The Life and Career of Michael Nesmith—Singer, Songwriter, and Monkee

With today's death of Michael Nesmith, 78, only one Monkee remains—Micky Dolenz, to sing the songs and carry on the legend of the supergroup, as he remembers it. [Photo credit: Billboard Magazine, 1967 trade ad, in public domain via Wikipedia.]

Of course, if there were four Monkees, you can count on there being four stories (and more) of how this one-time legendary supergroup came together to entertain teenagers and the adults they morphed into for over 50 years in multiple variations of the core four band.

The “boys” that Screen Gems productions advertised for with a simple casting call produced an iconic pop rock group from four complete strangers who came together, some who knew how to play their instruments and sing fairly well, and others who needed some fine tuning to be solo artists. Together they were magic. [Photo credit: Billboard magazine, May 1967, public domain.]

The four guys who made fame and fortune at the guidance of music producer Don Kirshner were indeed The Monkees: Micky Dolenz, Michael Nesmith, Peter Tork, and British actor/singer Davy Jones. As writer Rich Podolsky shares in his book “Don Kirshner: The Man with the Golden Ear,” Kirshner “selected and executive-produced all of their songs.” Of the four, Mike Nesmith was the most business-minded. A native Texan, he was born in Houston and was raised in Dallas for most of his life. Legend was that his mother had been a brilliant creative who invented Liquid Paper (a godsend to anyone with an clerical job) and so he was exposed a normal business life at home during early influential years.

Nesmith’s business inclinations almost destroyed the group as soon as it had skyrocketed to national prominence. Behind the scenes, most TV audiences were not going to see the group in concert for a while. They had recorded their songs under Kirshner’s team including Snuff Garrett and per Podolsky, “Garrett found the foursome so difficult that after just one session he quit and flew to his mother’s home in Texas.” Keep in mind that Snuff Garrett was one of the most brilliant successful calm figures in the music business….he’d already had 24 Top 10 songs to his credit.

Jeff Barry was next on deck as producer—he found them entirely disagreeable to work with too. No one was paying any attention to this among their fan base because copies of “16 Magazine,” “Tiger Beat,” and “Teen Beat” had 50 pages devoted to “Which color does Micky like best?” and “What’s an ideal date with Mike Nesmith like? And few fans cared that recording sessions for Monkees’ records were closed to the public and window shades kept down purposefully so you couldn’t see the legion of studio music professionals playing on the tracks.

Yes, you’re hearing them sing on the albums (in many places), but even the first Monkee albums were enhanced by the additional of professional studio vocalists who could manage to sing “just like” The Monkees should be singing on the tracks. Yes, you are hearing Micky and Davy in many lines but the harmony blends on choruses were impacted for the better. Many fans become infuriated to consider this proven fact but the point was you enjoyed the albums and the music.

It’s just what they did with many groups back then—Gary Puckett’s “Union Gap,” Paul Revere & the Raiders (except Mark Lindsey), the entire Partridge Family (until they found out David Cassidy could sing), and Gary Lewis’s “Playboys” were all studio singers plus the headliners’ voices.

But the four fiery personalities, led most vocally by Mike Nesmith, were not satisfied with that arrangement. Don Kirshner for his part, offered them a major royalty check to make up for it, but the guys weren’t having it. Podolsky noted, “Nesmith said they wanted to play their own instruments and pick their own songs.” Execs reminded them to “read their contracts,” and Mike Nesmith “punched a hole in the wall,” as Podolsky wrote.

Meanwhile, America tuned in to NBC for their TV show, they lined up to buy 45s and 33s with The Monkees’ photos all over them, and the band caused collateral damage such that Don Kirshner was fired—after they’d had three million-selling singles and two 3-million selling albums each. That’s not the thank-you one would presume to receive—egos, pride, and attitude in the 1960s, having risen from total obscurity to national prominence.

Smartly, Mike Nesmith had taken the initiative and made sure his own compositions were the ‘B’ side of the hit records all over the radio. Rolling Stone reminds us that four of Mike’s compositions included “Mary, Mary,” “Circle Sky,” “Listen to the Band,” and “The Girl I Knew Somewhere,” all but one considered deep tracks except for the most devoted Monkee fans, who know the words to every song.

Devoted Buckinghams' fans also know that The Buckinghams knocked The Monkees off the number one spot on Billboard's charts where they'd been with "I'm a Believer" when their song, "Kind of a Drag" reached the top spot.

Nesmith worked steadily in the music business after The Monkees. Back in the early 1970s, Carl Giammarese remembers the days when he and Dennis Tufano (as the duo Tufano & Giammarese) opened for Mike Nesmith at a Chicago club called Orphans, located at 2462 N. Lincoln. Orphan’s was a premiere folk club for over 20 years. Giammarese remembers Nesmith as being a sort of cerebral, seriously focused guy, which tracks with his career longevity and success, always concentrating on the music. [Photo credit for Orphan's building: dnainfo.com]

The four musicians were far from a band of brothers, united only when fighting the corporate structure. Reunion tours would show that Mike Nesmith was the only one who never cared to tour with Micky, Davy, and Peter. In 1986, David Fishoff created The Monkees’ 20th anniversary tour, adding Gary Puckett & The Union Gap, Herman’s Hermits, and The Grass Roots, and quoting the LA Times’ review, played “to a crowd of more than 11,000 screaming fans that spanned two generations.” Still, no Nesmith.

However, for a concert on September 7, 1986, Nesmith joined the others at The Greek Theatre:

From May 12, 2011 to July 23, 2011, the 45th Anniversary tour included Dolenz, Tork, and Jones. Forty-six successful shows spanned Europe and North America; talk about staying power. [Photo source: Ticket Sarasota.] Meanwhile Mike Nesmith collected more royalties than the others, whether he was on the road or not. It is why indie artists have learned to own their own publishing rights these days. They learned from those who came before them.

And, it was possibly the final concert appearance for Davy Jones in the 2012 Concerts at Sea Cruise, on board with The Buckinghams, Paul Revere & the Raiders, and Charlie Thomas’ Coasters. During the show I attended, Davy said boldly, yet wistfully, as he sang “Mary, Mary” that it was a song written by Mike Nesmith, the “smart one of us” in the group. Jones passed away unexpectedly the next month.

It could be that Nesmith just preferred not being where Davy Jones was, because he agreed to tour almost immediately after, with Micky Dolenz and Peter Tork.

Nesmith may not be the originator of music videos or MTV, but he was certainly among the pioneers of the genre. The Monkees TV shows were inspirational for that, kooky antics while performing hits, but in 1977, a video called “Rio,” Nesmith’s solo album furnished his label’s request for “a nice promotional clip of Nesmith singing along to the music.”

