Janis Joplin’s solo career was cut short by, well, Janis. But while some reviewers trashed her first solo effort – “I Got Dem Ol’ Kozmic Blues Again Mama” – I have always been willing to give it some praise. Because it was a bellwether of the good things to come, even if we only ever got the merest glimpse.
My friend Gil called me up and invited me to lunch. I was a marketing person and he was president of A&M Records (and my boss) so I immediately knew three things: Lunch would be delicious, Gil would be paying, and I would learn something. From my earliest days in the music business and having [...]
We're announcing the winner of our KISS Sweepstakes TOMORROW, Wednesday, Feb. 13! To help you get amped for the big moment, here's David Steffen talking about the indelible impression the band's made on American music – because as you KISS ARMY peeps know, it's about so much more than crazy makeup and stage antics. Well, sort of ...
Perfect: when the right voice meets the right song, even after that voice has left us.
I was working for A&M Records in Hollywood, California … The owners of the label – A&M was privately held for almost 30 years – created a unique and wildly successful business model. There have been plenty of other successful music people, but few like Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss (the “A” and the “M”). [...]
Barely out of high school, it was a genuine treat to have been gifted a pass to a rock music event in the summer of 1969. And Led Zeppelin delivered the goods.