This album was clearly one of the first pieces of music that MOVED me.  I was just old enough and just young enough to get it.  It remains in my top 5 of all time.  And it maybe has just a slight bit to do with I don’t hear as well as I used to.  Made me want to go out and spend every last dime I had me on the best stereo equipment I could find, so I could play it as loud as it deserved.   And I did.  Still have the Bose 901’s and it’s the album of choice when I want to shake the room.    Imagine a reunion in the Sphere.  I would pay dearly to be in that room.

 

Thanks

 

Frank J Biederer

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I was at the March ’75 Supertramp Santa Monica Civic show.Found them on KWST,my favorite station.They handed on pins when you entered with crime logo.

J.D. LePera

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Supertramp! That run from “Crime of The Century” through “Breakfast In America” is one for the books. I’d rate “Crime” as one of the 20 best albums ever.

Seeing them perform live in Bezerkely in ‘75 was magical. Greg Khin opened but the dude had a tough chore to work that crowd.

One of the best bands ever. Too bad Rodger Hodgson and Rick Davies couldn’t work out their creative differences because what they had in common was as special as Dave Gilmour and Roger Waters.

Like 10cc, it sucks to gave these bands that are greater than the sum of their parts fracture and produce lesser works of art.

But that goes all the way back to the Beatles and it’s hard to find examples otherwise.

Lee Elliott

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I think one of the most interesting aspects of Supertramp’s story is that they were funded by Sam Meisegaes, a Dutch millionaire. Without that seed money, would they have made it to the big time? Talk amongst yourselves….

Tom Scharf

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There was a phenomenal sounding Supertramp bootleg back in the day..It opened with “School”..A (blues) harp lick..Then cheering..Sounded like a small venue, possibly a club..The ANTICIPATION!..Then, “He’s coming along”..Pause..Cheering..Then, the band kicks in..Does anyone remember DYNAMICS? I can still picture the crude album sleeve, and our red bong.

 

I was lucky enough to catch Roger’s solo show in the mid 90s..Just him, an acoustic guitar, digital piano, and the SONGS..He did the hits, AND some of his more recent solo work..Which is worth a revisit.. Brilliant chap..Someone in the royal family loved his music, and had him do command performances..Why isn’t he in the R&RHOF!? (Spoiler alert-It’s a load of HOOEY!)

 

He was one of the great Prog lyricists..Few brought those themes into the top forty more often, nor more succinctly..”The Logical Song”, “School”,etc..It resonated/still resonates with the disenfranchised..Some of the enfranchised, too!

The QUESTIONING..Of societal norms and expectations..The SEARCHING..For some meaning beyond the scripts we’ve pitched  by polite society.. Somebody GOT us..(Spoiler alert-It weren’t Jesus.) And in the Progosphere, Supertramp will always be persona GRATA..

And THIS hidden gem is the best example..Best coupled with that iconic “Crisis, What Crisis?” album cover..

THE MEANING..

The Meaning – Roger Hodgson (co-founder of Supertramp), Writer and Composer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9_Xz2q40ijA

James Spencer

I saw Supertramp in 1976  (Crisis! What Crisis tour) and again in 1977 (Even In The Quietest Moments tour) in Halifax, Nova Scotia.  Both featured heavy doses of Crime of The Century at these absolutely stunning and technically proficient shows.  But what else that I noticed was how much fun this band was having and despite being sonically ‘perfect’, they were enjoying their time onstage immensely, with John C. Helliwell making sure the audience knew that.

As you know Supertramp were on A&M as were many of their label mates of the era like Nazareth, Styx,  Ozark Mountain Daredevils, Tubes, Split Enz, the Police and others.

You may not know this but it was Canada who broke most of these groups first and A&M was a label that helped make that happen.  Might have been something in the water up here but it is also fairly well known fact that many groups got their toehold in North America via Canada first.  And Supertramp was one.

I might also add, the Beatles were a phenom in Canada in 1963, almost 7-8 months before they conquered America in Feb ’64.

Keep digging Bob, threads like this are great, longtime Lefsetz Letter follower,

Stephen Marsh

Halifax,. N.S. Canada

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I loved your piece on Supertramp…….one of my fave bands of all-time.  Roger is a gifted generous soul as well! For my 50th a few years back, he had me come as his guest (with three friends) to my local venue – the gorgeous Mountain Winery in Saratoga, CA – and proceeded to dedicate “Logical Song” to me in front of the crowd to acknowledge my special day. Then he had me come backstage to hang out after the show; needless to say it was a magical evening.

Like so many others who have chimed in, their music was a huge part of the soundtrack of my life; “Breakfast in America” was the big breakthrough during my teen years — I didn’t come to appreciate “Crime of the Century” ’til I was in college.  One of my fave tracks hasn’t been mentioned — that’s “Child of Vision”; a true masterpiece. A great homage to prog rock/fusion it has stood the test of time as have most of their music.  As others have said, they were totally underrated.  I really appreciate you acknowledging them and their contributions……

Kelli Richards

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“Right, quite right, you’re bloody well right
you got a bloody right to say …

Me, I don’t care anyway!”

They could a written this song about you Bob.

Don’t you ever stop.

Saw Supertramp Reading Rock Festival 1975.

Blown away, next act up was Yes, they put me to sleep.

Cheers,

Paul Holdom

New Zealand