In 2018, Nesmith (note billing) and Dolenz toured “as the Mike & Micky Show). Peter Tork died in 2019. Mike Nesmith never stopped working.

Four years ago, “he created the music video for Cruisin’ as part of the (1981) Grammy Award winning (for video) “Elephant Parts.” There are over 10,800 subscribers to Michael Nesmith’s Videoranch on YouTube.

Again, he may in some places be credited for an originator of MTV, several people seized early opportunities to put music and film together to promote record sales (today called digital downloads). A story worth reading is in Sean O’Neal’s article in Texas Monthly: “On MTV’s Fortieth Anniversary, Don’t Forget to Thank Michael Nesmith.” [Photo credit: Texas Monthly.]

A final musical legacy that Mike Nesmith leaves include son Christian Nesmith and his wife and music partner, Circe Link. A fun video of two Nesmiths and a Link is here:

Son Jonathan Nesmith is both musician and artist. Check out his Facebook page here.

However you perceive Mike Nesmith, for the majority of Baby Boomers, only wistful memories of our youth continue to flash by as brightly as a neon sign burning a hole through the night. Rather than any Monkees’ songs, a personal favorite of Nesmith’s compositions was one he wrote in 1964, “A Different Drum,” as recorded by the inimitable Linda Ronstadt. And to the one who remains, Micky Dolenz, thanks for keeping the music going as long as you have thus far.

“Recording Academy” Overlooks Peter Tork’s Passing: They Missed the Boat Again

As one of probably thousands of media members on the distribution list for press releases for “all things Grammy,” my inbox has been waiting for about twelve hours now. I’ve been wondering whether “News from the Recording Academy” would land, to let me know what most of America already knows, that a Baby Boomer favorite musician, Peter Tork, passed away today at the age of 77. So far, I’ve received two communiques from that august body known simply as the “Recording Academy,” neither of which referenced Tork.

The first missive arrived at 5:02 CST, “Recording Academy™ Statement RE: Fred Foster. Everyone knows Fred, right? Fred was a good fellow alright, and he had a 60-year career as a “famed producer, songwriter, and music business executive” who is credited with the “...launch of many iconic artists into the spotlight, including Kris Kristofferson, Dolly Parton, and Roy Orbison.” The release continues: “Fred will be deeply missed by many, but remembered as a pioneer within our industry. Our thoughts are with his loved ones during this difficult time.” Signed by (good ol’) Neil Portnow, President/CEO Recording Academy.

My thoughts at 5:02pm ran something akin to “Hey Neil, Peter Tork died today. Anyone run down the hall to tell you?” I must confess I pictured the former head of Casablanca Records with a cartoon balloon over his head with the caption: “Unless someone brings me something to sign, I don’t have anything left to do today.” Again, I’m miffed, and my emotions could possibly be guiding my dispirited thoughts.

But wait, there’s more! At 6:18 pm CST, there was a new e-mail in my inbox from the “Recording Academy” alright, but this time it was a “Recording Academy™ Statement RE: Dominick Argento.”

Naturally, he’s an important figure in classical music with unquestioned contributions to the music industry—no disrespect there. However, I learned only today that “Dominick was a GRAMMY® and Pulitzer Prize-winning composer recognized for creating musical masterpieces inspired by the literary works of renowned writers such as Charles Dickens, Edgar Allen Poe, and Virginia Woolf…In 2003 he was honored with the Best Classical Contemporary Composition GRAMMY for ‘Argento: Casa Guidi at the 46th Annual GRAMMY Awards®.”

Here’s the thing. Fred Foster and Dominick Argento are most deserving of recognition and remembrance in their fields, unquestionably so. But the point is that Peter Tork also deserves a statement from the Recording Academy®.

To be sure, the individuals in the made-by-TV-for-Baby Boomers group, The Monkees, may arguably not top your list of favorite singers, musicians, and none of them were (at that point, save Mike Nesmith) considered composers, at least initially. They were actors who brought personalities on paper to real-life pop music fun, the remembrance of which has endured for six decades now. The popularity of The Monkees, however, and the death of Peter Tork has spread across social media today. The notice of his passing made a real impact. The Monkees’ vocals were unique at the least and considered the very best, especially if you were an impressionable teenage girl who read “Tiger Beat,” “16 Magazine” and similar publications among those that advertised Dippity Do, Noxema, and Breck and Prell shampoos. Let’s face it, in the summers of love that were the 1960s, the eyes heard what they wanted to hear.

The Monkees, created in the clever mind of Don Kirshner, were manufactured to meet the need that Kirshner was visionary enough to see—four “zany” guys who could capture the hearts of teenage girls sufficient for them to buy their albums. Estimates are that The Monkees sold over 75,000,000 records. Their first label, of course, was Colgems, because of Don Kirshner’s relationship as director of Screen Gems’ Music Division as he’d sold his Aldon Music to Screen Gems-Columbia Music. (Those interested in the definitive book on Don Kirshner should check out Rich Podolsky’s “The Man with the Golden Ear.”)

And, cards on the table, those in the know realize exactly who it was in the studios and on their instruments, and whose voices were augmented now and again, same as virtually 90% of every other 1960s pop band in the country—manufactured for consumption. Also, as virtually everyone knows, without The Wrecking Crew, virtually every single album pressed in California for at least a decade of pop-rock would not be the hitmakers they were for the performers whose photos were all over the album covers and teen magazines.

To be fair, the musicians portraying The Monkees on TV, without much time to learn their instruments and practice together certainly did a terrific job of coming together sufficiently to perform their hits for audiences’ delight and 100% satisfaction. You could estimate that millions of approving fans who respect and regard Peter Tork have seen him over the decades, whether in the first go-round of The Monkees, or his own band, Shoe Suede Blues, or since 2012, the various configurations of Dolenz-Nesmith-Tork as whomever could work their schedules around appearing together for tours of varying lengths. Micky Dolenz, of course, was a popular regular in the “Happy Together” reunion tours, currently enjoying their 10th anniversary season.

Those at the “Recording Academy” who overlook the contribution made by Peter Tork by not noting his passing today along with two others who died have missed the boat…again.

The most recent example of missing the boat before this was their failure to include the 2016 passing of songwriter/musician/recording artist, Rob Meurer in their 2017 ‘In Memoriam’ segment, in print and on the GRAMMY® telecast. It’s like the lyricist to cowrite nearly 50 songs with Christopher Cross wasn’t important enough. I’ve stated my opinion on that topic before. But here today, the “Recording Academy” has done it again. As we say in Texas, “Y’all goofed up.”

