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In
a galaxy far far away back in the 1970's and 1980's, Ray D'Ariano
and Leon Tsilis met at a party thrown by Leon Russell in Memphis.
They were both young record promotion men who would go on to become
music biz executives. During that time they worked with and contributed
to the success of The Who, Cher, Kiss, Tanya Tucker, Lynyrd Skynyrd,
Golden Earring, Olivia Newton John, The Village People, Loretta
Lynn, The Fixx, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, The Oak Ridge Boys,
Wishbone Ash, Neil Sedaka, Merle Haggard, Chubby Checker, Elton
John and many more. For the first time in over 30 years of friendship
they are telling the tales and spilling their guts.
Volume 1: Don't
Let Your Meatloaf
Volume 2: You Better You Bet
Volume
2: You Better You Bet
Ray:
Hey Mike Myers is going to play Keith Moon in a feature film about
him. I think Daltrey is the producer or something.
Leon: Mike Myers eh? I don't
know about that. Anyone who plays Keith needs to be mentally unbalanced.
As crazy as Mike is, Keith was the king of being over the top nuts.
R: How about Mick Foley? I once
produced a commercial for a Roger Daltrey solo LP and Keith was
the announcer. We had a fine day. Commercial came out pretty good
too. This time out I think we should talk about our adventure with
The Who.
L:
Ok, but I wanted to first mention to you that I got a call from
Roger Filgate, remember him?
R:
Do I owe him money?
L:
Maybe, but he didn't mention it. He played for a while with Wishbone
Ash. That time you met me in Connecticut; he was playing with the
band.
R: Ok, I remember that night.
L:
Well he just played on a new record with Chubby Checker. Can you
believe it?
R: Chubby is like that energizer
bunny. He just keeps on going. When was our Chubby project, late
70's, early 80's?
L:
1981 to be exact. The record, 'The Change Has Come', was released
in 1982.
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Chubby
Checker
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R:
I got a call from Tony DeLuro who had a 3 or 4 song demo on Chubby.
To be honest I wasn't that excited about the call, but I knew Tony
so I owed him the courtesy of a meeting, and also at that time Gary
U.S. Bonds had a comeback hit with "This Little Girl.' So I
agreed to listen to the tape. Interesting thing is today Tony manages
Gary.
L:
Yeah, but you were knocked out with the demo tape, right?
R: No, but I was surprised.
It was a lot better than I thought it would be. So I sent it on
to you for your opinion.
L:
When the tape first arrived I thought that you had gone off the
deep end. Chubby Checker? This guy hadn't had a hit since the 60's.
R: Yeah, well like I said Gary
U.S. Bonds had a comeback at the time, and we had had a lot of success
with Neil Sedaka's comeback a few years earlier. Speaking of which
I heard the slow version of "Breaking Up Is Hard To Do"
today on the radio. First time I've heard that since we made it
a hit. I didn't know it was Neil. It sounded like a chick.
L:
Yeah, I know what you mean about sounding like a chick. I recently
heard "Laughter in The Rain" by Lea Roberts and thought
it was Neil. We had the hit with that record, but Lea had a great
cover version out at the same time.
R:
But I love Neil and we all had a lot of fun with his comeback. Anyway,
back to Chubby. I told you how I came upon the tape. I wasn't knocked
out, but I heard something so I sent it to you just to make sure.
It would have been easy to just turn it down, but I gave it the
benefit of the doubt.
L:
I was beginning to wonder about your ears.
R: Thanks.
L:
But this was all before I listened to the tape. I could not believe
what I was hearing. This stuff was amazing and very contemporary
with what was being played on the MOR stations at the time. In other
words, I was blown away.
R:
So what happened?
L:
Well, one thing led to another and we signed Chubby to a U.S. and
Canadian deal. The rest of the world was left open for his management
to pursue. It was not for a lot of money, I believe around $75,000,
but it did cover all the recording costs. We recorded the album
in Los Angeles at the Music Grinder with Evan Pace producing. The
finished result was unbelievable.
