The Way I Remember It   When we get good remembrances sent in, good stories, dissents, opinions, corrections, audios, photos ... they'll end up here. Send yours (if you care to share) via the page "What I'd Like to Add".   Here's what's come in and found useful so far: Category: GOOD STORY Date Name Comment 7/21/2008 10:43:56 AM Email 7/13/2008 7:38:53 AM Email 7/6/2008 11:19:29 PM Email 7/5/2008 9:24:01 PM Xbfwwwya bookmark you thx 6/15/2008 12:14:13 PM Email 6/12/2008 6:19:24 AM Email 6/11/2008 8:30:44 AM Email 6/30/2007 12:12:53 AM erik macdonald stan,well my homies at atlantic records signed paris hilton i heard the so called hit and wow i remember when doug morris signned roger clinton..the president's brother, this guy had the talent of a blowfly..so guess what, hold on to that catalogue.doe's brofffman percicve himself as a record man..ahmet would curl at the sight of such a man..is this reason why we have no good music ,has big brother turned this to shit.as he does everything else..thanks stan for letting people like me talk to you in this manner 6/29/2007 12:32:59 AM erikmacdonald i have noticed that others make there comments,inaxyzformat,i think they are people,who have taken anti depressants for longer than is necessary..they can't function in this world so they re-invent a kinder time..we all want to turn back the hands of time but it simply can't be done..stan ,you are real and i was there when you tried ti take wea in to the future it t has become reality..your website is a reality check for folks to sound off and .this site is wonderful in reply to the person that is at my top page..wxsawqqron96..in terms it means "fuck a wimp" 5/28/2007 10:54:52 PM erik macdonald stan,i wonder why these people that have so much to say can't find the time to blog on your site..it was a great buisness until the suits took over then it became a shoe store,if you throw enough shit on the wall some will stick,as i re read your book i realize that this era has passed..and so has great music..we have become a disposible nation and we think as others have before us that, feel good now and that is all that matters..i wonder when people will realize that corporations rule amerika.and control every thought..as i drive in my neighborhood i see no children playing outside..what's next 5/23/2007 11:37:18 PM rik macdonald dear stan,iwas at that convention when you showed the future and it fell on deaf ears,i think it ws in the 80's and when you did your display and held up a cd ,the first we had ever seen and told a captive crowd that this was the future. we were mezemerized by a fax machine..now the thing has become "american idol" and they know nothing..what has become of the thing i had the gift of meeting you a long time ago when it mattered, and there was music not some canned shit.trying to get into mommies purse through the kid the only person in the jackson family that has a job is randy on amercan idol 5/23/2007 2:03:18 PM erik macdonald patrick,your comment's are great and i totally agree..you might find this funny when we at atlantic went "high tec" there was only one guy who knew anything about computers and guess what he was a mac guy in the days when mac and pc were not compatible,so we all got mac's problem being everyone we needed info from was pc.........so we played alot of solitare and e mailed each other i may be wrong but the only dept.that had mac was the warner brothers art department..wow was that a boner.. 5/22/2007 4:55:25 PM Patrick Purcell Just reading Eric's comments. I don't know if it was so much ego Eric as much as ignorance. No question there was an enormous amount of ego. It seemed when the internet "knocked" no one in the record industry was around to answer the door. I mentioned using the internet to Daly and Semel at a meeting in Anaheim in 95 or 96 and they just looked at me with blank stares. Only until kids figured out how to steal music from them did the record companies wake up. Then they dumped it in the RIAA's lap to solve. All the while I-Tunes defines record distribution in the 2000's. I wouldn't be a bit surprised if ten years down the road there are no more record companies as we know them. My guess is it will be an internet based business and places like I-Tunes will be the new record companies. As for WEA it started to come apart long ago when corporate didn't see the importance of Geffen, Virgin and then later on Interscope and they sold off those labels. Yet we were still expected to maintain our marketshare. Additionally when people like Mo and Kras left and corporate basically says "so what"? You don't replace people like that and then expect the company to maintain. Corporate ignorance killed WEA. 5/18/2007 11:31:00 PM ERIK MACDONALD stan i forgot to say,that the book was great you catured the essence of the buisness,on a sad note as i read other peoples blogs i am reminded of the ego they still have and that is what brought this thing down,one would think that self masturbation was a thing of the past but i see that it is not, i leave you with this me/myself and i 3/31/2007 6:33:45 PM MayreenRooney Great book. Really enjoyed it.I was at Billboard Magazine-Billboard Information Network and BDS in the 80's and 90's. Could anyone put me in touch now with Lou Sicurezza? Many thanks. My number is 908-238-3497. 3/21/2007 1:00:23 PM Mike Schaefer New e-mail address! 