Anyone who’s slogged through the GRAMMY® telecast the past few years has been dragged through the sea of banality and boredom that comes with pyrotechnics, yelling, and a few performers pretending they deserve to be on stage, attempting to add to the case for why various musicians are deserving of adulation, even if they’re 100% autotune and Brylcreem. Your mileage may vary. Some acts (can’t bring myself to call them musicians) you simply cannot unsee.

One might argue that The Monkees were not (originally) accomplished musicians, though Peter Tork played keyboard, guitar and banjo, but very quickly they became a genuine musical group. Their music is still in demand in concert today. So are the performances of their contemporaries, the pop-rock veterans. For example, the latest Concerts at Sea cruise currently sailing has The Buckinghams, Paul Revere’s Raiders, Joey Molland’s Badfinger, 1910 Fruitgum Company, Gary Lewis and the Playboys, Peter Rivera (original singer/Rare Earth), and Danny & the Juniors.

Their genre is still wildly popular as the same group that includes The Monkees. The upcoming Flower Power Cruise is similarly packed with 60s acts who have lodged themselves well into the hearts and minds of Baby Boomers who can afford a week or two away from the office to have the opportunity to meet favorite musicians from their teenage years. It’s not just floating concerts—these artists still fill arenas, theatres, state fairs, and perform individually and in package shows.

Of Tork’s passing, fellow Monkee, Micky Dolenz (@TheMickyDolenz1), said, “There are no words right now…heart broken over the loss of my Monkee brother, Peter Tork.” Rolling Stone (@RollingStone) magazine tweeted Monkee Michael Nesmith’s words, ”I can only pray his songs reach the heights that can lift us and that our childhood lives forever—that special sparkle that was the Monkees.” Iconic songwriter Brian Wilson (@BrianWilsonLife) tweeted, “There are no words right now…heart broken over the loss of my Monkee brother, Peter Tork. #paperwork #Themonkees.”

Actor Mark Hamill (@HamillHimself) tweeted, “So sorry to hear we lost #PeterTork. The Monkees never got the respect they deserved. Their music catalogue remains one of the richest in Pop History. Thanks for being such a big part of my childhood & beyond, Pete. #RIPPeterTork”.

It would be my hope that, given the number of people who’ve posted their photos of, or with, Peter Tork on Facebook today, they’d all appreciate the “Recording Academy” doing the decent thing. Well, I guess, if Neil has a few spare minutes tomorrow, he can do the right thing. I'll be right here watching my inbox.

CD Review: "The Legendary Demos" by Carole King

The beauty of Carole King’s long-awaited CD, “The Legendary Demos,” released today, is when you unwrap it and push “play,” your every expectation of anticipation and wonderment is met with pure delight and then some. At last, you hear how it was back in the day, the rough studio demo presented to other artists, producers, and label executives for their choosing. And it makes sense why so many people consider her a music genius.

Carole King’s ‘The Legendary Demos’ is a wrap around joy, exceeds expectations

Thirteen songs grace this CD, seven of them chart-topping smashes, and six of them wonderful compositions that are not as easily recognizable, yet they reflect the magic of King’s talent nonetheless. Several of the tunes on this track anchor her life’s story.

In “Pleasant Valley Sunday” I never knew the lyric was: “Creature comfort goals can only numb my soul. I need a change of scenery.” As much as I respect Micky Dolenz’ vocals, with all the musical buildup of the production behind The Monkees’ vocal tracks, I had no earthly idea that this was what he was singing, on another in a series of Carole King and Gerry Goffin compositions for the hitmaker teens of television fame.

At last the lyrics are clear, because Carole is singing them, beautifully, a song beloved for 45 years that is, in fact, the rhythmic anthem of discontent for Gerry Goffin living in a New Jersey suburb, for his family’s sake, when he’d much rather be back in Queens in the middle of the city. The song begins with a guitar, and even has a banjo sound to it. A slightly slower tempo, almost unnoticeable, is found here, vs. The Monkees’ version you’re used to hearing, more frantically paced in the group’s #1 version.

“So Goes Love” is less familiar, but a gentle and pleasant love ballad composed by King and Goffin. Had it been released as a single at the time it was written, circa 1966, it very well could have been a hit, just in how King delivers the message. As becomes clearer in King’s biography, presently at the No. 6 spot on the New York Times’ Best Sellers list, after being out for 2 weeks, for a myriad of reasons, she didn’t see herself as a recording artist, but rather as a songwriter. And that’s what she kept telling herself for the next 10+ years.

In “Take Good Care of My Baby,” sung with feeling, piano chords punctuating the song with charm, you hear the true studio sound. She’s sings “my baby” as though it were her own child. And, she even speaks the end lyrics, as if to make the message even more personal. The piano’s hollow sound in places brings to mind a multistory brick building, indiscriminately placed along rows of hundreds of other buildings in New York. Listening, you believe the only objects in the room were Carole and the piano, and that’s all. And yet, Bobby Vee took this King/Goffin tune and made it his very own. That’s what happens when the right material reaches the right artist: a big hit.

“A Natural Woman” is not only a favorite Aretha Franklin anthem, sung and repeated, wherein all women declare their devotion to their soulmate, but it has to be the highlight of all 13 songs on the CD. To be fair, though, you’ll likely feel that way about each of the tunes before you’re done listening. This song sprang to life as an idea from mega-producer Jerry Wexler, who drove down a street in his town car looking for King and Goffin, who were out walking. Don Kirshner’s Aldon Music-writing stable prizes, must have been predictable at the time. Wexler pulled over, rolled down the car window, and said, “I have an idea for a song for Aretha Franklin. The title is “A Natural Woman.” He then asked the couple a question: “Can you two write that song?”

And then he drove off. You already know the answer. An important reference book to the dynamics of that day and time of King, Goffin, Aldon Music et al. is found in Rich Podolsky’s biography, “Don Kirshner: The Man with the Golden Ear.” It’s a view from the other side of the piano that adds important color to the days when these transcendent songs were being created.

“Like Little Children” seems to have a very veiled biographical feel to it; once you read Carole’s biography, then you’ll possibly agree that it could be a Goffin/King song about their real-life relationship. Theirs was a classic love story in many ways between two kids who fell in love but grew up and apart in different displays of their passion and angst. And when they collaborated on a song, others observed and overheard that there were loud conversations and discussions/disagreements before the duo emerged with the final product.

