Phillip Rauls PhotoLog

The Don Nix Photo Exhibition

2009-12-09T14:43:00.000-08:00

Although Don Nix might be categorized as a Blues-Rock artist, or a Pop artist, additionally he too is a successful record producer and arranger. Yet, let us not forget he is also a songwriter of major significance with credits a mile long. But now Don Nix steps into still another arena as he unveils his portfolio of black & white photographs capturing an important period of popular music. Don Nix's first photo exhibition titled Dirty Negatives which opens December 4th and runs through December 31th at The Robinson Gallery located in Memphis TN. Placed there are over 40 of his archive photographs available for purchase through this exhibition. Photos in this exhibit were taken with Nix's first camera given to him years ago by side-kick and fellow songwriter, Sid Selvedge. Little did Don Nix know that one day his photography might stand alone in recognition with still another of his momentous career achievements.

Starting in the early days of STAX Records when he was a member of the soul labels house band named the Mar-Keys, Don Nix's career had so many adventures he simply had to carry a camera just to capture the rapid pace of pop celebrity. Pictured above is Don standing next to one of his prize photographs taken of Blues legend, Albert King.

Highlights of the exhibit include this timely shot of a young Steve Cropper from Booker T. & The MG's appearing in portrait form. (c) Don Nix - All Rights Reserved.

Known for his signature "Flying V" guitar, Albert King was the inspiration for many guitarist such as Jeff Beck and Eric Clapton. (c) Don Nix - All Rights Reserved.

Here Nix captures fellow "Mad Dog & Englishmen" member, Joe Cocker as he poses in front of a roadside billboard featuring his favorite beverage. (c) Don Nix - All Rights Reserved.

A favorite Don Nix photo was his shot of George Harrison standing beside a pond at his home in Friar Park at Henley-On-Thames in London in 1975. (c) Don Nix - All Rights Reserved

Attending the opening at the Robinson Gallery were local VIP's such as attorney Reed Malkin and his wife, Diane Malkin. Seated beside him while providing event coverage is Phillip Rauls of THE PHOTOLOG.

Also in attendance was longtime Memphis mainstay Ward Archer, owner of up-and-coming Archer Records along with independent record producer, Carl "Blue" Wise.

Pictured here are (L-R) exhibition host Don Nix along with his brother Larry Nix of the noted music firm L. Nix Mastering and Phillip Rauls.

Attending the event was longtime Don Nix fan and executive director of NARAS - Memphis Chapter, Jon Hornyak, while pictured here with Phillip Rauls.

The evening was highlighted by a Don Nix performance that included his famed "Going Down" while accompained by guitarist Terry Wall and Dan Cochran on bass.

Don Nix has opened the doors for many Southern-roots artist and inspired many on their career paths. To view his vast musicial history please click-on a two-part story listed below;

"Don Nix International Man of...Music" (Part 1)

"Don Nix Home-Grown Distortion-Prone" (Part 2)

The Jerry Wexler Memorial Event

2009-10-31T23:00:00.000-07:00

On an exceptional trip to New York City over the past weekend, I traveled there to attend the memorial of a former music industry colleague, the legendary Jerry Wexler. His name is symbolic with many music industry icons covering the musical alphabet starting from A to Z. I was delighted to attend the occasion and profoundly honored by the invation. The event was co-sponsored by Atlantic Records and Rolling Stone Magazine while being coordinated by Wexler's son & daughter, Paul and Lisa Wexler.

As I ventured across country to attend, there was much going on in the city to keep one occupied during this last weekend in October of 09. Plus not to mention, the weather there at the time was exceptional. My single purpose was to attend the Wexler Memorial but there were also other major activities in the city taking place simutaneously. First, there was the World Series game between the New York Yankees and the Philadelphia Phillies. Then there was the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Concert at Madison Square Gardens. Next there was The New York Marathon, a huge event I might add. And of course please don't forget, it was also Halloween weekend. These factors are what produce the vibrant pulse of the city and yield it's energetic charm. In this current cycle of a poor economy, the business climate of entertainment, commerce and fashion were all in full swing.

With expectations being high for The Jerry Wexler Memorial, attendants came to the event from all locations. Here are some highlights of this landmark occasion courtesy of THE PHOTOLOG.

The Jerry Wexler Memorial has held at the prestigious Director Guild Theater in the heart of Manhattan. Despite the familiar drawbacks of attending a traditional memorial, there was an uplifting spirit and positive vibe in the air.

As you entered into the lobby of the building there was a beautiful oil painting of Jerry Wexler displayed for viewing. As I stared at the picture and drifted away for a moment, I was filled with memories.

Jerry's son Paul Wexler was the emcee of the grand occasion. His sister Lisa's band named, "Big Sister" played several songs too. Both Lisa and Paul performed admirably.

A video of Wexler's achievements was shown to the audience displaying archive photographs dating back to his childhood with his parents and family and young adult years. There were also photos from his years serving in the Armed Forces combined with significant early career pictures with Ray Charles and Aretha Franklin. Pictured above is a shot from the 60's of the signing of Wilson Pickett (seated) at the Atlantic offices. Standing (L-R) is Nesuhi Ertegun, Jerry Wexler, Henry Allen, Ahmet Ertegun and Jerry Greenberg.

Unable to attend, Jerry Greenberg is seen here delivering a personal video message commemorating Wexler's brilliant career. Wexler hired Greenberg in 1967 while the two worked closely for many years.

Mark Meyerson was an A&R executive at Atlantic while serving as Jerry Wexler's assistant in the late 60's through the middle 70's. Meyerson delivered a marvelous speech and credited Wexler for his career start.

As the individual speakers completed their stories including a powerful delivery by Wexler's official biographer David Ritz and written notes from Steve Cropper and Zelma Redding reflecting their memories, the lights went down and the performers took the stage. Standing on far left is Bonnie Raitt while Allen Toussaint is seated at the piano.

Song crafter Joe South delivers his hit song, "Walk A Mile In My Shoes" while drummer Anton Fig and band leader Jon Tiven provide support.

On the right here is William Bell as his powerful voice sends chills through the audience while famed Memphis keyboardist Spooner Oldham and Muscle Sholes guitar legend Jimmy Johnson provide the rhythm. There were also outstanding vocal performances by Lou Ann Barton and a showstopping song and story by Betty Lavette that highlighted the memorial.

After the memorial concert two former STAX Records collegues William Bell and Phillip Rauls reunite.

Legendary drummer Benard Purdee, former Atlantic Artist Relations Coordinator Barbara Harris and noted bassist Jerry Jermott are all smiles.

Memorial speaker and now 20th Century Fox's Senior VP of Legal Affairs, Mark Meyerson (L) along with former Atlantic A&R executive, Jim Delehant (C) and former Atlantic promotion executive Phillip Rauls catch-up on old times at the Directors Guild Theater.

Long time associates Jon Tiven and Phillip Rauls chat backstage and reminisce about the days of The Rock Writers Convention. Tiven organized the band for the memorial event and is also a accomplished producer with multipliable credits.

The memorial ended with old friends exchanging hugs and kisses and wondering what might be the next occasion that brings all parties together. Those thoughts might be foreign to some readers but such is the case with most attending this occasion. I know personally that my time spent with Jerry Wexler is a highlight of my career - and also grand moments in my life. Case being, for years I'd brag about the dolphin that was displayed above my fireplace and the fact that it was caught while fishing aboard Jerry's boat named, "The Big A" as in, 'The Big Atlantic.' That small claim to fame was the begining to many a late night story about Wex. There were many of those stories being exchanged at this memorial. And rightly so. Let's hope that at some point in time there will be a Jerry Wexler video documentary for all of us to embrace.

Love you Jerry. More bass please.

A previous posting of the legend of Jerry Wexler can be viewed at The Photolog's archive by clicking Jerry Wexler.

Field Trip Photos ~ Hollywood 1975

2009-09-06T20:14:00.000-07:00

High Rise Office Building on Sunset Strip, Hollywood, CA 1975

From The Photolog's archives, here's a brief sequence of photos taken while on a business trip to Hollywood, California in 1975. These pictures were all from the same roll and shot while in-between appointments. With no particular theme in mind, I was snapping away in awe of being in the epicenter of the entertainment business. Some of my all time favorite pictures are the ones of architectural and landscape images. Especially those which capture a frozen period in time. Here I've posted a few snap-shots that ask questions while telling a few stories. Hope you enjoy.

All photos copyrighted (c) all rights reserved - reproduction prohibited.

Hollywood 1975. Here's a vintage snapshot of Hollywood. The Bank of America Building is located in the center. To the right is the Capitol Records tower known for it's resemblance to a 'stack of wax.' On it's right is the historic Broadway Hotel with it's huge neon sign mounted on the roof. In the far background and located high upon the mountain side is the famed Hollywood sign overlooking the city.

Tricks On Nix. In the early days of tagging, here's some artwork remnants left behind from the gloomy days of President Nixon's run in office. That period encouraged anarchy amongst the counter-culture of Hollywood. On the left here and while promptly fleeing the scene is Michael Moore's granddad while carrying an bag containing paint balls and spray paint.

Towers Records Tape Department. Long, long time ago, there was an item called a C-A-S-S-E-T-T-E tape. It was about the same size of a pack of Marlboro's. To operate you inserted the cassette inside a tape player and it could produce the sounds of your favorite band. Unlike an iPOD, the cassette contained a moving tape that rolled around inside this plastic box thingy. However, when you accidentally left the cassette tape exposed to the sun, it would melt and become toast.

Elevated view of Sunset Strip. As the path of the Strip curves through town, notice the sparseness of the Hollywood Hills on the left. You could actually see trees and dirt along the hillside. Nowadays, it's replaced with boutiques, condos, office buildings while still being inhabited by a different form of dirt.

Jeans Sign. Hard to believe but back in the early 70's bluejeans were just becoming the preferred slacks acceptable as ladies and men's everyday fashion wear. Here covering an entire wall was my enticement to purchase a pair of bell bottom jeans. With a complimentary bag of popcorn.

Playboy Magazine Music Poll. Playboy Magazine's prestigious annual music poll decided to give recognition to fifty folks who were not included in Esquire Magazine's "Heavy 100 People Of Rock." Here tacked to the wall at Rogers & Cowan Agency is a page from that infamous list. P.S. That's my buddy Don Nix second from the top.

Obscenity Headlines. On the flight home, I snapped this picture displaying bold headlines announcing a recent court ruling. Pictured in the upper left of the newspaper is an article and photo about Sonny & Cher.

Just capturing the times... Hope you enjoyed my trip.

Music Biz Unsung Heroes ~ Early Years

2009-07-31T11:31:00.000-07:00

Something that has always fascinated me are people who have the divine ability to lead others. Call it charm, call it charisma or whatever term you choose. In my humble opinion these people are real champions. Better still, I really admire the people who take the initiative to direct others while not considering themselves as actual leaders. I'm speaking of the faceless people who lead by example while not expecting anything in return. Simply put, people who avoid the spotlight. Presumably there's still a few people out there who fit that mold. Now that I think about it, I don't think anybody actually sets out their goals to be a... unsung hero. After all, recognition comes with a price and there's lots of folks who just don't want all the attention...and that's cool too. But don't get me wrong, I have the uttermost respect for people who do accept a high-profile role in leadership. Yet secretly and deep down inside, I've always kinda admired those folks who weren't trying to set the whole world on fire. Know what I mean? Kinda like a bass player in a band who always keeps things thumping while everyone always focuses on the guitarist and vocalist. Like the guy backstage who organized the big premier showing but has no desire to get on stage himself. Or like the Cinderella team that comes from behind to win the championship. Yeah, those are my guys.

In turning back the clock, when I broke-in the business the music industry was growing rapidly. After the initial Beatle surge, there were tons of new product, lots of new faces plus technology advances that kept the wagon wheels turning. The time period was similar to the wild-wild West with an open frontier waiting to be conquered. There were no rule books or printed material guiding you through the open terrain. To survive you simply had to fly by the seat of your pants. Everyday you were constantly being challenged and frequently used your gut-instinct to pull you through. Plus, there were many distractions and luring enticements to draw you off-task. During my journey through the record industry I came across many heroes who I admired and shared these same standards. It is my intent as the author of this posting to give these people their recognition long overdue. Which brings us to the topic of this posting. Here's a brief story on several people who I consider as my heroes. Or my buzzer-beaters. They're my bottom-of-the-ninth inning homers. They're my Audie Murphy's. Ladies and gentlemen, may I introduce to you, MUSIC BIZ UNSUNG HEROES.

TUNC ERIM worked for one record company his entire career. That achievement alone is a remarkable feat considering he worked for Atlantic Records for over 25 years. In a high burn-out business, Tunc was indeed an industry survivor. He served in a variety of executive positions at Atlantic from A&R manager to assistant to chairman Ahmet Ertegun. Tunc's smooth personality established himself as a kindred spirit to many of Atlantic's artists who bonded with his easy going style. Plus, the radio media also connected with Tunc as many radio stations wouldn't speak with any representatives from the company other than him. Seems Tunc was Atlantic Records to many people. Often referred to as part of Atlantic's Turkish mafia and linked with Ahmet Ertegun, Nesuhi Ertegun and Arif Mardin, Tunc would often laugh-off that connection by saying, "Being connected to those Rock & Roll moguls ain't so bad."

RON SAUL was an early player on the music scene and recognized for his classy style while often being seen with a gorgeous female on each arm. He broke into the business in Seattle as a distributor rep and quickly became Mercury Records Promotion Man of The Year. Costly aligned with KJR Radio's national recognition as a force in breaking records, Saul then accepted a position as West Coast Regional Promotional Manger for MGM Records and moved to Los Angeles in 1970. Within 6 months Saul was hired as National Promotion Director for Warner Brothers Records in LA. There his timing was perfect as he was associated in establishing pivotal WB artists such as; The Kinks, Gordon Lightfoot, The Doobie Brothers, James Taylor, Van Morrison, America, Neil Young and Alice Cooper while being individually responsible for breaking, "Spirit In The Sky" by Norman Greenbaum. In 1974 Ron Saul partnered with Phil Spector in establishing a label through Warner Brothers by signing Cher and Dion as the company's first artists. He was then offered a contract with Motown in 1975 as National Promotion Director as he helped the label celebrate it's most successful years in the pop arena by breaking The Commodores and Lionel Riche. Ron Saul was a true pioneer in the business and won many national awards as one of the best in the industry.

PETER GIDION started out in Detroit as local and regional promotional manager covering Detroit, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, and Buffalo. At that position he soon became an immediate favorite and earned the nickname of "Peter The Leader." He established many artists in the region such as; Jackie Wilson, Buddy Holly, Loretta Lynn, Conway Twitty, Rick Nelson, Elton John and The WHO. Upon that platform Gidion then moved to LA as National Promotions for MCA Records and began working monster records by Lynyrd Skynyrd, Neil Diamond and movie soundtracks like JAWS, CAR WASH and AMERICAN GRAFFITI. In 1977 Peter Gidion moved to New York and joined world leader EPIC Records while helping establish the Meatloaf classic, "Bat Out Of Hell." Next he helped start newcomer Infinity Records along with associate Ron Alexenberg with new hits by Sprya Gyro and breaking the Rupert Holmes smash, "The Pina Colada Song." Later he helped start another label with Alexenberg called Handshake Records. Gidion went on to have a second career as an executive in the Music and DVD packaging business.

JOHN KING started out as the editor of a radio industry tip-sheet called The Gideon B. Matthews Radio Report. As a reference to the progress of regional hit records, King quickly drew command of radio programmers in lieu of factual information on chart records. Although King was originally from Memphis, his career took him to stops in Miami FL, Pine Bluff AR and Houston TX. Known among friends for being a stylish ivy-league hybrid, he always wore his uniform of a oxford cloth button-down collar shirt, faded blue jeans, Bass weejuns penny loafers with white socks and topped-off with a brown corduroy sports jacket with elbow patches. In the early 70's King became the marketing director at Ardent Records where he was responsible for organizing the National Rock Writer's Association. This unofficial fraterity was made-up of the leading music critics from all over the country and featured a who's-who of Rock journalist. In 1973, King hosted a Rock Writers convention at Lafayette's Music Room in Memphis featuring Ardent Records pre-punk sensation Big Star while helping launch their careers from this very platform. Nowadays King hosts a novel internet music station called TIGER RADIO.

STAN FOREMAN is a true Northwest legend known for his successful radio background combined with his years as a respectful force in the record industry. Foreman served in radio for 15 years before he joined Capitol Records in 1975 as their Promotion Manager for the Northwest. Based out of Seattle, there he was responsible for helping establish key artists such as; Heart, Bob Seger, Steve Miller Band, M.C. Hammer and Billy Squire while laying ground breaking work for Capitol Records Paul McCartney in his numerous solo projects. After retiring from Capitol Records in 1999, Foreman moved to the Palm Springs, CA area where he now plays music shows as a piano-vocal artist under the name of "Stan The Man Old Time Rock & Roll Dance Party."

LINDA ALTER personifies exactly what this posting is all about; People who succeed in their mission while quitely flying under the radar. Noticeably, she is the only female in this story. That's because when she entered into the business in the middle-to-late 60's there wasn't a lot of women who could tell men what to do. That of course sounds strange considering nowadays it's a common pratice for women to hold executive postions. But in the days before the women's movement was accepted into mainstream, Linda's advancement into this arena was a bold and noteworthy accomplishment. Starting out as a counter-clerk at Poplar Tunes Record Store in Memphis, Linda soon became the singles buyer and then advanced to the Billboard reporter and album buyer for the entire chain. From her position she could wedge much clout by moving enormous amounts of product into regional stores, juke box vendors and mom and pop retail shops. Linda soon became a promotion person for Shelter Records and later joined Arista Records where she prospered until being struck with an illness that took her life. Sadly, Linda Alter died in 2005 after experiencing her final years in a convalescent facility.

There you have it. Heroes who didn't try to be the top banana. I'll close this posting by sharing something I read recently by the Seattle Mariners right fielder, Ichiro. He made a comment to Ken Griffy Jr. after some fun jestering in the team's clubhouse. Griffy had been boasting to Ichiro when he told him that he needed to hit more home runs. Ichiro responded by saying, "You can hit a hundred home runs in batting pratice but it's the runs you score in a real game that counts."

All photographs (c) by Phillip Rauls. Copyright protection applied.