12/16/2006 2:42:58 PM erik macdonald a comment on the passing of ahmet ertegun,i worked for atlantic for 24 years,i was paid well and treated wonderfully it was an honor to work for ahmet.in those years i didn't care about getting the stars autographs only his.finally one of the sweetest ladies on this earth(linda ferrando] got him to autopgraph an east memphis music lp cover.she said he asked why does guy want my autograph?that about say's it all ,i mean how about the greatest music man in history..ahmet ,thanks giving me the greatest job of my life,thanks for the stories you told late night in hotel suites.his autograph sits in a proud place in my home bound in italian leather..it is truly one of my most prized posessions.he enriched thousands of lives and brought joy to millions,men like this are rare and i will miss him,the world will miss him,and music will suffer without him. 11/17/2006 12:14:28 PM erik macdonald nashville,i think 1996 scene of the country radio seminar,sicurezza decides they needed a national presence so he rounds up about 5 local guys and me,i live in nashville so i got stuck with all the work.i rent the suite etc etc.i get a state of the art sound system,big power,sicurezza shows up,we begin,now we didn't have the most powerful roster in country so we made do.we opened the atlantic country suite and nobody showed up so sicurezza decides that we go suite hopping and see where we went wrong..well the other suites had people in them but were BORING.we go back,sicurezza ask's me hey you got the stax/volt box set in your car..i get it and we are blasting r&b over the stereo along with zeppelin 2 just for grins..ya the place filled up allright along with a couple of nashville's finest who are giving sicurezza a hard time..so in typical atlantic fashion he get's in their face big time,they leave after lou turns the syatem down only to return about 30 miinutes later as you see the minute they leave the floor the night train goes into hyper volume,now they are back with hands on their guns..great.i remember pleading with them not to haul the boss to jail..they seemed to buy it and i spent the rest of the night guarding the volume knob from lou..it became a sucess.even country folks like otis reding..as i come over the next day to let the tech take the system down i realize lou had left it on all night..the power amps were literally melted..one expensive show that was 9/16/2006 2:27:04 PM erik macdonald got a question,one year wea decided to hold the yearly convention in acapulco it somehow was botched but the urban legend going around was that somebody on the west coast was sitting on 2,000 sombrero's that said 'WEA ACAPULCO' is this true?and if so how can i get one for my memeory bouquet 8/26/2006 5:51:39 PM erik macdonald another hot august convention at the diplomat in ft lauderdale.about 4 pm me,the boston local,joe ianello,bill collins/local dallas and two other guys i can't remember decide to get a dip in the ocean after the meeting,were standing about knee deep in the water,getting refreshed when the glint of the sun on the water i see a couple of large jellyfish swimming in our midst .we were in a semi circle and the jellies are close to joe so i say hey joe move back a couple feet he says why,i sat cause there are some jellyfish in front of you, collins next to him looks down in the water and says i don't see them and then he screams.i knew the fish had stung him,when he ouit yelling i realized that they got him on the head of his penis..whew! that had to be rough he tells he's going to his rooom and lay down.we stand around until he;s out of earshot before we start crying with laughter..i mean what else can you do? later at the dinner same guy had invited his sister as she lived there to eat she asks me where is he is i shrug, a few minutes later he comes in,now the temp at these things are below zero but collins is sweating bullets,it seems that the sting caused his penis to swell like a blimp so he goes to the hotel nurse and she gives him a shot i don;t know what of..the swelling begins to decrease but there seems to be some pain attached. he retired early and in tradition we told the story to anyone who would listen about the guy who got stung on his dickhead by a jellyfish.erik 8/26/2006 1:16:27 PM erik macdonald the scene was the yearly wea convention in florida at the diplomat hotel..for years lou sicurezza had a phone book toss from his suite for rookies..some of these boks weighed 80 pounds..this year myself,michael stevens & kim stephens decided to surprize lou with a twist on the old tradition..so we went to a grocery store in lauderdale and bought about 70 melons cantaloupes,honeydew,watermelon the smaller more bullet shaped ones..we loaded them in a lebaron rental car and made for the loading dock behind the hotel..we had to get them into lou's suite without being seen.at the dock we found a cuban named gomez and for 20 bucks he took them and us up in the service elevator to the suite.we found a closet in the main room that was emptty and loaded the melons in.i must say we did a great job those melons looked like stacked torpedos..when the suite opened and was full we showed los his new toy and he loved it.he began hurling the melons ouut the window with amazing accuracy for 17 stories up.we got into it and soon the pool was full of bobbing melons.enter mick jones of foreigner,mick was one of a kind no ego a great guy and very funny.this night he was well somewhat in his cups he saw what we were doing and had ti get in on the action.i walked him out on the balcony along with susan glazer.he got in his bart starr stance and heaved the only problem was being in his cups the melon lifted him with it and susan and i had to grab his ankles to keep him from joining his melon.end 4/16/2006 8:02:56 AM George Skaubitis Would like to contact Carol Hart former WB?Burbank. Any leads appreciated. George Skaubitis WB Promo 1978-1997 7/15/2005 7:46:33 PM Mimi Zwart (Zorn) I just stumbled onto this website doing some googling and will have to go out and get Stan's book! I too was at "The Bunny" during the Golden Years working for Sue Emmer in Promo and was blown away reading all the names again-the field reps, home office staff! The Mo/Lenny years were wonderful and I, too was one of those who loved the music and the pure way it was treated during this era. Of all the labels back then, WB held the reputation for being true to its artists, and this is why I was part of this team! Then the suits came in. . .! It was a great time-I remember Madonna when she was chunky and funky and many, many artists that we nurtured onto radio. Doing phoners in Russ and Carol's offices with Bonnie Raitt and Chicago. Really Golden Years-I miss the family! 