“Crying in the Rain” was written by Carole and Howard Greenfield, a fellow collaborator in the Don Kirshner “brilliant building,” wherein you went to work and were in cubicles nearby your co-workers, most of whom were writing teams, Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil, Neil Sedaka and Howard Greenfield, Jack Keller and several people, and of course, Goffin and King.

The harmony between Carole and the other female demo singer here embodies the feel of the 60s girl groups’ blending of voices so naturally. The lyrics “...but since we’re not together, I look for stormy weather to hide the tears I hope you never see” are very close to the rhythmic feel of “Itsy Bitsy Teeny Weeny Yellow Polka Dot Bikini,” so they have an authentic early 60s feel to them. It has a strong Everly Brothers feel to it as well.

“Way Over Yonder” (Carole King) The solid piano chords, played firmly and with such feeling introduce and hold the feel of this song from the very start. It must be one of her favorites, but it’s not as well known as the others.

“Yours Until Tomorrow” (Carole King/Gerry Goffin) is also a less familiar tune, but not for lack of trying. As respected rock writer, editor and biographer, David Browne, shares in the liner notes that accompany the CD digipak, the song “was recorded by Gene Pitney, Irma Thomas and Cher, among others," and yet it is not one you know. Once you hear it, you will still see why Carole selected it.

“It’s Too Late” (Carole King/Toni Stern), marks the product of Carole’s writing in her home on Wonderland Drive in Laurel Canyon, a new step for her life, having relocated to California so her “Goffin children” as she distinguishes them from her “Larkey children” could be closer to their father.

Toni Stern proved to be an excellent co-writer for Carole, who relished working with a fresh talent during this phase of creating King’s own style of new music. Eventually, Carole would transition back to solo writing, just as she did in her earliest childhood days writing songs for Don Kirshner’s and Al Nevens' Aldon Publishing Company in New York, weekday afternoons after school. But this was the first step along the pathway to finding her own, strong solo voice again.

“Tapestry” (Carole King) represents Carole’s transition from caterpillar to butterfly, with the exceptional producer and label executive, Lou Adler, gently cradling the caterpillar along until she found her way to brilliance. Adler’s best achievement was to preserve every nuance of her songs on that album, including the title track, as Carole herself envisioned them, only better. If ever a verse was characteristic of King’s life, this is an incredibly close encapsulation.

"My life has been a tapestry of rich and royal hue An everlasting vision of the ever-changing view A wondrous woven magic in bits of blue and gold A tapestry to feel and see, impossible to hold"

“Just Once in My Life” (Carole King/Gerry Goffin/Phil Spector) is ironic, because you may well have so permanently associated the song as having “belonged” to the Righteous Brothers that it’s virtually impossible to imagine someone else having written it.

The power of that anthem of a man looking for how to hold on to the woman he’s found (“For once in my life, let me get what I want girl, don’t let me down”) just seems to have evolved out of thin air. And yet, Carole King and Gerry Goffin teamed up with Phil Spector and made it dynamic. The “Wall of Sound” feel to the production is powerful, but in fact, Carole’s demo will show, complete with the harmony of her studio singer is every inch the song you heard Bill Medley and Bobby Hatfield make it their own.

“You’ve Got a Friend” (Carole King), has become as much a signature of two artists, King and James Taylor, both great friends, both sharing history during troubled times in their lives, as well as overcoming times of despair separately. All these experiences are poured into the tune and woven together most powerfully when they did the song on their successful Troubadour tour.

“The Legendary Demos” is a dynamic, charming revelation of King’s lifelong talent, which she’s worked hard to shape into her imprimatur, a signature of a perfectionist who pours her soul and heart into each of her works until she says, “done.”

Carole King is not as much a legend as she is a young woman who fell in love as a teenager, and stayed there. Her love of Gerry Goffin, of Charlie Larkey, and of life in general because of her music, is ever much who she is, as reflected in her musical biography.

The only thing that makes this any better is to hold her biography, “A Natural Woman: A Memoir” in your hands and read along in your favorite chair, while this is on your CD player.

Comments from original story published on examiner.com

Richard Podolsky · Author of "Neil Sedaka: Rock 'N'Roll Survivor--The Inside Story of His Incredible Comeback" and "Don Kirshner; The Man With the Golden Ear" at Rich Podolsky Communications

It's a shame more demos weren't included. As it is, you can tell what a strong influence Carole KIng's presentation had on the final recordings. In the case of "One Fine Day," which is not included, they used everything but Carole's voice... By the way, Gerry Goffin was adamant that Phil Spector "didn't write a god dam thing" on "Just Once in My Life," but took a writing credit anyway for giving it his Wall of Sound production.--Rich Podolsky, author of "Don Kirshner: The Man with the Golden Ear."

Unlike · Reply · 5 · Apr 25, 2012 7:40am

Richard Podolsky · Author of "Neil Sedaka: Rock 'N'Roll Survivor--The Inside Story of His Incredible Comeback" and "Don Kirshner; The Man With the Golden Ear" at Rich Podolsky Communications

Tell him to compare her "take Good Care of My Baby" to Bobby Vee's version and he'll see why vee had a hit.

Like · Reply · May 3, 2012 8:01am

Artie Wayne · H.S. of Music and Art, NYC

I WAS FORTUNATE TO HAVE BEEN A STAFF SONGWRITER AT ALDON MUSIC DURING THESE GOLDEN MOMENTS. I HEARD DON KIRSHNER PLAY "CRYIN' IN THE RAIN" FOR PHIL EVERLY AND "EVERY STEP I TAKE" FOR PHIL SPECTOR. AND WORKED OFTEN IN THE STUDIO WITH CAROLE, WHO TAUGHT ME HOW TO MAKE DEMOS.

DAWN...YOU MAKE ME WANT TO VISIT THOSE DAYS AGAIN AND LISTEN TO THE CD. THANK YOU!

REGARDS ARTIE WAYNE.

P.S. YOU AND YOUR READERS MIGHT ENJOY AN ARTICLE I WROTE ON CAROLE AND "WILL YOU LOVE ME TOMORROW?"

"I occasionally baby sit for Carole King, while she’s in the studio doing demos. In return she plays keyboards, arranges, and sings all the background parts on my demos. I remember one day she comes in to play her new song for Donny Kirshner, but he’s still out to lunch. She asks me if I’d like to hear it while she rehearses it.

She sits down at the old upright piano and starts to sing,

“Tonight you’re mine completely, You give your love so sweetly….”.

I sit there as she goes over “Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow?” a few more times, even though I know I won’t be able to write anything of my own for weeks!

Then she’s summoned to Donny’s office. I think he likes it too…I can hear him yelling through the door, “It’s a Smash! It’s a F@#in’ Smash!”.