Atlanta Pop Festival 40th Anniversary

2009-06-28T13:00:00.000-07:00

"While driving to the Atlanta Pop Festival in 1969, I pulled along side a Chevy Impala with Hawaii tags and asked the folks..Hey..Where y'all headed?..and a black kid in the back seat with these huge ears said...Washington D.C. Then this same kid asked if he could bum a cigarette and borrow my car jack. About that time a voice from his car summoned..Hey Mutt, Get back in the car..Then they drove off down the road with a cloud of smoke pouring outz the exhaust..So, that's when I split and headed towards the Raceway." PR

In what is widely regarded as one of the top concerts events of all time, the Atlanta International Pop Festival of 1969 was held over the Fourth Of July weekend at the Atlanta International Raceway. The concert featured the entertainment industry's top bands and attracted extremely large crowds from distant locations. Attendance for the Atlanta Pop, as it would be later coined, ranged from estimates of over 100,000 people to 250,000. The concert was organizied by promoter Alex Cooley and set the stage for the greater acknowledged Woodstock Festival which took place later that summer. The holiday weekend event was canvassed by a heat wave that soared to temperatures of over 100 degrees and set-up an additional story within. Yet strangely enough, only a few photographers have captured this historic milestone and put the landmark event into documentation form. With that being the case, several months back I was speaking with my friend Carter Tomassi, a well-respected photographer who has also chronicled the pop festival on his web site. Carter suggested that I post an updated story on my blog in honor of the 40th anniversary timeline. So, with his recommendation in mind, I decided to piece together a photo journal of previously unviewed festival photographs and share with fellow concert attendees and loyal PHOTOLOG blog enthusiasts.

With the plan in motion, allow me to set the stage for unveiling my previously unseen photos. Please note that I attended both Atlanta Pop Festivals but not as a professional photo journalist with distinguished credentials. Please let it be known that I wasn't admitted free into the festival nor was I invited backstage to meet the stars and partake in munching-on strawberries with bottles of Perrier. If the truth be known, I attended both as a curious hippie who at the time was a young label representative and working for Atlantic Records. I was fortunate to score a stage pass and decided to capture my own photo journal of the event. At the time I was experimenting with my very own opaque settings of which I was keenly fond. Always using 400 speed film, I improvised f-stop settings and ulitized timing. And now, 40 years later, and fortunate to still be around to share my memories, allow me to dust-off my snap shots for review. In spite of recent technology advances in the photography world, Photoshop was not used in a single picture. As you can probably tell, the pictures are what they are. I hope these Black & White jewels stimulate your imagination.

Okay, let's start from the begining. Below are the opening moments for those who prefer the big picture while others just might enjoy reliving the events. Word traveled fast about the festival as we made arrangements to attend weeks in advance. I had ventured to the concert from Memphis, TN with my then-girlfriend along with another couple. We were to meet up with a bunch of folks who were also in the biz; a couple of disk jockeys, a fellow record promoter and several local recording artists and song writers. I'd had recently purchased a new SLR camera and anxious to put it to use. With the stage set, here's how the event came down on 35mm film.

While approaching the festival some distance away, people began to arrive on the scene via their bikes, their autos while some walked long distances on their bare footsies.

Note some distance away are three white pointed buildings. Those were the festival's ticket offices. The grassy lawn area in between was being reserved for parking. Remember the Beetle and the Covair? Two claustrophobic transportation Slugs?

As mid-day approached, traffic began to arrive from all directions and occupy the available parking spaces. My oh my! What a difference an hour can make. Didn't they have car-pooling in 1969?

The landscape became a sea of automobiles with every make and model on parade while people began to tail-gate and party down.

Long lines began forming at the ticket offices and the fashion show of people watching was in high-gear. A good rule was to always wear sun glasses to disguise your abvious starring.

Never tell someone to meet you at the ticket window as it may take all day for them to arrive. That is unless she is a drop-dead knock-out beauty with a wealthy dad who just happens to like you. Dream on Bubba.

Before entering the festival, everyone secured comfortable surroundings as most who attended the event slept in their cars, vans or slept on the ground. There wasn't a Hilton nearby and Days Inn was kinda full that weekend.

But those who envisioned the chaos of three days of sex, drugs and Rock & Roll...had sorta planned ahead. Pictured here is yours-truly hunkering down in his "Homeboy Hotel"

By dusk the crowd was anxious for the next big act to hit the stage as the audience flashed the peace sign in the spotlight.

Bear Hite of Canned Heat answers the call and wails on the band's hit song "Let's Work Together" and performs without a shirt revealing his portly upper torso.

Next Canned Heat's Blind Al performs the band's monster hit "Going Up The Country" as the crowd went absolutely wild.

On stage and in the spotlight is Blues Project's Al Cooper performing in his white patent leather shoes. Cooper went on to join the legendary Blood, Sweat & Tears while still later recording the influencial album "Super Sessions" with Mike Bloomfield and Stephen Stills.

Johnny Rivers seemed a little out of place at the Festival yet when he sang his monster hit, "Memphis, Tennessee" from his 'Live From The Whisky' album the audience screamed with approval.

Creedence Clearwater Revival's rendendtion of "Put A Spell On You"
stole the show as John Forgerty's Rickenbacker Guitar rang-out with magic.

Recognize this guy? He played for years with Stevie Ray Vaughn as he is a legendary bass player. That's a young Tommy Shannon and here he is at the Pop Festival playing behind Blues legend Johnny Winter.

Speak of the Devil...Here's my all-time favorite Blues-Guitarist Johnny Winner looking very picturesque while glowing in the spotlight.

Early the next day we managed to get up front as the sun began to bear down. Damn, it was hot!

Booker T. & The MG's knocked the crowd dead as Steve Cropper and Duck Dunn put on a terrific show in the blazing hot sun.

Band members acknowledged my being on stage when drummer Al Jackson Jr. asked, "Hey Man, How'd you get up here?"

Several friends were gathered center stage as the crowd began to get tightly squeezed-in. Smiling in center of the picture is recording artist Larry Raspberry with musicians (on right) Ken Woodly, Chuck Ledsinger and David Mayo.

WMPS Disk Jockey Scott Shannon and Electra Records rep Terry Fletcher display the trendy fashions of the day. Draw your own conclusions...

There's no truth to the rumor that the guy in center here who is being carried-out had just seen the fashion statement from the previous photo. However, there was some bad cool-aid going around and the hot blazing sun didn't help matters.

Thankfully a local group of off duty firemen came to the rescue and hosed-off a receptive crowd of toasted concert goers.

Of course when the suggestion of a wet T-shirt contest came-up, I was lurking nearby.

No one minded the muddy mess that was being created from the circumstances.

On the afternoon of the final day, the crowd had began thinning-out. Can you imagine cleaning-up the garbage that was left behind?

A unusual thing about attending events like this. You don't realize the magnitude of curcumstances until later. Truthfully, I don't think anyone considered documenting the Atlanta Pop Festival with history in mind. Most were just taking pictures of their friends and favorite Rock bands. Although this posting is lengthly, it's far short of my remaining photos of the event. And I treasure them all. Guess I should do a book.

A previous posting on the historic Atlanta Pop Festival featuring color photographs can be viewed by clicking the link of THE PHILLIP RAULS PHOTOLOG.

Copyrighted photos and storyline by (c) Rauls Media LLC 2009 - All Rights Reserved - Duplication Probhited

NW Float Trip Creates Big Splash

2009-05-08T19:00:00.000-07:00

Ever spend an entire day floating down the rapids of a raging river in an inflated raft? Imagine bouncing around the boat and being thrown from side to side like captured inside the spin-cycle a coin-operated washer. All while being scared to death and not knowing what to expect next. As you approach every twist and turn of the river you begin gritting your teeth as huge rocks lie in the path of the raft making navigation intense. All while thinking you're going to flip-over into the cold rapids of the river? Sounds exciting and similar to an adventurous scene from an Indiana Jones movie. Right? Well, maybe not so dangerous as the story sounds but certainly a experience to brag about for years to come. Such is the case in this actual story as selected members of the Northwest Record community were invited on a river raft expedition sponsored by radio station KZFN in Moscow, Idaho.

Nestled in the beautiful backdrop of the Salmon River Canyon, this scenic area was the ideal location to stage an grandiose event. The event was organized by Program Director and part-owner, Gary Cummings, who welcomed all dare licks from the Seattle music industry to partake in this wild weekend of fun and frolicking. "I came-up with the idea one night when my septic tank began acting-up and accidentally spilled-over into my music library" chuckled Cummings. "Not really and all joking aside, I wanted to do something special to show the radio station's appreciation to a wonderful group of professions for all their support to the local community." Cummings popular radio show combined with his efforts in the area's civic work established him a key player in community interests. But little did Cummings know that asking record folks to take two days off from work to witness the area's beauty was like asking their expense accounts to do their thing.

To begin this adventure required all participants flying over from Seattle and touching-down into the lost metropolis of Pullman, WA. The airport was located somewhere in the middle of a giant wheat field making you wonder if you'd landed in the right location. Next you had to shuttle over to the hotel located in Moscow Idaho which was some 35 minutes away. Upon arrival at the hotel, Cummings had organized a dinner party that evening in preparation to count heads and conduct a gut-check prior to the event the following morning. "Everybody got their life insurance policies paid and up-to-date?" Cummings asked. Suspicious heads turned cautiously while some people began squirming in their seats wondering if he was kidding. But Gary's zany sense of humor was contagious and the festive dinner party preceded well into the evening with some folks getting a little tipsy.

The following morning the departure for the raft trip began at 6 AM while the hotel lobby was littered with caffeine addicts in search for their favorite beverage. But nobody told them the bus departure was exactly one hour prior to the opening of the hotel restaurant. Ugh...no coffee, no donuts. But that's when the sarcastic desk clerk declared, "Hey man, we're only in Moscow okay?" Seems some of river rafters who were from the heartland of Starbucks city and still a little hung-over from the dinner party were unprepared for this shock. At that time everyone boarded onto the bus and began the 3 hour trek to the river destination. In route, the morning sun was extremely bright whereas if you forgot your sun glasses...you were considered a moron.
By 7 AM the bus ride was beginning to rock. All I remember is someone began serving drinks while other people began singing. Around 7:30 AM people began getting a little antsy as the bus made it's first pit stop. It was about that time when I first began to smell the sweet fragrance of...insense...or something foreign...like burnt rope. Hey man, what's burning? Giggles abound.

Back on the highway the river ran along side the road and posed a delight for those on the bus. It won't be long now before we reach our destination and floating down the river too.

But wait. After viewing this sign we wondered what we'd got ourselves into. I was starting to have flashbacks to the dinner party where Gary Cummings was asking about our life insurance policys. Surely he was kidding. Wasn't he?

After traveling for almost 3 hours the bus arrives at riverside during the midday sun as people begin to unload their essentials.

The troops have arrived and anxious to get started. But hey, how many people can you get into a raft? (*editors note - this photo was later published as Motly Crue's x-rated "Nightmare" album cover)

Wow! This is indeed the group that I'd like to raft together with, not including the dudes ofcourse.

These three oarsmen were out on a weekend release program from the state.

With everyone aboard, finally the rafts depart the shoreline. Plus, the weather conditions were perfect and the water was calm.

A pair of two-man rafts were exchanging waves as they departed shore. However, all of a sudden, the air was filled with that funny frangrance again.

Ah yes, looks like someone's got the right idea. Let the women-folk do all the work.

I'm not sure but I think this rouge group of Boy Scouts were trailing our raft group and harassing us by asking, "Hey, yall got any beer?"

Whoa! Looks like our raft was begining to speed-up while just around the next curve appeared to be serious white caps.

There's those same guys again. This time they're asking for something called Zig Zags.

Some major white caps and a speeding current contributed to the thrill.

Several hours later everyone arrived safely and proud of their finish.

Back on shore rafters were all smiles and in a celebrative mood...

...While others were showing off their tans.

However, nobody was paying any attention to her tan...except for Mr. Woody.

I promise I don't know this person. Really.

Are photographers allowed to have fun?

Where the heck are the fashion police when you need them?

Here's a picture of some escapees from the local asylum.

A touch football game broke out when we ran out of beer.

I'm betting on these guys because they're all so cute!

The adventurous raft expedition ended with a long bus ride back to the hotel in Moscow several hours away. The following morning everyone was dragging from the trip and shuffling to catch their individual flights to return to work. Needless to say, this was a trip of a lifetime and I am extremently grateful to our gracious host, Mr. Gary Cummings of KZFN Radio. As the editor of this story, I can truly say that a brief blog posting can only do so much justice to describe such an event. While constructing the story, I must have gone through more than 200 photographs and regret not being able to use them all. My appologies to those individuals who's pictures were not included in this memorable occasion and done so because of space capacity alone.

THE OFFICIAL 1991 KZFN FLOAT TRIP GROUP PHOTOGRAPH

Double-click on photo to enlarge.

Please leave your thoughts in the comments section below for all to review.

Raft outfitter; Salmon River Experience

All photographs and storyline copyrighted material (c) 2009 Rauls Media LLC Duplication Prohibited - All Rights Reserved - Inquiries Are Welcomed

The PhotoLog Celebrates it's 5th Birthday!

2009-04-01T01:03:00.000-07:00

Can you believe it's been 5 years since the very first posting of The PhotoLog? Five frickin' years mind you. Man, that's a long time ago. It's seems like only yesterday that we were digging through our memorabilia in search of that special photo in need. Yet, in reality, we're still searching for that special picture while plugging away for a ever-fresh storyline. More importantly, we've had a blast doing so while reconnecting with many old friends in the process. With all things considered, your feedback supports that we've always kept the editorial content enlightening while consistently maintaining the high-road. We've strived to be original while fashioning ourselves somewhere between the humor of Andy Rooney and Dennis Miller. But as a result, we've probably ended-up sounding more like a Rodney Dangerfield. That's not so bad because if the truth be known, it's our belief that positioning yourself somewhere in the mix certainly beats not positioning yourself in the mix at all. Looking back, we confess the building of a blog from scratch while aiming to connect with a global audience has not been without it's challenges. We're under no illusions here. As you have it, they don't give away scholarships or humanitarian awards for such. I mean...bloggers are bloggers. We're like that proverbial army of worker ants determined to build a mountain of information. Surely that outta get you something, right? But if the truth be known, the information highway doesn't offer many perks. By that I mean we haven't received any invitations to tour The White House as of yet. Plus, the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame ain't come knocking at our door. I mean, living in Seattle, you'd think someone at least would offer up a free Starbucks or something. Perhaps a Microsoft grant maybe? But nooooo. (Play background music please; "Poor, Poor Pitiful Me.")

Beyond a doubt, we hope that we've created an atmosphere of good spirit. From day one our goal has been to build a blog that is referenced for archive purposes while combining a light-hearted attitude to boot. We call it a 'Cyber-Book.' To be honest, we've had our fair share of those critics who nitpick our flaws. Call it the realities of going public or call it professional jealousies. One such critic responded that the blog's, "Always about you" while his associate claimed, "It's a self-serving blog." Of course, neither of those jocks have blogs. Better still, neither of those guys even have websites. Maybe I should have named the blog, "John Doe's Photolog" instead of using my own name. Perhaps I should'a used their personal photographs instead of including my own. But heck, what do those mudslingers know anyway? Webster's Dictionary calls those people, 'Gutter Snipes.' Those folks careers landed them emceeing Bingo contests down at the casinos. Furthermore, I don't recall those guys being on the road with any music icons or photographing any Rock legends. (Pssssss....Blowing-off steam....Thank you)

Looking back, we are very thankful of our supportive audience. If a blog can gauge it's popularity from the amount of it's visitors who have actually viewed the site, we're proud to say that our global traffic has come from over 135 different countries. At first we were reluctant to go public but that's when we came upon a inspirational article that changed our attitude. Five years ago in a BUSINESS WEEK cover story the magazine touted that, "Blogs Will Change Your Business." In the accompanying article they wrote: "...you cannot afford to close your eyes to them, because they're simply the most explosive outbreak in the information world since the Internet itself. And they're going to shake up just about every industry."

That was 5 years ago. Long before the blogging world became a dominate factor. Before the Internet posed a threat to take over any businesses. That was several years before the print media went into a tail-spin. Several years before the Smart Car. Before Facebook. That was 5 long years ago. My oh my, how time slips away. I was so much older then. But I'm younger than that now. Long before Windows Vista tanked. The very same time that MSNBC and CNN started to take a nose dive. That was 5 long years ago. About the same time that CBS's Katie Couric was sucking-up to the Kerry-Edwards ticket. Oh yes, we remember.

Now don't get us wrong. We're not trying to suggest that we invented the blog. No way that we'd attempt to steal that distinction away from Al Gore. We found out early that the formula for a successful blog was adding photographs while sprinkling-in a little satire. During the initial period of trial-and-error we ended-up finding our groove. We were just fortunate enough to be on the launching pad at an early stage. But maybe, just maybe, we helped bring to the forefront the popularity of Pop Culture blogs. We're well aware that we haven't been the best blog or most knowledgeable. Plus we're careful not to take our self's too serious. But this is our moment Man. Now's our anniversary. With that being said, we proudly stick-out our chest and flex our muscles. Guess it's now okay for us to pull a Red Auerbach and fire-up a big fat victory cigar to celebrate. Happy 5th Birthday Photolog. "Keep On Blogging".

STAX Records Radio Documentary

2009-03-09T11:59:00.000-07:00

Standing at the entrance of STAX administrative offices is former label promotion and marketing executive Phillip Rauls. The label relocated it's offices in the early 70's after purchasing an enormous church facility as now the company was located on Holy grounds.

This is the announcement a newly produced radio documentary on STAX Records and narrated by the Rev. Jesse Jackson. This program captures perhaps the best cast of former STAX Records insiders to date. Broadcast earlier in the U.K. and Western Europe, British producer Sam Gregory preserves key moments for listeners to relive the story of the Soul music label. With interviews coming from noted STAX artists, producers and managers, this program is skillfully chronicled to tell the real story of the company's journey through music history. This broadcast will keep you glued to your speakers for it's 51 minute duration and features significant interviews by label's key personnel such as; Steve Cropper, William Bell, Wayne Jackson, Don Nix, Al Bell, Deanie Parker, John Fry and Phillip Rauls.