1/31/2005 6:44:31 PM Louis Lewis bpM blue park Music (BMI) 2005-01-31 5:45 PM Houston/USA "The Way I Remember It" reminds me of the "Summer of Love" concert tour which featured 60's legends such as The Trip, Big Brother and the Holding Company, The Seeds, Arthur Lee & Love and the Strawberry Alarm Clock which brought us dinamic music of this period. Louis Lewis P.O. Box 9/11-911 Houston, TX 77001 T: 281 222 4200 1/27/2005 4:34:07 PM Irene Murray I was just wondering what had happened to George Gerrity who was an A & R rep with Warner Brothers Burbank during the 1970's. I would love to hear from him or about him. 1/17/2005 6:36:10 AM Nigel Molden Congratulations to Stan Cornyn on an excellent work and one that hs been very much overdue. I could hardly put the book down as it reflected so much of the reality of the experience. I have already commented to Stan that much more could be written on the history of the UK company. There are many stories that are only being repeated at dinner parties and most people would find hard to believe. Having been General Manager for WB in the UK during 1977-78 and with the company since 1971 I was there when most of them happened. How come Stan travelled on the corporate jet every week when I only went on it once! Is there a Worlwide WB fraternity developing?! 9/13/2004 8:30:59 AM Raymond S Milanese It has been 18 months since I have left WEA. Once in a while I glance over the book to reflect on a great period in my life. I had the honor and privilege of working with and for the best in the industry. We had faced many obstacles together and did a great job of achieving our main goal to break new artists. I came into this company 32 years ago with jeans and a t-shirt and I left with a suit and tie – it was a great ride. From listening to the first Eagles to the latest Zwan and everything, in-between I have enjoyed every minute and will always cherish our music and the friends I made. As Henry Droz once said to me, “be grateful you were raised in Camelot”. Our success was a combination of not only great music but a group of individuals who perfomed and operated as a family both labels and WEA. Hats off to the leaders who created and maintained that atmosphere for so many years. We were often imitated but never duplicated. 6/26/2004 9:15:47 PM Dave Roy I loved the book and the memories of a great WEA team , Henry, Fran A., Pete Stocke, Dennis O'Malley and the whole Boston and New York Branches. But my favorite comment came from Jim Swindell, who standing next to me at a NARM Atlantic suite party hosted by Nick Maria said "geez, I hope when I die they do not bury me next to anyone from Atlantic, they'd keep me awake all night"...That says it all! 4/7/2004 11:31:18 PM Pigmeat Alas poor Elektra, i knew you well. RIP. Congrats to the Sylvia Rhone regime for taking down the jewel of WEA. The boutique label that Bob Krasnow built in the 80's was turned into a K mart of the late 90's and into its untimely demise. 7/21/2003 3:11:44 PM Gigi Paggao Hi, I got promoted to Director of Accounting. Can you please update your records? Thanks. I appreciate it. 4/10/2003 6:31:58 PM Email Photo Click For Image 4/10/2003 6:19:05 PM John Harrold 30 Years Ago... We were in Palatine. We wanted to meet Marty, who was playing the Quiet Knight. Melissa Manchester opened for him. I called Tom Parent with the idea of doing a Martin Mull Day in Palatine. Tom checked with Marty, and he said OK. I went before the Palatine Village Board, and they agreed to declare a "Martin Mull Day." I had a friend whose dad collected cars. We also arranged for Mr. Mull to ride in Palatine's 4th of July parade in a 1933 Rolls. And he got the key to the city (a Jim Beam swizzle stick) from the mayor. Rolling Stone did a full page on it. This was taken by a friend, but Joe took a ton of photos, one of which appeared in another issue of RS, in Ralph Gleason's column. Click For Image 4/10/2003 6:02:10 PM John Harrold I remember Joe Gino being everywhere shooting photos for everybody. What became of Joe? Click For Image 3/30/2003 11:04:17 PM Bill Reed Stan: I'm sure you recall Nick DeCaro; as for some browsing here, even if you think you don't know who Nick is, chances are you are familiar with his music, via his arrangements for many Golden Age of Warner-Reprise "Burbank Sound" recordings incl: Gordon Lightfoot's 'If You Could Read My Mind', James Taylor's 'Shower The People' and Randy Newman's 'Marie'. By conservative estimate, as producer, arranger, musician, songwriter, or singer, DeCaro, who died in 1992, partnered with over a hundred groups or artists - including not just Warners-Reprise artists like Arlo Guthrie, Maria Muldaur, Ry Cooder, the Everly Brothers, the Mojo Men & Harpers Bizarre, but also such diverse recorded citizenry as Barbra Streisand, the Ventures, Claudine Longet, Chris Montez, the Sandpipers, Del Shannon, Gary Lewis, et al - amassing a catalogue in excess of 300 albums and sundry 45rpm singles. In an interview I conducted with Randy Newman in 2001, he described DeCaro as being almost pathologically shy. Thus explaining, perhaps, the state of anonymity that still surrounds Nick, despite his prolific achievements. As a journalist I have devoted some of the last couple of years trying to redress this oversight. If you are interested, one result is an article I published in Japan in 2001. The English language version is available at communities.msn.com/NickDeCaro. A more recent