From Artie Wayne's book,"i DID I IT FOR A SONG" available at AMAZON.COM.

Like · Reply · 6 · Apr 26, 2012 9:19pm

Cal Jennings · Houston, Texas

At least you got to live the dream.

Like · Reply · Apr 26, 2012 9:23pm

The rock-n-roll side of Rich Podolsky: Sportswriter pens Don Kirshner biography

So, what was it that made Philadelphia-native sportswriter Rich Podolsky want to tell the story of Don Kirshner, also known as “The Man with the Golden Ear” just released by music publisher Hal Leonard Books? Before Podolsky ever thought about writing about the beloved record producer of Brill Building fame, he was waxing some kind of wonderful about the Boston Celtics.

In fact, for over 30 years of his professional career, Podolsky’s journalistic talents have taken him around the sports world—college basketball, college football, golf, and horse racing. His ability to pick winning college football teams found him, as of 2009, with his selections published by ESPN, AOL among others, and his talents didn’t just center on football.

For many years, Podolsky’s sports acumen was an integral part of CBS Sports (working with Jimmy the Greek and Beano Cook), ESPN.com, ESPN Insider, and AOL. Now you know one side to the Podolsky, the journalist.

But, it’s often said that a good writer can write about anything, particularly any subject for which there is passion. His book that was in the making for seven years, “Don Kirshner: The Man with the Golden Ear,” really originated in the mind and heart of a young teenager from Philadelphia. So, what is it that made Podolsky jump over to write about rock and roll? One reason: music empresario Don Kirshner was Podolsky’s hero.

Here was a Baby Boomer teenager like any other, listening to his beloved Philco radio in his bedroom, getting ready for school, and when he’d matured to driving age, he’d be found motoring around Philly streets, blasting out the sounds of WIBG (Wibbage) Radio, with DJs Hy Lit and Joe Niagara, New York’s WABC go-to, Cousin Brucie (Bruce Morrow), as well as Jerry Blavat (WHAT). Today, WIBBAGE FM, 94.3 plays a popular 60s and 70s format with DJs like Philly Bill Culp, Jerry Beebe, syndicated favorites including John Records Landecker on Saturday night and Dave the Rave’s Relics and Rarities. Takes you back to ...back in the day, where every song you heard in high school and college had a meaning, had a part of your heart wrapped around it, and therein was the genesis for Richard Podolsky finding a backbeat to his youth.

As he shares, teenage Podolsky was fortunate that his father was a record buyer for Sun Rae, a Philadelphia record store chain. Enthusiastic discussions between father and son led to an early opportunity for Rich to start picking hits (long before he developed a knack for picking winning football teams). In his book’s foreword, he writes that his father had brought home a “pile of 45s that were untried and untested. He didn’t know if any of them were good, and assumed he might not recognize if they were since they weren’t his style.”

Rich’s first freelance discovery was “If I Had a Hammer” by a (then) unknown Peter, Paul, and Mary. Podolsky’s dad listened, and bought copies for the racks of all his stores. Within six weeks, it was a certified Top 10 hit because others discovered it, same as Podolsky. And thus began a lifetime of immersion in the music for young Rich Podolsky. Not long after, in the Spring of 1962, Rich’s dad invited him to attend a dinner sponsored by Cameo Parkway Records where they were introducing Dee Dee Sharp (“Mashed Potato Time”). He was thrilled to meet Chubby Checker that night, never dreaming that some 45 years later, he’d be on a radio program with him, discussing the greatest days of the music. Life’s funny that way.

Podolsky continues, of that night, “And then I saw him—Don Kirshner. There he was, walking toward us, looking larger than life. Kirshner was only twenty-seven then, but his song publishing firm, Aldon Music, was the talk of the business. He had that something that made people want to be around him.”

This biography was not the result of a longtime personal friendship between Podolsky and Kirshner. In fact it would take 40 years before Podolsky would consider writing the book in the first place, and it wasn’t until a long way into researching and interviewing hitmaking, ultratalented songwriters that he could even connect with Kirshner to learn if he would be willing to cooperate in telling his story. Based on reading the book, it’s easy to see that Podolsky’s respect and regard for the “man with the golden ear” is such that he would have written it with or without Kirshner’s help.

And yet, one day, skipping past months of attempts, e-mails, phone calls and messages via friends, and friends of friends, Podolsky’s phone rang, and the voice on the other end was indeed Kirshner’s. After an initial conversation, Kirshner agreed to share his memories with Podolsky. He writes, “Every Sunday morning for six months we’d chat over coffee and bagels, 1,300 miles apart.”

In Hal Leonard Books, Podolsky found a natural publishing partner to tell the story of a beloved man of music who is held in regard, respect, and just plain loved by the luminaries of the soundtrack of your life, if you’re any kind of Baby Boomer at all. Hal Leonard is as well known for music publishing as Campbell’s is for soup.

The list of those whose careers collided and excelled is long and strong. Don Kirshner made such an impact on the music of the 60s, by giving young songwriters their first breaks, their first chances, and fair profits and a nurturing environment in which to be creative. Kirshner partnered in business with a savvy businessman and gentleman, Al Nevins, and together they built an empire of publishing that was fueled and propelled to success by teenage songwriters.

The songwriters’ list is legendary: Carole King, Gerry Goffin, Neil Sedaka, Jack Keller, Howard Greenfield, Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil, Carole Bayer Sager, on and on. The recording artists who were most impacted by Kirshner’s talents include some of Podolsky’s favorites: Connie Francis, The Monkees, The Archies, and Tony Orlando.

Orlando is more than a fan of Kirshner’s; he considers he owes his career to the “man with the golden ear,” a moniker given Kirshner by Time Magazine. Orlando’s foreword for the book notes Kirshner as a gentleman who “opened the door to independent record producers, allowing young record producers to be able to create and sell their works to major record companies.” Of course, fans of Orlando know him as a young demo singer who found a tremendous career that continues today when he was paired with studio singers Joyce Vincent Wilson and Telma Hopkins, better known as Dawn.

Speaking of better known, Podolsky’s book is a compendium of all the songs, songwriters, producers and music that the young man was memorizing alongside college courses, attaining the virtual equivalent of a PhD in rock and roll along the way. In a lovely section of the book, information is shared that perhaps any true 60s fan and proud owner of virtually every song that Podolsky describes, doesn’t realize is there.

The timing of the book’s release, by sheer happenstance, is made more poignant in last week’s unexpected passing of singer Davy Jones of The Monkees. Kirshner was instrumental in selecting the body of songs that The Monkees would record and perform on their Screen Gems TV Show.