To hear playback of the British radio documentary please follow link to download program: Legendary Labels The STAX Records Story

Music Cartoons That Tickle The Ribs

2009-02-28T10:15:00.000-08:00

Lots of folks who claim being in touch with active trends such as art, music, and humor are indeed the very same people who subscribe to the morning newspapers. Or what's left of them. Seems that my morning paper keeps getting thinner and thinner. It's sad to witness what's become of the longtime tradition of the press. Who knows, maybe that's the results of mainstream ideas being watered down by left-wing editors imposing their socialistic views. As a guy who has worked with the media his entire career, sometimes I wonder how I survived the madness and the newspaper business didn't. Fortunately, I can still get the morning paper at my residence way out here in the boonies. I love reading the paper with my morning coffee. Personally, my reading habits have never changed. You see, every morning I always scan the sports section first for the latest game day scores. Then I read my horoscope allowing me to plot my daily strategy. All while saving the best for last when I finally indulge myself into my favorite page, the cartoon section. Ah yes, now we're talking. There I feast on everything from sophomoric humor to mindless comedy. Then I flip over to the editorial cartoons for a more sophisticated satire with a political twist. Doesn't matter about the content though, just as long as I laugh or smile at it's zany tones.

My favorite cartoons are the one's which score big with musical themes. Those rib ticklers hit home. It's smart how cartoonist target mainstream audiences while recognizing the widespread acceptance of Pop Culture. For example, who would'a thunk that households nowadays might embrace the topic of heavy rock bands like Led Zeppelin or Aerosmith in the funny papers? Time seems to have a way of catching-up with the modern trends of our society. I like it though, kids and adults laughing together at the same comic. As you have it, these cartoons bridge the generation gap together for a moment. Who knows, does that mean in the future that similar advances in the cartoon world will exceed our expectations? Intrepid forecasters suggest that someday comical fashion statements like neck & facial tattoos or eye-brow rings will be openly accepted in the classrooms of our Middle Schools or the neighborhood chapter of The Girl Scouts? Hmm...Unless I'm mistaken, that's a slippery-slope.

By all accounts, I have learned so much from the comics. They can just about put humor into any situation. Simply put, I have learned to laugh at the serious and non-serious side of our existence. With that being the topic, let's review some favorite cartoons that reflect that essence.

The cartoon above always makes me think of former colleagues Keith Emerson and Rick Wakeman. In the early days of progressive rock, synthesiser's were the key instrument in parlaying the techno-rock sound. Emerson and Wakeman were spectacular showmen and the architects in the classical rock movement.

The American Idol TV Show debuted in 2002 and has since become one of the most popular shows on television. Auditioning contestants that come on the show are subject to the judge's flattering comments, or, as seen above, a humiliating review - Simon Crowell style. The song being referred to in this cartoon is by legendary Canadian rock group, The Guess Who.

Has this ever happened to you? Spend an entire day humming a song and then you gotta pay a friendly visit to the doctors office to get it diagnosed.

Funny how you can get a read on a person's personality by thumbing through their music collection. For example, if they got the Miles Davis music collection or some Charlie Parker albums, you tend to think they're pretty cool. Right? And if they got Hanna Montana or The Jonas Brothers, you know they probably got kids. Or at least you hope they got kids. However, if you get cornered in their music library when they pull out their favorite albums by Yanni or Jamiroquai or Clay Akin, just play it cool and ask them if they possibly have the latest albums by either Celine Dion or Kenny G?

LAUGHTER IS GOOD FOR THE SOUL

Mario Medious Keeping Heavy Company

2009-01-22T15:37:00.000-08:00

This is the conclusion of a two-part posting on record executive Mario Medious. Please refer to the previous posting for continuing storyline. Copyright (c) 2009 All Rights Reserved.

As the music business moved into the 1970's, it introduced new fashion statements such as Rock T-shirts and satin jackets. Hippies and freaks sporting Afro's and wearing sandals could hold creditability in the business community just like their straight counterparts. The era was similar to the Wild West in the 1800's where there were no commonplace guide lines to govern the biz. This allowed many opportunists to prevail while trailblazing through the doors of the new counter-culture. An example of the times was when Rolling Stone Magazine printed a story that proclaimed, "The music business was the last of the gold mine industries." Yet, to succeed in the record business came with a price and only the strong survived. There were many pitfalls and occupational hazards to ravage the good intentions of newcomers. Be that as it may, there were many ambitious entrepreneurs who became victims as their careers flamed-out prematurely. Times were moving so fast the development of survival skills were still unfolding. Considering the big bucks being passed around and splurging of freebies there was no shortage of individuals willing to represent record companies as their marketing specialists. Problem was however, a great deal of those who jumped on the band wagon turned out to be flash-in-the-pan promoters. But make no mistake, Mario Medious was not one of those meager opportunists. He was the real deal. He had a real love of music and a keen sense for adventure. By this time "The Big M" had built-up quite a name for himself within the elite circles of Rock. His pedigree in Rock allowed him to be on everyone's VIP list. Plus, he was one of those gifted individuals who only required an hours sleep in the evenings to get him through the next day. As Atlantic Records Special Projects Manager, he always seemed to be everywhere needed and with no apparent down time. For example, Mario would be in New York attending a industry function in the daytime while promoting a concert in Hollywood that night. Burning the candle at both ends was a walk in the park for Mario. He had that special plumbing that allowed to go the distance.

Mario reminisces the times but is steadfast in explaining circumstances, "Despite what some may view as a business of pleasures, the key to being successful in the music industry was - you still had to work." He continued, "Shit man, it required the personal discipline of bouncing out of bed every morning and taking care of business, you dig." Of course that should be a no-brainer but Mario said when it comes down to the physical willpower of getting up early, "It's all between you and the alarm clock, you understand."

As Special Projects Manager, Mario stayed alert when it came to street-talk about an up-and-coming band or a vibe about an new Atlantic record starting to create a buzz. Mario said, "The Atlantic field staff had several cats who had a great pulse on the action out there." He continued, "There was John Carter on the West coast, Dick Wooley the Southeast and Phil Rauls in the South." Mario explained, "You see, going door-to-door (to the media) and creating something out of an unproven band took a certain kind of cat. And these guys could generate things by simply picking-up the phone, you understand. And they did it for the music man. They played the game because they loved good music, you dig."

But the field staff had their work cut out for them. On a early road trip with The Allman Brothers Band, Mario was escorting Duane Allman to the radio stations for interviews. After a gig at the Fillmore in New York Mario set-up an interview with WPLJ Radio's Mike Turner. Several minutes into the interview, Duane had accidentally let-go of a couple of F-bombs over the air. During a break DJ Turner scolded Mario about Allman's choice of words and instructed him about the station's strict policy about cursing over the airwaves. Mario pulled Duane Allman off to the side and warned him, "Look man, you can't be talking about fucking over the air. Plus you can't be using cuss words on the radio, you dig?" Allman acknowledged his mistake and agreed by saying, "Okay man." When the interview continued Mike Turner opened the mike and resumed. That's when Duane Allman apologized over the airwaves by saying, "Hey man - I'm really sorry and I promise I won't fucking cuss no more."

Not all of Mario's road trips with The Allman Brothers were cake-walks as he encountered challenges while traveling with the band. "Man, I was with the band sitting in their van late one night after a show when their road manager 'Twiggs' got into an dispute with a club owner for not paying the band. That's when he went back into the club to settle-up payment and got into this huge fight and ended up defending himself by stabbing the club owner to death. Creepy stuff, man." Mario continued, "They were great bunch of guys and serious musicians but we faced challenges together. When traveling with The Allman Brothers through Texas, back in the old days people didn't like Blacks and Whites traveling together and that's when these redneck bystanders would yell shit at the band by saying, "You Hillbilly Nigger Loving Motherfuckers." Funny thing though...but in a freaky sense, The Allman Brothers Band probably felt that was a compliment.

Another Mario Medious road story was when traveling on the West Coast portion of Led Zeppelin's U.S. tour, Mario escorted Robert Plant for an interview to KSAN Radio in San Francisco when upon completion they slipped out the back door of the station. It was a sunny afternoon and there weren't any fans around so they decided to let the limo return to the hotel and walk back. After walking uphill for several blocks and window shopping for a while, Mario suggested, "Hey Percy, let's catch a ride back to the hotel." Plant agreed when Mario recommended to just 'thumb-a-ride' instead of waiting for a cab. The story continues, "Man, this dude stopped and picked us up when I asked if he was going to the concert tonight?" The driver said, "What concert?" Mario responded, "The Led Zeppelin concert! It's tonight man." The driver looked confused and said, "Shit man, I hate that band. The Rolling Stones are the world's greatest band and that's all I care about." Mario rolled his eyes and responded, "Lookie here Jack, Led Zeppelin's the worlds greatest band and sittin' here in your back seat is their vocalist, Robert Plant." The driver then glanced into his rear view mirror and replied, "Yeah, right." Mario saw an opportunity when he invited the driver to the show and told him he'd leave tickets at will-call plus back stage passes for after the show. The driver agreed and showed-up later that evening with his flower girl while receiving coveted third row seats. Mario laughed as he continued, "The show started with 'Communication Breakdown' and this dude's eyes started popping-completely-out his head. I thought his eyeballs were gonna explode!" Later after the show he came back stage. Mario said, "This dude was so blown-away that he was about to pee in his pants - couldn't believe the fantasy he'd just experienced." Holding his side while still laughing Mario concluded, "I blew his mind, man! Dude could hardly contain himself when he started shouting, "Led Zeppelin's the greatest rock band in the entire world. Absolutely the greatest!"

One of the greatest experiences for a record executive is when he is responsible for the actual signing of a prospective band to the label. This endorsement could be his badge of honor or his ultimate defeat. In other words, it's his ass that's on the line and responsible for the band's success or it could be his ticket out the door. With that being said, one night Mario and Atlantic artist Dr. John were attending a show at Boston's premier rock club, The Boston Tea Party. Sometimes during the show, Mario was backstage when he heard a band on stage playing his favorite song, 'Serve Me Right To Suffer.' "When I heard the song it blew me away," said Mario. That's when he rushed stage front to get a look at the band playing the song. "Holy Shit," I said when discovering the guys playing the song were all White boys. They were a Boston band known as The J. Geils Band whose hipster front-man was WBCN disk jockey, Peter Wolf. Local critics were even claiming comparisons to The Paul Butterfield Blues Band. "Man, they sounded so Black that I thought they were Brothers, you dig." Mario was so excited about the band that the very next day he rushed back to the Atlantic office and began his pilgrimage to sign the band. "But listen to this," said Mario. "Jerry Wexler (R) and Ahmet Ertegun thought I was crazy. Both told me I was nuts and the band was nothing more than a bunch of White boys trying to play the blues." Mario was disturbed by their rejection and responded to Wexler and Ertegun by saying, "Man, why am I even out there on the road if I can't sign this band?" Deeply frustrated, Mario was ready to quit. However, as a true warrior, he was taught to never fold. You see, if Mario was nuts or foolish to try and sign The J. Geils Band, then perhaps he was crazy like a fox. He was very adamant about signing the band and kept up the pressure. Within weeks, Wexler finally became convinced and caved-in to Mario's persistence. "Shit man," Mario laughed, "I think they finally gave-in just to shut-me-up." But before the band would sign a label deal there was one very important stickler that still remained. Up to that point, Wexler had arranged to have the group sign to Atco Records, the company's Pop music label. But vocalist Peter Wolf and guitarist J. Geils (pictured with Mario) demanded the band be signed to the same label as Ray Charles, LeVern Baker and Aretha Franklin. After careful consideration and a tactful hold-out, Wexler eventually saw the band's latest ploy as any true Rhythm & Blues fanatic might view the circumstances. When you stop and think about it, how prestigious it is to be on the same prominent label as those industry giants. The band's point was made and respectfully honored as The J. Geils Band was signed to Atlantic Records. Over the next few years, The J. Geils Band would release several huge albums for Atlantic including their monster LP titled "Bloodshot" that produced three hit singles and reached gold status.

With all things considered, The Big M wasn't the type to offer a 'I-told-you-so-prophecy.' He was more inclined to go about his business in a humble manor. Furthermore, Mario had bigger fish to fry. By 1973, Mario Medious had been on the road extensively with many of the labels top bands including Emerson, Lake and Palmer. After a 18 month hiatus from the recording studio and no new album, it had become apparent that something was wrong with the label's super-trio, ELP. Their body of work had bridged many gaps between rock fusion and classical music. Mario was recruited to investigate when he discovered the band was unhappy with Atlantic Records. That's when Keith Emerson, Greg Lake and Carl Palmer decided to form their own record company, Manticore Records. The next addition to the plan was Stewart Young, their manager, and the cards began to fall into place. While Young and the band had long appreciated Mario's keen business savvy, that's when The Big M was offered 20% of the company to form a partnership with the group and to manage their new record label. Mario accepted and became President of the company and the final piece was assembled with a distribution deal with Atlantic Records. Upon that agreement Emerson, Lake and Palmer released "Brain Salad Surgery" on Manicore Records. The single from that album titled, "Still, You Turn Me On" propelled ELP's new album to reach celebrated gold status and launched a well received world tour.

Editors Summary: Well, there you have it. From payroll clerk in the accounting office at Atlantic to the President of Manicore Records. Mario Medious' colorful career has been a magic carpet ride. His background falls into that same distinctive category of many flamboyant adventurers. Still another example of his achievements was when Ahmet Ertegun, pictured here on left with Mario and Teresa Sohn, was having some difficulties in re-signing superstar Stephen Stills and sent Mario to Stills' home to convince him to ink the deal. Mario came back and told Ertegun, "No prob man, I took care of it, done deal." Ahmet was speechless. Mario's playful banter opened the doors for many artists while his cutting-edge wardrobe drew glaring stares. And to no surprise, Mario did everything with class and style. His motormouth could out talk anybody including Muhammad Ali, Charles Barkley or Gary Paton. His competitive nature didn't shy away from any obstacles. Through his unique use of language, he had the ability to connect. Mario clicked with everybody and knew when to nudge it up a notch or tone it down a bit. Plus, I never saw him wig out on anybody. Interesting enough, there wasn't a prior role model for him to follow in their footsteps. Reason being, he invented the shtick. Plus, there wasn't a previous format that played progressive blues and rock for him to set his goals. Furthermore, there wasn't even a genre of progressive blues rock music until he arrived on the scene. He worked outside the confines of company assignments, and succeed nevertheless. Talk about a trailblazer. He never played the card of a race victim and would be the first to point the finger of a colleague who did. Jerry Wexler thought Mario was a fluke of nature and such a remarkable person that he called him a "Freak." Producer Tommy Dowd (R) personally signed for Mario's first American Express Card and called him his true friend. And if a recording artist did not believe in the almighty power of a music promoter, Mario would drop them like a bad habit. When dining with an artist who was a vegetarian and they were ordering Tofu and rice noodles, he'd order Bar-B-Q ribs with chittlens on the side. When people were in awe of Eric Clapton and calling him Slowhand or God, Mario boldly addressed him as, "Yo' Clap." Personally, I think the world of my old friend. We've know each other for over 40 years. I always connected well with Mario and discovered a long time ago that we were a good team together. Back in the days when the world was black and white, he ignored all barriers and made me proud to be his friend. Although I could never beat him in tennis, or snag as many chicks as he could, I always considered him a mentor. During The Big M's reign of glory, there were no rule books, no score cards or leader boards to shine over his successes. Didn't matter cause he always came out the winner anyway. He is my main man alright. Mario Medious is a chart bustin'-street hustling-dirty cussing-nose dustin'-Blues lovin'.....MAMA JAMA!

Mario "Big M" Medious and Phillip Rauls pictured here in Las Vegas in 2005 while attending the Atlantic Records Employee Reunion. Mario Medious has managed and produced several prominent recording artist including Funk star Rick James. Nowadays, Mario lives in South Florida and is a praticing certified public accountant. He is also a highly respected Tae Kwon Do instructor.

Copyright (c) 2009 All Rights Reserved Duplication Prohibited

The Original Mama Jama ~ Mario Medious

2008-11-29T08:00:00.000-08:00

This is part 1 of a 2-part story on record executive Mario Medious.

Industry legend Mario 'The Big M' Medious and his 1939 Cadillac.

In a business that has a reputation for attracting flashy characters with colorful personalities, how could a low profile straight-shooting accountant who kept the books at Atlantic Records surface to become the hottest promotion man in the entire business? Not since the days of the legend of Clark Kent has a person emerged to parallel his status. In similar fashion, Mario “The Big M” Medious would depart the bookkeeping department and reappear in the promotion department sporting a brand new wardrobe. Even the company’s senior brass were shaking their heads in disbelief as this slender young man shed his eyeglasses, black tie and conservative suit to reinvent himself and dazzle key radio personnel and Rock legends alike. This is the story of Mario Medious becoming the next super hero among the label’s prestigious roster of stars. As the curtain opens...

The year was 1968 and after spending 3 ½ years pushing a pencil as payroll clerk, Mario Medious joined Atlantic’s well recognized promotion team known as “The Heavies,” a name coined for the departments advanced marketing achievements. Gifted with good looks and a mile-a-minute rap, Mario’s conversion into the promotion department was a perfect match as the Atlantic corporate inner-structure was experiencing a changing-of-the-guard. Plus, music was also making a big transition as Rhythm & Blues and Jazz product were being overshadowed by the label's Pop Music newcomers such as; The Buffalo Springfield, The Young Rascals, Cream, Aretha Franklin, Vanilla Fudge, Otis Redding and Sonny & Cher. Supported with these transitions in motion, here’s how Mario Medious made his mark. You’ve heard the old saying that “Timing is everything.” Well, in Mario's particular case, his timing was perfect.