article can be found on the web at www.spectropop.com/NickDeCaro Long live "Exploding," Bill Ree 12/18/2002 5:24:28 PM Dennis O'Malley I greatly enjoyed the book,and thank you for writing it, you truly "nailed it". The book brought back many wonderful memories, answered may questions previously unanswered, and validated many of the feelings and thoughts I had while working at WEA. Sadly "The Suits" forced us to look over our shoulders and deleted "passion"and "spontinaity" from our business. I feel fortunate to have worked in the record business from '67-'92. Most of the time it felt like riding on the nosecone of a 747. Should the book find its way to the big screen, perhaps the title could be, "It's not broken.....WHY ARE YOU TRYING TO FIX IT?" Hoping that Linda Baker has found peace and happiness, and still wondering why Lou Dennis always called me at 4:57 PM on Fridays to chat, I remain, Sincerely, Dennis O'Malley WEA Boston '81-'92 12/1/2002 4:32:45 PM Patrick Shields Mr. Cornyn.... This is not intended for posting...only to say that I truly loved your book and hope you have more in the pipeline. Reading just doesn't get better than this! We're about the same age and I worked briefly for Liberty in the 1960's...before moving into broadcasting. I've been with ABC since 1974. It's sad to see how it has all ended but -- thanks to your eloquence--anyone who's interested can discover that it didn't always suck. With admiration and best wishes! 11/3/2002 10:16:47 AM Perry Bashkoff Tom Dowd, producer and recording engineer behind top hits, dies... Tom Dowd, legendary producer and recording engineer behind top music hits such as Aretha Franklin's Respect, Ben E. King's Stand by Me and Derek and the Dominoes' Layla, died Sunday (10/28) at an Aventura assisted-living facility after more than 50 years in the music business. He was 77. A South Florida resident since the 1960s, Dowd was a pioneer in the studio, considered the first to introduce the eight-track recording machine into a major studio in 1957. For a complete obituary copy and paste below: http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/2002/10/28/news/obituaries/4388095.htm Click For Image 10/16/2002 1:36:14 PM Carolyn Baker I read the book, loved the history, have some more stories for later....but even though you told me to not 'bust your balls' at the reunion party....I still want to know where are all the Black folks....there are many missing but most notably my friend Tom Draper who led Black music during its heyday at WB including the breaking of Madonna. I'll later tell the story about Murray, Bear and myself seeing Hinckle(shot Reagan) in full nazi gear at the Pearl Harbor and the Explosion's concert in Dallas. 10/14/2002 1:46:48 PM Fred Meyers How to begin: Russ, Eddie, Urso, Keane, Pat McCoy, George Gerrity, Don Kelly, Stan, Carl Scott, Kenny P, Stu Cohen, Carol Hart, Dawn, Al Frontera (bless his soul), Murray Nagel, Bonnie Simmons, Davenport, Danhauser, Dave Stein, Gene Dries, Richard Wolod, Dave Cahn, Steve Fingerette, Mark Wallace, Jerry Barrett, Skinny Tom Cheney, Nancy Stein, Seymour Stein, Tom Peterson, Ted Cohen, Linda Baker, Todd Gallie, Patrick Rains, Sue Emmer, Larry Butler, Rich Fitzgerald, Larry Boyle, Frank Turner, This was some of the crew I was around and what a time 1978-1983 History was made and we were making it all the while having the time of our lives. I remember when the vinyl advances would come in and the center label was blank white and you would get a typed sheet that would tell you artist, album title, songs and times and in one shipment we received the debut of Dire Straits & Rickie Lee Jones. I’d smoke a joint, put the needle on the vinyl and listen and listen and listen and there were times you knew that this was going to be huge. 10/14/2002 11:54:51 AM Fred Meyers So many stories so many experiences so many people flowing through your life. To be a Warner’s rep then was the most incredible experience in my life outside the births of my children. I remember being at war with the Columbia rep when ever they came out with a Journey lp we would hit them over the head with a Van Halen , they’d put out some Kansas piece of shit and we’d release Waiting for Columbus. Even the Atlantic & Elektra reps were ALWAYS taking a backseat to us. Always be nice to everybody but deep down we knew we were the shit. No bragging, we just kept releasing some of the most innovative music out there. The Talking Heads, Roxy Music Avalon, Pretenders debut whoa! Tattooed love boys! ZZ Top, Prince, Fleetwood Mac and on and on and on. It was an honor and a privilege to work for these great bands and great people like Russ & Carol and Eddie and all the above….and I hope all is well out there for all of you. I only wish the kids today only knew how we would get a album, get in the car, drive to a radio station and rush into the control room and the DJ would put it on right there in front of you and you’d get back in the car, hear it on the radio and continue to take that excitement down the road to the next stop, next town, next station. 8/27/2002 5:06:23 PM Al Westphal I saw a message from Pat Purcell asking where Eddie Gilreath is. Well I saw him get into his car in LaQuinta, Ca. (Palm Springs).He drove off before I could say Hi. The last I heard was that he was living in LaQuinta. Best Regards, 8/22/2002 8:53:29 PM Pete Stocke There are 2 references to teamster negotiations in the book.One is in Philly and one is in Cleveland. The one referring to Cleveland actually took place in Philly. 107 is a Philadelphia local. Mike Fasciano and Joe Cimino were the business agents. They were right out of central casting and made for the Sopranos. Norman Samnick was our legal rep. There was no poster, but Norman had written a letter accusing 107 of beating people with baseball bats and worse. As branch manager I signed the letter.