One of the most influential producers Kirshner brought in was the great Jeff Barry, who had a string of hits already to his producer credit (The Crystals, The Shangri-Las, The Ronettes), today a member of the Songwriters Hall of Fame, but even moreso, Kirshner had access, via Barry, to his friends and colleagues among the best New York studio musicians.

It was just a matter of time before Monkee magic turned into Monkeemania, given the on-camera chemistry and underlying musical talent of Davy, Mickey, Peter, and Mike, which at the onset had not even yet been tapped. Kirshner and his team of creatives provided a springboard from which this group propelled to superstardom, and they’re not alone.

But, as Podolsky describes, Kirshner was not always beloved by the performers, which is entirely understandable, as there is always a chance for newfound stardom to convince a talented person that they could have reached those heights, no matter what. The relationship between Kirshner and The Monkees was not always a lovefest, and emotions run high even this week in the blogworld as to exactly how individual and collective Monkees felt (at different times) about Kirshner as producer. Podolsky shared with me, that when Jones was appearing as the Artful Dodger in “Oliver” on Broadway in 1964, “Don Kirshner had signed Jones” and later “was very influential in choosing Jones during the national casting call for The Monkees.”

Even before there was a Monkee madness, there was much more to Don Kirshner, and his ability to pick out talent by watching performers early on in their careers, foster that talent and put them together with the best writers, producers and arrangers to create vinyl magic for the artists, while Aldon Music published all of them, hitmakers indeed.

Among all the stories Kirshner and his friends share with Podolsky, the most heartwarming surely has to be how Kirshner sat in Kurtzman’s Candy Store in New York’s Washington Heights neighborhood. Kirshner’s friend, Natalie, described a friend of hers she was bringing over to meet him, as “the most talented human being she’d ever met.” At first meeting, that friend was a frightning sight of a frail, emotionless young man, who seemed ever older than his years.

He was introduced to “Kirsh,” the new name that the young man would give him, quickly, as Walden Robert Cassotto. After a brief discussion, the three went to Natalie’s house, wherein the man they would come to call Bobby Darin would blow Kirshner off the sofa and into full alert as he watched him play “You Must Have Been a Beautiful Baby,” “I Can’t Give You Anything But Love,” and “Won’t You Come Home Bill Bailey.”

As he performed, Kirshner saw “that something special” the young man possessed. The two became enjoined in creating music history, and engendered a lifetime of goodwill and best results for other talents in the music industry, e.g., Connie Francis as a new singer and a girl who’d fall madly in love with Darin, and Artie Wayne as a young songwriter, whom Darin sent to see Kirshner about a job, the first real break of his career. Ron Dante and Toni Wine are two more talents whose voices were part of American life, but not their names, yet who remain steadfast in their acknowledgment of Kirshner as mentor and friend.

It’s all about getting those breaks, those chances, those meetings that turns potential into reality. Listening, hearing, seeing, believing. Never more clear is it, than through this compelling volume is the music industry revealed to be a family with the circle growing smaller and tighter as the intermingling of people, places, faces and spaces intersects time and again to create magic. And there was Don Kirshner in the middle.

Sadly, Kirshner died before the book was published, and he also will miss this year’s planned induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on April 14th. Life comes full circle and great music always comes back around again. The music his father listened to because son Rich suggested it as a winner has won once again, in the biography of Don Kirshner.

Joyfully, today Rich has 14-year-old twins, whose musical tastes keep him at the top of today’ pop charts. His current favorites? Says Podolsky, “Adele, Taylor Swift and Cee-lo,” but he also confesses to having seen Little Anthony and the Imperials in a perfect show (“they can still hit all the notes”) and he’s delighted Steve Lawrence cut a new album (“I’d go just about anywhere to see him because he still sings lights out”). Talk about things coming back around again, just last night, Podolsky was a guest on Jerry Blavat’s radio program, an anniversary show with Chubby Checker, something that 16-year-old Podolsky would have never imagined happening back in the day.

Good music is timeless. Classic (rock) music is forever. And forever inscribed in the history books of rock and roll will be the name of Don Kirshner, a young man with a dream who lived to make others’ dreams happen alongside his own. Surely, it was the ride of a lifetime for many. And Rich Podolsky lived out his own dream, in writing Kirshner’s story.

Just makes you feel good to think about it. Now, someone turn up that radio, and let’s have a party, up on the roof, one fine day, because we have a groovy kind of love, and love will keep us together. Thank you, Don Kirshner.

Photo: Rich Podolsky is the author of Don Kirshner, The Man with the Golden Ear, Hal Leonard Books, published March, 2012. Review originally published on examiner.com and registered

Artie Wayne vs. the music industry: Can a nice guy finish first?

Reading the Artie Wayne biography, ‘I Did it for a Song,’ readers are moved, nay compelled, to ask themselves two basic questions.

Question 1: Can nice guys finish first in business? Answer: Which business? Response: The Music business.

Question 2: Which nice guy? Answer: Artie Wayne. Response: The answer is up to you, the reader to decide.

Do you know Artie Wayne? If you love rock and roll music, chances are good you’ve heard his name at some point in the last 50 years. And it could be for a number of reasons. Among other things, Wayne is a singer, songwriter, demo guy, promoter, producer, record label executive, nurturer of creativity, messenger of great ideas, and more. He’s more than a Renaissance guy. He’s a futurist, in the best sense of the word.

Most importantly, Wayne’s best skill is having been, and still being ‘the man in the middle’ of some of the best music ever to go from ‘how about this?’ to ‘vinyl is final’ stages. And as Wayne says, ‘he did it for a song.’

Poignantly, that is the exact title of his recently released autobiography, unquestionably one of the best and fastest fun reads of 2011. Have you read ‘I Did it for a Song’ yet? Perhaps you have, if you belong to an elite group of music lovers, who lives and breathes music so much that you haunt vintage record stores and multiple garage sales for that one missing 45 or 33 to define your collection.

Or, you have read it if you’re one of those types to check in often on blogs such as ‘The Pop Culture Addict,’ ‘Forgotten Hits,’ or even ‘Artie Wayne on the Web.’ If so, then you probably scout out treasures on eBay, you have alerts set to find a copy of a song or album that means the world to you. We know you.

You’re also the music lover who reads liner notes and knows the name of the recording studio, the recording engineer, arranger, composer, publisher and who played bass on those Billboard chart hits across the country for the past 50 years, a period in which the genre of rock and roll rose, soared, and crested into the genre we now enjoy as “classic rock music.”