In the late 1960’s, there was a youth movement spawned by the dawning of The Age Of Aquarius. Wrong was right, bad was good and indifference got the upper hand. Ivy league clothing and the buttoned down look were no longer in style. Plus, Top Forty Radio was also beginning to lose it's luster. During that eminent period radio’s FM bandwidth was expanding with growing numbers of new radio stations coming on the air. Times were changing as it was now attractive for station owners to operate multi-optional programming at the FM level rather than the AM position. Many station managers’ who were budget conscious began hiring young programmers with little or no experience. As a default of circumstances, these stations were in search of their own broadcast identities and in turn began experimenting with different music formant's. Many were playing all new music as the jocks were fresh out of college and never seen the likes of a record salesman. Mario saw an opportunity there and began beating a path to these radio stations. “Man, I’d blast into these so called ‘Underground’ stations wearing my fur coat, lime-green suit and with my Afro all puffed-up and they’d think I was a Rock Star or something,” said Mario. He continued, “These jocks would be sitting there in the control room starring with their mouths wide open and I’d start up a conversation with them about the Blues." He continues, "Cause you see nobody knows more about the Blues than me." If they're playing something I didn't like then I'd say, "What y'all playing that shit for?" Then I'd ax them, “Hey you Farmers ever heard 'Whole Lotta Love' by Led Zeppelin?" They’d sit there and look at you like you were from outer space. I’d tell em, “Y'all want your station to sound good don’t you? Shit Man, y'all gotta get with the program Jack cause this song’s in S-T-E-R-E-O.” Mario laughed as he told the story and said he treated them all like an adventure. He concluded, “Before I’d be out the drive way they’d be blasting my songs over the airwaves.”

Atlantic promo head Jerry Greenberg (R) who was also general manager from that era shared an observation by saying, “Shoot, Mario would depart the office with some new releases and go out on the road for a field trip and no one would hear from him for two weeks.” Greenberg continued, “Then all of a sudden all this major airplay began pouring-in from these radio stations. I didn’t know what the heck was going on out there and it really appeared to be suspicious. But that’s when I began to figure out the airplay coming-in was from the same cities that Mario had visited on his road trip.” Mario defended his actions by saying, “Shit man, I didn’t have no time to give no airplay reports. Man, I'b be too busy for all that stuff, you dig?" Greenberg rolled his eyes and smiled while continuing his story, “When Ahmet and Jerry stormed into my office that day (Wexler & Ertegun) demanding to know what was going-on out there, thats when I showed them all this new airplay being generated by Mario. About that time Ahmet stopped in his tracks and leaned over my desk and asked, “Are you talking about the same guy from accounting?”

Besides Mario avoiding to call-in in with feedback, another corporate side-step for him was Atlantic's weekly promotion and marketing meetings. Mario stated, "Man, the entire staff would meet in the conference room once a week for these boring-ass meetings. We'd sit around and all they be talking bout' was nothing but singles. Hell man, I didn't promote no singles...I was an album guy." Mario continued, "Plus, I didn't promote no artists unless they could play the Blues. Nothing but the Blues cats, you dig. If they couldn't play the Blues, I wouldn't mess with 'em. Shit man, I quit going to those meetings cause they be a waste of time." Mario laughed and continued, "Man, they'd call me when I'd be out of town and ax me if I was coming to these meetings and I'd tell 'em I was waaay too busy to attend cause I'd be on the road jamming with Gregg Allman and Stephen Stills."

Greg Allman and Stephen Stills jamming in Mario's hotel room.

Sometimes earlier, Mario had become good friends with Stephen Stills dating back to the days of The Buffalo Springfield. The two hung out together often and shared experiences that only Mario could parley. "When I was in the accounting department, Stephen Stills, Neil Young and Richie Furay would all come to my office to get their royality checks, you see. Cause when they were in New York we'd always hang out after their shows. One night they were in town when Otis Redding (R) was in town preforming at The Apollo. Ahmet (Ertegun) and I went down to Otis's show and after the gig we all got shit-face drunk together. That's when I suggested we take Otis over to Ondines Club on East 58th where The Buffalo Springfield were playing. Dig this man, while the band was playing, Stephen Stills axed Otis to come up on stage and jam with them. Otis got really excitied and jumped up from his seat and ran up on stage and he was so drunk that he tripped and fell flat on his face. Passed out cold right there in front of everybody. I ain't lying."

By the early 70’s Mario was building quite the reputation. People were talking about him while he began carrying some weight with key FM radio stations. Boston, Philadelphia and New York were all his radio playgrounds. When he strolled into a radio station, he’d always leave with airplay results. This was done with a combination of a flashy wardrobe and his street-hustler charm. His clothing apparel resembled something between a Sly Stone stage outfit and the Curtis Mayfield “Superfly” look. By all accounts Mario even invented his own dialect with brand new words that he’d created. He was way ahead of the game long before Ebonics was established. His speed-rap sales pitch often included a word he recently coined which was the word…”Mama Jama.” What pray tell you ask is a “Mama Jama?” Hate to tell you this but in the freaky world of The Big M, it was the same equivalent to about 400 motherfuckers. With that being said, “Mama Jama” was used in practically every sentence that Mario spoke.

In as much as Mario was the buzz of insiders in the music industry, media journalist and major magazines began picking-up on his vibe. When you stop and think and put it in perspective, Mario’s gig with Atlantic was to drum-up media support for the artists he represented. However, it was not unusual for him to inadvertently create publicity about himself all while befriending an artist. An example was when he was listed in Esquire Magazine's roster of Heavy 100 People of Rock as "Hottest Promo Man in the Biz." Later JET Magazine posted a picture of Mario sitting beside Little Richard while hanging out at the Beverly Wishire Hotel. On still another occasion Mario was featured in an impressive two-page article about himself in the October 1972 issue of Rolling Stone Magazine. In that distinctive article written by Stu Werbin, it talked how Mick Jagger was dazzled by Mario's wild shennigans. Or how about when he was included on the cover of The Eagles “Hotel California” album? He’s the one standing behind the band in the white suit with top hat on the album jacket. In the book titled “S.T.P.” about The Rolling Stones journey through America, author Robert Greenfield talks about Mario Medious' observations of the pretentious clowns hanging around backstage at a Rolling Stones concert. Hard to believe but it was Atlantic's corporate assignment for Mario to go on the road with the Rolling Stones. Hmm...Tough job. In Fred Goodman’s noted book titled, “The Mansion On The Hill,” Mario is glowingly acknowledged by the author as ‘One of a Kind Goodwill Ambassador to the Underground.’ Goodman went on to say, "Mario proved to be the perfect FM promotion man. Plus he was the perfect bussinessman for a group of people who loathed business. He was like a house hippie to Atlantic Records." And you know what...he was right.

Artist Relations-promo rep Phil Rauls (L) spent time in the Rock trenches with Mario and remembers these thoughts, "The thing that impressed me about Mario was he always thought he was 18. Mario could rock with the best of them and on many occasions he'd party till sunrise. I'd be dragging and he'd still be going strong. All the artists liked Mario and wanted The Big M to go on tour with them. I think he kind of insulated them when they were off stage. That's when Mario became the show. He knew all the right people and pulled all the right strings. More importantly, he always carried the best stash. Man, without Mario on the road with you, the party would be dead at 2 AM and we'd end up at some pancake house eating cold hash browns." Rauls chuckles and remembers hooking-up with Led Zeppelin in Texas as they arrived from the West Coast. He continues his story, "When Zeppelin arrived in Dallas for the Southern leg of their U.S. tour, all they could talk about was 'Mario-this' and 'Mario-that.' There were stories about throwing TV's out the windows at The Continental "Riot" House and fishing for sharks out the windows at The Edgewater Hotel in Seattle. Robert Plant and Jimmy Page and Bonzo were gushing with stories about Mario Medious and what a real Mama Jama he was. Plant must have called Mario a Mama Jama a hundred times." Rauls concludes, "Man, Mario was a tough act to follow - I probably could've stayed home from that tour and nobody would have noticed."

NEXT POSTING: Part two of The Mario Medious story featuring stories of Led Zeppelin, J. Geils Band and Emerson, Lake and Palmer.

Copyright (c) 2008 All Rights Reserved Duplication Prohibited.

Greg Allman & Stephen Stills photo by Shelia Foote

All Photographs licensed through www.philliprauls.com

LIST YOUR FAVORITE PEEPS pass it on..

2008-10-31T16:30:00.000-07:00

Recently I received a pleasant email from an associate and surprisingly the content occupied my mind for an entire day. The message was very stimulating and sent me on a exploratory mission. Let me explain. Using your imagination, try to create a list using those special words that inspire you. By that I mean express your inner self by listing only those important subjects in your life or titles or the individuals that completely rock your world. This can be a positive jolt of energy if you put some thought into the process. And Bingo! What a mind cleanser. I found this exercise very rewarding as it removed my mind from the horde of daily news rubbish. You can list yours below in the comments section or just make a list and send it to your network of friends. Go ahead, give it a try. You won't regret it...I promise.

IN NO PARTICULAR ORDER...HERE IS A LIST OF MINE...

...Clean Air, Blogging, Midori, Pacific Northwest, Hamachi, Progressive Rock, Country Roads, God, Down Pillows, Integrity, Triple A Radio, Sauvignon Blanc, Q Tips, Cleavage, John Lennon, Mountains, J.E. & Tina, Fillet Mignon, Thesaurus, YES, Solitude, Phil Jackson, Yamaha, Space, G.O.P., Clean Sheets, Seinfeld, Laser Technology, Led Zeppelin, Fresh Water, The Bible, Potato Chips, Charles Krauthammer, Memphis Music, Cruise Control, Carmex, Family Guy, Joni Mitchell, No Smoking Laws, Soba Noodles, Homer Simpson, Pentel Rolling Writer, Sony, Organic Fruit & Vegetables, Ahmet Ertegun, Black Labradors, BMW's, Granddaughter Natalie, Glucosamine, Japanese Gardening, Pat Riley, WMC-FM 100 in 1972, Photography, Nestea, Lefthanders, Ama Ebi, Herman Hesse, Waterfront, NBA All Star Game, Short Hikes, Robert Palmer, Fireplaces, Good Health, Friends, Calamari, Douglas Firs, Jon Anderson, Four-on-Four Half Court Basketball, Fox News, Music Archives, Bud Light, On-Line Payments, Family Members, Blue Herons, Robert Plant, Inspirational Movies, Nike, King Crab, Crowded House, Commuter Lanes, Altec Lansing, Richard Gere, Amazon.com, Home, Peter Guralnick, Sports Section, Cabernet Sauvignon, Tax Refunds, Jimmy Page, Vintage Motorcycles, Cantaloupe, Jesus Christ, Laughter, Talk Radio, School Of Rock, Miso Soup, Jim Stewart, The Internet, Watermelon, John Mayer, Tone Soap, Classy Females, Les Paul Guitar thru Marshall Amps, Good News, Harvesting Mussells, Paydays, Jack Johnson before being overplayed, Char Broiled and most of all....Sleep.

Promoting Records By Helicopter

2008-09-07T12:45:00.000-07:00

Here's one for the record books. That's right, you're reading it correctly. We're talking 'Promoting Records while delivering them to Radio Stations in a Helicopter.' Seriously, no joke. In a business where just about every marketing tatic has already been employed, why not try this idea. No way you say! With fuel cost being so expensive, how pray tell could a hair brain scheme like this gain approval? But never underestimate the inventive ideas exercised from the creative minds of record executives. After all, these are the same guys who brought you the likes of Tiny Tim, Weird Al Yankovic and Barry Manilow. Anyway, here's the deal. All you gotta do to make this plan successful is just land a helicopter at the front door of any radio station and hand deliver a newly released record to the disk jockeys. And presto. Done deal. DJ's will absolutely love the idea. Receiving a record in that manner will make the Jocks feel so special they'll put the record on the air immediately. And half the battle just getting the record on the air in the first place. Right? As you have it, once the airplay obstacle has been accomplished...then you're jobs done. Finished. Over. That's when you can go celibrate with an afternoon cocktail. This story sounds like an ill-concocted pipe dream but believe it or not, it actually took place.

The year was 1978 when I was Regional Promotional & Marketing Manager for Hollywood based 20th Century Fox Records. As the story unfolds, a newly surfaced Pop artist by the name of Bobby David was beginning to create a strong buzz around the Nashville area. Plus this artist had the right ingredients of good looks and great songwriting. 20th Century saw a star when they signed Bobby David to a recording contract. The company was so impressed they signed him upon first listen to his innovative album. His self titled LP was recorded at Boomer Castleman's Creative Workshop in Nashville and chocked-full of potential smash hits. Bobby's base of operations was located in Music City where he had an investor who was a successful broker in the mining business. Financial backing and support were definitely not an issue while Bobby David's investor owned a helicopter and employed a full time pilot. Considering circumstances, the idea came up to fly Bobby around in this helicopter to all the area radio stations and drum-up support for his new album release. That's when you-know-who was commissioned to make it work. Immediately I began to roll-up my sleeves and scheduled an eight city helicopter tour to promote this exceptional songwriter.

At first the plan sounded inconceivable and something directly out of a fantasy playbook. But when you're drafted to organize something of this magnitude, sometimes you fly by the seat of your pants. First, I had to schedule only visits to certain radio stations that could provide proper landing space to accommodate a Bell Jet Ranger Helicopter. By that I mean we couldn't just land in any downtown suburban location. Sliced and diced pigeons were not part of the plan. Hence we were subject to land at stations located at rural transmitter sites or the ones which offered large parking lots to simulate a safe landing pad. Plus, none of the sites could be surrounded with telephone poles that were connected with electrical wires or cables lines that were strung-out holding up radio stations broadcast antennas. Okay, try to schedule a weeks trip through that navigational minefield. However with all things considered, the scariest portion of this plan was...I'd never even been in a helicopter before.

As the details were ironed out, we were ready to go. Upon departure Bobby David's personal charm (L) immediately put us at ease. The cockpit was so loud that we had to wear headsets to communicate. Bobby David had been up before and provided flight attendant and tour guide services. In the key of "Thank you Jesus". He also shared his appreciation of the panoramic view from the bubbled cockpit as there was much to survey. It's one thing to fly in a passenger jet forty thousand feet above ground but it's another to hoover only several hundred feet about surface. My camera lens were snapping away and caught this smoking field of burning crops (double-click to enlarge). The helicopter pilot was a veteran aviator from the Viet Nam war. His no-nonsense personality somehow blended with Bobby David's colorful non-stop chatter. By all accounts I was
starting to relax (L) and recall the actual purpose of our mission. I'd considered myself well prepared for the forthcoming events yet amazed at what I was learning in the meantime. An example was listening to the jargon used by air flight controllers which was far different from any language used by say, Ham Radio or CB Radio operators. These guys in the tower had a dialect of their own. Sounded as if they were talking with marbles in their mouths.

First stop on our tour was WVLK Radio in Lexington, KY where after pulverizing a couple of mockingbirds and mother robins, we landed on the grass lawn in front of the building. Disk Jockeys were pouring out the station to view the helicopter while after flying for over two hours Bobby David was jumping the fence and racing with album producer Boomer Castleman to visit the "head."

Next stop was WVOV Radio in Huntsville, AL. where Program Director Dana Andrews and the lovely Pam Bell interview Bobby David from the control room. So far we were batting a thousand as every radio station we visited put the record on the air immediately.

Upon landing at WJDX-WZZQ Radio in Jackson, MS we were greeted by among others, the station mascot. (L-R) Phillip Rauls, Bobby David, Q Mascot and Program Director Wayne Harrison.

After flying through a very scary thunder storm and praying desperately for safe landing, we eventually plotted down in the parking lot at Kicks 104 in Nashville. In this photo legendary radio legend Programmer Michael St. John shares a smile and interviews Bobby David.

In Memphis, TN the helicopter landed in the parking lot of WHBQ Radio where neighbors living near-by were frightened from the aircraft noise. Locals residents being unaware of the promotion placed an emergency call to the Federal Aviation Authority (the FAA) and complained of circumstances. In an effort to calm the neighborhood, I approached a little old lady who was standing near-by and whispered, "Psst, Please don't tell anyone but that's Elvis landing at the radio station." Problem solved.

After hop, skipping and jumping from city to city for a entire week, I was ready to put my feet firmly on the ground. I was dizzy under the influence of helicopter-lag. Yet from that once in a lifetime experience I had made many new friends. Plus, I took care of some important business while in the process. Bobby David went on to become a very successful song writer with many artists recording his compositions. His solo album still remains as one of my all time favorites. About every month or so, I dust-off the old Dual Turntable and play Bobby's great album. Songs like "Crossfire," "You Are My Fantasy" and bar room rocker, "What A Way To Go." Every time I listen to his album, I'm start to reminisce about this marvelous trip. What an rare experience of traveling a four state area under those extraordinary circumstances. It was a once in a lifetime experience and I will forever cherish those memories.

The Journey of Legend Jerry Wexler

2008-08-15T11:26:00.000-07:00

August 15, 2008. Legendary Music Producer Jerry Wexler has passed away at his home in Florida at the age of 91. Wexler's death was attributed to several years of a deteriorating heart disease. Wexler who was formerly Senior VP with Atlantic Records and later associated with Warner Brothers Records, was a giant among the industry artists with whom he helped develop. Joining Atlantic in 1953 after a stint as a journalist with Billboard Magazine, Wexler was responsible for helping shape the future of the music business by changing the name of music coming from black artists formerly known as "Race Music" and changed to the modern day term of "Rhythm & Blues."

A young Jerry Wexler helped build the Atlantic label from a small R&B label to the musical empire that exists today. Legendary artists like Ray Charles, Wilson Pickett, Percy Sledge and other greats including the "Queen of Soul" herself, Aretha Franklin, were early notches in Wexler's career belt. Wexler, who had made the transition from journalist and turned record producer, was also involved in the daily mechanics of the company's powerful promotion department. Teamed with the late Ahmet Ertegun, this dynamic duo came to be known both jointly and individually as the greatest record executives on the planet.

In the early days Jerry Wexler was ahead of his time and wired to the timely trends of Southern music while being responsible for several key distribution deals such as the one with Memphis based STAX Records. Both companies benefited greatly from this agreement and paved the way for many Soul artists to reach stardom.(L-R) Jerry Wexler, Jim Stewart, Bob Kornhauser, Juggy Gales, Solomon Burke, unidentified and Johnny Beinstock.

Later distribution deals soon flourished as Atlantic would ink successful agreements with Capricorn Records, Chimneyville Records and Alston Records that would literally put those companies on the musical map. In this photo Wexler is second from left with Ertegun standing right of him.