(what did I know?) Cimino asked who was Stocke I raised my hand and he jokingly threatened to toss me out the window. We were only on thes second floor. I did use the Sinatra example as a reason for them to allow warehouse workers to do multiple tasks. As an aside Fasciano was shot 5 times with a 22 rifle and lived to be our business rep. 7/14/2002 5:51:05 PM steve goldman december 1982. I'm in the studio producing Van Dyke Parks' album "Jump!". Stan was there every night from beginning to end. My hero! He was wide eyed, dripping coolness and lapping it all up. Every night. I didn't tell him then how thrilled I was having him in the room and how much it meant to us to have his support. Those were amazing times. My son was born on the 3rd day of tracking and Van's was born shortly thereafter. To all those who participated in the WB experience, I'd like to say how wonderful you must feel with what was accomplished during those years and how lucky you all were to have worked and played in such a supportive, nurturing environment. I only hope it happens again. Heartfelt thanks to all. 7/12/2002 4:34:31 PM pat purcell I see you are looking for Gilreath.....I remember sitting thru meetings with Eddie. Our meetings started at 5:oo p.m. The AC went off at 8:00. Eddie started with the WB Hot Run at about 7:00. He went over every record with every sales rep, how much more can you get me Brent, how bout you Ronnie? To the promo reps Ron Gregory and Barry Terry ...where can we expect play on this next week???We walked out, much lighter,at about 11:00 pm. Many years later I told Eddie when they introduce you at the next Natl. Sales meeting you should pile up a handcart with hot runs and have them play the Jaws theme or the Psycho theme as you wheel the handcart on stage. We had a good laugh about it. Eddie was probably one of the best all around record people I ever met, I too wonder what happened to Gilreaf??? Pat 7/11/2002 4:40:18 PM Pat Purcell Hello to all, Can't wait to read this book as I am writing one of my own. Linda Baker - Do you still have my Peter Gabriel letter???? Best to all............Pat 6/18/2002 2:17:45 PM Tony Camardo I was in the branch during many a conversation about dumping Richard Simmons product into the flood waters. At first, it was a joke by Denny Nowak, the Regional guy for Elektra. Somehow the idea did get to NY and was seriously considered. But the floors were flooded. You couldn't move a fork lift to get to the stiff records on the top racks. We thought of pushing the stiff records into the loading docks, where there was still a lot of water. But we just told the insurance guys that the stuff was ruined. 5/10/2002 5:29:24 PM Gene Dries Thanks to Bill Janis for the kind words and to Stan for giving the alumni a "reality" yearbook. What an amazing company it was that could house so many brilliant yet eccentric people and make the history it did. For most of my 19 years with the bunny, it was the best place to be on the planet if you loved the music and the people who made it their lives. I am so appreciative that Mo created such an amazing environment to work in and to Russ for doing the best he could with what he was given. My only regrets are that it didn't keep it's shine under the new regime. Still, having said that... the music in the WB catalog is the soundtrack to my life. 5/6/2002 2:51:24 PM Bill Janis So, a month before I was hired with the new Reprise Staff in 1987, I was at school in TN eating cerial on weekends due to the $$ issue. Then the two year internship with Gene Dries paid off, and he got me an interview. Always will owe Gene Dries. Fast-forward a month ahead, and we are all in a suite at the Diplomat Hotel and Mo, Lenny, and Russ are playing new music for us and telling stories. Mo put on the George Harrison record, and I had to fight HARD not to burst into tears. "How did this happen to me?" There were so many moments through the years like that. Thank you to Russ for hiring me and hello to all of my coworkers/friends I made through the years. And Hello to everyone I have not talked to in a long time. I think of you all often. This event in history we all endured will live forever. It's a special time. I hope everyone is happy and still following their hearts and finding peace...BJ (thanks for the great book Mr Cornyn) 5/3/2002 11:37:03 PM jayne santino 30 years of service 5/1/2002 10:14:20 PM Marc Nathan Remember the scene in the movie Spinal Tap where Harry Shearer got caught in the "pod?" Well, truth is sometimes stranger than fiction. Did you know that the movie took the lead from a real life event when Todd Rundgren's Utopia played a theatre in the round in Valley Forge, PA? Utopia keyboard player Jean Yves Labat (M. Frog) was housed in a geodesic dome with little to no ventilation. Whatever ventilation there was got cut off when the stage rotated and the wires got tangled, and the air was shut off. Jean Yves collapsed mid-set, and was helped out by some quick thinking emergency medical technicians! This photo shows me with Todd Rundgren and Warner Brothers local Minneapolis promotion man, Cliff Siegel. Click For Image 4/26/2002 6:23:19 PM Tom Dupree I was first but a poor fan, then later a so-called "rockcrit," while the events in this book unfolded. What a hoary bitch is Dame Fate. Many transforming years later, I found myself in a conference room, along with a few other book-biz suits, in the company of Stan Cornyn, and during the meet I realized he was going to tell THIS story, THIS way. Naturally, I spent the next few days convincing all the other suits to say "Where do we sign?," and guess what: they did! Salud, Don Cornyn. And salud, Don Scanlon. And salud, Don-nah, whatever, George-Warren. There are some books that simply deserve life, and this is one of them. 4/21/2002 2:49:01 PM Marc Nathan Bob Merlis and I present