R: I thought the finished album
was great, but the first single "Running" was a masterpiece
and a smash.
Listen: Running
- Chubby Checker
L:
I remember taking finished tracks back to the main MCA offices in
LA and playing them for staff member to hear and watch their jaws
drop. The songs "Running" and "Harder then Diamond"
convinced the staff that we had a hit album on our hands. In other
words, there was some real excitement in the air at MCA. Who would
have thought that it would be a Chubby Checker album that would
do it?
R:
I was in New York City at the time and I knew WABC wouldn't play
it until it was a proven hit around the country so I brought it
to Scott Muni at WNEW-FM and he added it to the station. Then Dave
Herman, the morning man, got behind it and played it every day.
Next thing you know I had Chubby Checker live from The Bottom Line
on WNEW-FM. This was in 1982, and this 60's, pre-Beatles, pioneer
gave one of the greatest rock concerts in the history of the station
live. He was happening again in New York, but there were problems
at headquarters in L.A.
L:
The problems with the MCA brass, Gene Frolich to be specific, occurred
a little down the road. I will go into greater detail later on.
R: Gene! I love that guy. He
gave me such a hard time. I don't think he liked me, but I was VP
in New York and the company's headquarters was in L.A., and I don't
think he thought they needed an exec in New York. Bob Siner, the
president did; before him Mike Maitland had George Lee in New York,
but I don't think Gene saw the need even though a lot of the managers
of our acts were based here and artists like Elton were always in
and out of town, but what could I do? That was my gig. Too bad if
he didn't like it.
L:
Like you? He loved you! He called you every morning just to chat
and catch up on old times. Breakfast with Gene. Hey it could have
been worse. You could have been having Breakfast with Run DMC every
morning. Bullets and Bagels.
R: He was the executive at MCA
who turned the commissary on the movie lot around. So the powers
in charge decided if he could turn the lunchroom around he was the
man to run the music division. (Laughs) He was a straight-laced
businessman, uptight, and no sense of humor in my opinion. Remember
I had just worked for Neil Bogart at Casablanca. He was one of the
most outrageous, colorful, and creative record guys who ever lived.
We had Kiss; we had The Village People. It was total razzle-dazzle.
To me it was like working at Ringling Brothers Circus and then working
at the Public Library. Gene didn't make it pleasant.
L:
To be fair, he was sent to MCA Records as the watchdog of the label.
A bean counter with some serious clout. You had him on the phone
in the morning. I had him live and in living color every day. I
sort of have mixed emotions about him as he never got in my face
and treated me with respect. I heard he went on to sell Life insurance
or something after he was let go from MCA.
R: Anyway, back to Chubby, Wasn't
there some incident at The Country Club?
L:
MCA took over the Country Club for one night to re-introduce Chubby
to the media and press in a special invite only concert.
R: Yeah, well that's what we
kinda did at The Bottom Line, but we had a live radio broadcast
to boot.
L:
It was an amazing night as Chubby and his band played to a full
house. He received many standing ovations that evening, but when
the band broke into the Twist everyone in the audience went nuts
and was dancing their asses off. One thing for sure, Chubby was
even more an entertainer today then he ever was. After the show,
Gene Frolic was very upset that Chubby did not look contemporary
enough in his Vegas style jump suit and got into it with Tony about
how Chubb's should dress on stage.
R: Show biz fashion tips (laughs)
if anyone should know what an artist should wear on stage it was
Gene.
L:
This led to a minor confrontation that should never have appeared
in a public setting, especially after such a rousing show.
R: I saw the guy do a similar
thing in New York. Donnie Iris and his band kicked ass. They did
an amazing show. Gene goes backstage, the band is covered in sweat,
and he reads them the riot act because he didn't like something.
I guess he handled people making sandwiches better than creative
artists because he did not have the same success in the music division.
L:
In order to appease Gene and continue his comeback, Chubby chose
to wear jeans & designer shirts the next weekend when he appeared
on the now defunct "Friday's" TV show.
