Tony Bennett on the Copacabana: "You would think that if they have a headliner performing on stage, they would stop the food service. Instead all you can hear when I'm up there are dishes and silverware clanging and dropping to the floor! It's terrible!"
This is a fascinating feast for Rock and Roll fans. Inside stuff, mostly on the music of the 60's. Lots to tell about band management and being a concert promoter from the man who aided and abetted the British Invasion.
Recommended mostly for ha
Tony Bennett on the Copacabana: "You would think that if they have a headliner performing on stage, they would stop the food service. Instead all you can hear when I'm up there are dishes and silverware clanging and dropping to the floor! It's terrible!"
This is a fascinating feast for Rock and Roll fans. Inside stuff, mostly on the music of the 60's. Lots to tell about band management and being a concert promoter from the man who aided and abetted the British Invasion.
Recommended mostly for hard core music fans. There's more about record labels, A & R, engineers, and producers than a lot of Beatles fans might be interested in.
Too superficial in ways. Ex. Since Sid had such an important partnership with Brian Epstein, why not the hint of a mention of his (and the Beatles) amphetamine use or his hiding the gay stress by staying in the closet? Ex. Laura Branigan was not exactly a discovery; she was already a back-up singer for Leonard Cohen (who gets no mention). And bolting to new management must be common enough.
Sid also shies away from issues like artists who killed themselves with drugs; instead referring to Sly Stones showing up late as "a sign of trouble."
I understand some softness since he was still a businessman with a reputation to maintain, but the result is sometimes tepid reading. There's a distinct sense that Sid doesn't want to burn any bridges.
Why did the Young Rascals quit Atlantic Records? Why did Eddie Brigati quit the band? You were their manager!
Sid Bernstein is the legendary impresario that brought the Beatles to America. He presented the original Beatles American debut at Carnegie Hall, as well as the Shea Stadium concerts. As the title, suggests, The Beatles are not all there is to this promoter's career. Bernstein also promoted Tony Bennett's first Carnegie Hall appearance, a series of Judy Garland concerts, Richard Pryor's first times in front of a large audience and more. Bernstein briefly headed The Newport Jazz Festival, brought
Sid Bernstein is the legendary impresario that brought the Beatles to America. He presented the original Beatles American debut at Carnegie Hall, as well as the Shea Stadium concerts. As the title, suggests, The Beatles are not all there is to this promoter's career. Bernstein also promoted Tony Bennett's first Carnegie Hall appearance, a series of Judy Garland concerts, Richard Pryor's first times in front of a large audience and more. Bernstein briefly headed The Newport Jazz Festival, brought the Bay City Rollers to American and took The Rascals to England. As a result of these associations, this autobiography becomes a history of the formation of American pop music into a stadium-filling sensation. These stories populated by figures like Woody Allen, Tito Puente and Miles Davis are told in a engaging, personal manner. That is Arthur Aaron extracted these stories from Bernstein and presents them to us in language warm and natural, as if Sid were telling us himself over dinner.
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