Modern trends hit the music business in the late 1960's and early 70's as Wexler began to weave his magic into Chips Moman's American Studio, Rick Hall's Fame Recording Studio and Barry Beckett's studio in Muscle Shoals Alabama. Upon that recognition, Pop Music soon became a priority when Atlantic artists Dusty Springfield, Herbie Mann, Donny Hathaway, Danny O'Keefe, Delaney & Bonnie Bramlett, Duane Allman, Boz Skaggs, Doug Sahm, Cher and New Orleans favorite Dr. John, all with the help of Jerry Wexler helped redefine Southern Music. Soon Wexler was off to his next location of Criteria Recording Studio in Miami where many Atlantic artists would record; The Bee Gees, Black Oak Arkansas and Derek & The Dominos to name a few.

Wexler's next move was one that many saw as a losing cause and train wreck in the making. That's when Wexler opened an office in Nashville, TN and signed country artist, Willie Nelson. It was now official, as the label that helped develop and bring to the forefront...Soul Music, Jazz Music, Pop Music and Heavy Metal, had now entered the Country & Western arena with Willie Nelson's new album, "Phases & Stages." A short period later, Willie Nelson would depart the label and sign a long term contract with Columbia Records while Atlantic folded it's tent and closed it's Nashville operations.

During the same period, much was transpiring in Wexler's life. Here's a capsule of events that weren't so rosy for Wexler. By now, David Geffin had entered the picture and made life miserable for Wex. The two had disagreements over business issues and guess who got the upper hand? That's when Jerry Wexler moved to Miami. There were many significant changes within the music business during that period as Wexler would respond to circumstances by saying, "The longhairs are taking over the business." In short, the popularity of R&B music had taken a back seat and this was Wexler's baby. Plus, Wexler ended-up getting a divorce during that time. Back in New York, Ahmet Ertegun had re-asserted his power at the home office after Wexler's departure and developed a new regime of company officers. Believe it or not, Wexler soon moved back to the Big Apple, but things had changed and Wexler's authoritative pulse just wasn't the same.

Editors note: As the author of this posting, I wanted to publish something on the day of Jerry Wexler's passing. I was kinda prepared yet somehow unprepared for his death. Reason being, Wexler didn't show up at the recent Atlantic Records Employee Reunion in Las Vegas. We were told that he didn't travel any more. Ahmet Ertgeun made a speech at the party and read a personal note sent from Jerry Wexler that touched the souls of everyone in attendance. Be that as it may, when summarizing Wexler's career for this posting, I realized that it would take a month-of-Sundays just to capture his entire body of work. I'm sure that I probably left-out much about his brilliant career (Bob Dylan, Dire Straits, Linda Ronstadt). Please forgive me but somehow a man like Jerry Wexler just can't be epitomized in a single posting. Also, please note that I didn't share any of my stories from personal experiences with Jerry Wexler. After all, I worked for Atlantic and lived both in Memphis and Miami during a time of enormous growth and prosperity for the company. Yet, that sequence of time also began a period of moderate decline for Wexler's influence. But on this sacred day of his passing, none of that is important. By all accounts, my faires can't even touch the surface of this industry legend. But please do me a favor, considering your interest in Jerry Wexler by the viewing of this posting, please obtain a copy of his book ""Rhythm & the Blues." Much of what I've omitted from this transcript was for a specific reason. Wexler's candid stories are very interesting reading and reveals much about his journey through the history of recorded music.

RIP Jerry Wexler. Travel well my friend.

A Home-Grown Distortion-Prone Don Nix

2008-07-28T11:27:00.000-07:00

This is the conclusion of a two-part posting on Rock Music's DON NIX.
Please refer to previous story for continuing storyline.

What do you get when you combine part-musician, part-songwriter, part-producer and part-innovator? Well, you probably already know the answer by now as Don Nix combined all those special talents. Plus, he was in the thick-of-things from the get-go. Don Nix was an important piece to the Blues-Rock puzzle as his body of work leaves behind a notable trail of recordings. Back in the days when local bands were transitioning from playing Rhythm & Blues to just plain old Blues, Don Nix was there bridging the gap of uncharted waters with his pioneering ideas for roots artists. "Man, we'd go in the studio and use a harmonica microphone to record the snare drum just to capture a little distortion" says Nix. Concepts of this nature were not mainstream and considered a little controversial at the time. Looking back to the late 60's and early 70's, and if the truth be known, not everyone was on board with the adversity of Don Nix's ideas. Those who were critical of his ideas were often the one's sitting on the sidelines and associated with unsigned cover bands.

Admittedly, Don Nix is not your everyday chart topping superstar. To be fair, I really don't think that stardom was his lone destiny in the first place. Nor do I believe that he wanted all the uninvited attention that goes with the territory. Yet, this unusual posture is exactly what drew my attention to Don Nix in the first place. Considering this unique mode, he made an timely impression upon me and became one of my early mentors. All while not trying to make a timely impression upon me or become any one's mentor. Like some musicians from that Memphis era, Don Nix got into the music business and the next thing you know, things happened. Many of the fortunate souls from that STAX era, like Nix, were so happy they didn't have to get a day job and worked extra hard to maintain that unparalleled freedom.

Although Don Nix was a successful solo artist with numerous albums, his early phase participation in the production and songwriting for other artists helped shape many careers (see previous posting for details). Don Nix specialized in the formation of background singers, choir harmonies, and the soulful blend of gospel singers. That career distinction earned him the wilful eye of Beatle George Harrison when in 1971 Harrison was preparing the staging for The Concert For Bangladesh and contacted Nix for his participation. It was Don Nix's reputation and unique friendship with George Harrison that earned him the duty of organizing the background singers for this special concert event. The film, record album and concert benefit were a huge commercial success and remains as a classic event in Rock history. Somehow I wonder what it was like sitting at home when the phone rings and it was George Harrison calling to say, "Ello' Don, Can you possibly make it to Madison Square Gardens next weekend? Jolly good, Cheers." When you consider Don Nix's career took many unexpected twists and turns down through the years, you'll notice he always landed on his feet. And fortunately I was there to witness Don Nix's wild ride on several occasions. Like most who know of this fine artist, many share a special story. Considering my association and first hand experiences, I too would like to tell one of my many Don Nix tales.

THE YEAR was 1974 when Don Nix's album "Hobos, Hero's and Street Corner Clowns" was released on Enterprise (STAX) Records. It's Southern-soaked music welcomed a new era of college-age listeners to the label. A short time later STAX released another album that was co-produced by Don Nix titled "Highstepping and Fancy Dancing" by Larry Raspberry & The Highsteppers. Immediately upon release a tour was organized including both artists which was closely coordinated with CBS Records...the most powerful distribution system on the entire planet. Chart listings and concert reviews poured-in for both STAX artists as radio interviews blanketed the airwaves. Plus, several advertising campaigns were implemented while the CBS promotion and marketing staffs rolled-up their sleeves in preparation to flex their marketing muscle. After several successful concert dates through the vast state of Texas, the tour rolled into San Francisco for a well-anticipated performance at The Great American Music Hall.

Press photo from The Great American Music Hall. (L-R) Rick Swig-Epic Records, Phillip Rauls-STAX Records, Larry Raspberry-STAX artist, Bonnie Simmons-KSAN Radio, Dave Sholin-KFRC Radio/The GAVIN Report, Don Nix-STAX artist and Don DeGraf-Epic distributor.

An enthusiastic crowd combined with numerous media personnel packed the legendary music hall to view the concert. Managing editor Gary Taylor of leading industry magazine, The Gavin Radio Report, greets Phillip Rauls as he enters the hall. But get this. Sliced watermelon was served to all the guest as a special memoir to the down home event. Um...Wasn't that special. Band members wondered if they should perform barefooted as to fit the theme. Yet, as events unfolded and prior to the band's arrival to the concert hall, a very disappointing incident occurred earlier in the day. During the afternoon, a scheduled stop for both artists had been booked at the retail giant Tower Records. Both artists were excited for an in-store appearance which was supported by a live radio broadcast promoting their arrival. Upon their entrance they made themselves available inside the store for autographs and fan photos. But despite the hoopla of their appearance, combined with the live remote, substantial airplay, and a huge advertising campaign with publicity to match...guess what happened next? Or better still, guess what didn't happen next? Somehow a blundering mistake was made by somebody at CBS Records as they forgot to stock the Tower store with new STAX albums by Don Nix and Larry Raspberry. Both artists had ventured all the way across country for this concert and then visit the Tower Store for the big in-store promotion when somebody botched the event as they actually forgot to place their albums in stock. Imagine that. Not one record in the entire store by either artist. In turn, both artists ended-up signing their autographs on paper napkins that were supplied by a nearby restaurant. I couldn't believe what I was seeing and shook my head in disbelief. This was totally unacceptable. Rather than selling brand new albums to the fans who were standing in line and having the artists put their signatures on their album jackets, Nix and Raspberry were subjected to undergo this humiliating experience. Man, I thought to myself, "Some major heads gonna roll for this blunder." Sure enough, they did. Days later CBS Records conceded their mistake by conducting an executive search for a new San Francisco Branch Manager.

The West Coast portion of the tour resumed days later while the final Nix-Raspberry concert was held in Los Angeles. By now the tour had included two noted guest performers who had joined the review in route, Blues legend John Mayall and vocalists Claudia Lanier. In Los Angeles after a series of afternoon interviews and topped-off with a spirited evening performance, band members were ready to relax and celebrate the tour's conclusion. There was a commemorative mood in the air when John Mayall offered to host a after-concert party at his place. Whoa! I'd never been to one of them Hollywood parties. A little R&R was definitely in order as band members and myself piled into the van and drove-up the winding and narrow roads to reach his Hollywood Hills estate. Upon arrival at Mayall's luxurious residence, we were pleasantly surprised by his selection of hostesses. There standing at the door greeting us were several completely nude models from Penthouse Magazine. Stark naked. My eyes completely popped out of my head as it was quite different from what I expected. Needless to say, they were all very beautiful and well endowed. I tried not to stare but about every couple of minutes throughout the entire evening, I was ordering a new drink from the hostesses just to capture a close-up view. I must have introduced myself to the beauties a hundred times as later in the evening they began to yawn when they saw me approaching. Heck, they didn't have parties like this in my hometown. Yet, before the night was over, band members were feeling no pain and stripping-down to their birthday suits while jumping from Mayall's second floor balcony into his swimming pool below. Including me too. Naked.

Don Nix had this fine, super-fine home located in the plush midtown neighborhood known as Chickasaw Gardens. All the beautiful homes in Memphis along Central Avenue had that rich Southern tradition being located about 75 yards from the street. It had big white columns stretched over the front looking very colonial. When you drove by in your car, it darn-near took a half a minute just to pass the mansion. One could easily view the chrome shining from his Bently sitting in his 3-car garage. I could imagine just walking to the mailbox located at curbside which probably took about ten minutes just to retrieve the mail. Anyway, you get the picture. In 1975 Don Nix had scheduled a trip to London to work on a record project when he gave me the keys to his 5 bedroom estate and asked me to watch his house while he was out of the country. "Sure," I said while thumbing through my little black book in search of available chicks. Come to find out while he was out of the country, a burglar broke-in his house and stole his entire collection of antique Civil War rifles, pistols and irreplaceable relicts. All on my watch. Man, I dreaded facing him when he returned. Yet, despite those unfortunate circumstances, when he came home, he kept his cool and never accused me of anything or suggested otherwise. At that very moment, somehow Nix's even keel calmness was forever registered within my consciousness.

Nix's multiple solo albums have paved the way and opened doors for many Southern roots artist. His body of work is spread over 5 decades while he's still plugging away. Here's a collection of several of Nix's past and current albums.

Beyond a doubt Nix's watershed is his writing of the legendary song "Going Down." Artists who have recorded this classic song are; Freddie King, Jeff Beck, John Lee Hooker, Joe Walsh, Peter Green, J.J. Cale, Brian Ferry & Roxy Music, Deep Purple, Pearl Jam and Stevie Ray Vaughn.

"I Don't Want No Trouble" was released in 2006 with the album title personifying Nix's true personality. Guess we all mellow out with age and convert into a passive mode. Not that there's anything wrong with it.

Don Nix's latest entry is titled "Passing Through" and is a timeless beaut. Recorded with the Fredrick Knight title song and spiced with soulful William Brown vocals and the Issac Hayes string section, Nix displays a smooth side of his work.

Don Nix also has the dubious distinction of writing a book with his collection of stories while traveling down the rock & roll highway. "Road Stories And Recipes" is a must read for all Pop-Culture enthusiast.

Although some of these Don Nix treasures are out of print, most are still available through various sources via the internet.

Story by Phillip Rauls (c) Copyright 2008 All Rights Reserved

Don Nix International Man of... Music

2008-06-29T21:10:00.000-07:00

This is the first of a two-part posting on Rock Music's Don Nix.

DON NIX may not have the name recognition of some of his colleagues and you're not likely to catch him where the flashbulbs are going off. It appears he's more likely to be spending his time collaborating with someone on a new song or producing a CD. But his career is a remarkable story as he is an industry survivor in a business that takes no prisoners. Don Nix began his musical career as the baritone sax player in the high school band sensation named The Mar-Keys. In the early 60's they recorded the sexy hit song titled "Last Night" for Satellite Records. Previously know as the Royal Spades, The Mar-Keys became the bedrock of the small record label that would soon change it's name to STAX Records. At that time no one envisioned the splintering of career paths set forth by The Mar-Keys or the phenomenal growth the small label would endure. Including Don Nix. Consider the fact that if you ever want to read an intriguing lesson within the history of Rock music, check-out the names of the individual members of The Mar-Keys. That info will blow your mind. There's Steve Cropper, Duck Dunn, Wayne Jackson, Joe Arnold, Don Nix, Packy Axton, Smoochy Smith, Terry Johnson and produced by legendary producer, Chips Moman. You could start the beginning scene of a full length movie at that point with the unfolding story of The Mar-Keys and STAX Records. The storyline might go like this...After the Mar-Keys next came Booker T. & The MGs, then came The Memphis Horns, then came Carla Thomas, William Bell, then Otis arrived...and so forth and so on. The point of the matter is, anyone attempting to document those years in a book or a movie and then try to minimize Don Nix's participation during those years, well...I would say they didn't do their homework.

The real story here is Don Nix always hung around some heavy hitters. On more than one occasion STAX's President and co-founder Jim Stewart would share a flamboyant story of the escapades of Don Nix over lunch gathering or a dinner party. The truth of the matter is, Jim Stewart was influenced by Nix's music direction and artistic suggestions. At a early stage both saw the changing of music styles upon the landscape of American music. During that cycle consumer trends were showing that single recordings (45 RPM's) were on the decline while college-age record buyers were purchasing albums of Pop and cross-over artists. Particularly those in the Blues field and blue-eyed soul artists. The Billboard charts didn't lie as Pop music was the clear path into the future. If you wanted to remain competitive, you better jump on the Pop band wagon. So, Don Nix began his entrance-level pop production at STAX with artists Molach, Paris Pilot and Sid Selvidge. Jim Stewart recognizing the same pattern, did likewise (see Jim Stewart ~ The Midas Touch).

Yet, if we turn back the clock to the mid 60's to first time I saw Don Nix perform, it was a summer night at a dance held at the Memphis Fairgrounds. At that time Nix was a young man and as skinny as a rake. Don't know how he could blow that huge barry sax with his thin frame and then turn around and puff on Marlboro's between songs. But Don Nix had a real cool stage presence and moved smoothly about the stage. Somehow his personal appearance differed slightly from his stage appearance. He was sorta a hybrid character and resembled a cross between a greaser and a beatnik while wearing black upon black...draped with more black. Whatever the case, he was very intriguing and I knew I had to get to know him. Months later, that impromptu meeting with Nix would occur when mutual friend Larry Raspberry of The Gentrys and myself rode my motorcycle over to the Bitter Lemon Cafe to catch some music. It must have been sometimes in 1966 or 67 when I first met Nix. Talk about a hip-talking white boy. Man, Don Nix was a non-stop, mile a minute jokester who held no punches. He kept us all in stitches and never ran out of material. Every night Nix would hold court at the Lemon with supporters flocking to his side. People would actually jockey for position to gain a seat at his table. One night Nix came in the back door of the Bitter Lemon with a guy who had this long silver hair hanging-down to his shoulders. That dude's name was Leon Russell. When Nix and Russell walked past our table, it was the first time that I'd been exposed to the sweet fragrance of Patchouli oil. No way I could pronounce the stuff much less even spell it-but at that very moment I knew I had to have some. Point is, after smelling that delightful fragrance, I swore that I'd never again wear Old Spice or English Leather cologne.

Hanging-out with Don Nix was like a psychedelic experience as I never knew what to expect. Everything appeared surrealistic and seemed like a magic carpet ride. For example, one night we were hanging-out at the Bitter Lemon when members of Paul Revere & The Raiders entered the coffee house. They had the number # 1 song in the country at the time and actually got-up on stage and performed. Free. The club was very small and only sat about 75 to 100 people. But I felt privileged to witness the event as it was a night to remember. I was so stunned that I turned to Don Nix and asked, "Did I actually see what I think I saw?"

Don Nix would go on to produce and write songs for several very pivotal STAX artists such as Delaney & Bonnie and Albert King. Like many artists from that period, their notoriety would follow yet remain long term. But the bubble was about to burst at STAX with in-house discontent over an administration shift. Seems that key insiders who held together the delicate studio chemistry at the label got seriously pissed off and split town. Call it a power play or call it a hijacking, the STAX tailspin had just begun when a certain Vice President began to blindly disassemble Jim Stewart's legacy. As time would tell, Don Nix would also leave and travel extensively moving both to California and then later to France. All while venturing towards surrounding himself with Rock music's elite. Shortly after STAX's closure, British guitar legend Jeff Beck comes to Memphis to record an album at Steve Cropper's new TMI Recording Studio. Wouldn't you know that Beck records a classic version of the Don Nix penned "Going Down." Things were looking up for Don Nix. After that Nix signs with Electra Records for a solo album that gained international recognition. And then comes a second Electra album with himself and Jeanie Greene and Lonnie Mack called "Alabama State Troopers." Nix then reconnects with old friend and pianist-producer-artist Leon Russell who signs him to his fledgling Shelter Records for a solo album that receives glowing reviews. Nix was even recognized in Penthouse Magazine as one of 100 influential people to watch. Then into the picture enters the Mad Dog and Englishman himself Joe Cocker to stir-up the mayhem and madness into Nix's life. That's when Don Nix signs-on to produce new Shelter Records artist Freddie King for his breakthrough album. And if that wasn't enough, Nix would go on to work on separate album projects with blues legend John Mayall and then bring to forefront blues master Fury Lewis and still have time to hang with the likes of superstars Eric Clapton and George Harrison.