R: Larry David and Michael Richards
were on that show. It was ABC's version of Saturday Night Live.
L:
From that appearance alone Chubby was becoming a hot property again
and his first single was starting to garner airplay and was on its
way to becoming a hit.
R: So then why did the company
kill Chubby's comeback and a hit record?
L:
Oh boy, now were getting into a can of worms. It all goes back to
the original recording contract. MCA only signed Chubby to a US
and Canadian deal. Well, the brass, Gene Frolic, now wanted the
record released world wide for no additional payment to the artists.
They figured that since we had paid for the recording, we owned
it and should be able to release it anywhere in the world. Only
problem was that the contract stated other wise. Tony, in the best
interest of his artist, argued that if the label wanted to release
the record world wide that his artist should be paid accordingly.
R: That's why they call it the
music business.
L:
MCA did not see it that way and soon an impasse was reached between
the two warring parties over this issue. Neither side was going
to give in and Chubby was finished at MCA. And you thought politics
were only played in Washington!
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R:
Anyway around that time we also signed The Catholic Girls. Now how
they were signed is a funny story and three of us from the site
here were involved with that one. Brian, the art director brought
me a tape and a photo of the girls in their little Catholic schoolgirl
uniforms. I loved how they looked, but didn't hear the music. It
wasn't my cup of tea, but one morning I was talking to you on the
phone and I didn't realize it, but I was doodling and writing your
name all over their picture. When I hung up the phone I saw the
results of my unconscious scribbling. As a joke I sent you the tape
and the photo with a note saying, here's a group with your name
all over them.
L:
Yeah, well, to be exact, the scribbling you did was on an old NWA
picture of Rick Flair.
R: That makes absolutely no
sense to me. (Laughs) Why would I write here's a group that has
your name all over it if it was Ric Flair? All I can say is one
of us is wrong on the memory of this one, but it was 30 years ago
and there may have been some substances in our bloodstreams. I don't
know, it was a long time ago. So I'll go with your story. I sent
you a picture of Ric Flair with your name written on it and, then
what, you signed The Catholic Girls?
L:
(laughs) You sure did and I still have the picture around her to
prove it. When the package arrived I put it aside so I could give
it a good listening to over the weekend. By Monday morning I was
sold. Not the most polished band I ever heard, but there was something
there that titillated my musical senses.
R: Yeah, the photo of these
hot babes in little schoolgirl costumes.
L:
More than that, Gail Peterson was a first class songwriter, no doubt
about it. Not the best vocalist I ever heard, but good enough to
enter the then emerging new wave movement for sure.
R: She always reminded me of
Buffy St. Marie.
L:
Yeah, well you admitted to the substance problem.
R: I never thought it was a
problem (laughs) it was more of the music business lifestyle. The
daily cycle was brutal. You'd be out until one or two bringing radio
people to see an act or at a recording studio then you'd be in the
office by 9 the next morning and so it was coffee till lunch. Then
you'd take a radio guy to lunch and he'd be drinking scotch so you
had a wine or two to be sociable and also to take away the edge
from all the AM caffeine. Then back to the office and around four
you'd get sleepy from the wine so a little afternoon caffeine and
then it was time to meet a manager for drinks. Then take some radio
people to dinner, more drinks, and then the Bottom Line to see Johnny
Cougar and everything that went with that and all of a sudden its
two AM again and its only Tuesday, but problem? I had no problem.
L:
(laughs) And you're not talking about being out on the road with
a tour.
R: That's a whole other trip.
I'm talking about just an average normal week. Then you'd hit the
office and Gene would be calling from L.A. where it must have been
five AM, and he wants to know why Olivia Newton John wasn't being
played on WPLJ.
L:
They were an album rock station!
R: (laughs) He didn't care about
that.
L:
Anyway, The Catholic Girls; the concept was solid; the look was
fresh and the music, when produced properly, would lead to a solid
album. Too much acclaim the record was released and as usual MCA
dropped the ball.