SPARKS with a purple record for the sales of 50 copies of their single "Wonder Girl" in Fargo, North Dakota. The celebration took place at New York's Max's Kansas City, and was complete with a mermaid! Click For Image 4/21/2002 2:47:40 PM Marc Nathan John Montgomery, Seymour Stein, and I bring PLASTIC BERTRAND ("Ca Plane Pour Moi) to 99X in New York City for a little promo visit. Click For Image 4/11/2002 11:48:40 PM David L. Peters Re: Most Wanted Aaron Levy: I had the priviledge of working along with Aaron while he was CFO of Elektra Records in the 80's and working directly for him when he was Senior Advisor to the Chief Financial Officer of the Warner Music Group (Jerry Gold). Aaron has/ and will always be the ultimate gentelman. He is now retired and living in Florida. I have his # and will only give it out if he approves. Ken Cooper: Ken is now retired. Brian Porritt is the new CFO. Also, Ramon has retired and Steve Shrimpton is the new Chairman of WMI. I have contacts for all. Rumour has it that Roger Ames/Helen Murphy want to relocate the world to NYC. If so, I'm ready!!!!!!! David 4/11/2002 2:21:12 PM John Brumbach I stumbled upon this site through Hits Daily Double. I don't have the book yet but I will. So much fun to read everyones comments on this site. What a blessing my 8 year trip was at WBR. The people, the bands, the building. Wow such powerful and influential memories. Next year I will have been away for ten years but it still feels like yesterday. Working with everyone was an honor that I will take to my grave because after ten years all the bullshit falls way. Isn't it odd the state of the music industry today vs. 80's/90's? It will work itself out. There will always be the music. 4/11/2002 12:20:06 AM Lin Rolens/Santa Barbara News-Press: "Mr. Cornyn has had mixed luck with women in his life, and he still maintains a dated and irritatingly cavalier attitude toward them. With the exception of one tough female executive (who comes on the scene late in the story) and a young woman who loves music and works her way up the ladder until she loses her vision, women come across here as perks, arm candy and morsels." 4/9/2002 8:20:23 PM Barry Hansen Just finished reading "Exploding." I read it cover to cover in, of all places, Compton, whose bleak landscape you describe so eloquently. I was in Compton's only high rise building, the courthouse, as a jury alternate on a murder trial. The book kept me very well occupied and entertained during recesses and while waiting for the jury to finish deliberating. (Guilty on all counts - it was a very grim case. But during one recess I was able to point to one of the pictures and say "There's the man who was my boss, and his boss, and George Harrison." That impressed the other jurors). 4/9/2002 8:11:20 PM Dave Slania I started with Carl & Larry Rosenbaum at Flip Side Records & sixteen years later went to Rose Records & worked for Jack Rose's organization until the price wars forced Jack to rethink how he was making money. Working in the industry, even at the lowly retail side, was always something we were all proud of. We were part of this "art form" that for so many of us was the ideal job. I met my first wife, had kids, got divorced, all part of my Flip Side youth. I was lucky enough to be invited to a WEA convention in San Francisco in the late 80's & my record life was changed. At the convention, I saw teamwork, loyalty, enthusiasm, love, the Mitchell Brothers, all those things that I was missing at Flip Side. Whether it was the alcohol or the convention, I came back to Chicago & promptly resigned, to find a place that gave me the same feelings that I had seen with the WEA group. Unfortunately, I still haven't found it. 3/16/2002 10:00:57 AM Steve Meretzky The bits about Allan Sherman were particularly poignant to me; when I was a kid, the arrival of a new Allan Sherman record in our household had the same impact that, say, the arrival of a new Harry Potter book has in my household today. Ooo, and I found one error! You have the Northridge earthquake in February '94 (page 391). I can be sure it was January, because hanging on the wall right in front of me is a blowup of a check with your signature on it, that was written the day after the quake. 3/13/2002 8:33:02 PM Thane Tierney Late in my career as an advert writer for WBR, I was asked to help compile art for Mo Ostin's going-away present, a six-cd set called Mo's Songs. One of the things I got to do was to crawl around the dust-riddled WB storage facility in North Hollywood in search of photos of artists and such. In the process, I came across a picture of my advertising hero, Stan Cornyn (he was the hero of all of us who wrote ads in the Creative Editorial department, not only because of his outstanding copy, but also because he didn't have to run his ads past a committee, as we generally did). When I brought back my trasure trove of art, I asked then-VP of Art Jeri Heiden if she would have a copy of the picture made for me to keep, which she did. The balance of my time at WB, I kept the print close at hand, frequently showing it to visitors and colleagues accompanied by the line, "What would Stan Cornyn think of that idea?" It served me well. Click For Image 3/12/2002 5:31:30 PM Mark Garlick After 15 years, I must confess, I was the ring leader of [the group of Atlantic promotion people who took Lou Sicurezza's room for a spin at a convention] along with John Weston, Michael Brannen, Danny Buch, Bob Clark, Steve Jones and a couple of others. When we were at dinner shooting butter on the ceiling from spoons and napkins, a few of us strategically broke away. It took all of about 5 minutes. We got in his room, turned EVERYTHING upside down. All the furniture, the bed, the tv. We took one of those 3 piece cement (or stone) tables that were by the elevator on each floor, and