seattlesteve Posted August 20, 2004 Share Posted August 20, 2004 During the same year, Eric and Billy wrote about the music business, Overnight Sensation and The Entertainer. Verse 5 from Billy, think about OS while you read it, you think these two piano players were equally frustrated in '74?"I am the entertainer, I come to do my show,You heard my latest record, it's been on the radioAh it took me years to write it, they were the best years of my life,It was a beautiful song, but it ran too long, if youre gonna have a hit, You gotta make it fit, so they cut it down to 3:05" I love that line, "cut it down to three oh five"Clive is a very succesful man, but it's all about the numbers, give him credit he recognized the talent in Eric, but with the first two releases being ballads, all he ever wanted was the son of All By Myself/Never Gonna, over and over again.Bernie and Eric brought out in the book, how EC would have flourished with BJ's management as Billy had a free ride to go ballad, rocker, ballad rocker, etc.... They didn't make him go son of "Just the Way You Are" over and over.I don't get it.. McCartney could rock and croon, Brian Wilson could, Billy Joel could, Burton Cummings could, Elton could, Rod Stewart used to be able to, why did EC get tagged so early after all those Raspberries rockers?I digress. The media could not get a handle on the versatility of the Raspberries. Hopefully we will, if they pull of this reunion. I am so optimistically pumped!SS Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Poor4Life Posted August 20, 2004 Share Posted August 20, 2004 I thing basically what it boils down to is, the first two singles released off of E.C. were ballads. That's what Clive wanted and unfortunetly that's what got Eric pegged as a balladeer. To this day, I think "That's Rock n Roll" should have been the second single. Letting Shaun Cassidy covering it, gave it the stigma of being "bubblegum". I had friends at the time that as soon as they heard me playing that song , they'd have a fit "Shut it off! that's that bubblegum s**t!" Not knowing it was Eric. Yes he had hits with Cassidy covering that and Hey Deannie, but I honestly think it hindered him professionally. I kind of rambled here, I hope I made some kind of sense!... LOLJeff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mymooladi Posted August 20, 2004 Share Posted August 20, 2004 Steve wrote: I am so optimistically pumped! Me too Steve. I want details!! Where is it gonna be, when for pete sakes, this month, this year, next?? I want tickets..are they on sale yet?? Patience has never been my strong point!Details Bernie ASAP please, I have to be at the first show in case there isn't a second. June Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darlene Posted August 20, 2004 Share Posted August 20, 2004 That's good old Clive. Nobody could ever accuse him of being open-minded, and get away with it. Sometimes his mind was like cement--mixed up and permanently set. There were so many times, as I followed Eric's career, and saw his performances, I just wanted to go up to him and yell, "NOOOO! Don't trust this person! He's not doing anything for you..." But it was just a gut feeling with me, and I didn't know ANYTHING about the record business. Secretly, though, I always believed he trusted the wrong people. He's a genius about everything except: He doesn't see the reality of how gorgeous his voice and work are. The second thing I think he hasn't seen the reality of is who he can and can't trust. I don't think it's an error in judgement, either: he's very astute. I just think there are certain people he would be better off not believing, but he doesn't want to believe he shouldn't trust them. --D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lawyer fan Posted August 20, 2004 Share Posted August 20, 2004 Brian Wilson - there is a man who was left to do his own thing by Capitol Records since he was able to turn out hit after hit.... - EC, while not quite the melody man of BW, could have flourished under Capitol too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gregkevinw Posted August 20, 2004 Share Posted August 20, 2004 lawyerfan... eric was under capitol, and one of the greatest bands was almost never heard of. bernie/ken's book points that out very well. people managed (or mismanaged) the raspberries by default! what a shame they could'nt get a "real" manager... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darlene Posted August 21, 2004 Share Posted August 21, 2004 They probably could have--they were so young and inexperienced, they just didn't know who to get. So many people talk a big game, and can't/won't produce results, or worse, have their own interest at heart and gyp the artist(s). Jim Croce, so many artists had horror stories of that stuff. In some cases, it was the guy's own brother-in-law! Etc, etc. --D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gregkevinw Posted August 21, 2004 Share Posted August 21, 2004 darlene, i'm not holding the group to blame . the record company should have protected their investment and offered more guidance. it seems odd that they would not have. it just goes with my contention all along that capitol never knew what a potential gold mine they had.capitol blew it, plain and simple. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darlene Posted August 21, 2004 Share Posted August 21, 2004 Gregkevinw, I think in many cases the record companies take terrible advantage of new, young artists. They send them out on the road, and then tell the artist he or she (or the group) has incurred so many expenses, that the artist(s) owe the record company x amount of money, and after it's paid the artist(s) has (have) practically nothing. Unless you have a really savvy manager to protect you from this kind of bad contract, or you are experienced, you fall prey to this. Many young artists have no choice, but to take the deal, because they can't get famous without a record contract, and unless they already HAVE been famous, they can't get a record contract that benefits them enough. Exceptions are hotties (Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, etc and young men rappers of that ilk) who probably would get burned but have savvy relatives who manage them and say "no dice, unless we get THIS much..."--D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The NH Bushman Posted August 22, 2004 Share Posted August 22, 2004 Gregkevinw, I think in many cases the record companies take terrible advantage of new, young artists. They send them out on the road, and then tell the artist he or she (or the group) has incurred so many expenses, that the artist(s) owe the record company x amount of money, and after it's paid the artist(s) has (have) practically nothing.The ploy that I've always loved is how they give you a "recording allotment" (which is an advance of course and must be repaid) and then insist that you record in their studio. So you spend their money in their studio and then you pay them back for it. Nice world, huh? F*** music. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darlene Posted August 23, 2004 Share Posted August 23, 2004 Yes, that's one of the things I'm talking about. Not to mention that they inflate the fees so much, it's difficult to make enough money to pay them. --D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The NH Bushman Posted August 24, 2004 Share Posted August 24, 2004 Well, I did the math and concluded that if you can't make enough money to earn a living playing in a band signed to Columbia, then why bother? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The NH Bushman Posted August 28, 2004 Share Posted August 28, 2004 darlene, i'm not holding the group to blame . the record company should have protected their investment and offered more guidance. it seems odd that they would not have. it just goes with my contention all along that capitol never knew what a potential gold mine they had.capitol blew it, plain and simple. Like it or not, the mentality is that people can (and will) be replaced. The majors all think they can find a new star to replace whomever, any time they wish. Nice, huh? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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