In a Perfect World

In a perfect world, the music industry is an assortment of vibrant personalities, creative talents, unique business and music skills and opportunities to bring all these factors together. When combined, bright people of like minds and commensurate talents find each other, join forces and create great musical works.

Creating a music product that is known and appreciated from Middletown, CT to San Jacinto, CA is usually done for the sheer joy of creation. That’s in a perfect world. But inevitably external variables creep into the equation, introducing imperfections and exceptions, advance sales, chart positions, units moved, power rotations, remainders, returns, pre-orders, gold and platinum certification, the Grammy Awards and who will be nominated for the controversial, dubious Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

So, who is Artie Wayne? He’s a man who lives in that perfect world, believes in the basic goodness of others, and has trusted more than a few people to do the right thing by him, particularly when they said that they would in the first place. During his career, within the upper echelon of the music business, he’s found some of the faith and trust he’s placed in others to be well worth his time.

Others have disappointed him in large measure, but he doesn’t absorb the negative energy of their misdeeds. Instead, he figures it’s just a matter of time before they do right by him. A do-right man, as the song goes.

Artie actually entered this world as Wayne Kent, a great name on two levels. One, it’s strong, to the point, and sounds like a guy who’d grow up to be an executive, doesn’t it? Two, it’s gently amusing that both names comprise portions of the alter egos of two cartoon heroes whom people are always counting on to rescue them and in fact, save the world.

Batman, as you know, was Gotham City millionaire Bruce Wayne by day; and Superman, of course, was mild-mannered reporter Clark Kent, he of the Daily Planet. Put them together and you have Wayne Kent. I doubt he ever once thought about that, yet the longer you visit with Artie Wayne, and the more you learn of his amazing abilities to make others’ dreams come true, as he introduces the world to yet undiscovered talents, the more likely you are to search him for a cape and a mask.

Just Call Him Artie

The name switch came from his being bright enough to use his real name, Wayne Kent, for songs he’d written for ASCAP publishing. His pseudonym for BMI songs was Art Wayne. It was not all that unusual back in the day to have a show biz stage name if you didn’t like the name your parents gave you. But he was savvy enough, early on, to know that he could be in both publishing organizations with a little panache and an extra non de plume. His friend and colleague, Ed Silvers, began calling him ‘Artie,’ and hence, ‘Artie Wayne’ became the bon vivant of the music business. He has not let go of the spotlight yet. He owns it. It belongs to him. That, and a few other things are due him.

How and where he’d get into the music business was never a worry. Artie seemed to have a sixth sense and proclivity for being in the right place at the right time. As a young songwriter working on future hits with a great friend, Ben Raleigh, Artie’s natural confidence and magnetic personality took them far up the ranks in short measure, all because of a positive attitude he still has to this very day. It started with Bo Diddley and Bobby Darin.

Going into Bo Diddley’s backstage dressing room before his appearance on Alan Freed’s TV show, ‘The Big Beat,’ Artie was just hoping for an autograph. Instead, Bo showed him how to get his famous ‘Hey, Bo Diddley’ riff, even tuning Artie’s guitar to an open E-chord for him. The lesson ended when (get this) Jimmy Clanton, Jackie Wilson, and Bobby Darin come through the door, interrupting the lesson to play Diddley a test pressing of Bobby’s song, ‘Dream Lover.’

Incredible Breaks, Breaking Records

Wayne and Darin became good friends, with much in common as two Bronx boys who loved music. Darin encouraged Artie in his songwriting and is responsible for not only starting Artie’s career as a songwriter, he kept it from ending. Artie shared with Darin his excitement, as he was about to sign a management contract with Alan Freed. Darin knew something that Artie (and most of the rest of America) didn’t, that Freed’s house of cards was soon about to come down with the revelation of the payola scam. Darin suggested to Artie that he go see a publishing friend of his who was officing at 1650 Broadway.

What an incredible break that was. Turned out the company was Aldon Music, and the friend was Don Kirshner. And thus began Wayne’s career. His book of 70 chapters is chock full of star-studded stories like this but the funny thing is, Artie doesn’t think of himself as a star and perhaps he’s not. He’s actually a starmaker. He perceives himself to be a regular guy, born under a lucky star, and never does seem to be affected by all the glitz and glamour that were once a part of his daily life.

Without giving the whole story away, Artie’s career went from songwriter/singer, to demo man, to producer, to (with partner Kelli Ross) running Quincy Jones’ New York publishing companies. And he didn’t stop there. At the pinnacle of his career with Warner Brothers Music, his title was General Professional Manager, and Director of Creative Services.

He ran the ‘New York, Nashville and L.A. offices out of Hollywood,’ and represented the ‘songs of Badfinger, Jackson Browne, Bob Dylan, the Faces, 5th Dimension, the Kinks, George Clinton, Gordon Lightfoot, Mahavishnu Orchestra, John McLaughlin, Joni Mitchell, Van Morrison, Graham Nash, Randy Newman, J.D.Souther, Stephen Stills, John Sebastian, Sly and the Family Stone, Carly Simon, Jimmy Webb, Allan Toussaint, Donny Hathaway, Neil Young, Glenn Frey, Don Henley, and Dick and Don Addrisi.’ He was the chief ringleader of a group of brash boys of bravado, ‘The Warner Raiders’, seven stalwart songpluggers whose mission was to know every single song in their catalog and find artists and producers to record them. Their successes were legendary.

Wayne was also known as performer Shadow Mann, and he is a songwriter who co-wrote ‘Midnight Mary’ with friend and songwriter, Ben Raleigh and wrote ‘3000 Miles’ recorded by Brian Hyland, just to name a few. Wayne recorded on 'Tomorrow Records and worked on Morris Levy’s Roulette Records, the home of music of Tommy James and the Shondells. Now, you know who Artie Wayne is. Right?

You Don’t Know Artie Wayne at All

Artie Wayne is not some paragraph on a long-ago resume of one whose life was lived on the backs, shoulders, or coattails of a bunch of rockers. Not by a long shot. Artie is one of those guys who made magic happen.

By being in the right place at the right time, he was able to draw upon a huge catalog of songs he managed, controlled, or knew a guy who did, and make certain that the right producer, the right singer, the right instrumentalist, and the right industry bigwig heard it all and, more importantly, bought it and signed on the dotted line for it. Future security for virtually everyone but Artie himself.

It’s not much of a stretch to think that he truly believed, in his heart of hearts, that if he took care of the business, the business would take care of him. So far, it hasn’t always worked out that way. But here’s Artie Wayne, ever the optimist, certain that he can get those in charge to see the light and make things right. That remains to be seen, but after talking for an hour with Wayne, you are convinced that he’s right.