put it over his toilet so that he couldn't lift the seat to use it. That thing must have weighed about 300 lbs!!! We then superglued everything in his room down: his toothbrush, the glass, anything on his dresser---we superglued the heat on to 90 degrees. Then we superglued the door jam and door lock as we left the room. They had to jackhammer his door off; it looked like it had been through Vietnam. We had an 8 am meeting the next day. When Lou strolled into this meeting, he was about 15 minutes late--EVERYONE knew about his room, and we were all just waiting. We sat there THE WHOLE DAY..waiting...and waiting........and waiting for him to acknowledge what we did. He didn't say a damn word all day.........until we broke for dinner. Then he said "I know who you are, and I WILL get you." 3/8/2002 11:06:21 AM paul s. almond the night we signed the agreement with paul simon was high excitement - after two days and nights of nonstop negotiations (with a large portion of the contract in my awful handwriting, i hope to goodness no one ever had to read it), we had the official party at the 21 club with paul and his girlfriend; i then remember all the wb people being so high that we had pulled it off, mo, lenny, ted, david and i hitting 1 5th avenue (then a jazz club), some other hot spots, and then demanding the carnegie deli reopen around 3:00am in the morning, we stayed there almost until the sun came up; there was so much adrenelin i think we could have flown back to la without a jet!! 3/5/2002 11:34:36 PM patrick grueber wow. i loved the book. i left in sept 2001 by choice, luckily. i was hired by thyret in '87, when reprise was re-started. i was a 27 year old music lover (still am), and russ gave me my shot to do local promotion despite having NO experience whatsoever...think that would happen today? i spent a big chunk of my adult life at reprise, you could say i grew up there. it truly was the greatest company in the world. the stories that were left out would make a great book as well. thanks lisa for adding that photo... it really made me smile. big ups to baker & linehan, 2 of the coolest & smartest people i have ever met, let alone had the good fortune to have worked with. true friends. more later...this thread will indeed be interesting. G 2/23/2002 6:42:39 PM Michael Linehan There were only 68 of us? Seemed like more. Seriously the day Mo called me to his office and gave me my stripes was one of the best moments of my life. Mo and Lenny created an environment that this business won't likely see again and we were all blessed to have been a part of it. When I look at the WB building today I'm reminded of that story from the Viet Nam war about how "it was necessary to destroy the village in order to save it". 2/22/2002 4:33:39 PM Bruce Johnston/The Beach Boys Stan, your book will always be on my ''must read'' list. It's like a PBS series that you want to watch over and over again. Thanks for taking the time to write this great piece of pop music history. 2/22/2002 2:53:12 PM Bill Bentley I just feel blessed that I got in the years I did with Mo and Lenny, and also got to be friends with Russ Thyret. The hardest job I ever had was writing his resignation letter. It took me all day, sitting with him while he cleaned out his desk, talked to friends on the phone and stared at me. I kissed him goodbye, and didn't want to let go. We won't see anyone like him again, I fear. The Wild Bunch has left the building, in more ways than one. I used to buy records in the '60s and '70s because of your [ad] copy. In fact, in my office right now is the first poster WB did for the Dead. I went into my local record store in Houston in '67, and saw it on the floor behind the counter. I asked the owner if he wanted it. "Naw, we don't hang photos of faggots on our walls." Now people offer me thousands of dollars for it. It ain't going anywhere except with me. 2/22/2002 1:46:19 PM Lisa Giles One of my fondest memories was when they brought the newly hired "New" Reprise staff to Burbank to teach us how Warner Bros. functioned as a record company, which included nightly fun in the suite! I never felt so lucky and was unaware of the good times, stress, and tears (I was one who used to release my stress after conference calls on the phone w/Linda Baker!) that lie ahead of me. And that I would meet my two best friends in the whole world...and that I would be forever tied to such history and have such fond memories. Even through the bad times it was the best time in my life and nothing has been the same since. I am adding the photo of the original "new" Reprise staff, circa August 1987. Click For Image 2/20/2002 9:59:55 PM philip mortlock I worked for WEA/Warner Australia from 75 to 92. Most of the time under the guiding management of the dynamic duo of Paul Turner and Peter Ikin. When I first started in the art department I remember finding piless of slide carousels which were undoubtably the one's refered to in the book as part of the 'roadshows' that took place annually to rouse the troops. Various senior VP's of Internatioanl would make annual roadshow trips to Australia as part of the Pacific leg taking in Japan, S.E.Asia and Australia and New Zealand. Tom Ruffino from Warners, Mel POsner (Elektra and later Geffen) Cheryl Mitchell and later Fran Lichtman from Atlantic and many others helped maintain the link with the labels and artists upcoming releases. Weary but always glad to chat with the sales rep from Tasmania, the drummer from some up and coming local signing who had the illusion talking to a US label rep was a guarentee of a worldwide release of their record...Neshui, Sheldon Vogel, Phil Rose, and WEA INternational troopers RubY Merchand, Jennifer Cohen, Manfred Borrman and Keith Bruce all contributed to linking this distnat affiliate with our artist rich labels. Each roadshow would reveal an 'embarassement of riches' for the WEA affilates to develop and prosper. Perhaps the encouragement to develop local repertoire became a distraction to the main game but a domestic record compnay is always going to feel richer when developing its own. we did both. and loved every minute of it. thanks 2/19/2002 8:06:50 PM Hal Gaba I believe it was Mickey Rudin who first proposed Mo Ostin to run Reprise. Mickey knew Mo through Norman Granz. Mickey represented Granz in the sale of the label to MGM. In gratitude, Granz sent Mickey a Jaguar from Switerland. 