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we used to take for granted. The usual constant interaction that exists inside my company—now being done 100% remotely—is less frenzied. And my talks with industry execs seem much more valuable to my current well-being. Some- times I think, wow, that took up 10 minutes. OK. And I’m starting to plan my days accordingly. We all are.
We’re all in this together, in a deeper way than ever before. Yes, we can work records, talk to our artists, talk to gatekeepers, get inside information, talk about how much we suck at golf. Because maybe, just maybe, a new revelation has occurred.
We will help commiserate. We will help with recommend- ing doctors or the best places to get supplies. We’ll help make sure that everyone’s family is safe. We will check in, and we’ll keep checking in.
Maybe, just maybe, we’re all really friends, too. Wouldn’t that be an interesting thing to learn in our “isolation?”
DISPATCH #2: THE PROMO GENE
Promotion is in my blood.
The sheer joy of being able to make a tangible difference has
always been the ultimate goal for me. I’ve been lucky enough to have been on both sides of the give-and-take for most of my time in the business. I started out in the ’70s, running the national charts for Record World, and was worked (and mostly lied to)
by a series of Damon Runyonesque characters on the streets of Manhattan. Later on, when I moved to head promotion at a label, I became friends with some of the all-time greats in
the radio era. Scott Shannon, Randy Kabrich, Steve
Perun, Mason Dixon, Michael St. John, Bruce
Stevens and former Jefferson Pilot President
Don Benson.
It was Mr. Benson who texted me recently to remind me that 3/19 was the 25th anniver- sary of the murder of Charlie Minor. Charlie
is on my list of the greatest promotion people of all time, along with my fellow HITS co-founder, Dennis Lavinthal.
Dennis, Charlie and I were partners when he was
killed. Before we banded together, he was the brilliant head of promo for Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss at A&M. Like many legendary promo people, he had a larger-than-life per- sonality. There are lots of great stories I can share
about him, and on this anniversary it’s hard
not to think about his big dinners at Le
Dome—he loved to bring people togeth-
er and couldn’t be happy unless everyone
at the party was having a good time. But
that’s for another story.
Hearing about Charlie just made
me think about the contacts I still have
every day with our promotion family.
So, here’s a little piece of my Wednesday, 3/18/20, self-isolated and in constant contact.
Peter Gray, current top promotion gunslinger at Columbia, calls to check in. We talk, less hurriedly than usual, about our loved ones and what we’re doing to stay safe. He discusses his joy at being back in action, having had a hiatus after his stint at Warner (when it included the Bros.). Then he listed the multiple hits they were working and the conveyor belt of qual- ity product coming his way from the Ron Perry express. His goals include teaching his young staff to work multiple hits
We’re all in this
together, in a deeper
way than ever before.
Yes, we can work
records, talk to our
artists, talk to gate-
keepers, get inside
information, talk about
how much we suck at
golf. Because maybe,
just maybe, a new
revelation has occurred.
simultaneously (a classy problem if ever there was one).
Greg Thompson calls. Greg is another all-time great promotion
man, currently managing and promoting inside the Maverick system. He’s riding high with Doja Cat, enthused about his recent signing, Brandy, and considering release dates for
her new single featuring Chance the Rapper. We check in, discuss the options and agree that decisions right now are a moving matrix. We’ll talk again soon.
Scot Finck from Hollywood Records checks in. He unfortunately faces the short-term difficulty of not
having hits, but he’s been doing this for a long time and knows A&R waxes and wanes. He’s calling to thank me for helping friends when they’re
between jobs. We all must stick together, give work to those in promo who need help right now. Scotty started at A&M working for Charlie Minor. He always brings back memories when we speak.
Later in the day, I have an extended FaceTime chat with Daniel Glass, owner of Glassnote Records, who is hunkered down in
his home and gathering his family in one place for the days of isolation ahead; I met his granddaughter Rose on the chat. We discussed the industry, plans for releasing records, the difficulty of getting projects finished and the best ways to
gain exposure in difficult times. Daniel, for those of you who don’t know, ranks for me as one of the greatest promotion execs who ever lived. He had a level of triple sincerity that’s unmatched to this day. (He also worked in the early days with Monte Lipman,
who’s risen to a higher point on the current music pyramid than any other promo exec—and is always texting proudly about his top-of-the-line promo team, headed by Gary Spangler.)
I will always, always, always remember when Daniel tried to con- vince me that “Living in a Box” by Living in a Box was not only a smash but an important addition to our music history.
I consider this idea in retrospect, and it occurs to me that maybe, just maybe, he was right. For now, we’re all living in a box. n
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HITS March 30, 2020