Like many of Don Nix's associates, most remain his friends for life. Such is the case as the former STAX music publisher, Tim Whitsett (R), who held the title of President of East/Memphis Music Publishing, and shares one of his many escapades with Nix. Tim Whitsett remembers this memorable account; "I didn’t think it was funny at the time but in January 1974 a contingent from STAX Records attended the MIDEM conference in Cannes, France. On my first night there, Don and I joined our colleagues at a stylish restaurant on Le Croissant. I couldn’t pronounce anything on the menu, but made sure to sample all of it, washing everything down with brimming glasses of fermented grape from every vineyard in France. After the dishes were cleared, cigars and brandy enhanced our table’s bonhomie. At that time, someone brightly suggested: “Let’s go the casino.”

"By now my legs was very wobbly. Probably from the Jet lag, no doubt. I wished everyone luck at the casino and tottered off towards our hotel. Alas, Don caught up with me, and, using my elbow as a rudder, steered us both to the casino, and thence to the roulette table."

Whistett continues, "The action in a French casino bears very little resemblance to that in an American casino. In fact, the word ‘action’ does not at all describe the somnambulant ritual surrounding a French roulette table. Monsieur le croupier laconically bids everyone to place their bets, then gives the wheel a half-hearted sissy whirl. The wheel goes round and round interminably in the slowest of slow motion. When at last it stops, there is silence. No good old American whooping or hollering from the bettors. Merely a few Gallic shrugs."

"If the truth be known, I did not want to be in the casino. The air was hot and garlicky with wall-to-wall Gauls, and heavy with le cigarette smoke; visibility was limited to fourteen inches. Everyone was speaking French, which I thought very pretentious. My pulsing head badly wanted to lay itself down on the plump goose-feathered pillow back in the hotel room. But Don Nix would not let me depart. He had an idea up his sleeve and needed me to hang."

“Pretend like I’m blind,” Nix said while grabbing my arm. “You have to hold my hand and lead me around the casino.” “Aw-no Don, please.” I said. Then he squinted shut his eyes, grabbed hold of my hand, and shoved me into the crowd. As we walked around the casino, Nix made a very convincing blind man. I don’t know what I made, but I was embarrassed and felt like I was making an utter fool of myself.

Considering at the time, Don Nix was in the Buffalo Bill phase of his life. He had shoulder length hair, a neatly trimmed mustachios and goatee. A short leather jacket adorned with fringes on the sleeves. And, of course, that phase wouldn’t have been appropriate without the obligatory Buffalo Bill leather hat, which was never removed, not even in the shower. Indeed, Don Nix felt the same way about that hat as Sitting Bull felt about the white Stetson that Buffalo Bill had given him. When a relative once touched it, Sitting Bull snatched it away, declaring “Pahaska (Long Hair) gave me this hat! Only the hand that placed it on my head may touch it!”

So there we were, me and Buffalo Bill, trying to part a sea of sweating flesh. I’m saying “Par-dohn, Par-dohn,” as I shuffled through the casino and feeling like an idiot, wondering why I let Don rope me into this, and noting with some surprise how people were actually making room with overt sympathy as we progressed through the crowd. Then suddenly a little lady of eighty (or thereabouts) came to my rescue. Her hair was blue, in the fashion of her age and social status. I gauged her wealth as high by virtue of the thick pearl ropes round her neck, the blindingly bright diamonds affixed to her pendant and the fox fur wrap draped over her shoulder (a ludicrous accessory in the heat of the casino and offensive to those who might be repulsed by the poor fox who had his head still attached).

This little lady, barely five feet tall in her high heels, materialized right in front of us. Looking up at Don with eyes round and glowing in ardent desire, she exclaimed, “Ah! J'adore simplement votre chapeau!” And as she burbled this, which roughly translates as “Oh, I simply adore your hat!,” she reached way up and snatched the hat right off Buffalo Bill’s head. It was the kind of jester that makes a blind man’s vision return.

Don roared aloud like a wounded buffalo. “Nobody touches my hat!” That is also a rough translation, for he shouted much more as he chased the traumatized little lady back into the crowded casino.

As for moi, the diversion allowed me to escape - out of the casino and back to my hotel where a plump pillow was awaiting my head. Next day, when I saw young Don, his chapeau was firmly in place. I never thought to ask after the fate of the little ole lady. Neither did Don ever volunteer how she fared when he caught up with her. Between friends, some things are best left unsaid.” shares long time friend and associate Tim Whitsett.

Next Posting; A Home-Grown Distortion-Prone Don Nix

Rock & Roll Attitude (or Demeanor 101)

2008-05-20T15:30:00.000-07:00

Ever stop to think about the origin of Rock music itself? As you probably know, the where-and-whens of Rock have been studied and well documented for years. However, I'm talking about concept of Rock itself, the idealistic source that spearheaded the cause. It wasn't something developed by scientists in a laboratory. Nor was it created by engineers from surveys or blueprints. Don't see any results coming from focus groups or pending legislation here. As you have it, Rock Music was not an invention of such. Yet it's been around since the 1950's and served for decades as the backbone of the youth movement. It can be linked to the curled-up lip of Elvis when he smiled. It might be associated with high testosterone levels or changing hormones. Or connected with someone just acting pompous and wanting to be accepted by their peers. Whatever those results may prove, the concept of this arrogant demeanor derived from the single component of just pure raw unadulterated attitude. You know what I mean, it's the kind of attitude that teenagers develop when their parents tell them to be home before curfew.

The original source of 'Rock Attitude' was developed from none other than young people themselves. No surprise there. And if you can grasp the errant ways of youth, that behavior makes it easier to understand it's rebellious ways. Remember the old song, "I'm just a Sinner not a Saint." Yet, here we are in the 21st Century and still support the popular icons that are daring and controversial. But let us explore this demeanor for a moment by viewing individuals who have endorsed this posture. With that being the agenda and accepting the fact that pictures don't lie, let's take a little walk through The Photolog archives and view some individuals who parlay that spirit.

It's safe to say that The Rolling Stones had that Rock & Roll Attitude when they signed with Atlantic Records and posed for their press shot in their birthday suits...err...partially nude. While band members were holding their album jackets covering their privates, we'd like to thank them for sparing us the details. Or non-details. The album cover was designed by Andy Wharhol and displayed a male crotch in tight blue jeans.

Free spirited DJ Dave Adcock of WZZQ-FM Radio in Jackson, MS greets the camera with his special Rock & Roll Attitude and a personalized two nostril salute.

Here's one for the record. A rock group that dressed-up to be...The Dog Police. Memphis music group The Tony Thomas Trio moonlighted as The Dog Police and definitely had that Rock Attitude.

What-the-hey! The Red Hot Chilli Peppers act-a-fool while being interviewed by KISW Radio in Seattle. No one ever accused The Peppers of not having that attitude. (L-R) Phillip Rauls-EMI Records, Flea-The Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Damon Stuart-KISW Radio, Anthony Kiedis-The Red Hot Chilli Peppers.

The front page of industry rag Radio & Records featured The Who's Keith Moon promoting his new album that bears his last name. Never one to be out done, MCA Record's Jon Scott has a contest to select the prettiest moon. That's when the threesome paraded into the office of the newspaper to 'hand' deliver this fine moon. (L-R) Keith Moon-The Who, Candy Tusken-R&R manager, Jon Scott-MCA Records, and Moongirl Fineass, butt model.

Got Rock & Roll Attitude?

Black & White Photo Gallery

2008-04-28T07:30:00.000-07:00

Photography is endeared subject that has fascinated me since youth. From an early age I viewed my family's photos thousands of times and treated them as prized possessions. As objects of my obsession I have always viewed photographs as treasured artistic compositions, similar to the relevance of a great painting, sculpture or even perhaps a phonograph record. Those artifacts capture moments locked in time capsules and preserved forever. Perhaps I inherited that notion from my Mom who was a career librarian and fond of the historical preservation of great works. Yet it was only until recent times that photographs were even considered of the same artistic merit as sculptures or paintings. Makes you wonder why it took a couple of hundred years to make that divine revelation.

Viewing photos can be a very interesting hobby. From the standpoint of being a photographer however, the photo bug bit me after coming in contact with two professionals who opened my world to the process. My first camera was purchased with money earned as the driver for photographer Steve Schapiro who was on assignment for Life Magazine during the fatal shooting of The Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. While in Memphis, Schapiro and L.A. Times news journalist Pete Johnson compensated me $250 for my guide services during the crisis. In a sense, their influence made me seriously consider becoming a photographer. With money burning a hole in my pocket obtained from those services I purchased my first camera, a Yoshika 35mm SLR. Brief details of those circumstances are listed in my April 2005 blog posting titled "Introduction to Photography."

As a young man in my early 20's, I was filled with curiosities and misconceptions. Growing up during the 60's during "The Age of Aquarius" was the perfect time for being creative. During that period I pursued music, art and photography all with equal passion. In the meantime I'd held dozens of day jobs working in various fields and despised them all. Then one day I discovered a book by photographer Diane Arbus titled " An Aperture Monograph." This ground breaking book had my head spinning and helped shape my perception of photo journalism. Man, this book was weired, creepy and intriguing all at the same time. I sat Arbus' book on my coffee table and watched the expressions of friends as they thumbed through the pages. Friends couldn't believe what they were seeing. People's mouths dropped open while no one could put the photo book down. Finally there was a photo book that didn't feature people's pets, their children or florial arraignments. It was Diane Arbus' book that gave me the desire to venture out into the real world and explore alternative subject matter that may capture people's attention.

Some years earlier, my first attempts at photo journalism was when I would often travel just over the state line into rural Mississippi. There was a wealth of photo opportunities there as it was just like going into a time machine and turning back the clock. Most of the time I would travel by myself and explore the back roads plus enjoy the seclusion. Of all the photo opportunities that occurred on my trips to De Soto County, I believe one of my all time favorite photographs is the picture of a brother and sister standing outside a dusty drive way with a broken-down fence behind them. I can just imagine the thoughts in their heads of not knowing what to expect from this stranger who asked if he could take their picture.

"Nesbitt Kids" circa 1967 photo (c) by Phillip Rauls. More exclusive pictures from that collection can be viewed in an earlier blog posting titled "Backroads of Mississippi." (See April Archives 2005)

In 1968 there were career opportunities abound inside the musical hotbed of Memphis. During that period I got into the recording industry and was immediately surrounded with favorable photo opportunities. Upon those circumstances, not only did I begin taking photographs of rock stars but I also began collecting classic photos that might hold archive significance. After several seasons of shooting rock stars I was fortunate to land photographs published in Rolling Stone, Fusion and several other notable publications. But after reaching into my pocket in search for spare change, I came to the conclusion that trying to make living as a photographer was a challenging profession. With no shortage of talented people who were full time photographers, I put my part time ambition of being a photographer on the shelf. Since I already had a established career in the record business, I decided to just make it a hobby.

Blues-rock guitarist (above) Johnny Winter photo (c) from 1969 by Phillip Rauls. This black & white photograph was featured in an issue of Rolling Stone Magazine.

While shooting Black & White photos I learned that all subjects must hold full depth plus bold features in order to translate the effect of a non-color photograph. Here a fishing pier extends over a bass lake. Notice the grain in the wood captured here while the ripples in the water gently move from the breeze. The thick canopy of trees darkens the background and compliments the effects of a sun bleached pier.

On a trip to Los Angeles in 1975 I ventured down Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood to capture this paper in a magazine rack exclusively published for swinging couples.

I can closely associate with this one as I shot this picture of a desperate photographer trying to elevate his height to stage level. The poor guy on the bottom is sweating like a pig.

No, this is not a fraternity party. This is a party celebrating Butch's birthday. In this photograph there are so many moving parts that I cannot explain all the circumstances. Oh by the way, a enlarged poster of Butch's police mug shot is posted in center of the truck while he's the one exposing his rear on the right.

Joe Galkin ~ Music Business Power Broker

2008-03-16T18:00:00.000-07:00

It might be a stretch to say those who claim knowledge about the history of the music business are familiar with the name of Joe Galkin. After all, he's not a household name. As a matter of fact, even those who are aware of legends of the business might even ask, Joe who? For those who don't know of this enterprising figure, don't feel slighted. That's because Joe Galkin himself took a great deal of pride in staying out of the limelight and keeping a low profile. Yet, Galkin's ambiguous background does not diminish the prominence he played upon the landscape of American music. Readers might be surprised to hear details of this colorful character. Hence the occasion to shed light on an unsung record executive who played a major role in building the careers of many. This is the story of my dear friend and mentor Joe Galkin (1902-1978).

Born in Russia and having migrated with his parents to the U.S, Joe Galkin would become a New York musician who later evolved as the booking agent for The Tommy Tucker Orchestra. With a keen eye for talent, he then emerged as a independent record promoter servicing radio stations with product for Atlantic Records and STAX Records among others. Galkin worked as a Southern promotion man and hipped disk jockeys of developing 'Smash Records' with his unique gift-of-gab and pearls of wisdom. As previously mentioned in this blog and defined as a early day entertainment lobbyist, see "Evolution of The Promotion Man", Galkin was a song plugging trailblazer who bore gifts of Cuban Cigars and bottles of expensive Bourbon. With his unsophisticated mannerisms yet lovable Jewish charm, Galkin built a reputation with Southern disk jockeys as a champion of young R&B recording artists. Now that crossover records had become the ultimate target for record companies, Joe Galkin was instrumental in the development of many of those early beginnings. It was Galkin who kept Atlantic Records' Jerry Wexler informed with updates on Southern music trends. When Satellite Records produced the local hit by Carla Thomas titled, "Gee Whiz", it was Galkin on the phone with Wexler talking of a distribution deal. Satellite Records would soon change it's name to STAX Records and the future became the infamous Atlantic distribution deal.

Among his many dealings, Joe Galkin soon began managing a Macon, GA artist named Johnny Jenkins and the Pinestoppers. While in Memphis attending a recording session at STAX, Jenkins was running late for the session when Joe Galkin convinced STAX Records owner Jim Stewart to give Jenkins's bus driver the opportunity to lay down a couple of vocal demo tracks while awaiting Jenkins' arrival. That bus driver's name was Otis Redding. At that time Stewart and Galkin struck a joint publishing deal on the fly to seal the deal. The results of that impromptu session produced Otis Redding's monster song "These Arms Of Mine." Sometimes later when Joe Galkin heard Rick Hall's production of "When A Man Loves A Woman" by Percy Sledge, Galkin was on the phone again to Atlantic's Jerry Wexler informing him of a smash record. Needless to say, Wexler valued Joe Galkins opinions deeply.

Another Macon GA resident who happened to be booking gigs for the R&B artists at the time was Phil Walden. Wouldn't you know that Galkin and Phil Walden would become partners in several dealings with Otis Redding's affairs. Meanwhile, back to Jerry Wexler at Atlantic for a moment. Believe it or not, it was Joe Galkin was who was instrumental in making the initial introductions of Wexler and Phil Walden. A short period later Phil Walden co-founded Capricorn Records which was distributed by...Atlantic Records. If you're beginning to sense that Joe Galkin weaved his magical broker talents between some pretty heavy rollers, it's safe to say that's a fair assessment.

Aside from STAX Records' Jim Stewart, Galkin was one of the few record men who would take newcomers under his wings to mentor their careers. Although Galkin and Stewart had little in common, especially in social skills, somehow I got sandwiched between the careers of both. It was sometimes in the late 60's or early 70's when I was attending corporate meetings in N.Y. when Atlantic promotion executive Dickie Kline (R) instructed me to train under the gainful teachings of Joe Galkin. Kline was a protege of Galkin and Atlantic's chief promo man. Despite my youthful presence, both seemed to like me because of my background in R&B Music and association with STAX Records. At that time, Galkin, a former New Yorker, worked out of Atlanta but would later relocate to Miami. Galkin had been around the block a time or two and despite Dick Kline's instructions, it was a fun challenge but I could see the hand writing on the wall. As it was, we were two very different creatures. I was a Memphis' boy with Irish heritage and spoke with a deep Southern drawl. Whereas Joe was a Russian immigrant who migrated to the U.S. and spoke like a roughneck mobster. Jerry Wexler once playfully referred to Joe Galkin in his autobiography as an "obnoxious Hebe." Ofcourse, I would't go that far but Galkin was a balding, diminutive man and shaped like a beach ball. He spoke with a slight stutter and portrayed a street-smart hustler who had all the answers. Despite some very unsophisticated characteristics, Galkin had a good heart and was well liked by some very important radio programmers. Most importantly, he knew how to get a record played on the radio. "I'm going to teach you how to promote records" he'd say. "You watch me and stay close." He probably had a hundred different stories in his repertoire, some of which were actually true.

Joe Galkin (L) had the notorious reputation of once being thrown out the front door of a radio station only to reenter through the back door to get his records played. While attending a conference in New York, we would sit in a hotel suite and he could talk for hours, and I'd patiently listen. Joe's legendary background was filled with music history plus his co-ownership of Otis Redding's publishing contract served as his watershed. Atlantic's Dick Kline encouraged Joe and I to travel on the road together so he may teach me his marketing principles. That may be a good thing but Joe was old-school and couldn't hang with us pot smoking hippies. Besides, radio's business etiquette was rapidly changing with a flood of young DJ's acquiring influential positions and only related to record promoters from their own generation. It was apparent that the corporate structure within Atlantic was struggling with these elements and sometimes the priorities that came down from management reflected an outdated doctrine.