2/19/2002 5:51:53 PM Almon Clegg I went to Japan with Stan Cornyn and Al McPherson to present the early concept of more than audio on the Compact Disc format. It was eventually called CD=G, but was the predecessor to such as CD-ROM and DVD. Warner was a real leader in analog quality improvements, first, and then in embracing digital audio in the early 1980s. Almon Clegg (Formerly with Matsushita, Panasonic) 2/17/2002 9:22:58 PM Chris Conkling It's interesting (although not quite accurate) that you perceived [my dad] and Fran Howell to be Mormons back then. Niether jointed until a few years after Warners, and although dad went to the Mormon church with my mom from the Fifties onward, he was still a drinker and smoker then. . . It was quite amusing that almost half of Warners first "catalogue" was Jim's inlaws. Those were desperate days, as you indicate. Although, stretching back my memory, I recall other groups we kids were sure would be huge -- The Swe-Danes, Bob Luman, Dorothy Provine does dance exercises or something -- and as for your insulting comments about Tab Hunter's singing abilities -- a rerun of Grease 2 was just on the other night where I caught him singing a song called "Reproduction" -- and, on second thought, I guess you were right. I even recall a record duet between my oldest sister Candy and Irving Taylor's son Steve sung on a kazoo. Sad, that didn't save the company. 2/13/2002 1:07:02 AM Linda Baker I was honored and happy to be interviewed about by memories and moments working for the family Warner. The first 15 years of my adult being was stimulated entirely by my career promoting great music by many of the world's most creative musical artists. Stan's book nails all the moments--both bitter, sweet and surreal. I hope all my former colleagues enjoy reading "Exploring" as much as I have, and I'll look forward to reading their comments too. In my life today, I feel lucky to have had my yesterdays, and I only hope that the members of our younger generation can still find the magic in "their" music. Let those who make and break the bands and songwriters remember to value melody, lyric and style, and not settle for mediocrity and bottom line commercialism. 2/12/2002 8:21:23 PM Kevin Laffey I wish the best for everyone that was a part of Warner Bros. Records during its Golden Years, its Glory Years and finally the Waning Years of the last great record empire. We were fortunate to have been there then. For those that have struggled on...Cheers! Click For Image 2/12/2002 5:30:23 PM Dan Davenport WEA/WB convention ( Dallas I think ) very early morning elevator experience. Murray Nagel and myself having partied all night and not in our best mindset, decide to go from my room to his to explore the possibility of something to eat from his fridge because the party in my room had depleted everything in mine. We had tried to sleep to no avail and were in our shorts. Murray decides we don't need to actually get dressed because NO ONE will be up at 6:30 or 7:00 am ( what ever it was ) and his room was only on the next floor, so off we went in our shorts to the other room. The elevator door opens and there stands you, Mo and a couple of other execs on your way to some early meeting and looking at the two of us in the state we were in. I had a warm beer in my hand and you asked if that was my breakfast. Needless to say, Murray and I both laughed our collesctive asses off ( after we got off the elevator and began to breathe again ). 2/10/2002 11:35:57 PM MaryCarol Rudin Mickey was born in the Bronx (not Brooklyn), I visited the site once on a trip to the Bronx. A tid bit to add is that Mike Fuch's father was one of Mickey's early camp counselors. Mickey knew Michael's father and his Uncle. And, yes, he certainly produced a plethora of pithy and sarcastic and at times insulting letters. Funny, when he was writing them in the behalf of a client they loved it. Being the addressee left a rather different sensation. Words were his sword and wielded itoften and sometimes brutally. He was complicated and difficult andextraordinary. I miss him in his entire way of being; a sentiment not shared by all but certainly by many who really knew him. 2/10/2002 8:37:31 PM Mike Bone In the foot note on page 337 you state that I headed Island, Mercury and Arista. I was never President of Arista; I was VP of Rock Promotion there. I was President of Chrysalis. Further you state that I was "sued for sexually harassing a female assistant..." I was sued for "allegedly" harassing a female assistant. One other thing. The guy that sent the pig head was named Phil Poulos, not Paul Poulos. He is still doing promotion in Texas. 2/10/2002 8:32:39 PM Linda Baker Wish I had the ending we'd agreed on (where I moved to Maui and became a Montessori teacher, mindful of how much rock stars and 4 year olds have in common....), Instead of "spent the next decade trying to figure out who she was." Kinda makes me sound clueless... 2/10/2002 2:39:57 PM Phil Rose My shoe size is 13AAA not 13CCC. 2/9/2002 10:21:30 PM michael Kapp The first Company owned record distributorship was not Columbia in 1950 as stated, but Decca in 1937 headed up by E.F. Stevens. Home |  How to Find Me Now |  What I'd Like to Add |  The Way I Remember It info@exploding.biz Site Design by JB Web Design ©2002