Sharing Wayne’s story is best left to him to tell. The untold story is here, and in it is the question: ‘Does the Music Industry really take care of its own?’ Artie was so busy doing deals for other people that he failed to write himself into contracts where he could have. Innocently or naively, you be the judge, he was counting on people to remember him ‘later,’ yet only a handful of people did.

Among those who he considers great friends today are songwriter Alan O’Day (‘Angie Baby,’ ‘Train of Thought,’ ‘Undercover Angel’) and Allan Rinde (of Cash Box and later Columbia Records), who have remained his lifelong friends and trusted associates. There are others but sadly, some have already passed away.

The Royalty Statement Said ‘What’?

The biggest, most important ‘do right’ question came to light this week when Wayne opened up his royalty statement and was shocked to see that: ‘This last quarter is the first time in my career that I didn’t receive one penny in royalties as a songwriter or publisher. What is even more devastating is the big Michael Jackson payoff I was expecting from having two of my songs in four different posthumous releases fizzled out. Supposedly, only a few thousand units were sold…but I don’t believe it…do you?’

The two songs Wayne co-wrote are ‘Touch the One You Love’ and ‘Little Christmas Tree’ and they’ve been re-released since 2009. You can imagine the skyrocketing numbers of posthumous sales of any recording by Michael Jackson in the past year.

So, as Wayne states, he ‘called to ask for a $5,000 advance,’ and the corporation could expect to recoup that based on Jackson’s longstanding popularity. They didn’t give him the $5,000 but they did give him $2,500. The next period, Wayne said the corporate statement, stemming ultimately from the conglomerate music entity, had not recouped the advance. Hmm. Interesting. So he waited a while and asked for another $2,500 advance. They gave him $1,500. Even more shocking as Wayne read the statement over the phone, he’d been credited with earning $40 in that quarter, and the company wasn’t going to pay out until the sum reached $50.

Let’s do the math. As cowriter Wayne would earn $.02 on each sale/download whatever. Earning $40 means that only 2,000 units were sold that quarter. The $4,000 advanced by the company to Wayne was not charity. It was an expectation of something Wayne contends is the reality, of the elevated status of any new, unreleased, rereleased items in the Michael Jackson catalog. Does that 2,000 units look right, in a quarter that hung in the precipice between the announcement of Jackson’s death and this month’s national news updates of the ongoing criminal trial for Jackson’s death being considered wrongful vs. accidental?

We’ve Already Been Down This Road Once Before

Just like Steve Popovich, the late industry promo genius of Columbia Records, had to do, it seems like Wayne is destined to don his cape and mask one more time and see if he can’t win it for the little guy, the good guy, and the guy by himself. Popovich created a web site that hundreds spent more than a few hours reading a few short years ago. The web URL, inactive today, was, ironically, onemansfightagainstsony.com. The industry lost Steve Popovich earlier this year and not only did grateful musicians write their own Internet tributes upon his passing, so, too, did Artie Wayne remember Steve in his ultra popular blog, ‘Artie Wayne on the Web’.

Popovich is another of those names that more insiders than record consumers know. He was the guy, to read what Clive Davis said in his biography years ago, who lived on Tab soda (remember that?) and bags of chips, slept on his couch at Black Rock headquarters in New York, and was on the phone working records 24/7 across the country. He’d be the button puncher with his car radio dial preset every where he went, listening to hear where and when his songs were played.

Good-natured Steve worked records into a frenzy and created buzz, wrote the buzz, kept the buzz going and was a licensed hitmaker. The man turned good little songs into solid gold pieces of history. And he’s gone now. He won his fight with Sony, and now he’s gone. It’s a crying shame but he’s almost forgotten, except by those who remembered where they came from and the names of all the ‘little people’ who he made their path of gold for, all without ever singing a note or playing a piano.

Is Artie Wayne destined to become another Steve Popovich? They have a lot in common: indefatigable, wide-eyed lovers of life, who live, breathe, love, consume any air filled with music. Plus, they were raised by their families to do the right thing. When Popovich won, in the settlement over ‘bookkeeping’ for his sales at his own Cleveland International Records (rereleasing Meat Loaf’s Bat out of Hell on CD was the centerpiece of the issue), it took all his energy to fight that fight. No one knew publicly what he made off the settlement, and the records were apparently sealed.

For Artie Wayne, it’s déjà vu, all over again. And who knows, his big label conglomerate might surprise everyone, and decide to do the right thing...eventually. Artie Wayne, at age 69, isn’t getting any younger. He still thinks and talks like he’s 25 years old, but you know how long things like this can drag on. And, let’s face it. It’s just not right.

You Decide Whether or Not a Nice Guy Can Finish First

So how can every reader decide whether nice guy Artie Wayne can finish first? The answer is right on your computer. Buy his book. For $9.95 you can get his e-book in any format you want: iPad, Kindle, e-Book, Word doc, it’s there. More than just buying his book, you’re sending him an affirmation that you support his efforts to go back to the mountain one more time to see if corporate conglomerates can rediscover their lost bookkeeping.

If you are a singer, songwriter, entertainer, producer, DJ, blogger, or music lover, even if you haven’t met Artie Wayne, send him your message that he’s not alone. It’s a pretty isolating business when you’re no longer in powerful positions. A lot of the friends who you think will remember you...may not. If you go up against a behemoth, you find out who your real friends are, another hard lesson to accept while you’re fighting a bigger one. The e-book is the best, fastest reading you’d ever hope to enjoy. In his you-are-there style of writing, you really are under the strobe lights, the spot lights, and the stage lights of the best days in the music business ever. They’re gone now. Sadly. Today's big music labels overflow with executives, lawyers, and folks who have gone to Wharton who tell you how many units you need to sell before they’ll sign you. It's taken all the fun out of making music for some.

We don’t any longer have those independent hustlers who moved records out of the backs of their cars. We don’t have the guy who will give you $20 cash because he knows you haven’t had a hot meal in a week while you try to get your band a gig somewhere. You have YouTube videos to showcase your work instead of being able to go live to prove yourself and develop a following. It's convoluted, confusing, and there's plenty of room for change available to bright minds willing to get in there and be a part of the solution and the future of music creation and delivery.

Classic rock lives. Artie Wayne has faith in humanity. Show him that you appreciate his spending 50 years in a business trying to help musicians achieve their dreams. At least post on his blog (http://artiewayne.wordpress.com/) and let him know he’s not the only one who cares about this. He asked for nothing for himself so many times that he helped others. For the love of music and love of people, he did it for a song. Rock on, Artie. Rock on.