Two freshman members of the heralded Atlantic promotion team known as "The Heavies" were Phillip Rauls (L) and Larry King (R). Both were two of Joe Galkin's favorite disciples as he was influential in training both. They came along at Atlantic during a cycle the changing of the guard within the staff was transpiring. Larry King remembers a classic Galkin story such as: "Shortly after I started working for Atlantic at Southland Record Distributors, Joe took me on a road trip to Columbus, Montgomery and Birmingham. The first station we visited in Columbus was WDAK where the Program Director greeted us at the door. The three of us were sitting in the PD's office listening to new singles and Joe had a new Otis Redding single that he was working - which Joe expected to be on the air before we left the station. The PD listened to about 30 seconds of the record and told Joe that it wasn't a hit. Well, naturally Joe went ballistic and told the programmer that he needed a box of cue tips so he could hear a hit record. Moments later Joe promptly took every Southland distributed record he could find in the PD's office and then went into the control room and removed all of the Southland records from there also. Joe then told the Program Director that from that day forward he could go out and buy any Southland record that he wanted to play - and back then Southland distributed about half of all the hit records. Joe then used the radio station's phone and he proceeded to call Gwen Kesler at Southland Distributors and told her to take WDAK off the mailing list permanently. He then called Jerry Greenberg at Atlantic and had them take WDAK off their mailing list also. Several months later, the PD finally called me begging to be put back on the mailing list, which Gwen and Joe begrudgingly let me do. On the very same trip, Joe and I went to the afternoon drive, and Ken was on the air so we sat in the control room with him while he did his show. Well, during one of Ken's live spots, Joe took the record that Ken had cued-up to come out of the spot and replaced it with one of his own new records and put the turntable arm back down on the record. Coming out of the spot break, Ken announced the record that he had cued up and hit the button. You should have seen the startled look on Ken's face when a record by an artist that he had never even heard before went out over the air! He was like a deer in headlights! Joe Galkin was determined to get his records played and truly one of a kind." states Atlantic Record's Larry King.

By the early 1970's Joe Galkin had moved to Hibiscus Island in Miami to transition towards his semi-retirement. His good buddy Jerry Wexler moved to Miami also as Wexler had by now adopted Criteria Recording Studio as Atlantic's unofficial Southeast studio facility. Plus, Atlantic producer Tom Dowd had relocated to Miami to join-in the movement. The story behind that mass exodus from the Manhattan office is still
another story-and for still another blog posting. Anywho, Atlantic's Jerry Greenberg and Dick Kline sought to expand the promotion staff and decided to transfer myself to Miami to foster those relations with staff. But when I heard that both Wexler and Joe Galkin had yachts and encouraged the staff to use the boats for entertaining clients, needless to say-my bags were packed. But get this; Galkin and Wexler were old friends yet they always had this cute little thing between themselves that I called 'One-Upmanship.' A good example of this rivalry was when Wexler named his yacht "The Big A" as in the big Atlantic. Galkin then countered by naming his yacht "The Big O" for the big Otis, as in Otis Redding (see boat name in photo above).

After several wonderful seasons within those confines, all of which deserve their own individual stories, it seemed that the party stopped one morning when I received an alarming phone call. It was from the hospital informing me that Joe Galkin had suffered a heart attack. "Oh no, please don't let this happen" I said. Immediately I dropped everything and rushed through traffic to be at his bedside. When I arrived at the hospital and walked into his room, Joe was in his bed sitting up and acknowledged my entry. "Hello Phil," he said in a weak voice. "Aren't you working today?" he asked. "Not really" I said. "I came here to see you." Galkin fired back,"Don't you know there's a new Goddamn Aretha Franklin record released today?" Stunned by his words-I just stood there in silence. Galkin then reached for the phone and dialed WQAM Radio station and asked to speak to Program Director Jim Dunlap. "Jimmy" he said, "Hey, I need a favor from you." From his hospital bed the conversation continued, "Could ya' add that new Aretha on your playlist?" Galkin closed the telephone conversation by saying, "It's gonna be a Goddamn Smash."

My story on Joe Galkin is one of many tales on this very unique person of almost folklore legend. Somebody should to do a movie on this guy. He was truly a piece of work. By that I mean, when he was born, they threw away the mold. He was one of a kind. In his day, Galkin was a man that you could not ignore. Because ignoring him had it's price. Being his friend was tough enough and had it's challenges. But being his enemy, I don't even want to think about that. Seriously.

In closing, something I never figured-out about Galkin was when he'd take a group of people out in his yacht on a hot summer day for a fishing trip, Joe would always go inside the boat cabin where it was air conditioned and he'd turn-on the TV to watch a baseball game. Within moments, he'd promptly fall asleep. I don't know, I guess for a man who had witnessed enough excitement in his lifetime, taking a nap with guest aboard was totally acceptable. I loved that man.

Portrait painting of Joe Galkin available in oil on canvas by artist Ulrika Anderson.

One and Done Album Efforts

2008-02-26T18:00:00.000-08:00

Ever wonder why recording artists appear to abandon the path created by a great album after it debuted with a strong first release? I'm not talking about one hit wonders. I'm talking about an album with substantial airplay, decent reviews and worthy sales. Then after that, nothing, no follow-up album, done, it's over, finished. My point is, with successful results coming-in, aren't they supposed to have a follow-up album to sustain their career? It makes you want to scratch the top of your head and wonder why. Yet many factors enter into the yielding of a sophomore release. The reasons behind those glaringly suspicious enigmas can range from a litany of issues. As you have it, I guess some situations that appear perfect...might not be so perfect. With that being said, I wanted to write a piece about the good old days of Rock Music and toss-in my two cents with an observation regarding single album efforts. As a former member of the all-powerful 'Star Maker Machinery' I have decided to post a story dedicated to all those special albums appropriately titled....ONE AND DONE.

The 1986 A&M release of David & David's "Boomtown" is beyond a doubt the finest album release that never received a follow-up. Radio loved these guys as their album was played coast to coast. Packed with radio friendly songs like, "Welcome to the Boomtown" "Swallowed by the Cracks" and "Ain't so Easy," these two veteran L.A. session men seemed to have it all together. A well produced album, excellent songwriting and solid production plus the all important ingredient of label support. Their music was so good that I even purchased their live radio broadcast from 1987 that was being featured recently on Wolfgang's Vault.

Willis Alan Ramsey's self titled debut album ranks #2 in this impartial survey and after one listen you'll understand why.
This gifted singer-songwriter from Austin takes you on a musical journey that covers vast subjects combined with splendid arrangements. Released on Leon Russell's now defunct Shelter Records, Willis Alan Ramsey is widely considered an early front runner in the Country Rock movement. Ramsey's songs were covered by many artists such as Captain and Tenille, Jerry Jeff Walker, Shawn Colvin and Jimmy Buffett. This album ranks a five star rating and is a must for every one's personal library.

"Layla" by Derek and The Domino's was a classic studio effort by Eric Clapton shortly after departing local band sensation Delaney & Bonnie and Friends. Plus, Clapton ended up taking D&B's entire rhythm section with him to form this band. The story gets even better as Clapton is joined with guest artist Duane Allman in recording this phenomenal album. Throughout this recording Duane Allman boldly trades unparalleled guitar licks with old' Slowhand himself. Released in 1970 with moderate reception, the Atlantic Records promotion staff spent two years of dedication in delivering a gold record. The album was engineered by legendary producer Tom Dowd. Though Clapton and Allman continued with numerous individual recording projects, Derek and The Dominos never had a follow-up release.

What a shame there wasn't a follow-up to this monster. Otis Redding and Carla Thomas series of duets on their "King and Queen" album on STAX was hands down the strongest collaboration of two Soul artists at the apex of their careers. Released in 1967, "King and Queen" featured an excellent version of Lowell Fulson's "Tramp" and the Ahmet Ertegun penned "Lovey Dovey." The STAX in-house rhythm section consisting of Booker T. & The MG's and The Memphis Horns helped make this album a classic. Yet, shortly after release, Otis Redding's premature death caused by an accidental plane crash put an end to this talented singing duo.

Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks lone album on Polydor Records released in 1973 produced the album radio classic song titled "Long Distance Winner." Very hard to locate and often found as a bootleg, Buckingham Nicks stands-up to today's modern Rock. Prior to Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham joining Fleetwood Mac in 1975, this Buckingham Nicks debut album set the stage for their future as it showcased their vocal harmonies and guitar riffs which would be featured for years on many great Fleetwood Mac albums.

Surprised? Never heard of this album? Michael Kamen's "New York Rock"on Atlantic (Atco) Records was literally packed with song after song that had the listener leaning back in their seat in awe of it's solid production and beautiful lyrics. As an offspring of the noted "The New York Rock & Roll Ensemble," Kamen's solo album would be over shadowed in a release schedule that included all the label's biggest acts. If you are fortunate enough to locate a copy of this jewel, it is highly recommended but only available in used vinyl. Michael Kamen did survive the pitfalls of his solo career and ended-up conquering the charts as a producer of major acts and also a composer of numerous blockbuster movie soundtracks.

No surprise here. Blind Faith's self titled album was unfortunately a one shot deal. That's too bad because Stevie Winwood's soulful voice and Eric Clapton's tasteful guitar produced Rock radio staples like "Had To Cry Today," "Presence Of The Lord" and "Can't Find My Way Home." Recorded in a hastened atmosphere as to accommodate their record company's strict deadline, the Blind Faith album could officially be considered as a studio jam session as their time as a group was short lived. Yet, their album is by far one of the most influential Rock albums of all times.

Similar to the album listed above by Michael Kamen, even blog editors are entitled to have their very own favorites. And this is a darn good album too. In 1991 EMI Records released a debut album on new group called Glamour Camp. Possibly considered in a musical category of Glam Rock, this album displayed overtones similar to Brian Ferry & Roxy Music. Plus, it also sounded like classic Bowie and also maybe even The Cars. Why do I mention The Cars? That's because Glamor Camp's band member Chris Otcasek's dad is none other than The Cars Rick Otcasek. That aside, it's still a solid album. Unfortunately, the band broke-up just as the album was being released.

I might be showing my age on this one but "Rough Mix" by The Who's guitarist Peter Townsend and The Faces' Ronnie Lane is a solid effort with no follow-up. Released on MCA Records, the label apparently didn't know what they had on their hands at the time. Released in 1977, the album produced strong songs like "Street in The City" and "Heart To Hang On To" that could propel the album with the coveted mass appeal.

If you've never heard of Uncle Walt's Band, you're not alone. Reason being, this LP was released on an obscure record label with no apparent promotion budget. What does that mean in common terms? Means that you'll never hear of this band unless some left field blogger puts them on his "One And Done" list. Truth is, Champ Hood, David Ball and Walter Hyatt formed Uncle Walt's Band and they were potential superstars. Hailing from Austin via hometown Spartanburg, S.C, the band stumbled into Memphis when I tried desperately to sign them to STAX. But it wasn't a good match and they soon ventured on into Nashville. Vocalist Lyle Lovette had them open for several of his shows but the trio later broke-up and splintered into songwriting and session work.

Thunderclap Newman's "Hollywood Dream" was just that. Released on Atlantic Records in 1979, the album featured the U.S. hit song, "Something In The Air." Popular in the British Isles but the group couldn't hold sustaining power in the U.S. Thunderclap Newman's album was produced by The Who's Peter Townsend.

"ONE AND DONE" HONORABLE MENTION CATEGORY

"Jammed Together" by Steve Cropper, Pops Staples and Albert King. This album came from the famous STAX 27 album release schedule.

"Griffin & Slyvester" featured former Bread co-founder Jimmy Griffin and former Hollies vocalist Terry Sylvester.

YES's Chris Squire only solo effort was titled "Fish Out Of Water."

"The Breaks" on RCA Records featured talented Suzanne Jerome Taylor and Pat Taylor.

Talented vocalist "Debra Dejean" had one album on Handshake Records.

"Combinations" by David Beaver on TMI Records was a brilliant production but lacked promotion.

Songwriter "Bobby David's" LP on 20th Century was packed with great songs.

"Alamo" on Atlantic Records had great potential and was well produced.

"Home Sweet Home" by Terry Manning on Enterprise (STAX) was ahead of it's time.

Robert Palmer ~ EMI Years and beyond...

2008-01-28T17:07:00.000-08:00

This is the conclusion of a three-part posting on Rock music icon Robert Palmer.

Following the enormous success of the “Riptide” album on Island Records, Robert Palmer finally gets his first number 1 record titled “Addicted To Love”(see previous posting). Riding the success of his guitar-driven rock and sleek wardrobe of elegant suits, Palmer’s video becomes MTV’s national anthem. His sexy video, or sexist video - depending upon your viewpoint, featured a dozen mini skirted models performing behind him and created what Palmer suggested was “a jarring effect video.” His follow-up single “I Didn’t Mean To Turn You On” displayed still a different side of his music and peaked at number 2 on Billboard’s chart. Strangely enough, after 14 long years of fractured successes with Island Records, Palmer departs the record label and signs with London based EMI Records.

Impracticable as it may sound, a very unusual career circumstance developed for myself in 1986. While in the process of EMI Records signing Robert Palmer to a long-term contract, I also joined EMI Records as their Regional Promotion & Marketing Manger for the Northwest. This would mark as the third consecutive record label over a course of two decades in which I would represent Robert Palmer as his promotion & marketing representative. First, there was three Vinegar Joe albums on Atlantic Records in the 70's which I promoted and toured with the band. Next there was the platimum album of "Riptide" in 1985 with Island Records as an independent promoter in which I received an award. And now working again with Robert Palmer at EMI Records as his regional field representative. More about this reunion as the posting continues.

Having paid his dues with Chris Blackwell’s Island Records and seemingly at the apex of his career, Palmer’s eclectic musical journey would reach even further heights upon signing a new label deal. His first release with EMI “Heavy Nova” produced the knockout hit “Simply Irresistible” in which again Palmer was immortalized in a video being surrounded with deadpan models pretending to be his backup band. The Terrence Donovan produced video was undoubtedly the signature event of the times while having portrayed Palmer as the modern day Don Juan. Yet Palmer insisted the video clip was all in a days work and that he knew nothing of the scripting of elegant females prior to taping.

EMI was a red hot label at the time with a promotion staff that was
considered very skilled at 'running a record up-the-charts'. Robert Palmer's career background painted a different picture however with him being an artist that had always been considered primarily an album artist. All this was about to change when promotion guru Jack Satter and his EMI marketing team carved-up numerous hit singles that established Palmer in a field that he previously had not dominitaed.

The "Heavy Nova" album produced hit single "Simply Irresistible" and the ever popular video with Palmer and a troupe of lovely females. The single peaked at number 2 on Billboard's chart and earned Palmer his second Grammy Award. His next two singles "She Makes My Day" and "Early In The Morning" both proved to be hits with substanial chart successes. But as the true inovator, Palmer sprinkled-in a few surprises on the "Heavy Nova" album with songs that flavored bossa nova rhythms, beautiful balladeering and romantic lyrics with string arrangements and ofcourse the favorite guitar-oriented rock songs. Robert Palmer's awards kept pouring-in whereas in 1990 Rolling Stone Magazine voted Palmer the best-dressed rock star for that year.

EMI's Phillip Rauls and Robert Palmer pause back stage for a shot in 1990. Palmer's platinum album for "Heavy Nova" was awarded to staff members who participated in the albums success.

"Don't Explain" was Palmers next album and displayed even more of his diverse musical styles including R&B, jazz, rock and music from the islands. Guests on this album included UB40 and featured the Bob Dylan penned "I'll Be Your Baby Tonight" that was a Top 10 chart record. Plus, the Marvin Gaye cover song of "Mercy Mercy Me/I Want You" was a bold and respectable offering to a classic song which ultimately continued to link Palmer with his strong female audience. Of all of Robert Palmer's works, two of my absolute favorites comes from this lesser known album being the Otis Redding song "Dreams To Remember" and also a song co-wrote by Palmer and his long time companion Mary Ambrose titled "Aeroplane." Beyond a doubt, "Don't Explain" was truly a great album.

The album "Honey" was just another example of Palmer being ahead of his time with a brilliant album producing one of the greatest pop songs ever composed, "Know By Now." I've read a great deal of critism from outside observers saying Robert Palmers record label EMI dropped the ball on the merchancising of this album. The truth of the matter is, by this time, Palmer's long time manager David Harper and the label had shared some touchy issues regarding his contract renewal. Disagreements that reflected the bottom line. Don't try to read too much into a possible decline of support from the label at that time. Just embelish those great albums released by EMI in the 90's when Palmer's creativity reached frutition.

My association with Robert Palmer remains as my most memorible being that we worked together at three different record labels over a period of three decades. Of course our stint together at EMI was the most rewarding. Chart successes always have a way of leaving a noteworthy trail of recollection. The truth of the matter for those three decades is that Robert Palmer and I weren't that close. Yet, somehow it seems like everyone in the music business has strong bonds and always remembers each others good vibes. And ours were quite strong. Never mind the fact that Robert Palmer always referred to myself by calling me 'Seattle' instead of my real name. I just remember his pleasant posture towards a grinding schedule of interviews, autographs and endless photographs with everyone including their uncle. On one unforgettable tour through the Northwest, Palmer was performing at The Pier in Seattle when he asked me to drive him to Sea-Tac airport to pick-up his girl friend, Mary Armbrose. I offered to loan him my car when he responded that he didn't know how to drive a automobile. Said that he'd never learned to drive. Hmm. Imagine that. Once we'd made the journey to Sea-Tac Airport to pick-up Mary, those two love birds sat in the back seat of the car and smooched the entire way back to the hotel. Dinner that night was at his favorite Tai Food restaurant on Queen Anne Hill. I sat next to long time drummer and former Memphian Dony Wynn and reminised about living in Soul City. While sitting across the table from Robert Palmer, we struck up a conversation when I asked him "What do you do in your spare time?" I thought that prehaps he was a chess player, or maybe even a golfer. He paused for a moment while looking-up from his cup of hot tea and offered, "In my spare time-I love to play music." At that time the waitress aproached when he ordered a 5-star Tai special. Within minutes after receiving his meal, Palmer's forehead was completely red from the hot pepper spicing when sweat begin dripping down onto his plate. Before the dinner was complete, I had to ask him one more question that had bugged me forever; "Robert," I said, "What is the story behind the song 'John and Mary?' Palmer smiled and seem amused while replying, "It's about a married couple who have been together for so long, they've lost touch with each other and don't communicate." I asked him in response, "Kinda like John Prime's "Hello In There" or Neil Diamond's "Brooklyn Roads?" But someone at the dinner party grabbed his attention and a response was never given.

Widely regarded as Rock's lone pioneer with the fusion of Reggae, syncopated keyboards and guitars with techno beats, Robert Palmer was clearly ahead of his times. Just three postings of this blog are very difficult to capture his entire body of work. He was that good and deserves much more. Plus, he can be so much better appreciated than the deeply infused video of 'dancing goyals'. As Robert Palmer would say..."Anything but typical". I'm proud to say that I have tons of stories and photographs to support my brief time spent with this great artist. He was one of the few music icons who grew in popurlarity with steady growth over the 70's, 80's and 90's rather than pop-up today and fade-away tomorrow. It's unfortunate that we're talking about the passing of what I'd consider to be a pop star legacy of the magitude of Sting, Rod Stewart or Phil Collins. Pure class.