R: How do you think?
L:
The brass at the label did not realize the emergence of MTV as a
driving force in breaking new bands. They just didn't want to spend
the money on a first class video.
R: Which was insane because
they had the entire Universal Picture studio at their disposal.
L:
We had the goods, four young girls in Catholic Girl uniforms with
guitars singing their hearts out, but no video to showcase their
talent. You would have had to be a complete moron at that time not
to realize the power of MTV. Take a look at what Miles Copeland
and IRS Records did to promote the Go Go's. Their video was on the
tube all the time and they sold millions of records, but MCA's approach
to promotion was still rooted back in the sixties.
R: I quit, for the second time,
after Elton's show in the park. He was going to Geffen. Two friends
of mine, Ronnie Van Zant, and Keith Moon had died. Gene was in charge,
and I had enough.
L:
When the going gets tough the wimps bail out.
R: I hung in about a year longer
than I should have. It was just one great artist or group after
another getting destroyed. It was pathetic.
L:
Another great artist we had on the label around that time was Joe
Ely.
R: Saw him for the first time
at the Lone Star Café. He tore the place up.
L:
I don't know if you remember this, but back in the 90's you told
me about a Joe Ely album called 'Love and Danger."
R: I love that album.
L:
Yeah, well back then I bought it on cassette and I used to play
it in my car, but I forgot about it and I recently found the cassette,
and it is still great!
R: Fantastic album."Settle
For Love" should have been a smash hit single. That album and
song can be a hit today. Sounds like they were recorded last week.
Somebody should cut "Settle For Love". I'll tell you what,
if you are a young country artist or group reading this, go to Amazon,
and buy this CD. You can probably get one for a few bucks, and go
out and record this song. This can be a number one for someone.
Listen: Settle
For Love - Joe Ely
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Joe
Ely
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L:
Joe Ely was brought to MCA by then president of the Country Division,
Jack Parker. Jack was a good ol' boy from Texas with some great
ears when it came to Country music. Joe was Jack's first signing
to the label and it really upset a lot of the country artists on
the label at the time. See, Joe was anything but a traditional country
artist and they believed that this trend would lead to the demise
and credibility of MCA.
R: Jerry Jeff Walker was on
MCA before Joe Ely. What were they thinking?
L:
The A&R department in LA signed Jerry Jeff and MCA Nashville
ignored him. To them he was not cut from the same cloth as the traditional
country artists at the time. What a bunch of buffoons the Nashville
crowd were at the time. The leader of the pack was one Conway Twitty.
Jack and Conway did not see eye to eye as Jack wanted to take Nashville
into a more contemporary direction. Remember this was long before
the Urban Cowboy phenomenon. The artists eventually forced Jack
out and he was replaced by Jim Fogelsong when MCA purchased ABC
Records. Too bad, Parker was a hell of a guy with great ears and
an eye on the future.
R: When did Joe do his first
MCA LP?
L:
Jack brought Joe to Nashville to record his first album sometime
in 1977. The album was produced by and at Chip Young's studios outside
of Nashville. I remember going to the studio a lot with Jack and
Kelly DeLaney (MCA Country Publicity) to hear the album as it progressed.
Not being a big country fan at the time, I was totally blown away
by what was coming through the studio's speakers. This was the future
of country music and we had it, but the folks who ran the Nashville
music scene would have nothing to do with it. Boy were they wrong
in their backward thinking, and its still being proven today. If
you should ever happen to run into Joe again, be sure to ask him
about the time I took him and the band to the Nashville Fairgrounds
for the Wednesday night Rasslin' Matches. It was a Hoot.
R: Sure, we have tacos every
Thursday. I'll be sure to send your regards.
L:
(laughs) All record companies had a lot of great stuff that never
saw the light of day. You remember a group we had called Wrabbit?
R: Vaguely, yeah.
L:
The guy who drew Bugs Bunny came up with a crazy rabbit illustration
for their cover.