Palmer's last album is titled "Drive" released in 2003 and was critically hailed as his grittiest album of his career. Don't underestimate this splendid album. It features fifteen blues standards plus my favorite original composition from the album titled, "Lucky." That song alone is worth the entire album and has the capabilities of defining his voyage into the future.

Robert Palmer died of a heart attack in Paris, France in 2003. He was 54 years old. Palmer is buried in Lugano, Switzerland where he had lived for the last 15 years. God rest his soul.

Sneaking Robert Palmer Thru the Rock Era

2007-12-27T06:00:00.000-08:00

This is the second of a three part posting on vocalist Robert Palmer.

The story continues; During the period between the 1970's and the 1980's, music was very much a fabric of life for Pop Culture. FM Radio proved to the essential pipeline for the movement while new publications offered literary support. Cassette players armed with dual speakers were a must for your vehicle combined with an essential traveling case full of new releases. Times were good during this era as I remember traveling down the highway with a group of friends in my buddy's brand new van. I remember sitting in the rear of the truck and firmly planted in a bean bag with the ceiling vent open and smoke pouring-out of the roof in what resembled a scene from a Cheech and Chong movie. It was 1974 and we were on our way to a canoe trip on the Buffalo River in The Ozark Mountains when my buddy Ray King slipped-in a brand new cassette by vocalist...Robert Palmer.
It was Palmer's first solo release on Island Records when suddenly the focus became centered on the music blasting out of the speakers. It appeared for a moment that time stood still. I glanced around the van and no one on board was talking while everyone began bobbing their heads in unison. It was like we'd previously rehearsed this jester as a group and now given our cue to nod our heads. The first song pouring out the speakers was "Sailing Shoes," a song previously recorded by Little Feat. Next came the song "Hey Julia." And then the ultimate killer, "Sneaking Sally through the Alley." Wow! Three stellar tracks that sounded funky, soulful and flowed together to make a single entity. Yet all three had enough rock fusion for me to grab the cassette liner notes in search of musician's credits. But inside the cassette package there was nothing listed, no information about the sessions or credits given. This lack of information on the album left me puzzled and sent me on a extended mission to investigate.

After a lengthy search and based on this influential album, the following information surfaced; The title song "Sneaking Sally Through the Alley" was written by noted New Orleans producer Allen Toussaint. Plus, the song was recorded first by the great Lee Dorsey. Toussaint's talent as a songwriter and producer were continually in demand. He was also involved in some of the production for this album while his own Sea-Saint recording studio was used for several sessions. There were also rumors that Little Feat played on Palmer's solo album but come to find out that only guitarist Lowell George participated in the recording. But make no doubt, his tasteful influence is felt throughout this fine album. In addition, Toussaint recruited a New Orleans mainstay by bringing in the rhythm section of The Meters consisting of Art Neville (keyboards), Leo Nocentelli (guitar), George Porter (bass), and Joseph Modeliste (drums). The recording session appeared routine until Palmer's soulful voice quickly jelled with The Meters R&B groove. Legend has it when band members heard his voice they stopped and asked "What did you say your name was again?". Those parties played on tracks # 1 and 3.

Track # 2 was recorded with UK musicians Jim Mullen (guitar) and Jody Linscott (percussion) who may have overdubbed on additional tracks. The musicians on track # 4 on this album are undetermined.

Tracks # 5, 6, 7, & 8 are with the rhythm section from New York consisting of the great Cornell Dupree (guitar), Richard Tee (piano), Gordon Edwards (bass), and Bernard Purdie (drums).

Credits on this album were resolved sometime later by Robert Palmer and former Vinegar Joe bassists Steve York who also played harp solo on "Sneaking Sally Through the Alley."

By 1975, Palmer's solo career was further established when he released his second LP, "Pressure Drop." This album displayed his keen interest in reggae music infused with rock. Plus, the album's cover began his long identification with sex appeal and the promotion of his youthful looks. The album featured yet more Allen Toussaint and Lowell George compositions together with a Pete Gage (Vinegar Joe) song. Later that year Robert Palmer opened the Little Feat tour to promote the album.

Yet, Robert Palmer's body of work had just begun as his long and successful relationship with Island Records would span over two decades. His next album in 1976 titled "Some People Can Do What They Like" continued to set the trend of using the same players as featured on his first two albums. Plus, his skill as a writer of ballads became apparent. A short period later and after moving to the Bahamas, Palmer's appreciation of Caribbean influenced music was highlighted in his commercial breakthrough album titled "Double Fun." This 1978 album is recommended for everyone's library and produced the Andy Fraser penned hit single "Every Kinda People". This marked Palmer's most successful release to date by charting at #16 on Billboard's chart. "Secrets" was released in 1979 and recorded at Compass Point Studio in Nassau, Bahamas. The album produced the hit single "Bad Case of Lovin' You" (Doctor, Doctor) which became one of Palmer's signature tunes while reaching #14 on the U.S. charts. "Secrets" also produced additional hits while the LP was very deep with artistic influence. Yet, Robert Palmer was just rolling up his sleeves with much more to follow.

In 1980, Robert Palmer's album "Clues" developed into the latest trend of music with the fusion of electronic pop and synthesized experimentation. Despite it's lack of commercial success, it was indicative of Palmer's music, which in many cases was ahead of it's time. The album contained "Johnny And Mary", "Not A Second Time" and "Woke Up Laughing". The next album was "Pride" and released in 1983. Again, Robert Palmer was ahead of his times while the LP produced the memorable "You Are In My System." In early 1984, Robert began his realisation of the development of being a part of a 'supergroup' when he collaborated with John Taylor and Andy Taylor of Duran Duran and drummer Tony Thompson on the production of 'The Power Station'. This Capitol Records release produced the songs "Bang a Gong-Get It On" and "Murderess".

1985 was a triumphant year for Palmer as he released the album "Riptide". Almost immediately a groundswell of interest began to develop. The LP produced the monster #1 single "Addicted to Love." The song was originally recorded with Chaka Kahn sharing lead vocals but due to contractual issues with her record company, she was removed from the track and the rest is history. This time Robert Palmer's good looks and rock production video was a perfect fit for MTV as the album hit # 8 on the Billboard chart. The album also produced the Earl King penned song "Trick Bag". Plus additional hits such as "Hyperactive", "Woke Up Laughing","I Didn't Mean To Turn You On" and "Disipline Of Love".

The flood gates were open when in September of 1986 Robert won Best Male Video Category at the annual MTV Video Music Awards. Later, Robert won the Best Rock Vocal Performance, Male Category at the 29 annual Grammy Awards.

The Island Records marketing team guided by a crafty promotion director named Phil Quartararo who brought the goods home at radio and in turn rewarded all his team members contributing to this successful project with Platinum Record awards for their efforts.

Phillip Rauls and Robert Palmer share a smile over a well deserved team effort. Robert Palmer and Phillip were reconnected on the "Riptide" album project for the first time since the Vinegar Joe days back at Atlantic Records.

Next posting: Robert Palmer's EMI Years and beyond

A Look Back on Legend Robert Palmer

2007-12-04T11:13:00.000-08:00

This is a posting that is particularly special to me because it's about one of my favorites and also because of the extended time period that it covers. Plus, it reveals my respective association with one of Rock Music’s finest artist, Robert Palmer (1949-2003). But first, please let me reinforce the proclamation that these first-hand stories are not about me. They are about the timely experiences as well as the special places in which they occurred. I’ll be the first to admit that when most of these episodes transpired, I was just a middle-management promotion executive who happened to be so lucky to be assigned to represent such great talent. How fortunate I was to be a field rep and work with Rock’s finest and not have to experience the caged environment of working in a home office of a big corporation. This unparalleled freedom allowed me to fly under the radar as a marketing specialist and promote my favorite artists with passion. All while flying by the seat of my pants and allowing natural experiences to prevail. These stories express my magic carpet ride through Rock history and I enjoy sharing them. I hope you can appreciate.

This is a three-part story on Rock legend Robert Palmer. As the story begins, let us turn back the clock to 1972. The scene opens when a mail person enters my office to deliver the morning mail. However he didn’t look too pleased and displayed a smirk on his face as he made numerous trips to deliver several armloads of records and magazines. I guess to him I appeared to be a slacker or long haired hippie who indulged himself in receiving postal nonsense. After all, it was a turbulent era, a time filled with chaos and a generation gap so big that you could drive a semi through. As I went through the mail, my favorite publication was in the bundle and posted there on the cover was news from afar. The publication was a music weekly named Melody Maker and it was the British equivalent to the U.S. version of Billboard Magazine. The front-page headlines proclaimed in bold print “MELODY MAKER’S GROUP OF THE YEAR – VINEGAR JOE.” Being a stern supporter of music trends that developed in England, I further investigated the article which was written by leading journalist Chris Welch. Come to find out, the article revealed that Vinegar Joe’s debut album was on Atlantic Records. That got me excited as Atlantic was my employer at the time. Plus they were a leader in the British Rock movement. As I further scanned, I noticed the band’s U.S. tour itinerary that included none other than my hometown of Memphis.

Further details in Melody Maker listed Vinegar Joe’s tour dates through the Southern states as they were the opening act for another British newcomer, Wishbone Ash. Not your everyday box office ticket rush. But never the less Vinegar Joe was given a small opening for a big opportunity. In those days most of the smaller tours featuring groups that didn’t have a hit record, the purpose was to expose them to the general public and sometimes the record companies would under write the band's expenses in an effort to offset any loses occurred at the gates.

Based on the strength of the article, I convinced a senior executive at Atlantic to allow me to get involved. After some reluctance, finally he agreed and I was given the opportunity to tour with the group to set-up FM Radio and underground press interviews. Plus the after concert meet-and-greets had become a new found popularity with young broadcasters and aspiring journalists. But confidentially, the home office in New York considered the tour as a yawner as Atlantic was about to unload tons of new releases on several of their major artists. It was during these uneventful tours that the home office brass referred to me as a “Groupie” because of my desire to tour with the unknown bands. During that same time I was absorbing myself with the reading material of a new underground rag called Rolling Stone Magazine. However, back at the home office, it seemed that major emphasis was being focused exclusively on the publications Billboard, Cashbox and Record World. Yet, no one was actually assigned to call on what they considered as the “Hippie Press.” This oversight left me puzzled. As you had it, the general consensus from my corporate officers was that they thought these publications were operated by guys who smoked dope all day and didn’t practice hygiene. Their major concern at the time was for Top-Forty Radio. Oh by the way, I took on the additional task to inform my managers of the importance of Melody Maker also. So, off to meet Vinegar Joe I went.

Vinegar Joe’s vocalist was a sassy young beauty named Elkie Brooks (above) who had created a huge following throughout the British Isles. Her husband Pete Gage was the guitarist in the band and acknowledged as a foremost bandleader. Next, there was a handsome lad who was positioned on the far side of the stage and a mere backup singer and tambourine player by the name of (above) Robert Palmer. Despite Palmer's low profile and background status, his soft eyes and silky smooth vocals were very much appreciated by everyone all the way to the back row of the audience. When the Southern leg of their U.S. tour began, Elkie Brooks, Pete Gage and I flew in advance of the bands travel arraignments to set-up their forthcoming evening's performances with pre-show interviews. After visiting several radio stations, the band's album experienced moderate success as it received airplay at WRAS-FM in Atlanta, WWOM-FM in New Orleans, WORJ-FM in Orlando and WBUS-FM in Miami. However, several days into the tour and after long hours of a grueling schedule, I sensed that the tour was not producing the magic needed to capture an American audience. This is not to say that Elkie Brooks and Peter Cage or Robert Palmer didn’t bust their asses or meet expectations. It was just the fact that without a hit record only small crowds attended their concerts plus they were only the opening act for a mediocre headliner, Wishbone Ash.

After a convincing Vinegar Joe performance at Ellis Auditorium in Memphis combined with a Bar-B-Q dinner at the famous Rendezvous Restaurant, both bands, Vinegar Joe, Wishbone Ash and myself (above) were invited to a party at the infamous location known in prominent rock circles as ‘3744 James Road.’ It was a plush location resembling a Southern style mansion and fashioned with tall white columns stretching out over the front porch. From the long driveway entrance you could view a fashionable porch swing and rocking chairs suitably fitted for the setting. As we drove up to the house, it appeared we were approaching a scene from the movie "Gone With The Wind." This was the residence of several industry notables and their families; WMC-FM 100 disk jockey Jon Scott, MCA Records' Bruce Bowles, and a local RCA Records’ rep named Phil Rush. As most Rock and Roll parties generally go, people were staged all over the entire house, the kitchen, living room, entrance stairwell, and yes, the front porch. The sweet fragrance of imported cannabis filled the air combined with handfuls of Dr. Nick’s Quaaludes that were passed out as party favors. Throughout the night, loud music played while the stoners pulled motorcycle wheelies in the drive way. All while entertaining all the special party guest. But as the clock ticked-on well into the evening, guess who got sick and blew chow all over the kitchen? It was about that time that I got well acquainted with a sick Robert Palmer and drove him back to his hotel in downtown Memphis. No one told me that an Atlantic promotion man had to pull baby sitting duties.

But Robert Palmer was only a back-up singer in the Brit's version of a R&B band. As good as Vinegar Joe was, especially live on stage, the unit was unable to capture their magic on record.

After three respectable albums on Atlantic, the tightly knit band hit a crossroads.

After several unsuccessful U.S. tours, Vinegar Joe disbanded in 1973. At that time Robert Palmer and Elkie Brooks pursued a solo careers. Palmer landed with Chris Blackwell's Island Records which was distributed by Atlantic Records. There he experienced a successful solo career with numerous chart records. Elkie Brooks soon signed with Atlantic's former European manager, Frank Fenter, who had relocated to Macon, GA to help establish Capricorn Records with partner Phil Walden.

Editors note: The location of the party in Memphis mentioned in this posting became such a popular hangout for Rock bands that it became the title of a noted album; "3744 JAMES ROAD" by the GROUNDHOGS

Next Posting: Palmer's influence on Pop Music; "Sneaking Robert Palmer Thru the Rock Era"

Photo of Robert Palmer & Elkie Brooks by Gered Mankowitz

Experiencing Photolog-Jones?

2007-11-16T21:10:00.000-08:00

The editor of the PHOTOLOG is currently on vacation in Japan and will return with new posts in December. If you are currently experiencing a case of Photolog-Jones in this absence, please take a tour of our vast archives section positioned at below right.

Posted there are volumes of stories and photos of Pop Culture and the music business. This includes stories from the early days at STAX Records, Atlantic Records and photographs both original and the work of noted photo journalist.

Future postings will reveal even more untold stories and pix's from being in the rock trenches and told by a veteran record executive. From the days of Twentieth Century Fox Records, the Memphis music scene and the glory days at EMI Records. Stay tuned, the best is yet to come!

A Clenched Fist Reflects Anguish

2007-11-05T06:00:00.000-08:00

As the social landscape evolved in the late 60’s and early 70’s, there were peaceful demonstrations combined with social unrest throughout America. At stage front was the youth movement that brought division and anguish to a generation of young baby boomers. While some people appeared uptight after years of social conflict, others were too stoned to notice. Most people were in exploration for their own identities and expressed themselves peacefully. However this is a story about those who chose to express themselves differently.

At the 1968 Summer Olympics, formally known as the Games of the XIX Olympiad held in Mexico City, two African-American Athletes while receiving their Gold and Bronze medals at their awards ceremony, raised their black-gloved fist into the air as a symbol of Black Power.

American athletes Tommie Smith (C) and John Carlos (R), gold and bronze medalists in the men's 200-meter race took the podium of the medal ceremony, lowered their heads and defiantly raised their fist as the Star Spangled Banner was played. In this jaw-dropping protest, many felt that a political statement had no place in the international forum of the Olympic Games. Both athletes were then suspended from the U.S. team and banned from the Olympic village. Plus, as a further punishment, the International Olympic Committee banned Smith and Carlos from the Olympics Games for life.

These circumstances threw the sporting world into a state of chaos and created an uneasiness among inter-racial relations.

In a similar ceremony at the 1968 Games, U.S. heavyweight boxing champ George Foreman after winning the gold medal walked around the boxing ring with a American flag in his hand while bowing respectfully to the audience. Foreman returned to his homeland after the games and was welcomed in a royalty fashion.

Yet this lesson would play-out again when in 1972 Stax Records would stage a concert in Los Angeles in commemoration of the seventh anniversary of the Watts riots. Stax Records V.P. Al Bell would organize it's prestigious roster of artists to perform for a full stadium of attendants who were charged only a single dollar to attend. The concert was recorded and released as a record soundtrack for the 1973 documentary film tilted "Wattstax." Although the concert was filmed, recorded and staged with the proper intent of support to the urban life in the black community, Al Bell and the Rev. Jesse Jackson used the performance stage to further their political agenda of the clenched fist demonstration of "Black Power." Once again the mainstream media did not embrace this controversial stance.

The Rev. Jesse Jackson (L) and Stax Records V.P. Al Bell (R) abuse the privilege of being honored by making a political statement contrary to economics of the promotion and marketing efforts of the Wattstax film and soundtrack.

Although this project helped elevate the profile of African American culture, it's success at the box office and record shops was undermined by this stance resulting in short term success.

Was this an act of civil rights, or a stage of civil wrong?

Pictured below is another demonstration of stage abuse as a young Johnny Cash displays his fist full of frustration to an audience in disbelief of his jester. Although Cash was a mega-superstar, few are aware of his extensive time spent in the pokie during an early stage in his career.

Either it be the Academy Awards, or the Grammy's, or the acceptance speech of the MVP award at the Super Bowl, it's always best to never abuse the privilege of being honored on stage to justify your agenda. A clenched fist attitude delivered under those circumstances can be considered as a bottom rung of society's pulpit.

Famous Last Words:

"YOU CAN'T SHAKE HANDS WITH A CLENCHED FIST."
INDIRA GANDHI 1917-1984

Johnny Cash photograph by Jim Marshall

Remaining photo sources unknown