R: I do remember that.
L:
Anyway, I recently found a cassette of their first album. Amazing!
It kills me to know how much great stuff the company let go by the
wayside. Wrabbit was a fuckin' great band from Canada!
R: Imagine how they feel. Look
you need the push from the top, or at least back then you did, without
it your project went nowhere, but every record company let great
stuff slip through the cracks.
L:
There was always a rivalry between the divisions at MCA. If the
Brass in Canada brought in a project, no matter how great it was,
you could be sure that it would be killed in the USA. Wrabbit had
hit after hit in Canada, but the promotion staff in the US couldn't
get arrested with the record.
R: If I signed anything out
of New York it got killed in L.A. Remember Sid Bernstein's band,
Critical Mass, for example?
L:
I will go on record now as saying, when you and I left the MCA Promotion
ranks, it all went to shit. We knew how to break and spread records,
the new blood that took over only knew on thing, "Pay off the
Indie Promoters to get the Record Played." The MCA Promotion
staff was turned into go-fers and babysitters.
R: Well, pay off? They were
hired to get the records played. That's what you had to do in that
era. Books have been written on the subject. Fortunately for me,
my career in promotion was over by then, but I can't knock them
for hiring Indies, the problem was even with the extra help they
had no hits. Didn't it drive you crazy when you brought in or signed
a great project and the company didn't support it?
L:
Seems like everything I was involved it got little or no support
at the time. Even when something looked like it was going to happen,
Catholic Girls, Chubby Checker, Grass Roots, or the Artimus Pyle
Band, someone threw a monkey wrench into the machine.
R: Maybe they didn't like you.
(Laughs) I know Gene didn't like me. Our problem was we knew something
about what we were talking about (laughs).
L:
The only real success's that they could not stop were "The
Rossington Collins Band" and "Gold and Platinum"
even though they tried.
R: Hey did I tell you Leon Russell
played the Little Theater last weekend?
L:
How was ol' Leon?
R:
Better than great. Just sensational and what a band. He kicked some
serious ass.
L:
You remember Shelter In The Delta?
R: 1974, Memphis. I remember
it, what a party.
L:
It was at The Great American Music Hall.
R: A place I worked during my
stand up days.
L:
Yeah, I saw your act, good thing you found another career, just
kidding.
R: I did well down South. I
played The Exit Inn in Nashville too. I know that was one of your
old stomping grounds, but back to Shelter.
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L:
Leon owned Shelter Records and we distributed and promoted his releases.
Shelter in the Delta was a showcase for the MCA Brass and Promotion
Department. It seemed like an all night party with every act on
the label, JJ Cale, Mary McCreary, the O'Neal Twins & the Gap
Band Performing. What a party! It was one of the greatest gigs I
every attended. Plus, it was the first time that you and I ever
met face to face. You realize that that meeting has led to a friendship
that has lasted for over 30 years?
R: Its all Leon Russell's fault.
(Laughs) nuff' said. They literally locked us in there for the night.
They fed us ribs and booze and every band on the label played for
us. It was insane.
L:
Not to mention that later that night Lenny Konofsky & Jon Scott
took us to some joint where Jerry Lee Lewis was playing. I think
that's where I had my black out. All I remember is waking up the
next morning back in my room.
R: It was raining. It was like
2AM in Memphis on a Saturday night. Lenny and I are outside this
roadhouse, Jerry Lee Lewis is in there kicking ass, you and Scott
were in there, we couldn't get in (laughs) I don't remember why
not. By the way, this was two days before I officially started working
for the company. (Laughs) Welcome to MCA. Also that was before Shelter
had Phoebe Snow. Didn't she sue them or something?
L:
Actually, she was trying to get out of her contract with Shelter.
We worked our butts off getting "Poetry Man" airplay and
a spot in the top 10. To thank Shelter and MCA she wants to jump
ship and go to Columbia Records. In essence she and her management
company were saying "Fuck you very much for breaking Phoebe
Snow. We don't need your help any more." Yeah, now you're a
memory that no one remembers except us of course.
R: I remember when she was so
hot with "Poetry Man" and she was at the Bottom Line.
I invited all kinds of radio people and all, but I was forbidden
to talk to her due to the lawsuit. I ran into her 30 years later
at CBGB's and told her about it. She had no idea that we were told
not to talk to her back then or so she claimed, nice lady.
L:
My favorite act on Shelter was the Dwight Twilly Band. The first
time I heard the single "I'm On Fire" I was sold. What
a great song! I'm proud to say that my market, Florida, was one
of the first to be wrapped up with radio airplay. The only exception
was WQAM - AM and they only played records when the reached the
top ten nationally. Sort of like WABC in New York.
R: Sorry, I never got that one
on ABC, but weren't you tight with Denny Cordell, the president
of Shelter?
L:
I don't know if tight is the word for it. I was more or less his
off track betting source. OK, I was his bookie. There, I said it.
R: A career you probably should
have stuck with.
L:
As the events go, I was becoming fairly popular around the Shelter
offices and with their head of promotion, Linda Alter. I could do
no wrong, as I was able to generate airplay on just about all their
artists. One day I'm at my Miami office and I get a call from Denny.
First off he thanks me for all that I've done to help move Shelter
along and then he asks me if I ever go to the dog track in Hialeah.
Hell, I lived in Hialeah at the time, but never went to the track.
Anyway, to make a long story short, it seems Denny owned some racing
Greyhounds that raced at there, He asked me if it would be ok for
him to call from time to time in order to place bets on his dogs.
I told him sure, and then it began. Next thing I know, about three
times a week Denny would call in a bet and I would run over to the
track and put the money down. I can honestly say that his dogs were
just that, dogs. None of them ever won anything. Denny would always
send me payment for the money I put out in tickets purchased at
the track faithfully. One day I get his call and he asks me go to
the track and place a bet. Well, one thing led to another after
work and I was unable to make the trek over to the track. Little
did I know, until the next morning when I received a call from Denny
that his dog won! Holy shit, I thought what am I gonna do? What
could I do? Here was the President of Shelter Records on the phone
wanting to know if I had the money to send to him. I told him that
I needed to go to the track and collect and that I would send him
payment ASAP. He said, that I should keep 20% for doing the running
and that I should share in the profits. Little did he know at that
time or until today that I never placed the bet and that the winnings
came out of my pocket.
R: Sounds like an old Captain
Lou Albano, Joe Piscopo picture. Anyway before we wrap this session
up I wanted to mention, you know, I love Garth Brooks, and way back
then you were the guy who turned me on to him, "Friends in
Low Places,' remember?
L:
Yeah, I sent you a CD.
R: Well an act played at The
Little Theater, where I MC, they've been around for 30 years, Aztec
Two Step.
L:
A duo like Simon and Garfunkel.
R: Same act, same great harmonies,
same talent minus Paul Simon's songwriting though.
L:
I've never been a big Paul Simon fan. Best shit he ever did was
with Art Garfunkel. You can take that song Kodachrome and shove
it.
R: I know what you mean, but
he had some great ones, "Still Crazy After All These Years,"
"Slip Sliding Away,' but anyway Aztec has doesn't come up with
a song on their album "Days Of Horses' called "Tonight
I Wish I Was In Texas." It is hands down the best song ever
written about Texas. This could be Garth Brooks come back single.
Listen: Tonight
I Wish I Was in Texas - Aztec Two Step
L:
You think he's coming back?
R: You read it here first. He
will be back, but in the meantime check out this album and song.
It is brilliant. Aztec themselves could have a hit with it if it
were promoted properly. Willie Nelson could have a field day with
this tune as well. It's a killer!
L:
If you say so. I'll check it out.
R: Hey we didn't get to talk
too much about The Who. We got sidetracked with all this.
L:
Who knew?
R: Right, Who's next.
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